Dear Parents/CarersAs the staff have all done training in baby signing and we are now using it throughout the nursery with positive results, its now your turn to learn if you are interested.

baby signing course at playaway day nursery

It is beneficial to your baby/child if you are able to consolidate the signs at home and use them with your child.  Signing helps children to communicate and avoids the frustration children sometimes feel when they are not able to ‘tell’ you what they want, or how they feel.   The staff do display a sign each week but the training course will give you more background information and training on baby signing.

The course will be on :       Monday 23 August at Playaway at 7.00 pm

It should last for approximately one and a half hours.

We look forward to seeing as many of you there as possible.

Kind regards

Dee Sturges

It can be a nightmare getting kids to clean their teeth – do you remember your parents tearing their hair out trying to get you to clean yours?

Parents need a hand in trying to encourage kids to look after their teeth, which is why Harrogate’s Woodlands Day Nursery has signed up to the national ‘Stop the Rot’ campaign, a fun way of teaching children about eating healthily and of encouraging them to clean their teeth throughout the day to help fight tooth decay.

According to Stop the Rot founder Graham Wilding, nearly half of the UK’s five year-olds suffer from tooth decay, with the majority of these problems caused by refined sugar (sucrose) found in so many foods and by children’s reluctance to clean their teeth. So, in line with the Stop the Rot campaign, Woodlands Day Nursery has committed to:

1)    Sack the sugar
2)    Beat the sweets
3)    Let’s get brushing

Sack the sugar

Quite often, if food and drinks packaging says ‘carbohydrates’ then the chances are it contains sucrose. So, Woodlands Day Nursery are trying to limit the children’s sugar intake by selecting foods with the least sucrose content, and making those foods fun. Deputy Manager Amanda Hadley says: “It’s easy to make healthy tooth-friendly foods fun. By including children in activities about different foods, we encourage them to try things they would normally turn their nose up at. Our message to parents and carers would be to keep trying with new foods - our children at nursery eat really healthy balanced meals every day and they love it!”

Beat the sweets

We once gave one of our cats catnip as a way of rewarding him for being such nice, gentle chap – big mistake! Not sure where that nice, gentle chap got to during the 5 minutes that he had the catnip in his clutches, but he absolutely nailed us when we tried to take it off him! 10 minutes later, once he’d recovered from the effects of the catnip, he was back to his old unique self again, sitting peaceably with the birds and saving moths and butterflies from danger.

It can be that way with children and sweets sometimes. Children become addicted to sweets not just because they taste sweet but also because they are associated with comfort and reward. They also get addicted to the “high” of the energy rush that can cause disruptive behavioural problems. So, again, the staff at Woodlands Day Nursery are very careful in regards to the number of sweets children are given and when they get them.

Let’s get brushing

The earlier good brushing habits can be put in place the better, so Woodlands Day Nursery have created games and play themes around toothbrushes and toothpaste, whilst each child attending Woodlands Day Nursery has been bringing in their own tooth brush and having a go at brushing every day after their lunch.

By implementing these 3 key things as part of the Stop the Rot campaign, Woodlands Day Nursery are assisting parents and carers in what can be the very difficult task of getting children into the habit of looking after their teeth from an early age in the hope that they won’t have problems with their teeth later. By working together, Woodlands Day Nursery, parents, carers and, above all, the children can Stop the Rot and enjoy a lifetime free from dental issues.

London, 3 November. The UK’s national law enforcement centre for protecting children - the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre - has today issued an online viral message (http://www.youtube.com/ceop) aimed at anyone close to the person who was involved in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.

The person we are looking to reach is likely to be a partner, family member, friend or colleague of the person or people who were involved in Madeleine’s disappearance. It is also highly probable that they, or someone close to them, is using the internet to search for any updates that may suggest the police are getting closer to discovering the truth.

“Today we want to deliver a message to that person and we’re asking everyone who goes online to help us. We want the message to become so widespread that it becomes just one click from any Madeleine search as a constant reminder to that person that it is never too late to do the right thing - that it is never too late for that person to redeem themselves.

“So if you are a parent or carer, a student or member of the public who is a social networker, blogger or emailer, or if you run any type of online environment, big or small please look at the film today, link to it, share it with your friends and post it in the online communities you occupy. Do everything you can to spread it around the online world. We want to make it omnipresent so that the person we are trying to reach sees it and is prompted to do the right thing.”

The message is available at ceop.police.uk and is in seven different languages - English, Arabic, French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish.

Thank you for helping us get out this important information.

http://helpingtofindmadeleine.org

Welcome to our November Newsletter. We’ve got so much to tell you!

Important Dates:

1. Parents Evening : Wednesday 18th November 6.30 - 8.30. Have you booked your time slot?

christmas bells

2. Christmas Party : Wednesday 16th December Babies and Toddlers 10.30 - 12.30, Pre-school 2.30 - 4.30. *if your child does not attend that day, you are welcome to bring them along, but you will have to stay with them due to staffing ratios and numbers

3. Nursery Nativity Play : Friday 18th  December, Christ Church, 2.00pm. Everyone welcome!! A nursery video will be take that can be purchased. Parents are welcome to take photographs of their child.

4. Christmas Card Orders : must be in by November 25th. Sorry no late orders accepted.

5. Children in Need : We are regular supporters of this worthy charity. This year we are having a pyjama and bring a bear day!!! Friday 20th November

6. Christmas and New Year Times : please note that we will be open from 7am - 4pm on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. Please ask for a form when you come to see us next, so that we know who will be in nursery between Christmas and new year, and return it to us as soon as possible. Best wishes for a wonderful Christmas and New Year with your family.

7. Good luck to the staff team for 27th November at the National Nursery Awards! In our eyes you are all winners regardless of the result.

8. Employee of the month for September is Sue, for always going the extra mile. For October, the winner is Mira, for her wonderful meals, helping everyone out and being patient. Goodbye Katrina, we will miss you stacks as you move back to Woodlands. You have been a star! Welcome to Sam! We are so glad that you are now with us full time in the baby room.