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Half Termly Fun
- holidayclub0
- Apr 22
- 7 min read
Breakfast and Afterschool Club
It's been a busy half term for lots of crafts and creative play in Breakfast and Afterschool Club. The children have been enjoying the nicer weather, when it peeks out, and the outside area is becoming much more popular again. We have even been able to go out onto the field a few times to play some games, which is always great fun.
We have some very crafty little minds that come for a play and we are always very impressed with what they make. We stumble across robots, giant towers and even canal ways that have popped up near the mud kitchen.
Our new snack system is continuing to work well and some days there is even a special picture or pattern waiting on the tray. A frozen yogurt with a lollipop stick inside has definitely been enjoyed well! The children are enjoying the independence of collecting their snack and some have even helped to give it out to their friends which has been great fun.
All of us at Hollies were very impressed with the hats the children wore for World Book Day, they looked super cool in them.
With the arrival of Spring and Easter coming the children have enjoyed some themed crafts such as making eggs, bunnies or even just some flowery pictures to help us get into the spring mood.
We are looking forward to another term of fun, friends and laughter in the sunshine 🌞.
Pre-School
What have we been up to...
What a busy half term it was for us all in Pre-School, we have had lots of guests, activities and the children have all been very busy.
Firstly, a big thank you to everyone who came to celebrate our Mother's Day open day with us. The children had an amazing day and we know it was so special for them to have you here. We enjoyed lots of different activities on the day such as decorating cakes, making bookmarks, making some flower bunches and a yummy cake sale. Beata spent the day before baking the cakes with the children to decorate so we know they were extra special this year. We hope you all enjoyed it as much as we did!
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We celebrated world book day with the children this month which was great fun. We have so many books to explore and the children love listening to and making up their own stories, it was a great day to highlight the importance of stories and how special they can be. We had some great costumes as well that both the children and staff wore. In the afternoon we did a vote with the children and then all used a pompom to decide which teacher was wearing the best costume, our very colorful and sparkly unicorn Liz won this year.
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We also had a trip out to Poynton library which was lovely. On the way there we walked through a great bus stop in Poynton that had been painted with different animals and flowers and the children LOVED it, so did the grown ups. We learned some new songs at the library all about bears and enjoyed a visit from the big, blue, Bookstart bear who was very big and cuddly, before having a story. Thank you to our helpers who came along to join us, it was a great morning.
We have also had some Mystery Readers in to read the children a story which was so lovely. Thank you to Adah's Mummy, Harlow's Daddy and Teddy's Daddy for reading to us, the children all listened brilliantly and we would love if anyone else wanted to come and read to us too.
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Sharon came to visit us from Poynton Council and talked to the children all about Pollinators and Biodiversity. Sharon planted some flowers with all the children and talked to them about how these can help pollinators in and around Poynton. This is a great way to talk to the children about protecting our environment and looking after our wildlife to help keep our planet safe. We hope the children's flowers are starting to grow and we are looking forward to hearing all about them.
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We had a visit from Poynton fire station who let us have a look in and around their fire engine. They did a great demonstration of the hose and let us all climb into the fire engine and back out the other side. It was great fun!! This gave us a great opportunity to talk about all the different people who help us and what they do.
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A few other pictures our our fun adventures...
A message from Marie...
Hi Everyone, as part of our ongoing highlights of additional roles in The Hollies, here is a little summary of The Equality and Diversity Role 2026!
In a Preschool setting, Equality and Diversity means fostering a supportive and inclusive environment focused on meeting the needs of each unique child in everyday practice! So how do we do it. The starting point is Diversity which covers everything from age, culture, abilities through to technological and ecological diversity.
We, therefore, plan to build knowledge of The World - families, seasons, places, communities, days gone by, built environments and natural habitats. We respond to children's natural curiosity, we explore with them, we encourage, ask and answer a lot of questions.
A small snapshot of how this looks in practice is recycling bins on lunch tables, repurposing materials for toys or art, growing food/flowers, caring for worms/ bugs we find, looking at & making maps, reading postcards, celebrating cultural events, exploring jobs, reading books, inviting visitors in, playing musical instruments, dress up, looking at photographs and going on visits.
As a Staff team, we reflect on our practice, our own biases; we challenge stereotypes and celebrate differences through ongoing discussions and training. We work at providing equitable access to learning for all children by adapting activities. So please contact me if you have any ideas, resources or suggestions that can help us build our knowledge of The World!
And on a final note, as a preschool worker I do love a Visual so below are two of my favourite's to think about.
Thanks for reading Marie
A Mindful Moment...
This month’s wellbeing prompt is designed to support your child’s emotional development through simple, shared moments. These activities are not about doing more, but about noticing what’s already happening — offering time, attention and connection in a calm and playful way.
🙏 April – Being Thankful
Try this together: Take turns saying one thing you are thankful for today.
💛🌈 💛 This helps children notice positives and build a sense of wellbeing.
🤲 May – Kind Hands
Try asking: “How can we use kind hands today?” Helping, sharing or a gentle cuddle.
🤲💞🧸 💛 This supports kindness, empathy and positive relationships.
This simple activity is designed especially for young children who are still learning about their feelings and the world around them. Your child might watch, copy a little, or move away and come back — all of this is part of learning. What matters most is that they feel safe, supported and connected to you.
🙏 April – Thankful Moments
Try this: Point to something you both like and say, “We like this.”
💛🌈 💛 This builds positive shared experiences and emotional warmth.
🤲 May – Gentle Hands
Try this: Stroke a teddy, hold hands, or give a cuddle. Say, “Gentle hands.”
🤲🧸 💛 This supports early understanding of kindness and care.
These moments don’t need to be perfect or planned. The real value comes from being together, listening, and sharing the experience. Over time, these small moments help children feel safe, understood and confident in their growing world.
Useful Information for You...
There is a great website called Eric which is full of lots of great information for toilet training, when to start and how best to approach it. I will attach the link below if you would like to have a read over.
This will also be on our Parents Information Page, Useful Links | Mysite
Holiday Club
We had an exciting Holiday Club during the last break and focused a lot on a spring theme. Baking is always a big hit for us in the holidays and we enjoyed making Chocolate Nests, Bunny Shaped Bread, Chocolate Chip Cookies and we even made our own pizza which the children enjoyed for snack that day. There is some great little chefs and bakers brewing!
Crafts are always very popular as well and we made some very cute things. There were ladybirds, chickens, rainbows and we loved making different pictures with the hammer beads. There was even a surprise visit from some sock bunnies!
Of course the children went on some Easter Egg Hunts and enjoyed some little chocolate bunnies.
Snow White and Cinderella came to visit and we got a lovely reenactment of the show from some of the girls, they did lots of outfit changes, it was very exciting. Making a moat was a holiday highlight, we learned about why they were made and how to make them, the walls of the sand had to be strong to make it sure they didn't burst. We worked very hard to make our own little ones and then worked together to make a big one. it had a lovely island in the middle which had lots of trees and flowers on.
The foaming soap was very exciting and we all ended up with very blue hands afterwards, the soap went everywhere but there was lots of giggles and laughs whilst we had it out.
Just Ice was very welcoming when we went to visit for an ice cream and all the children were very good whilst we went, the ice cream was very tasty too!
Thank you for reading all about our adventures during last half term. We have got lots of fun coming up before our next break and are looking forward to making lots more memories with your children.
The sunshine has even been out to play today, fingers crossed it stays for a little while now 🌞.
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