October News

Just a quick one with an update on news from the first half of the autumn term – we have had a good start to the year, the children are all settled and seem familiar with the rhythms and expectations of them. They are secure and happy to try new things, or spend most of the morning playing as cats and their owners in the houses they build inside – they make very good carers as they have also been giving attention to our babies and not forgetting their baby in their games.

Now that everyone is settled we have spaces for lunchtime and afternoon care sessions and would like to encourage you to take advantage of the 15 hours FEEE grant and consider staying later than 12.30 if you feel you’re child would like it. Currently we only have afternoon care and lunch on Wednesday and Thursday as there were not enough children staying for Monday lunchtime, we would need a minimum of 8 children to stay on Monday so please let me know if you are interested. Or if you would like your child to attend a forth morning per week there are spaces for all days.

If you have friends with children aged 3-6 who might be interested in a Steiner kindergarten we have spaces and please let them know.

Also due to the low numbers in our Wednesday group, Hannele, our eurythmist is going to come on Friday mornings at 10.00 to lead a eurythmy session instead of ring time so that more children can benefit from it. This will be for the rest of this time and we are hoping that in January there will be a larger Wednesday group and eurythmy will return to Wednesdays.

For your interest if eurythmy is new to you, this is an art that Rudolf Steiner created as a way of expressing language in the basic form of sounds and letters as a physical movement to communicate the meaning of the sound. Hannele uses this in a story for the children, using folk tales and movement that introduce the children to language in this physical way. The children love the stories that always start the same way in a castle where a golden eagle is freed through a locked window. If parents are interested in a taster into eurythmy we may be able to arrange a Tuesday night session for adults were you can get a taste for this, it is very enriching and grounding while also being uplifting – please let me know if you may be interested in this.

Many thanks to Charlotte, Rafi’s mum and the chair of our trustees for organising and running our swing night, we are grateful for the effort that she put in to this event. We also have our autumn fair coming up on the 11th November at the farm, I will bring a pile of posters in tomorrow and ask parents to put them up if you can. Mo (Dylan’s mum) will also be dropping off some raffle tickets to sell soon, please pick some up to sell (and let me know if you have sourced any raffle prizes – toys, events, meals, treatments anything fantastic that you can find!)

Also if you want to help make things to sell, Hiroka is having a craft evening this Tuesday or a morning on Wednesday at her house, 32 Victoria Park, Fishponds.

The fair will finish with our lantern walk at 5pm on the 11th November, this will take approximately 30 minutes and I’m hoping for a firework finale, please see the end of this newsletter for the words for our lantern songs.

Update after our Ofsted report

Following our Ofsted report I’m sure that you read the areas that we have need to improve. Regarding the enabling children’s independence we have always provided them space to be included in preparing food for snack time, it just happened that the inspector missed the child who helped Carolina make our bread rolls but noticed when it was only an adult cutting the fruit although usually the children help us with this too.

Regarding behaviour management we have review our policies on behaviour management (available on our website https://www.willowtree.org.uk/), and will be providing an environment for the children which encourages self regulation and gentle play. We will act as role models of kindness and patience and be aware of the children who may be having a tricky time and we hope to prevent unwanted behaviour through intervening and providing a purposeful activity. Or in the times that the behaviour has already happened we have a chair to sit on and remember how we are kind, and to think of ways to mend what has been upset; this gives the child time to calm down and think of kinder ways to play with friends. If on occasions an intentionally unkind behaviour happens - throwing sticks wanting to hurt someone for example - then when the child is sitting on the chair we will explain how hurting is not ok and if it happens again we will need to contact parents to send them home. We will then do our best to support the child so that we don’t need to follow through with this, but I wanted to warn you that if a child is hurting other children or adults we cannot tolerate this behaviour.

Lantern songs for our lantern walk

I go with my bright little lantern,

My lantern is going with me.

In heaven the stars are shining,

On earth shines my lantern for me.

The lights go dim, as we go in,

La bimba, la bimba, la bim, bim bim.

The lights go dim, as we go in,

La bimba, la bimba, la bim, bim bim.

Let us joyful and merry be,

Take our lanterns for all to see.

Merry merry shining bright and clear,

Now that lantern time is here.