Milk: To drink or not to drink?

Some tips from Cadence Health
Milk is a common issue in the minds of many parents, but like most things in life balance is important. Excess calcium from milk can interfere with iron, milk can quickly fill tiny tummies then displace proper meals (often important in fussy eating), and the milk sugars may influence tooth decay. So here is a quick tip sheet for your staff and parents on milk, how much and the options if a child won't drink milk.

A Quick Tip:
Milk is a great source of calcium but in excess it can cause problems with appetite, fussy eating, iron absorption and tooth decay. If your child eats other calcium-rich foods such as cheese and yoghurt, they generally only require 1 - 2 cups of milk a day at the most.

Access more free Sneakys tip sheets at www.sneakys.com.au and click on resources.

Fun times in the Pukeko Room!

It’s been another explorative week in the Nursery as the children continue to take the opportunity to investigate the inner workings of some old appliances such as the CD player and the camera. Buttons are pushed, dials are turned as a close inspection is undertaken.
It is transitioning time again. Ben, Alexander, Alex and Francesca are visiting toddlers in preparation for their 2nd birthdays. Isabella is moving into the Tuatara Room (while Joseph would just like to). Roman and James have been settling into the Tuatara Room also and are having a great time on their visits.

Mat time continues to be one of the highlights of the day and all the children take advantage of the opportunity to show off with their favourite action songs

Fun in the Pukeko Room This week!

The children in the Pukeko room have been exploring with different tools and textures for art and messy play. They created some awesome paintings by dipping hairbrushes in the paint that made wonderful patterns.
A big welcome to our new friend Daniel who started in the Pukeko room, he liked watching the big kids with Isabella out on the deck and is making friends quickly.
We also celebrated two birthdays and enjoyed some lovely chocolate cake, Matthew came over from Toddlers to help Anna celebrate her big day. So we wish Anna and William a happy first birthday

http://picasaweb.google.com/bayfieldeec/PukekoRoom240409?authkey=Gv1sRgCKDGpIy3-7bKJg&feat=directlink

Mother's Day Open Morning

Mothers Day Open Morning

Come one and all to our Open Morning for Mums on Tuesday 5th May from 9 until 11.00am. This is a special morning just for you, to come in at your leisure and spend some time with your child. Even if you can only spare fifteen or twenty minutes, do come in as the children enjoy having their family share in their learning experiences. A good excuse to leave the office for a while!

Morning tea will be provided in the staff room. And this will give you a chance to catch up with the other mums whilst having your morning cuppa!

See you there…Shona and all the Bayfield staff

Happy Easter from the Toddler room!

Happy Easter holiday to all our parents/whanau and children.

This week we thought we wouldn't place any pictures up on the blog but to encourage all our toddler parents to check out our fantastic photos of your own children on the display boards down the back on the carpet area where the children sleep.

There are some wonderful black and white photos capturing some really good learning moments.

So please check them out. If you're not sure where they are, please see on of the talented toddler teachers!!!

Molly, Melissa, Gu, Jade and Bobbi.

Have a safe Easter break and we shall see you on Tuesday.

Preschool News

The children in the transition group discussed what they thought creativity was and the different ways they could show this. They were provided with lots of different construction materials such as boxes, cups, ribbons, feathers and paint etc. They were then asked to create something using their imagination. Please check out the great work they did which is displayed on the wall.

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/NhBk8LUcgAPaDP7HAbLHOQ?authkey=Gv1sRgCJKGro2E8P6OaQ&feat

Making the Most of Summer in the Nursery

The weather was really kind to us last week and what better way to enjoy it while we can than to have messy and water play! The Nursery children had so much fun as they played at the water trough and with the gloop! Check out these photos.
http://picasaweb.google.com/bayfieldeec/NurseryWaterPlay?authkey=Gv1sRgCM-DjqCCnu2ttAE&feat=directlink

When it was too cold to go outside, the children were busy practising their hand-eye co-ordination skills as they played with the sorting puzzle and exploring the stereo.
http://picasaweb.google.com/bayfieldeec/NurseryPuzzlePlay?authkey=Gv1sRgCNLCwta5ld7m6wE&feat=directlink

Entertainment Books

These books are now available at reception and are selling for $ 65.00.
There is something in the books for everyone - Discounts for The Auckland Zoo, Tamara Spa (Ponsonby), Mensworks and several new restaurants and fun activities for all the family.
A portion of each book will go towards resources for the children, so don't hesitate to come and see us at reception for your new entertainment book. There is a sample book available for you to view.

Takapuna Centre - Pupuke Early Education Centre

We are very excited to announce that our new centre in Takapuna will be open for new enrolments on the 27th April. We are having Open Days on Friday the 24th and Saturday the 25th April and you are all most welcome to attend. We will be open from 9am til 1pm on these days.
We look forward to seeing you all on this day.
Pupuke Early Education Centre
20-22 Pupuke Road,
Takapuna

ToddlerMuseum Trip

Last Thursday, the 26th March, the toddlers, teachers and parent helpers all went to the Auckland Museum. We were ready to go like a swarm of buzzy bees and made our way on to the bus. Once we were all on board we were off. Some of us sang "The Wheels on the Bus!" There was lots of chatter and excitement as we all looked out our windows to see what we could see. Annabelle and Emelia could see the trees and we stopped at some lights where a big truck stopped beside us and the driver waved to us. All the children were so excited to be on the bus. It wasn't long and we arrived at the Museum. We all hopped off the bus and made our way around to the back entrance where we meet by our tour guide, Barbara. We all got into our 4 colour groups and got badges. We made our way into the Museum and walked like spiders and went up to Weird and Wonderful. When we got there we sat on the brown sofa and we broke up into our colour coded groups to do different activities. We looked at the insects with magnifying glasses, did insect stamps, clay moulds of different insects and insect games, puzzles and books. All the children had a great time. Emelia, Mia and Sienna really enjoyed stamping different insects on their paper. We then got the opportunity to explore the rest of the Museum. Michaella, Roman, Sienna, Annabelle and Emelia all had turns making music in the volcano section. We saw a big elephant and lots of different birds. At 11.30 a.m. we all meet outside the main entrance for lunch. There were lots of hungry tummies after a busy morning in the Museum. After we had finished eating we crossed over to a big field and had a big run around. We then made our way back to the bus, where a very tired Roman and Edward fell asleep. Most of the chidlren were still excited about being on the bus again. Ava, Emelia, Annabelle, Mia and Sienna all had big smiles on their faces as the bus brought us back to Bayfield. All the children all had a BIG SLEEP after their busy morning out!
Thank you so much to all our parent helpers. the trip would have been possible without your help. It was a great success.
Thanks,
Molly, Melissa, Gu, Jade and Bobbi

http://picasaweb.google.com/bayfieldeec/ToddlersMuseum?authkey=Gv1sRgCNmK577M_PD5Fw&feat=directlink

Toddler Parents
If your child is toilet training, can you please put them in appropriate clothing that they can take off and put on themselves.

Thanks
The Toddler Team

Toddler Request

A big thank you to all the parents that brought in all the recycled materials for us, we now have more than enough to keep us going for at least a couple of months. What we really need is more shells or pieces of driftwood from the beach for our science area and outside area. Once again, thank you so much.

Toddler Team

Easter Preparations in Preschool

During this week the children have been making Easter baskets to celebrate the Easter holiday next week. All the children were very good at following the teacher's instructions. They decorated their own baskets with colourful glues, glitter and feathers. The children showed the virtues of patience and helpfulness to each other. They have also developed very good fine motor skills while making their baskets. When the children decorated their baskets they demonstrated decisions making and determination.

Jungle Gym Exercise for Preschool

Unfortunately, Jon, our instructor from Little Pinnacles has moved out of Auckland and was no longer able to continue with the Little Pinnacles Exercise Classe. However, the good news is that Nadia (Evie and Alexander Vuletich's mum) has agreed to continue with the classes. It is now known as Jungle Gym and will be held on Monday mornings.
Please read the following information regarding this class.

Jungle Gym is an exercise class for preschoolers designed largely around the discipline of Pilates and Yoga. The class introduces young children to structured exercise in a fun environment. It encourages body awareness, co-ordination, flexibility, concentration and patience. Individual exercise performed in a group setting also increases socialization skills whilst simultaneously building confidence in individual play. Each class is 30 munites long and consists of: a warm up, stretching and flexibility, strengthening, cardio and warm down.
Below are some Jungle gym exercises. I encourage you to try them out with your preschoolers.

Volcanoes - standing, arms in prayer position, lift to straighten above head, release out to sides to return to start position. Breathing in as you take arms up, out as you take arms out to side. Slowly.

Tunnels - Downward dog yoga pose (hold 8 - 10 seconds). Bring one bent leg through hands and sit on knee (closing the tunnel) then back up to downward dog position. Repeat on both sides 5 times.

Rainbows - sitting cross legged, reaching up drawing a rainbow shape with one arm. Leaning over from waist. Repeat on other side.

Incy Wincey Spider - sitting cross legged, walking spider fingers out in front with straight arms until you feel a stretch in lower back then walking spider fingers back to start position. Repeat 5 times.

Turtle - sitting down, feet on floor, holding feet, hide head in shell (between knees), then look up to sky.

Roaring Lion with Tail Up - on hands and knees lift one leg up straightened behind back and roar - change legs x 5.

Resting Lion - kneeling on knees with arms straight, hands facing in. Keeping arms straight, chin into chest and then up to sky slowly (lion yawning) x 5.

Frog - jumping to catch flies from crouch position with prayer hands. Repeat.

Flamingo - Pilates tree position. Standing on one leg, other foot pressed against knee or inner thigh. Arms out for balance. Hold for 5 - 10 secs. Repeat other side.

Toddler's New Assistant Head Teacher

We are pleased to announce that Melissa Best will be taking on the position of Assistant Head Teacher in the Toddler Room. This is effective immediately. Congratulations, Melissa.