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3rd May 2024
Dear Parents
We’ve dived headfirst into the Summer term, setting the tone for a bustling and enriching time.
The teachers have introduced their new themes to classes, and displays have already begun to bloom. Flowers and butterflies and minibeasts are all the rage, displayed in Reception, Year 1 and Year 4. Artefacts that have come from our new membership with the Islington Schools’ Library Service are set out in several classrooms, so children can see and touch objects relating to their studies. In Year 2 one can see current and historical nurses' uniforms displayed on the wall, soon to be joined by artwork depicting Florence Nightingale, whom the children also ‘met’ this week at the museum in Waterloo. Upstairs, mouthwatering chocolate displays entice outside Year 4, whilst inside one can find reproductions of a Mayan mask, as well as a chocolate whisk and cocoa pot. Their work is both inspired by their reading of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and this week’s visit to a chocolate shop, where they learnt about Mayan History and cocoa traditions, with some tasting thrown in as well – that’s a trip I’d have liked to have joined! In Year 3, a vibrant orange draws attention to the Sikhism topic table, before you spot the wonderful Viking longships on the wall – these were constructed by the children. Do pop in and have a look, and download the termly curriculum maps that are now live on the website.
There were many ‘muy biens’ in this morning’s assembly, as Martha celebrated a number of pupils for their impressive writing and progress in Spanish. We listened to their work, and then, fortunately, to a translation – pupils are progressing so well that their knowledge surpasses that of many of our teachers!
Parent tours have started up again for the summer term, with a number of visitors already, and an open day coming up at the Upper School on May 16th. Do share this with your networks. The new Head of Kensington Park School, a relatively new senior school over near Hyde Park also visited us this week. Whilst KPS is a little way across London, the environment has similarities to The Children’s House, with small class sizes, and a friendly, nurturing, personalised environment. The Head, Antony Faccinello, was impressed by the creativity in our classrooms and the level of artwork on display. He commented in particular on the Year 4s and their knowledge and enthusiasm for their new topic – From Beans to Bar. Well done to those pupils, who really are modelling fabulous behaviour and learning for the younger children.
You have all received an email from Scopay, with sign up details for your child/ren. We are using this external system for booking and payments of external and drop in clubs. In order to use the drop ins – Breakfast and Care, you must have a credit balance on the extended day tab of Scopay, which you then use to book and pay. This system will alleviate a huge administrative workload once all parents are using it. Do email the office with any questions.
Whilst there is much to plan and to do this term, Taiba and I are also engaged in sketching out next year. We are in the process of finalising the teaching staff, and I am hoping to announce this to you in the next few weeks. Our original and bespoke curriculum for Year 5 is being further shaped. The themes are in place, and reading materials and enrichment are being carefully planned. We’ve been gathering up to date information about this year’s 11+, to feed into this planning, ensuring that we are covering all of our bases and that pupils will be prepared for all different admissions processes - namely the varied styles of assessment and interview. More to come on that.
I hope to see as many of you as possible at the upcoming PSHE meetings (Years 1 – 4 only) and wish all of our families an enjoyable long weekend.
Ellie
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Dear Parents,
Welcome back to what is hopefully a sunny summer term! There have been some noteworthy developments at the nursery. Following our comprehensive assessment by the borough of our provision and teaching practices, the Early Years Consultant for Islington has invited us to join the Register of Good Practice.
This highlights our proficiency in developing critical thinking and problem-solving abilities among children, positioning us as a hub of educational excellence within the borough. It's a significant milestone for us and will give us the honour of becoming a setting where fellow educators across the borough, spanning age groups from nursery to reception will arrange visits to learn from our practice.
Our official launch event for this is on Wednesday 12th June after school, where Islington's EYFS consultants and practitioners will come together to celebrate our achievements. During the event, we'll share insights into our teaching practices and how they've evolved over time.
As part of our commitment to sharing best practices we'll be creating teaching resources, including short videos demonstrating our teaching methods. We will be sending home permission slips for featuring your children in these videos, which offer insight into their learning. You will have the opportunity to see these resources during our critical thinking workshop for parents on Wednesday 5th June. Further details will be sent to you closer to the date.
We have also started our termly observations of staff to ensure we are maintaining high teaching standards and professional development. Recently, I had the opportunity to see some great problem-solving sessions and a discussion about which storybook character the children would invite to their birthday. It was surprising to see how much the children have matured!
Thank you to all parents who have taken the time to complete our transport and extended hours survey. Your valuable input is greatly appreciated. We are currently in the process of reviewing the responses and will keep you updated on our future plans. Enjoy the newsletter and the upcoming bank holiday.
Taiba
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Join us for Wheelies at Highbury Fields!
Date: Friday, May 10th Time: 4:00 PM Location: Highbury Fields
We're excited to invite you and your child to an afternoon of fun at "Wheelies" in Highbury Fields! This event promises a great time for kids who love bikes, scooters, and other wheeled toys.
Don't forget to bring a picnic!
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Nursery School Key Upcoming Dates
Monday 6th May
Bank Holiday
No School
W/C Tuesday 7th May
Science and Healthy Living Week
Themed week of activities at School
Wheelies at Highbury Fields: 4.00pm Bring a picnic!
Monday 13th May Mental Health Awareness Week-with a focus on ‘Movement: Moving more for our mental health.' Activities at School
Wednesday 22nd May Whole school & class photos
Thursday 23rd May Last day of school before half term & whole School Open Classrooms Nursery: 8.00 - 9.00am
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Upper School Key Upcoming Dates
Monday 6th May
Bank Holiday
No School
W/C Tuesday 7th May
Science and Healthy Living Week
Themed week of activities at School
Wheelies at Highbury Fields: 4.00pm Bring a picnic
Monday 13th May
Mental Health Awareness Week-with a focus on ‘Movement: Moving more for our mental health’
Thursday 16th May
Whole School Open Day at US For prospective parents.
Wednesday 22nd May Whole school & class photos
Thursday 23rd May Last day of school before half term & whole School Open Classrooms US: 8.30 - 9.15am
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All Spring Term Important Dates and the term dates for the next academic year can be found here.
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Parent Forum Feedback, Head's Report to Parent Committee and Social Media
Please click through to the parent portal to see our latest Parent Forum notes.
Our social media handles are:
Facebook - The Children's House School
Instagram - @childrenshouseschool
We'd love it if you'd follow us. Please review our image consent form here.
Parent Forum Feedback & Head's Report to Parent Committee, can be found here.
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Science and healthy living week
Next week the school will be celebrating healthy living week and Science week. To link both, there will be several experiments which will be done on the playground and the children will get a chance to conduct experiments in class. These will all related to living a healthy living and the science behind it. Children will have the option to take part in recording the different types of food they eat during the week, to see how balanced their diet is. It will be a great week to expand the children’s scientific thinking and remind us all how important it is to try and keep our bodies healthy.
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Art Club
We made paper spinners that create shapes when the stick is turned. The children explored all the different shapes and were ecstatic to discover the flower. When spun between two hands it almost became a fan.
These (flat pack) wooden garden picture frames were painted, constructed and decorated. Some children pushed the boundaries of conventional garden colours to personalise their structure is a most creative fashion. Even our visitor loved them!
Specialist Art
Year 1
William Morris’s floral designs are the inspiration for the plant and growth topic. We studied some famous images and drew our own interpretation of a simple picture. This picture was used to trace onto a printing tile to create repeating patterns. They would have stayed all day doing this if they could..
Year 2
In preparation for a graphic novel featuring Traction Man we explored how to create cartoon character features. This character has to be recognisable. First it was traced, then it was drawn freehand and finally I created a square by square reveal whereby it was reproduced on a grid. We all discussed the outcome together.
Year 3
The Vikings topic provided us with the opportunity to create a longboat.
An A3 template with printed elements and instructions were provided. They had to familiarise themselves with the difference between a valley and hill fold prior to commencing construction.
It was challenging and created great discussion. We can all agree the end product was successful. Next step will be to display the discussions aorund the display.
Introduction to abstract art. The intention was to suggest a butterfly using shapes, colours and form without making it too obvious. Methods involved collage, painting and drawing with oil pastels.
Year 4
We are working on an ongoing project surrounding a Mayan tile.
They all chose a swatch of a tile that appealed to them. (Quite a bit of swapping and bartering followed!) Several sketches were made of the image. They then made an actual tile from clay.
Using water soluable graphite, one element of the tile was recreated. I demonstrated my expectations (see bottom right) and they all followed through really well.
What fabulous explorations in art!
Rose
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PE & Games news
Welcome to the start of the summer term! We've kicked off with a bang, especially in our PE classes.
Before delving into the Year group news, we're thrilled to announce two fantastic opportunities for our students. Firstly, the Under 11 netball club for Year 4 students, where they can learn and refine their skills and make new friends. Additionally, a local water sports center is hosting a free day of aquatic fun, from kayaking to paddleboarding. Don't miss out on these exciting opportunities!
Our Year 3 and Year 4 students had their very first tennis lesson, and it was a smashing success! They dived into activities focused on hand-eye coordination and control, combined with great games such as Tidy up the Room, and their enthusiasm is contagious.
The excitement extends to the kickoff of our Friday morning football club. Bright and early, eager students gather to hone their skills and passion for the game mastering skills through passing drills, dribbling games and adapted matches. Amidst the flurry of activity, one student managed to achieve an extraordinary feat, perfectly passing the ball right on to the middle line from the goal!
Meanwhile, our younger learners in the Nursery are honing their ball skills and teamwork through cooperative games like Pirates Control and focusing on football for this half term.
In Reception, Mondays are all about becoming ball magicians as the children work on their foot skills, perfecting control, dribbling, and even learning fun rhymes like ‘Toe, toe, toe, no, no, no’.
Wednesdays are dedicated to learning the essence of play, cooperation, and simple strategies through engaging games like Spiders and Mosquitoes and Stuck in the Mud. These sessions emphasise values such as honesty and teamwork.
Year 1 is deep into a unit focused on ball skills and introduction of sports. We have begun with football, and they're learning the basics of ball control, passing, and dribbling techniques, combined with games such as Green light, Red light, dribbling a ball.
Meanwhile, Year 2, Year 3, and Year 4 are thoroughly enjoying their football sessions, embracing the opportunity to develop new skills. We are giving a challenge to those who feel confident enough with the recap of basic skills such as passing, controlling and dribbling, so everyone can keep learning at their level.
During the midpoint of the lesson, all groups come together to play games, putting their acquired skills into action. Exciting favourites such as Treasure Hunt and The Gates encourage communication and teamwork among teammates.
We're looking forward to a fantastic term ahead, filled with growth, fun, and plenty of physical activity. Have a great weekend, everyone!
Pablo
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¡Hola a todos!
Summer is here!
In Spanish, we are pleased to inform you that we have started a new and exciting summer term. The children are enjoying their classes and are eager to learn new things.
Here are some of the activities that are taking place:
Nursery: The little ones are singing with joy! They are learning nursery rhymes like "Los pollitos dicen pio pio pio..." and having a lot of fun with them.
Reception: Exploring the marine world! The children are learning about seven marine animals, their names, definite articles, and a short phrase for each one.
Year 1: Superheroes in sight! The children are meeting two new superheroes, Vera and Azure, out of the six they will learn about during this term. Each has a special colour, and they are learning high frequency verbs to describe them (my name is, I have, I am and I can).
Year 2: Speaking Spanish about everyday activities! The children are learning 10 familiar activities that they know or do not know how to do in Spanish. They are introducing the negative form, allowing them to build more interesting and complex sentences, including the option of using conjunctions. Also, this week, the children have had a fantastic time writing about a superhero called Traction Man. They enjoyed using the verbs they have learned to describe what Traction Man could do in Spanish.
Year 3: Delicious fruits and vegetables! The children are reviewing what they learned in previous terms and have done a fun activity where they express which fruits and vegetables they like or dislike, asking their classmates questions using real fruits. This fits in nicely with next week's Sciene and Healthly Living Week, in which children have been invited to keep a food diary.
My home, sweet home! In this unit, the children will gain the knowledge and skills to present orally and in writing about where they live and what rooms they have and do not have in their homes in Spanish.
Year 4: Improving pronunciation! The first week of term was dedicated to phonics, which has helped children improve their pronunciation.
My adorable pets! The children are learning about their pets, both orally and in writing. They will move from using the 1st person singular verb to the 3rd person singular verb, so they can say what the pet is called and use conjunctions more confidently.
We hope this has given you an idea of what your children are learning in Spanish class.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions!
Gracias,
Martha
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IT Blooms On!
The summer sun is shining, and the IT classroom continues to be a hive of activity! Let's celebrate the ongoing journey of our young tech enthusiasts as they explore the ever-expanding world of technology.
Reception are continuing their exciting adventures in the digital world! They're building on their Chromebook skills, navigating with confidence and exploring new ways to apply their knowledge. Just like little explorers conquering new lands, they're learning valuable e-safety practices to ensure their journey is safe and rewarding.
Year 1 has successfully completed their exploration of interactive e-books, unlocking a love for reading and enriching their digital literacy. But the learning doesn't stop there! They've embarked on a thrilling new adventure in the world of coding. Here, they'll delve into the fascinating concept of algorithms and even learn how to program their teachers (don't worry, it's all in good fun)!
Year 2 continues their deep dive into the fascinating realm of binary trees. Now that they've grasped this unique way of organising information, they're taking the next step - understanding what a database is! They'll learn how these powerful tools store and retrieve information, opening doors to a world of possibilities.
Year 3 has shifted gears from data visualisation to mastering the fundamentals of proper typing. They're focusing on mastering the home row, top row, and bottom row, all while developing good posture to avoid any future aches and pains. This focus on accuracy will lay a strong foundation for their future typing endeavours.
Year 4 has entered the world of Logo! This exciting programming language allows them to explore the beauty of geometry by creating amazing shapes with code. As they learn the language, their creativity will blossom and they'll be able to bring their geometric visions to life on the screen.
Beyond the Classroom:
Remember, technology is a powerful tool for learning and exploration, not just in school but at home too! We encourage you to continue supporting your child's digital journey. Parental control features like Google Family Link, Apple Screen Time, and Microsoft Family Safety can work alongside our classroom learning to ensure a safe and enriching online experience.
By working together, we can empower our children to become responsible and safe digital citizens, equipped to utilize technology for positive impact and lifelong learning.
Have a lovely bank holiday!
David
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Year 3
Traversing the treacherous terrain of Rulers and Rivalry:
Since returning from the Easter break, our students have embarked on an exciting journey into the world of Rulers and Rivalry, focusing on the fascinating era of Viking invasions and settlements in Britain and the first true King of England ‘ King Alfred the Great’. Moreover, they have drawn inspiration from the beloved tale "How to Train Your Dragon," they've crafted captivating narratives, weaving precise vocabulary to paint vivid scenes for readers.
But the learning doesn't stop there! In art sessions, our creative minds have constructed stunning origami Viking Longboats, delving into the intricacies of these vessels and how their design influenced the success of Viking voyages. It's been a hands-on experience that brings history to life in our classroom.
Mastery in Mathematics: Conquering Fractions and Exploring Money:
In the realm of mathematics, our students have showcased their tenacity and problem-solving prowess as they tackled tricky fraction word problems with confidence. Their dedication to mastering fractions demonstrates not only their mathematical skills but also their resilience in the face of challenges.
Moreover, we've set sail into the world of money! Our young mathematicians are exploring the concept of currency, learning different ways to create various amounts using coins. Through engaging activities and real-world scenarios, they're gaining a practical understanding of financial literacy that will serve them well in the future.
Illuminating Science: Exploring Light and Dark:
In our science lessons, the mysteries of light and dark have captured our curiosity. We've delved into how light travels in straight lines and interacts with objects, sparking discussions and experiments that illuminate these concepts. We're eagerly anticipating an upcoming shadow puppet workshop, where we'll further explore the enchanting world of shadows and the variables that shape them.
As we continue our educational voyage through Rulers and Rivalry, fractions, the science of light and dark, and the realm of money, we're inspired by the curiosity, creativity, and determination of our students. Well done Year 3!
Warm regards,
Kim
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Year 2
We have had a wonderful two weeks in Year 2. Everyone has come back full of energy and an eagerness to really enjoy our final term of the academic year.
I am writing this the day after our fabulous trip to The Florence Nightingale Museum on the South Bank. I was incredibly proud of all the children for their fantastic active listening for the whole day and even Florence herself was blown away with the enthusiasm, politeness and sensibility of Year 2. The children had a chance to hear from the lady herself and all about her life. We had a chance to dress up, treasure hunt around the museum for Florence’s favourites things and see many of her actual possessions. We learnt all about the determination and perseverance she needed to follow her dreams to become a nurse and her epic journey to the Scutari Hospital. We also had a chance to wish Florence a happy birthday (which I know she really appreciated). A huge thank you to Havana’s and Otto’s mums for joining us on our adventure this week. The trip will greatly support the children in our literacy lessons after half term and in our history lessons this term.
Traction Man has been the name on everyone’s lips since we have returned as Year 2 get ready to come up with their own comic page to contribute to our class book. We have been mastering how to use adverbs and revisiting how to use exciting adjectives to create noun phrases! I have been blown away with the children’s listening skills and how they have all used extremely adventurous adverbs and adjectives in their writing. Next week we will be looking at creating a villain out of a household or school object as we start to put our story together! In top secret news, we have also started to write a sentence for our comic in Spanish!
Everyone has been working very hard in Numeracy to learn all about British Pounds and Pence! We have been looking at bank notes, coins and the value of each of them and despite us all agreeing that we don’t use cash that much (credit cards were drawn as answers to some questions!) everyone has been comparing different amounts of cash, problem solving and choosing the correct amounts to answer some rather tricky questions. In Geography we have started to explore the key features of maps and in RE we looked at what ceremonies are and what they might mean.
Have a lovely long weekend.
James
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Year 1
Year have started their final term with a great attitude towards their learning! They are really showing off how much they know.
In Maths the children have been looking at multiplication and division. They have looked at the relationship between numbers in the 2-, 5- and 10-times tables. The children also learnt more about doubling numbers and how to use arrays to solve problems. They have looked at the meaning of ‘equal’ groups and the importance of making equal groups. This week they have grouped and shared objects to help with their multiplication and division and have written problems using the multiplication and division sign.
During Literacy, the children have read the Little Seed, which they have innovated into their own stories. The story explores how a seed grows despite being small and having to put up with different seasonal weathers. They began by sequencing the story and then writing some key words from the story. As part of their writing, they have looked at using conjunctions to make their writing more interesting and adverbials to change their sentence starters to make it more exciting. The children also looked at using synonyms for ‘tiny’, to create their own titles for their story. We’ve had ‘teeny-weeny’ and ‘miniature’ seeds all making a great journey across the world into the Mariana Trench and beyond!
As part of their plants topic in science, the children first thought about what they already knew about plants – which was quite a lot! They were introduced to the MRS GREN (the seven things all living things do) and then thought about what they would like to know about plants – such as how a cactus is different to other plants and how plants get rid of their waste. They then went on a plant hunt in the playground to see what different plants they could find. For the following lesson, the children dissected a tulip and looked at each part of the plant to learn about the different parts of a plant. They really seem to be getting the green thumb for their learning in Science and there has been lots of enjoyment.
For RE, the children are looking at the topic of friendship and will be looking at what makes a good friends and other religious stories related to friendship. In PSHE the children have spoken about what they hope for the final term and revisited the class contract, in order to start the final term on a happy note. In other Year 1 news, Shelly has woken up from her hibernation and some of the children have had a chance to hold Shelly (the rest will within the coming weeks)!
Enjoy the bank holiday weekend!
Eliot
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Reception
To begin our topic Growth, Reception explored Sam Plants a Sunflower. The children created instructions to support someone growing their own sunflowers. The class explored Vincent Van Gogh’s painting ‘Sunflowers', discussed the pattern and texture of his composition and used small lines of oil pastel to emulate his short brush strokes. In maths we looked closely at measure and experimented with using rulers and centimetres to measure the height of sunflowers. We rounded off the week by decorating our own flower pots and planting our very own sunflowers!
We also explored flowers in the story Wild, and used phonics to write whether we would prefer to live in a city or in the wilderness. The class used the illustrations to create their very own ‘wild’ girls. We looked closely at the artist Georgia O’Keefe, discussed her distinctive style and recreated it using recycled materials; the results were astounding! Finally, the class explored painting with acrylic paints and used toothbrushes, sticks and canvases to create our field of flowers,drawing inspiration from the story Poppy and the Blooms.
This week we continued our exploration of Growth by looking at the world’s smallest creatures, minibeasts. We explored minibeast facts, and wrote about which creature we would like to be and why. The class used recycled materials to create their own magical minibeast. Reception looked closely at the story The Butterfly Dance, and examined real butterflies in order to create detailed observational drawings. We discussed how the insects are symmetrical.
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Pre-Reception News
Learning about plants and how they grow has been our focus for these past two weeks. The story of The Tiny Seed encouraged the children to wonder and ask many questions about a sunflower’s life cycle. They went on to investigate a variety of plants growing in King Henry’s Walk Garden, exploring their different parts through close observations. We carried out experiments to learn about the role the stem has in transporting water and nutrients from the roots to the rest of the flowers. The children were fascinated to see the petals changing colour and made accurate observations.
“The stem is like a straw!” Beanie
“There is a tunnel inside.” Henry
“The stem has taken it up to the petals, look, they’re changing colour.” Leonie
“There is a tube connecting the stem and the petals.” Sammy
Our trip to the N1 Garden centre helped the children gain an understanding of where we can buy plants and gardening equipment. They were in awe of the citrus trees and gasped at the size of the lemons and grapefruits! Once back at nursery, they were quick to brainstorm ideas for our Home Corner Garden Centre and engaged enthusiastically in imaginative play as they bought and sold plants and made labels and price tags.
Too Many Carrots by Katy Hudson prompted many discussions around problem solving and sharing. The children engaged in independent thinking time- with pens and paper to illustrate possible solutions to the problem (the rabbit had too many carrots that it couldn’t fit inside his burrow) then worked with blocks on a large scale to create a house big enough. Sharing the carrots fairly sparked a big debate as the children had to negotiate, reason and put arguments across. Many went on to record their findings by creating tally marks and even writing number sentences. A very well done to them all!
Mihaela and Jess
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Downstairs Nursery
The children at the Nursery have been learning about how we grow. We read books about babies, looked at our baby pictures, and discussed similarities and changes to how we look now, and our different abilities. The children measured their heights using blocks and straw and drew their self-portraits. Kason said, ‘I need more blocks, Gussie is very tall’.
This week has been all about Spring! We discussed seasonal changes and looked for Spring signs during our walks and Garden visits. Rider said, ‘Bees make honey, and they make trouble’. The children noticed that the leaves on the trees were green again and they were excited to collect flowers, plants, and sticks. We created our own flowers using a variety of techniques and materials. Clio said ‘I have butterflies in my garden and pink, yellow, and white flowers’. The children also planted their own cress in pots. We can’t wait to see their cress growing! The children used their senses to explore planting in soil and had lots of fun transferring it with their spades.
In the afternoon, the children joined the pre-reception children at the Almorah garden for learning in the fresh air and participating in lots of problem-solving and exploring the environment with the older children. From investigating what is growing in the garden to pondering what lies beneath the decking they all had a great time.
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