Newcroft Pre-School

This week, our focus story is “Which Food Will You Choose?” and we have been talking about the importance of eating a wide variety of colourful foods to help keep our bodies healthy and strong.

At snack time, the children have been choosing from a rainbow of different fruits and vegetables, exploring new tastes, textures and colours. We have been so proud to see many children trying foods they haven’t tasted before, or giving foods another chance even when they weren’t sure they liked them.

Through these experiences, children are developing confidence to make healthy choices, talk about their likes and dislikes, and discover that trying something new can be lots of fun! 🍓🫐🍌🥕🌽🫛

Our outdoor area was full of creativity and teamwork today as the children explored loose parts play! 🌟

Using channels, long tubes, boxes and stands, the children worked together to design and build bridges, slides and ramps. They shared their ideas, listened to one another and collaborated to solve problems as they discovered what worked best.

There was lots of discussion, experimenting and adapting as the children tested their creations and made changes to improve them. Through their play, they developed important communication, teamwork and critical thinking skills while having lots of fun.

We love seeing the children’s imaginations come to life and watching them learn from one another through open-ended play! 😊

Our little chefs had a fantastic time with The Little Cooks Club this week, making delicious banana muffins! 🍌🧁

The children practised cracking eggs by gently tapping them on the table and listening carefully for the cracking sound before adding them to their mixture. They showed great concentration, confidence and enthusiasm as they followed the recipe and helped create their tasty treats.

There were lots of smiles, plenty of fun and some wonderful learning along the way. We can’t wait to see what we’ll be making in next week’s session! 👩‍🍳👨‍🍳✨

🍓👩‍🍳 We are excited to share that cooking sessions with The Little Cooks Club take place during our pre-school session every Tuesday!

These fun and engaging sessions give children the opportunity to explore new foods, develop independence, build confidence and learn important skills through hands-on cooking activities.

If you are interested in your child taking part, please email The Little Cooks Club directly or speak to a member of the pre-school team who will be happy to point you in the right direction. 💛

Get help to buy food and milk through the Healthy Start scheme!

NHS Healthy Start could help your child get a great start in life 🤍

You can use your card to buy:
🥦vegetables
🍎fruit
🥫pulses
🥛milk
🍼infant formula
+ free Healthy Start vitamins!

Find out more 👉 www.healthystart.nhs.uk

This week, inspired by our focus story Mixed, the children have been exploring what happens when colours are mixed together using colourful foam! 🌈✨

The children were fascinated as they discovered new colours and eagerly shared and described what they could see happening. So much excitement, curiosity and wonderful language development through play and exploration! 🎨🫧

We had a very special visit from Lion Learners today! 🐾

The children loved meeting a range of amazing animals—from a rabbit and guinea pig to a tortoise, snake, bearded dragon, stick insect, leaf insect and even a tenrec! They were fascinated learning what each animal eats and discovering that tenrecs sleep during the day and are awake at night.

Such a wonderful hands-on experience, full of curiosity, confidence and awe as the children explored the natural world up close 💚

Squeezing, pouring and mixing up a storm in our water kitchen🍋 The children loved creating their own “lemonade” recipes and serving them up to eager customers—such brilliant imaginative play, teamwork and problem solving in action!

Soaking up the sunshine and making the most of our outdoor space ☀️

The children have been busy creating their own cosy dens and comfy corners in the garden—perfect for relaxing, sharing stories and letting their imaginations run wild. From carefully chosen materials to teamwork and problem-solving, it’s been lovely to see their ideas come to life.

There’s nothing quite like learning through play in the fresh air 🌿

The children have been busy exploring textures in our mud kitchen, carefully combining sand and water to see what happens. From dry and crumbly to smooth and squishy, they loved investigating how materials change and finding the perfect mix!

So much rich learning taking place through hands-on exploration, creativity and curiosity 🌿