Penguins (2-3) year olds
The Penguin room provides childcare for children aged between 2 - 3 years old working on a staff ratio of one staff member to every four children. In this room we pride ourselves on being consistent in a routine which includes, breakfast time, welcome time, free play, washing hands, snack time, small group time, outdoor time, large group time, washing our hands and lunch time, with a quiet time after lunch. We work hard to ensure every part of the day is a learning opportunity including developing hygiene practices and encouraging independence at meal times and snack times.
Our activities are based on children's interests and next steps in learning and development. Children take part in a range of activities including movement to music, creative activities, singing with signs, exploration and investigation activities and sand and water. We work hard on our environments to ensure the different areas offer a stimulating environment. The layout of the room is based upon the children's use of the areas and we observe to see where they work best for the children.
Useful Information For New Starters
Children have daily opportunities to play outdoors, the Early Years Foundation Stage places great importance on the outdoor environment and this reflects our practice. Outdoor play in also based on children's interests and next steps but the outdoors offers the opportunity to do these on a larger scale. Activities are set out to encourage the children to explore and be physically active. There are on-going opportunities for children to be creative with a variety of resources to stimulate their imagination and creativity.
The staff are trained to use Makaton throughout the day in order to promote communication. Makaton is also used alongside songs and stories to support learning and speech and we encourage children to participate through song bags and story sacks.
We have individual learning journals for each child and carry out observations regularly to inform our next steps in children's learning. Children also receive a daily dairy sheet which provides parents with information about their child's day which gives us fantastic links with parents and carers, we also give verbal feedback every day and are always here to listen and advise parents.