Chickywicks Day Nursery

Unlocking Speech Through Scents at Chickywicks Nursery!

Did you know that a child's sense of smell is a powerful ally in their speech and language development? 🗣️👃

🌺 Sensory Magic: At Chickywicks, we believe in the magic of multi-sensory learning! Exploring different scents isn't just a delightful experience; it's a language-building adventure. From identifying fresh flowers to describing the aroma of snacks, every scent sparks conversations!

👶 Words in Bloom: As your little ones breathe in the world around them, they're not just smelling – they're soaking up words! Our activities turn scents into a language playground, nurturing vocabulary and expressive communication in the most delightful ways.

🌿 Nature's Classroom: Nature's scents become teachers at Chickywicks Nursery. From the sweet smell of blossoms to the earthy scent of leaves, each whiff introduces new words and concepts, creating a sensory-rich environment for your child's linguistic journey.

Our team know the importance of scent-sational learning. With guided activities and a nurturing atmosphere, we're here to ensure that every sniff contributes to your child's blossoming language skills.

🌸🔍

🎄✨ Embrace the holiday spirit with your little ones! Here are some fantastic activities to make this festive season extra special:

1️⃣ Craft a DIY Advent Calendar 🗓️
2️⃣ Create and enjoy a Seasonal Sensory Box 🌟
3️⃣ Explore Christmas Lights a local garden centre or neighbours 🎆
4️⃣ Create a Personalised Christmas Postbox 💌
5️⃣ Discover enchanting Christmas books to read together 📚
6️⃣ Unleash creativity at a Pottery Cafe or buy some to use at home 🎨
7️⃣ Host a Christmas party 🎉
8️⃣ Rock fun holiday fancy dress outfits 🛍️

Let's cherish these magical moments together! 🥰

Wishing all our chicks and their families celebrating, a very Happy Diwali! 🎇

𝗛𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗗𝗶𝘄𝗮𝗹𝗶 𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵, 𝘄𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀.

🌟 Cultivating Little Foodies! 🥦👶

Introducing a variety of foods early on can shape a child's palate. At Chickywicks Day Nursery, we encourage exploration of diverse tastes, building a foundation for healthy eating habits, whilst catering for those with specific dietary requirements

Let's embark on this flavorful journey together! 🥕🍇

Thanks Samantha for the wonderful review. 🥰

We really do treat our chicks and their families as if they're our own. Why not check it out for yourself? Call us on 01923 841725 to find out more about our purpose-built single-storey Day Nursery in the heart of Northwood. 🐣 🐥

Have you noticed how much your child loves mixing colours? 🎨 👩‍🎨

It’s so much fun to see what colours they can create by doing a little colour mixing, and we’ve detailed just a few creative activities in our video which will introduce them to basic colour theory and allow them to have tons of fun! 🔷🟥🟡🟩

⏰ It's almost time! ⏰

There's only a few days left now until our Chickywicks Day Nursery alumni begin their first few days at primary school.

We would like to wish all the children starting school for the first time the very best of luck - you've got this! 🍀

It may only seem like a blink of the eyes since you held your newborn in your arms and yet here you are, looking towards their imminent start to nursery school! All of these are designed to help build up their confidence and independence in preparation for starting nursery.

So we thought you’d appreciate a few points to help you prepare for this major milestone in their life…so here goes!

🥚 Get Social - A particularly good idea for only children - get your child to attend a toddler group or a play date, so that they are used to being around other children their own age.

🐣 Set simple tasks - Why not ask for their help around the home to get them used to tasks they may be asked to perform at nursery, such as tidying up toys?

🐥 Settling in - Many nurseries offer settling in sessions that you can attend along with your child. These allow little ones to explore their new environment with the reassurance that mum or dad will be there too.

🥚 Stay Calm - Regardless of their initial reaction, it's important that you stay calm as they will look to you for reassurance.

🐣 Be on time - Ensuring that morning drop offs are as stress free as possible will help with children settling in. So build in extra time each day to get ready and always collect on time.

🐥 Regular sessions - These can help speed up the process of settling in, so if possible, book your child in for more than one session per week.

Don't forget, we're on hand to help, so call us on 01923 841725

🐣 To the Parents of our Chicks 🐣

We love communicating with our parents. We believe that the more we share with you about your child's development and time at Chickywicks Day Nursery, the more they will get out of the experience. 😃

So to ensure that we don't miss out on anything, as well as being more than happy to chat on the phone or in-person, we also have a PRIVATE group for our parents, where we share photos of what the children have been doing during the day. 📷

If you have a child at the nursery and want to become a member, visit the page at Chickywicks Day Nursery Parents/Carers Group and send a request to join. 👍🏻

🌈 Embrace the Mess: Celebrating Learning at Chickywicks Day Nursery! 🌟

We love this photo shared recently by the Early Childhood and Family Service as it perfectly illustrates a day in the life of a preschooler.

Parents and carers, we understand the frustration when your little ones come home with messy clothes. But here's the beautiful truth: that mess is a sign of exploration and learning! As children grow, their motor skills, balance, and hand-eye coordination develop, leading to fewer slips and spills.

Remember, the endless washing won't last forever, but the invaluable learning experiences will. By setting these expectations early, we foster understanding and support from parents. Together, let's celebrate the joy of messy play and growth!

⌛ Time flies so quickly when our Chicks are young and we can't quite believe that another school year has gone by!

We want to wish all of those leaving in July all the very best with their new adventures at 'big' school, and we are so excited to welcome our new Chicks in the coming months. 🐣 🥰

We are always busy creating and planning exciting projects, so please help us out by not throwing away any of the following items, as we love to be resourceful and use as many natural or recyclable materials as possible here at Chickywicks Day Nursery .

• Boxes
• Used/unused envelopes
• Old cards
• Ribbon
• Buttons
• Egg boxes
• Old junk jewellery
• Magazines
• Old material
• Old wall paper rolls

All we ask it that you make sure these items are clean and free from residue when you bring them to the Nursery.

Thank you so much in advance 😀

We love working with our chicks to help them grow and develop as individuals and reading great reviews like this one, just reinforces that we’re doing it right! 🐣🐥

Every child that attends Chickywicks Day Nursery embarks on a journey to become more confident and resilient, as well as how to be part of a wider community.

📞 Interested to learn more? Call us on 01923 841 725.

Setting boundaries is an important part of parenting - there’s no doubt about that. But is there a better way than engaging in power struggles with your toddler? The answer is yes, and you should always begin by not just saying no.

For example, if they ask to stay up past their bedtime, here are some ways to respond without saying a straight “no”.

🔹Affirm the “yes” first: of course you want to stay awake. I want to stay awake too. I understand.

🔸Shifting the energy: helps move your child’s mindset to something else
You want to stay awake later than bedtime? Okay. How about you pick one day this weekend and you can stay up 15 minutes past your bedtime. Mummy will write it down so she won’t forget. And if we get to bed now, we will have so much more energy to stay up late at the weekend.

🔹Reflect and connect with the child’s needs: You want to stay awake, and you’re really mad that it’s bedtime right now.

However, there will always be times when you do really need to say "No!" such as when your child could be about to hurt herself or someone else and of course, at times like these, make it clear that you’re serious. Say it firmly but calmly, with conviction and with a straight face.

Today we are celebrating 𝔽𝕒𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣'𝕤 𝔻𝕒𝕪 in the UK, and we'd like to wish all of the brothers, best friends, fairy godfathers, grandfathers, uncles, and also mums who do both jobs, the happiest of days!

We are really excited to let you all know that on Thursday 22nd June, award-winning singer songwriter Stephen Melzack will be coming to Chickywicks Day Nursery to entertain our chicks! 🎸🎵

He will cover two music sessions, one for the younger children and one for pre-school with a mix of specially composed educational songs and some traditional Jewish songs taken from his CD.

Big thanks to Maisie G and her family for allowing us to ‘borrow’ granddad for the event! 🥰

We love to welcome parents/carers to the nursery to entertain and educate the children, so if you like to come in and be involved in something such as story time, creative activity, cooking etc. then please do let us know.

We believe that children learn best through play and so that’s why we offer your child a fun packed day in a safe, loving and stimulating environment.

Using planned activities to help extend your child's learning, we use our knowledge and experience of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) to encourage academic development. ➕ 🔤

And we never forget that each child has their own unique learning journey, making our chicks time at Chickywicks Day Nursery so memorable and enjoyable. 🐣😄

📞 Call us today on 01923 841725 for more information.

🌟 ＤＯＮ＇Ｔ ＦＯＲＧＥＴ！🌟

A reminder that our photographer will be coming in to the nursery TOMORROW, Wednesday 7th June to take photos of the children. 📸 🐣🐥

The photos will then be made available to purchase and they make fabulous presents for all the family! 🎁

Whilst there are seemingly endless reports these days of a new illness to watch out for in your child, most illness is generally harmless and just part of being around others.

Coughs, colds and sneezes and even sometimes stomach upsets are par for the course, but if your child presents any other worrying behaviour such as lethargy, or an usually high temperature, then that's time to speak to a medical practitioner. At the end of the day, you know your child better than anyone. 🤧 🤒

Did you know that children develop more rapidly during the first 5 years of their lives than at any other time? 🐣🐥

That’s why this crucial period is known in teaching as the EYFS – Early Years Foundation Stage. If you are able to nurture certain skills during these first 5 years, you create a solid foundation from which your child can build on for the rest of their life – a head start to learning. 📚 ✏️

So whilst our chicks aren’t expected to be able to read and write when they leave for ‘big school’, taking time to include elements of reading and writing lessons into their routine here, will certainly help them on the way to success.

In the modern era, it's all too easy for children to just sit in front of the TV, or play on their iPads etc. Whilst we appreciate that this can be a necessary distraction on occasions, there's definitely something to be said about non-technological games which fuel their imagination!

From puppet shows to building a fort, learning how to hula dance to charades, there are so many games that are not only great for stimulating their minds, they're also good for fine-tuning their motor skills, and expending energy so that they're ready for bed.

For those first-time mums, hearing about the “terrible twos” can be more than a little on the scary side! However, it’s a well-known phenomenon and something that pretty much all parents go through to some degree, and is certainly manageable given the right attitude. 🐥

Every stage of childhood development brings its own dilemmas but the ‘terrible twos’ is one that can be extremely difficult to navigate. The two most important things to remember when it comes to surviving the “terrible twos” are:

1️⃣ Be consistent and stick to your guns when setting limits and find a routine that your toddler thrives upon. This includes naps!

2️⃣ Do not react negatively to tantrums- avoid shouting and speak to them calmly.
Most tantrums are over within 5minutes or so, but can be longer depending if your child is over tired.

But we have to say that Parenting whilst never easy, is incredibly rewarding and you will reap the rewards if you stand your ground.