Mobile animals
Ducks came to the Ducklings Day Nursery in Leigh, Lancashire, along withhens, sheep, goats and rabbits, when Animobile Acorn Venture Farmvisited the setting. The children patted and fed the creatures, and alsoenjoyed their own animal-shaped biscuits they had baked earlier in theday. Nursery staff reported, 'The visit helped to enrich and enhance thechildren's knowledge about the topic of animals'.
People who help birds
Children from Busy Bears Nursery in Durham took their People Who Help Ustopic to a new level of who they can help - and chose birds. The nurserychildren fed the birds in their garden, tracked them on their clipboardsand watched them from a bird observation hut they had created andpainted in camouflage colours.
Books and bears
Nurseries around the country celebrated World Book Day on 5 March. AtMidlands-based Bright Kids nurseries, Bush Babies in Hartlepool, LittleAcorns in Mirfield, Just Learning Day Nursery in Huntingdon and EarlyYears Childcare in Greenwich and Brighton, children dressed up ascharacters from their favourite books. Winscombe Rainbow Montessori inSomerset made it a bear story day, with children bringing in theirfavourite bear book and teddy and enjoying bear-themed activities.
EVENTS
Healthy Sports Day
Macmillan Cancer Support is asking nurseries, schools and youth groupsin the UK to sign up to the Big Sports Day and dedicate some of theirsummer sports day to raising money for people affected by cancer. Thecharity has come up with ideas for fun fundraising events such as a Beatthe Teacher Egg and Spoon Race and a Parents vs. Teachers Tug of War, aswell as a teaching pack called 'Keep Healthy, Be Active' to helppractitioners dispel myths about cancer and encourage positive, healthylifestyle choices. For more information and to receive the Big SportsDay fundraising pack, visit www.macmillan.org.uk/bigsportsday or phone0845 601 1716.
IN STOCK
Cot death DVD
The charity Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths (FSID) hasreleased a new DVD to promote safe sleeping advice to parents whosebabies are at greatest risk of cot death. Every year more than 300healthy babies die suddenly in the UK, and babies of teenage mothers aresix times more likely to suffer a cot death than those of older mothers.FSID's film 'Losing Leah - Don't Let It Happen to You', which will begiven to professionals working with vulnerable teenage parents, showsthe tragic consequences of drinking, smoking and sharing a bed with ababy, and includes interview footage of Lucy Watts, who lost her sonCurtis to cot death when she was only 19. For a free copy of the DVDe-mail helpline@fsid.org.uk or watch online atwww.fsid.org.uk/dvd09.html.
Child Safety Week
To mark this year's Child Safety Week on 22-28 June, the Child AccidentPrevention Trust (CAPT) has produced a booklet designed for anyoneworking with children, young people and families. It's full of adviceabout how to incorporate child accident prevention into everydaypractice, and lists sources of free information, activities to helpchildren and families learn about safety in a fun way and details of howCAPT resources can support child accident prevention work.
To receive the free resource pack from the end of April, visitwww.capt.org.uk, where you can also join the CAPT's mailing list andregister your interest.
- Do you have a story to tell? Share it with us atnews.nw@haymarket.com.
PHOTO OF THE WEEK
Peter Pan and Tinkerbell were among the favourite storybook characterschildren emulated for World Book Day at Kay Rowe Nursery School andChildren's Centre in Forest Gate, London. The centre started itscelebrations two days early to fit in a packed agenda of activitiesincluding dancing, a drumming workshop and storytime sessions inEnglish, Gujurati and Bengali.
- The best photo of the week will win 30 worth of children'sbooks.
