Kindness, Compassion and Friendship Flow Freely

A big part of our ethos here at St. Michael's is well being and mindfulness. From the babies right through to kindergarten, the children enjoy a wide range of experiences to support their curiosity, awe, wonder, social and emotional development. Treasure baskets, a variety of instrumental music, puppets, gardening, snipping herbs, talking about what we love about our life, making calming down jars, building a bug hotel, snacks in the garden and playing with clay are all things we do here to enjoy 'living in the moment' and 'being present' with each other.  This feeling is called ‘Hygge’, the Danish concept of living in the moment.

At Nursery, it is so important for us to make children feel that they belong. That they have a safe and secure space. To explore the world around them and build friendships. Our fantastic team are dedicated and know how important this is. So when it's someone's birthday - we like to make a bit of a fuss! The children celebrated Danni's birthday by singing, clapping and the presentation of cards and gifts. As our resident librarian, it was only fitting to present her with a beautiful book shaped vase!

We have been finding out what the children love about their life, talking about their families, their friends, pets and all the wonderful things that they enjoy doing.  We have been making bird feeders, reading books together, pretty petal love potions, bird watching, completing jigsaws and listening to one another at circle time.  This all builds respect, friendships, empathy and compassion.

Our little Ladybirds and Butterflies love to explore the sensory table. They have had great fun pouring the coloured rice using little scoops, great for strengthening those hand muscles, developing hand eye coordination and dexterity. They have also been printing paper hearts and making little 'love bug' hand prints.

Dragonflies have been creating fantastic art work using rolled up cardboard to print hearts with. They have enjoyed using the pastel coloured play dough and decorating delicious biscuits.

In Kindergarten, children have experimented with using a recycled plastic bag to create 'petals' with red paint. We think they look amazing! They also recycled some plastic bottles and added petals and water to make the most beautiful 'love potions' to watch swirl and calm the senses.

In Forest School, children made willow heart wands, bird feeders using the drill and enjoyed yoga under the trees.