narnia

we keep scrapbooks as part of each child's 'learning journey'.In these,we put photographs, observations etc and we encourage parents to add their own comments/observations and note the childs acheivements at home....say, first time s/he used the potty successfully.we also note down anything the child says s/he likes/dislikesetc and those things the child has shown an obvious pride in, ' I just did a D for DANNY!!!!!!!!!!' etc,where the child is able, they could write their own comments, or we can video them to go onto a cd to go with the book when the child leaves.We keep a supply of notelets, pens, pencils, photo mounts,pritt sticks,A4 poly pockets etc so things can be added immediately, by whomever wishes to make the notes.parents know they must respect each others privacy and may only look at another childs book if invited to do so by the child's parent.We keep the books where we can see them at all times, to prevent nosy parents stealing a peek!It's a nice, easy system to use and parents enoy adding things,so it's a real group collaboration

oh Peggy, it will be a bittersweet day, surely??I am sure there'll be some tears, but it's a lovely idea to give the children a toy from the group.Enjoy the day,mrs Claus!

and enjoy Wet Wet wet...........I met the band many years ago, when i worked at a recording studio, and have had the true pleasure of having had Marti pellow singing a song to me, just for me...................a memory to treasure.I also watched him singing an impromptu soul session with Micah Paris, by candlelight in the studio dining room, simply astonishing........enjoy!

we will administer prescribed medicines only, but ONLY after the child has been on them for 24 hours.Parents have to fill in a form detailing medication, time to be administered etc, which we then countersign once we have given the necessary dose.parent then signs again when they collect the child, to say they acknowledge the medicine was given...........phew, does that make sense???

why not make up one of your own??'The tale of our past year.....' or something like it....you could mention each child and some of the fun things you've done, or that have happened?

yes!!

yes, absolutely.......................wrapped up nice a warm, out we went, football/bikes/running around/playhouse

or, if you need to change it, why not do it a month at a time, or, say a fortnightly rotation, one week particular staff are on early's, the second week lates?? and then stick to that.............if they need to swap a shift they can arrange it between themselves, as long as they mark it on the rota?

this may sound silly, but have you tried turning the pc off, and turning on again??Might find they pop back up??

me too, have got myself into a blind panic.......again..........why do i keep thinking I can't do it!!..........so, a late one for me!

we have our party during normal session times (we also allow parents to swap sessions so they can come without paying an extra session fee) and ask for a contribution to the food, not money, as this way,every parent can do something.We usually put up a list of food, and include some low-cost items, say, a couple of apples,and parents sign up for what they will bring.we give a small gift, usually a book,( which we pay for)and santa visits to dish them out.A carol or two and everyone out,ready for the christmas break!

Are your staff concerned that some of your families could find it hard to provide a present AND pay £4 on top??

I think the general rule is that you do have to give a copy to anyone who requests one (not just parents),but you can charge for the cost of printing them out.I also put a copy of the whole document on my noticeboard in a polypocket,for anyone who is interested,to have a look.

(yes, you can use toilet roll tubes!! )

we have made lovely frames in the past by sticking on loads of the fake jewels you can buy from art suppliers (and theconsortium.co.uk......next day delivery if you order before 2pm AND request it).

Ours is a private group, so we discuss them as a staff and then I sign them and the rest of the staff initial them.We put main points from them in our welcome brochure for parents, and have the whole Policy and procedure booklet on display for parents to see at any time.

In my (bitter)experience, the PLSA Lawcall is for the employer (ie, the committee)only, as they are the ones paying for the service.They will only help you if the committee ask a question on your behalf, or authorise it.

DO NOT write anything, apology or not, without sound advice, and CAB are probably your best bet,unless you join a union,who will help you.And, do not leave!! You have staff who are willing to support you and that is worth a kings ransome.............and worth more than any of us can say to you,as they are there with you and know what's going on.I really wish you luck with this issue.

well done to you and your team!

we recently brought a sardine in for the children to investigate..........and ended up with a whole morning's work from them............they were absolutely fascinated,we had some wonderful comments paintings and drawings, and they spontaneously set up a 'fish shop'using all kinds of things as props, absolutely lovely, and all from a 25p sardine.They were still talking about it two or three days later, and we had parents coming in, asking if we REALLY had a real fish for the children to 'play with'...... , so we explained and had lots of comments along the lines of.........'nice idea/fab they don't get to see rea fish much/he talked about it all afternoon/yuk, isn't that a bit barbaric??(we explained no, it wasn't...it was a sardine!! and then that parent came round to realising what a great learning opportunity it was.......25p very well spent I say!

and, instead of a poem, what about the childs favourite story?There may be a short one which the family would associate with her, rather than a poem,as there may be several poems about loss read out at the service?(It might be 'easier' for the reader too, since poems about loss often lead to tears during the reading?).Whatever you decide, I'm sure her family will appreciate the fact that you cared enough to be there and to say/sing something.It's such a sad thing to happen,and I feel for you all.I think you're right about lots of hugs and cuddles for your class and to let them talk about the childs death if they want to.................we, as a culture treat death as such a taboo subject, that it can be a terrifying idea for children.One little girl at our group, after my father died, and she saw me crying one day asked me if she would die too, and I explained that ALL living things will eventually die, but for people, it's usually when they are old (her own experience was of her grandfather's death, so it was an appropriate comment at the time).For your children, they may be scared that they too are going to die,so I'd be prepared with answers for those kind of questions. Good luck,and i think Twinkle twinkle is a lovely idea.

I completely agree with the community playthings blocks.................a must have in any setting, and as many as you can possibly afford.They will send you a free dvd too, explaining what children gain from block play, and it's extremely interesting viewing. I have a trolley full of them, plus several large hollow blocks....and i wish i could afford to double at least, what we have.They also make small ones for use on table tops, we shall be buying some of those in the new year.

ahhh, those lovely big half crown coins! If you were really lucky.......................really lucky,....... you might get one for christmas, until dad said 'oh that;s a lot of money, let me keep it safe for you until you think of what you want to spend it on'.......

smart wellies???

changes............which changes???

.............and it's not on for the chairperson to have your records at her house.These are confidential records which MUST be kept at the setting, so she's breaking all the rules on this matter. make sure you get some proper advice about this, i promise you committees can be an absolute nightmare......and i know this from bitter, bitter experience.Watch your back! good luck xx

well, realistically, I'd expect the children to know just about any colour you showed them, unless there was an identified problem preventing that.Most of my preschool children would be able to do this by the time they left us, with many of them knowing some colours such as turqouise, etc..................I even describe shades such as Lapis lazuli to mine, and some of them will tell me about colours such as indigo, and understand that it is a purpley blue shade.

yes, I pre-ordered mine from Amazon..........................and, erm Waterstones as well!!!Really pleased to get it/them a bit early! So, have to send one back