Online Safety

Many children enjoy playing online games. As children get older, this often involves speaking with others online and with this comes the potential risk of grooming and exploitation. Speaking to your child from a young age about who they are talking to online and helping them recognise when a conversation may be putting them at risk can help to keep them safe from abuse. The NSPCC has published advice on how to start age-appropriate conversations with your child. In a recent survey carried out by Ofcom, it was reported that 6 in 10 children aged 3 -17 (57%) used live streaming platforms to watch online content. The research found that the platforms used most to watch live streams were YouTube and Tik Tok. The NSPCC has published guidance to help parents and carers understand some of the risks associated. Contact NSPCC online for more information.

Childnet also has internet safety resources for parents and carers with key online safety topics, advice and activities to share with your child.

www.childnet.com/paretn-and-carers

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Tax-Free Childcare

Just to remind fee paying parents that you maybe eligible for help towards your childcare costs. You will need to set up an online childcare account. For every £8 you pay into this account, the government will pay £2. This then can be used to pay your fees to us. Your eligibility depends on if you are working and your income (and your partner's income). Find out more at www.gov.uk/get-tax-free-childcare.

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Drinks

At Cornerstones Pre-School, we promote healthy eating which includes drinks. The British Nutrition Foundation states that water and milk are the best drinks for children as they do not contain free sugars. Drinking sugary drinks can lead to tooth decay and weight gain. Water is a good choice throughout the day because it hydrates without providing extra calories or risking harm to teeth. So, please provide only water in a named drinks bottle. Many of the drinks bottles are the same or very similar, so they need to have your child's name on them.

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50 Things to do before you're 5

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50 Things To Do before you're 5 is a mobile app that gives parents and carers 50 fantastic experiences to share with their children to help develop their confidence, language and vocabulary and to support them in being ready for the next stage in their education. The 50 activities are low or no cost experiences that include indoor and outdoor activities. Download the app from the Apple App Store or Google play. It is a free app and just search for Hertfordshire.

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Sound of the Week

Phonics are essential for children to become successful readers, writers and spellers and enhances early literacy skills. To help with learning the phonic sound, we use a Jolly Phonics rhyme with the children. We concentrate on the initial sound in words and we find fun rhymes helps the children with this. We are going to explore, look at and talking about a different sound of a letter each week. Please support us by encouraging your child to bring something in from home starting with the letter we are looking at.

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The sound of the week that we will be looking at is ‘c’. The rhyme is sung to the tune of ‘She’ll be coming round the mountain’.

We are clicking castanets

C,c,c

We are clicking castanets

c.c.c

We are clicking castanets, clicking castanest

We are clicking castanets

C,c,c

Actions – raise your hands and snap your fingers together as if you are playing castanets and say c,c,c

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Gross motor vs fine motor skills

Part 2

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Statutory Framework says: ‘Gross and fine motor experiences develop incrementally throughout early childhood, starting with sensory explorations and the development of a child’s strength, co-ordination and positional awareness through tummy time, crawling and play movement with both objects and adults’. Both skill types are related, yet research has identified that boys, on the whole, struggle more with fine motor skills than girls while a slightly larger number of girls struggle with gross motor skills.

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Activity suggestions

Fine Motor skills

Blowing bubbles

Threading/weaving

Mark making, drawing, cutting

Playdough, scoops and pourers

Pegs – on a clothesline or side of a bowl

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Gross Motor Skills

Moving in different ways – balancing, crawling, climbing, hopping, running etc

Splashing in puddles

Obstacle course

Keep it up with a balloon

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Fundraising

This term, the children have worked really hard at making a gift for Mother’s Day. We will be selling these gifts for a suggested payment of £10. All money raised will go towards resources and equipment for your children.

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Upcoming Events/Dates for your Diary:

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Next Payment Date – Monday 24th March

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Photographer – Wednesday 2nd April

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Last Day of Term – Thursday 3rd April

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First Day of Summer Term – Tuesday 22nd April 2025

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