2008
Charity Events
As always, Freshfields families have donated generously to our fund raising events. This year we have supported Rehab UK., Wear it Pink, Children in Need and Jeans for Genes Day. All the children and staff alike had great fun dressing up in different outfits for each occasion!
Hallowe'en
There were spooky goings on at Freshfields in October! The children all enjoyed dressing up, creating hallowe'en crafts, exploring pumpkins and best of all attending the Hallowe'en Parties!
Celebrating Festivals
The children from the 3 - 5's unit celebrated both Christmas and Harvest Festivals by attending services at Clifford Chambers Church. The children sang some favourite songs and listened to the Christmas story. This year we chose to perform 'Humph the Camel' which looked at the traditional Christmas story, but from a camel's point of view! The Nativity was attended by the childrens parents and friends.
At harvest time they looked at fresh produce and talked about where fruit and vegetables come from. The children also collected tins and dried food supplies, which were distributed to the local Salvation Army.
Funday for the 3 - 5 year olds
In August the children had great fun dressing up as Pirates and Princesses for the funday. A pirates bouncy castle, a beached area with water play, rubber dinghies and snorkelling equipment were all on offer to add to the fun! The children also took part in jewellery making, decorating crowns, apple bobbing and face painting which made their day an action packed one!
Cocoa tames the kids
Further to our Pigmy Goat Kids, Zara and Apricot, who arrived earlier this year; Issy and Lucas welcomed Cocoa to Freshfields mini farm. Cocoa has also arrived from All Things Rural, to help tame the two lively kids. Cocoa is a retired Nanny Goat who loves to be patted and stroked!
Fun at Freshfields - What ever the Weather
The children play outside as much as possilbe, all year round. We actively encourage them to notice the weather and the differences around them in the natural world, our unique location makes this much more effective for the children. They are able to make exaggerated movement in our spacious grounds. Our parachute, helps encourage team work and good listening skills, is a fantastic example of a fun teaching aid that can not be used in a classroom environment.
People who Help us
During the summer term, the 3 - 5's unit have learnt about people who help us. Amongst others, we were fortunate to have a visit from a Lollipop Lady. When she came, the children all pretended to be cars or pedestrians, to help them learn about road safety in a fun way. After the visit the children all made their own small lollipops, to encourage play and discussion.
Each visit gave the children the opportunity to enhance their learning in a safe and meaningful way.
Spring is in the Air
In May, the Coach House topic was 'On the Farm'. Hannah Stowe's parents kindly brought in a baby Spring Lamb from their farm, for the children to stroke and feed. The lamb proved very popular with all the children, who all loved stroking his wool and helping bottle feed milk to him.
Going on a Bear Hunt
March 6th was world book day. We took the children up to the Welcombe Hills, where we had a great time walking through the woods and splashing through 'swampy' areas, using the book 'We're going on a Bear Hunt' as our stimulus. Then we went to Clifford Chambers Garden Centre where the children examined different types of grasses and found out which type of compost turned the muddiest when water was added! We also visited the Recreational Ground in Stratford and looked at how the water moved in the river and weir.
New Arrivals on our Mini Farm
Our grown up goats, Mavis and Madonna, went home to All Things Rural, ready for breeding. In their place, we welcomed two more kid goats, Zara and Apricot. We have also introduced the children to Jasper and Flopsy, the rabbits, who live with Hector the guinea pig! All the animals love getting stroked and patted by the children and staff alike!