Firstly, another big thank you to committee member Nikki Stamford, who did a skydive this month to raise funds for Preschool—and to all her sponsors, too. After costs, she raised an amazing £575 for Preschool, and we are very grateful (and proud of her bravery). Nikki said it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience that she’ll never forget. We should point out again that volunteering to skydive is not a requirement for being on the committee! Whatever your available time and skillset, there are many other valuable ways to help. Do consider contacting our chairperson, Helen, or our Treasurer, Debs, at buckdenpreschoolcommittee@gmail.com for a no-obligation chat to find out more. It’s a very sociable way to contribute to village life.
The school year has got off to an exciting start as we welcome our new children and their families, and welcome back returning children too. It’s always lovely to get to know our new starters and discover their characters, abilities and interests. It’s equally wonderful to see how our returning children have changed over the summer and catch up with all their news and experiences. They have loved looking around Preschool and spotting the changes made when we gave it a ‘facelift’ over the summer. There are cosy, colourful spaces to enjoy books both indoors and out, with some brightly coloured animal cushions, and our new Colour Monster corner. We started the term with something of a farm theme, with tractors, farm animals and a farmyard playmat in the outdoor tuff tray and lots of farmyard-themed books for the children to read.
Our first Book of the Week was a comical rhyming story about a first day at preschool: Goat Goes to Playgroup by Julia Donaldson and Nick Sharratt. It captures all the uncertainties and excitement young children feel when going into a new environment for the first time.
As always, the themes and activities we plan for the rest of the term will be predominantly guided by the children’s own interests and learning needs. We wait with bated breath to see where their curiosity will take them (and us!) next.