Well-Being in the Early Years

A big part of our ethos here at St. Michael's is promoting well-being and mindfulness.

We value time nurturing self-esteem, self-belief, confidence, courage and compassion.  Our team are here to support children in managing big feelings, encouraging perseverance, inviting children to explore, celebrating their interests, forming good connections with family and to build strong foundations for their emotional development.

From the babies right through to Kindergarten, the children enjoy a wide range of experiences to support their wonder, curiosity, awe, social, and emotional development.

Treasure baskets, soft play, calming music, light box, climbing apparatus, music and movement and a light projector are just some of the opportunities that our youngest Ladybirds and Butterflies have on offer here.  0-2 Years team leader Zoe values taking children out for a stroll in the local community. We have recently purchased a multi-seat buggy. Zoe explains the benefits; "We enjoy our walks so much and now we can take even more friends out at a time. We have rain covers ensuring that we can go out whatever the weather and the fresh air really benefits the children's well being."

Dragonflies have a beautiful playroom situated within the main building. They enjoy a further conservatory that overlooks the large garden and their own bathroom.

They have an ‘All About Me’ board celebrating each child’s interests and where they are on their learning journey.  This enables the team to value each and every child as the unique individual that they are, build relationships and follow a child’s interest to support their emotional development and learning.

Team Leader Amy believes that music and movement is a key component to building confidence with their peers; “We like to dance and sing.  We have a music box to learn about different instruments and how they sound.  Dancing builds confidence, a sense of free spirit, happiness and unites everyone.”

Clare from Story Bears is also a regular visitor to the nursery and engages the children with stories, poems, music and puppetry.

Amy from Dragonflies enjoys these regular visits, “The children benefit from these sessions because it encourages self-confidence, independence and enables a use of imagination.”

Our Kindergarten class is based within the main building, comprising of a large playroom and a separate large room that doubles as a creative space and dining room.  They also have use of a summerhouse complete with bathroom.

Team Leader Leah believes that along with a welcoming environment, it’s important to establish daily routines within the day to promote a sense stability, independence and confidence.  Children are allocated a peg and their own tray.  Children are supported with self-care tasks to nurture independence and a sense of achievement, such as choosing their own wellington boots and putting on their coat. We have a regular team that liaise closely with families and this promotes a sense of connection and consistency.

Physical activity is so important for mental well-being and Kindergarten staff offer these fun games in bucket loads….. circle games, dancing with voiles, hide and seek, musical chairs, tricycles, follow the leader, parachute games, bouncy balls, and running races.

Every Tuesday afternoon, Ferdinand Collective visit for football fun.  Children join in with warm up games, team games, balancing, running and an end of session penalty shoot out.

We have our own Gardening Club called ‘Green Fingers’.  We realise that it has been scientifically proven that spending time outside has positive physiological changes to your brain, boosting & regulating mood & a general better state of well-being.  We sow our seeds in the Spring and nurture the plants through to Harvest time.  We hope to build up our gardening supplies and eventually contribute our produce for the Hedgehogs Bakery.  Emma Hedge offers weekly cookery sessions.  This is immensely popular and we have a lot of wonderful feedback from parents who have noticed their child’s interest in cooking at home, using utensils safely and understanding healthy, nutritious food.

Danni is our very own Literacy coordinator and is passionate about bringing the joy of books into every child’s home.  Danni was instrumental in setting up the library and promotes well being in the early years through books.  Books are an amazing resource to help identify and name feelings, nurture empathy, build strong connections, a sense of unity, language development and ethical discussions.

Our Nursery also has a Hygge Hut where small groups of children can visit the beautiful wooden hut to play games, listen to music, have a story, craft, and enjoy a puppet show.  The Danish concept ‘Hygge’ loosely translates to ‘living in the moment, being present and that cosy feeing’.

Then of course we have our very own Forest School that runs throughout the year along with the changing seasons.  Children are free to play and explore in their own time with the team there to offer supported risk taking, woodwork, den building, tree climbing and cooking around the campfire.

Forest School embraces a sense of community and unity.  Building friendships, understanding and care for others, showing compassion to living things and fostering empathy.

We are fortunate to have a wild flower area that is a perfect setting for our mindfulness sessions.  We regularly enjoy Forest Yoga, Shin Rin Yoku (Japanese Forest Bathing), bare foot sensory experiences, Herb cuttings, weaving, Himalayan Singing Bowl and listening to the native American flute.

Studies show that happiness, gratitude, joy, unity, and serenity are on a higher vibration.

We are all energetic beings.  Energy is created through our emotions which is simply energy in motion!

Your thoughts create your emotions.  Your body detects (or feels) the emotions in the body.  This is why we practice gratitude regularly.