Autumn Term 2024 Newsletter from Mrs Horler.
The term has started well with our younger children growing taller over the summer and enjoying being back with their friends again. The children new to preschool have settled well and are getting familiar with our routine of play, stories, and music.
Our Autumn theme is Fairy Tales, and the children have been exploring the classic stories Red Riding Hood, Goldilocks and the three bears, Jack and the Beanstalk. We have been getting creative as a group with lots of Autumn craft activities such as painting leaves, potato stampers, stick hedgehogs and pipe cleaner spiders.
Mrs Whyte, our qualified Forest School leader, has been busy taking the small group of children up to the woodland to explore the mud, worms and watch the trees changing as the leaves fall.
We welcome back Ms Candy our Early Years phonics teacher, who comes into preschool every week with fun activities to promote the children’s listening and attention, phonic sounds and mark making skills.
Heddi from Kiddlydivey hosts our music morning on Fridays which are still a great hit with the children, and we look forward to her bag of puppets, instruments, and songs.
Our preschool AGM (Annual General Meeting) was held in October, and we are always sad to say goodbye to parents on the committee whose children have moved onto school. As a CIO charity we are supported by a parent committee team with fundraising and guidance, and we appreciate the parents that volunteer their time especially when life is so busy. Every small task a parent can help with makes a significant difference in the successful running of the preschool. The committee is a group of lovely parents making decisions about children’s education and helping to achieve it together. Come and join our
merry team, we welcome new members.
Diary dates::
Halloween wizard school event. Friday 25th October 4pm to 5.30pm
Christmas Photo Day. Wednesday 6th November 9.45am to 2pm
Bags to school Fundraiser. Tuesday 12th November 2024. 9am.
Preschool Christmas Bazaar. Saturday 30th November 2024. 2pm to 4pm
Happy New Year 2024 from Mrs Horler, Mrs Maher, & the team.
We welcome back the children after the long Christmas holidays and hope you all had a wonderful time over the Christmas break.
A huge thank you for all the kind words, Christmas cards and gifts we received in the days before Christmas, and for the money collection for the staff to have a night out. The staff went for a Christmas meal in Marlow to celebrate, which was very much enjoyed.
At the end of term, we invited the parents in to watch the preschool nativity and hear the Christmas songs that the children had been practising. It has been a long time since our last full nativity with the children dressed as angels and shepherds and they all looked and sounded amazing! It is a lovely start towards the full stage performances that will follow at big school.
On our last day we held a Christmas party for all the children which was an enormous success, and the children all enjoyed the party games-balloons, bubbles, inflatable guitars, and lots of dancing. A big thankyou to Becky from Preschool Disco.
Our Christmas wish that Father Christmas would visit us was heard and, like magic, he appeared! The children asked him questions and sang him their favourite Christmas songs. Thank you to Santa who is having a well- earned rest back in Lapland.
The return of the Preschool Christmas bazaar was welcomed, and many families came to visit. The preschool committee worked hard collecting prizes from local businesses which helped make the event a huge success. We appreciate all their support.
We also entered a preschool team for the Marlow Santa Fun Run to help support fundraising. Well done to our runners!
We are looking forward to the New Year ahead and this term we are learning about Healthy Life! The children will get moving for healthy bodies, we will talk about healthy food and how to keep our teeth healthy. We also celebrate Chinese New Year (year of the Dragon) and get arty for our Valentine’s Day cards.
May we wish you all a very happy, healthy and fun New Year 2024.
Marlow Bottom Pre-school CIO is a non-profit, charitable organisation and the parents on our committee guide the decisions, organise fund raising projects and support the staff throughout the year. The Committee are always looking for new parent members and if you would like to make a difference in the running of your child’s pre-school, big or small, please speak to Tina Horler for more details.
07592 388723.
Autumn Term 2023 Newsletter from Mrs Horler.
The start of every new term is always exciting but especially the Autumn term, when our little ones in the Spring have grown tall over the summer holidays and are now our big children, and new little faces join us on their first big step to independence.
On Friday 1st September 2023 we are holding a special coffee morning between 10am to 12pm for the new children and parents to drop in and play. It is a lovely time to chat to the staff and meet other new parents.
We reopen on Monday 4th September 9am (8.30am early drop) for the start of the Autumn term and look forward to hearing how the children have spent their summer.
This term, our focus is All about me and Transport. We will be getting to know our children’s favourite colours, foods, and interests. We will be talking about different forms of transport and the importance of keeping moving. We will be exploring music and rhymes using instruments, actions, and stories, and look forward to our music session each Friday morning with Heddi from Kiddlydivey.
Our garden is in full use all year round and each morning we start with a lively” jump and stretch” activity to wake us up. The children can then choose a variety of garden activities cycling, running, climbing, digging in the sand, building, and balancing or looking for minibeasts in the mud beds.
Mrs Whyte, our qualified Forest School leader, is getting her boots, tools, and rucksack ready, to take the next group of preschool explorers up into the woodland for her weekly Forest School session of the term.
Diary Dates:
Friday 1st September – New Parents Coffee Morning 10am – 12pm.
Monday 25th September – Preschool Committee AGM Village Hall 8pm (more details below)
Saturday 25th November – Preschool Christmas Bazaar 2pm – 4pm
Pre-school annual general meeting welcomes new members.
You are welcome to join us at our Committee Meet and Greet/AGM evening in the Village Hall on Monday 25th September. This is a chance to meet the existing committee and staff and find out a little more about the significant role (big or small) each parent can make in running your child’s pre-school. Please don’t be put off by the word Committee, it is just a group of lovely parents making decisions about what they want for their children’s education and helping to achieve it together.
Bring on the Fun!
Summer Term at Pre-school
Bank holidays (Pre-school closed): Monday May 1st and Monday May 8th.
We hope that you’ve all had a lovely break. Thank you to everyone who joined us for the Easter concerts to listen to the children singing Nursery rhymes and Easter songs. We have a very musical bunch and they all performed beautifully.The cakes and tea afterwards were well received too.
Theme: Our topic this half term is “Fairy Tales” and we will be exploring, and acting out our favourite tales including Jack and the beanstalk, Rumpelstiltskin, Billy Goats gruff and Princess & the pea.
Open Afternoon: Marlow Bottom Pre-school will be open for parents/carers to pop in and play on Thursday 20th April from 1pm-3pm. The key teachers will be available for a chat about your child’s development. Please sign the sheet in the foyer if you are coming in.
Forest School Update: The Forest School session will be restarting after the Easter break on a Wednesday afternoon and a new group of children will be going up to the woods to enjoy this amazing learning experience. If you have been walking in the woods recently, you may be aware that many of the Ash trees in the Forest School area have had to be taken down due to safety. However, with the canopy now open to the sky, new growth will be rapid for the smaller trees below. Mrs Whyte is practising her den building skills ready for the new term.
Bags to School: If you are spring cleaning, please save unwanted clothing for our “ Bags to school” fundraiser. Collection will be on the morning of Tuesday 9th May 2023.
Photographer: On Tuesday 2nd May 2023 we have Claire,the photographer returning to preschool to take individual children’s photographs (siblings welcome.) The photographer will be here from 9am to approx 2pm. More information to follow.
Group photo: School leavers 2023 Group photo will be taken on Friday 9th June at 1.30pm- Save the date.
On behalf of the whole team, thank you again for all your continued support.
Tina Horler, Paola Maher and the team.
Happy New Year 2023 from Mrs Horler, Mrs Maher, & the team
We welcome back the children after the long Christmas holidays and hope you all had a
wonderful time.
A huge thank you for all the kind words, Christmas cards and gifts we received in the
days before Christmas, and for the money collection for the staff to have a night out. All
the staff went for a Christmas meal to celebrate at the Marlow Bar & Grill.
At the end of term, we invited the parents in to hear the Christmas songs that the children
had been practising. It was the first time since 2019 that we had held an event and, on
reflection, we were sad that our usual nativity did not happen. We all missed seeing the
children dressed as angels!
The Children’s Christmas party was a great success and the children all enjoyed the party
entertainment and games-balloons, bubbles, inflatable guitars and lots of dancing. A big
thankyou to Becky from Preschool Disco. During the party we made a Christmas wish
that Father Christmas would visit us at pre-school and, like magic, he appeared. The
children had lots of questions to ask him and they sang him their favourite Christmas
songs. Thank you to Santa who is having a well- earned rest back in Lapland.
The parents on the Committee have been working together to fundraise for pre-school and
spent last term requesting and collecting donations from local businesses, supermarkets,
and shops. They were able to set up a Christmas Cracker fundraiser, and an online Auction
and managed to raise an incredible amount for new pre-school equipment. We always
welcome new members, so please speak to Mrs Horler or Sophia Corbitt if you would like
to join in with the fun. It is a great way to get to know other parents and these friendships
can last throughout school.
Spring Term 2023.
We are looking forward to the New Year ahead and in the spring term we are learning
about Healthy Life! The children will get moving for healthy bodies, we will talk about
what is good food and how we can keep our teeth healthy. We also celebrate Chinese New
Year (year of the Rabbit) and get arty for our Valentine’s Day cards.
May we wish you all a very happy, healthy and fun New Year 2023.
Marlow Bottom Pre-school CIO is a non-profit, charitable organisation and the parents on
our committee guide the decisions, organise fund raising projects and support the staff
throughout the year. The Committee are always looking for new parent members and if you
would like to make a difference in the running of your child’s pre-school, big or small,
please speak to Tina Horler for more details.
07592 388723.
Autumn Term 2022 Newsletter from Mrs Horler
The start of every new term is always exciting but especially the Autumn term, when our little ones in the Spring have grown tall over the Summer holidays and are now our big children, and new little faces join us on their first big step to independence.
We reopen on Monday 5th September after a wonderful, sunny summer. We always look forward to hearing the stories of how the children have spent their summer and the exciting things that have happened. Time is moving away from the memory of lockdown and not being able to see our friends or visit the park to play. In fact our new starters, aged 2, were just being born when lockdown was announced.
This term our focus is All about me. We will be getting to know our children’s favourite colours, foods and interests. We will be exploring music and rhymes using instruments, actions and stories. We are lucky to have Heddi from Kiddlydivey come in each week to do a music session with the children using a variety of puppets, instruments and singing to get the children listening and moving. Great fun!
Our focus is on early language and extending children’s vocabulary and to educate the importance of healthy living and good oral health. We follow the Early Years Foundation Stage framework which highlights the importance of these aspects. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-foundation-stage-framework–2
Our garden is cocooned by mature trees and grasses and is always in use. The children can choose a variety of activities, running, climbing, digging in the sand, building and balancing or looking for minibeasts.
Mrs Whyte, our qualified Forest School leader, is getting her boots and rucksack ready, to take the next group of preschool explorers up into the woodland for her weekly Forest School session of the term.
Pre-school annual general meeting welcomes new members
You are welcome to join us at our Committee Meet and Greet/AGM evening on Thursday 13th October at 8pm in the Village hall. This is a chance to meet the existing committee and staff and find out a little more about the important role (big or small) each parent can make in running your child’s pre-school. Please don’t be put off by the word Committee, it is just a group of lovely parents making decisions about what they want for their children’s education and helping to achieve it together.
Bring on the Fun!
June 2022
The sun continues to shine at Marlow Bottom Pre-school and we have had endless fun in the garden this term – hide and seek, running and climbing, making sandcastles, digging in the mudbeds, planting flowers and parachute games.
The children helped celebrate the Platinum Jubilee by making crowns, bunting, colouring Union Jack Flags and constructed a Palace for the Queen from big cardboard boxes. They decorated it with sparkly gems and even put a (plastic box) TV on the side.
On Thursday 30th June we are having an Open Day from 1pm to 3pm for our new September children and parents to pop in to play and to meet us. If you are interested in your child joining us in September please email info@marlowbottompreschool.org.uk or telephone 07592 388723 for more information.
The Pre-school Forest School continues to be a great success and Mrs Whyte and her little foresters always come back full of exciting chat about the potions they have made, the birds they have heard and the furry animals hidden in the leaves ready to be found.
Thursday morning at Pre-school is music time and we all enjoy Heddi from Kiddlydivey coming in to visit with her big box of instruments and puppets to sing and play music with the children.
After the success of last year’s special day, we have invited Animal Ark to return with their variety of small pets for the children to meet, feed and learn about. A great opportunity for the children to safely and gently meet the animals.
We wish all our children a wonderful summer and good luck to the leavers as they move on to school. We thank you all for your continued support.
Tina Horler, Paola Maher, Jane Crouch, Helen Lewis and the team.
Happy New Year 2022 from Mrs Horler, Mrs Maher & the team
Christmas Events 2021
We welcome back the children after the holidays and hope you all had a wonderful Christmas.
A huge thank you for all the kind words, Christmas cards and gifts we received in the days before Christmas, and for the online collection for the staff to have a night out. We managed to safely celebrate together with a Christmas meal at the Ferry in Cookham.
To celebrate Christmas, the children were all invited to the pre-school Christmas Party which was held at the end of term. The children all looked amazing in their Christmas clothes and enjoyed the music entertainment and games from Heddi from Kiddlydivey. We then made a Christmas wish that Father Christmas visit us at pre-school and, like magic, he appeared. The children had lots of questions to ask him and they sang their favourite Christmas songs for him to hear.
The parents on the Committee have worked super hard to fundraise for pre-school and spent last term requesting and collecting donations from local businesses, supermarkets, and shops. They were able to set up a Christmas Cracker fundraiser, and an online Auction and managed to raise an incredible amount of £3127.00 (and still counting) for new pre-school equipment.
Spring Term 2022
We are looking forward to the New Year ahead and in the spring term we are learning about Healthy Life! The children will get moving for healthy bodies, our cooking activity will introduce healthy eating and we will learn how we can keep our teeth healthy. We also look at Chinese New Year celebrations and get arty for our Valentine’s Day cards.
May we wish you all a very Happy, Healthy and fun New Year 2022.
Marlow Bottom Pre-school CIO is a non-profit, charitable organisation and the parents on our committee guide the decisions, organise fund raising projects and support the staff throughout the year. The Committee are always looking for new parent members and if you would like to make a difference in the running of your child’s pre-school, big or small, please speak to Tina Horler for more details on 07592 388723.
Autumn Term 2021 Newsletter from Mrs Horler
The start of every new term is always exciting but especially the Autumn term, when our little ones in the Spring have grown tall over the Summer holidays and are now our big children, and new little faces join us on their first big step to independence.
On Thursday 2nd September, we opened with a drop in “Coffee morning” for the new parents and children. It was well attended and lovely to see the parents able to chat together in the garden while their children explored. The parents got to meet their child’s key teacher, a member of staff who is allocated as their special helper, and works closely with the child’s parents or carers to ensure the child feels secure and confident especially in their first few weeks.
This year, we also held a separate coffee morning for the parents and children returning from the summer term. It was the first time they were allowed to gather for a length of time since the lockdown rules were lifted. Special times!
September 2021 brings the start of the revised Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework which aims to improve the children’s outcomes at age 5, and reduce unnecessary paperwork to allow more time to be spent with the children. There is a new focus on early language and extending children’s vocabulary and to educate the importance of healthy living and good oral health.
The theme this term is Nursery Rhymes and we will be rhyming, singing and moving to the actions to encourage good listening and lots of chat. We are lucky to have Heddi from Kiddleydivey come in each week to do a music session with the children.
Mrs Whyte, our qualified Forest School leader, is getting her boots and rucksack ready, to take the next group of preschool explorers up into the woodland for her weekly Forest School session of the term.
Pre-school annual general meeting welcomes new members
You are welcome to join us at our Committee Meet and Greet/AGM evening on Friday 15th October at 8pm in the Village hall. This is a chance to meet the existing committee and staff and find out a little more about the important role (big or small) each parent can make in running your child’s pre school. Please don’t be put off by the word Committee, it is just a group of lovely parents making decisions about what they want for their children’s education and helping to achieve it together.
Bring on the Fun!
June 2021
It is hard to believe after this unusual year that we are into the last few weeks of the summer term; and at long last the sun has appeared to brighten the way.
The children at Pre-school have been busy settling in, getting reacquainted with friends, remembering routines and just finding their feet again.
When the lockdown restrictions were relaxed, we invited Rugby-tots back to pre-school to get the children moving and working as a team. This term, we introduce Kiddleydivey, a music-based activity led by the wonderful Heddi. The children love following the actions, playing the instruments and singing.
We have also been able to offer weekly cooking sessions that enable the children to learn about healthy foods and how to cut the food safely. The children have also had regular PE sessions led by a parent who is a qualified Sports teacher. Many thanks for this.
The Pre-school Forest School session has been in full swing this year and all the children have had the chance to experience this wonderful activity of playing and exploring in the woodland nearby. Forest School will continue in the Autumn term with a new group of explorers.
Thank you to parents and local residents for your donations of unwanted clothing for our Bag2School fundraiser. The lockdown has restricted our fundraising projects and the bags collected have provided extra income to help pay for new resources. Our next collection is Monday 21st June 2021 and bags of clothes may be dropped at the pre-school hall by 9am.
Finally, to end the term on a lovely, happy memory, we have invited Ark Farm to visit with their variety of small pets for the children to meet and pet. We are so excited and we cannot wait to see the children’s faces as they see the pets arrive for a special day at Pre-school.
We wish all our children a wonderful summer and good luck to the leavers as they move on to school. We thank you all for your continued support.
Tina Horler, Paola Maher, Helen Lewis and the team.
Happy New Year 2021
Christmas Events 2020
A huge thank you for all the kind words, Christmas cards and gifts we received in the days before Christmas, and for the money collected for the staff to have a meal out to celebrate. We are keeping it safe and all longing for that time when the social world reopens and we can plan a night out together.
The children surprised us with a special Christmas video talking about their teachers at pre-school and we all laughed and cried at how sweet and thoughtful the parents had been to put this together.
As with many pre-school events last year, the Christmas party and Bazaar had to be adapted, but the amazing committee had a plan to keep the fundraising going. They spent the autumn term collecting donations from local businesses, hotels, supermarkets, and shops and were able to set up a Christmas Cracker fundraiser, and an online Auction to raise much needed funds for new pre-school equipment.
We were also very privileged to be part of the Marlow Bottom Christmas Lights fundraising event, alongside the Churches in Marlow and the Marlow Bottom playing fields. The houses in Marlow Bottom were invited to enter the competition and their garden Christmas lights were judged from four categories. Maps could be purchased to plot a route around the lights and we thank Tin town, Da Luca and Rebellion in Marlow Bottom for helping to sell the maps.
The staff organised a day of fun for the children with a Christmas Activity day specially planned to include “throw a snowball challenge, lucky dip, hook a duck, coconut shy, glitter bottles and hidden stars.” It was a lovely day and the children got a taste of the Christmas spirit at the end of term.
Spring Term 2021
We were excited to open on Tuesday 5th January, despite a new lockdown coming into force to close all Primary schools, Secondary Schools and Colleges. Nurseries and Pre-school could open as normal. We did not know what to expect, but parents were fantastic and quickly advised us of their plans and concerns regarding the new lockdown. The first week was quiet, which allowed the staff and keyworker children to safely return and adjust to updated safety routines. As each week passes, more children are returning to pre-school but we continue to step carefully through each day making the most of our wonderful outdoor space to allow children to play together as normal. We know the children are happy to be back playing with their friends, and the smiles we see and the laugher we hear is a good place to start.
May we wish you all a very Happy, Healthy New Year 2021.
Marlow Bottom Pre-school CIO is a non-profit, charitable organisation and the parents on our committee guide the decisions, organise fund raising projects and support the staff throughout the year. The Committee are always looking for new parent members and if you would like to make a difference in the running of your child’s pre-school, big or small, please speak to Tina Horler for more details on 07592 388723.
Autumn Term 2020 Newsletter
We reopened on Monday 7th September and the children are all very happy to be back. There are a few changes – more handwashing, less choice of toys due to cleaning guidelines, and lots of outdoor play. The children are not in bubble groups so they can play freely and are becoming aware of the importance of handwashing and being mindful of others’ space.
Our themes for September 2020 start with “All about us” and the children have been thinking about their favourite things, their families and pets. We have been planting winter bedding in our soil beds, and watching the leaves on our garden trees start to fall and change. We will be talking about Autumn as we see the changes to our environment happen.
Our Forest School has started, led by Mrs Whyte, our trained Forest School leader. Her team take a small group of children into the woodland nearby to explore and play with its natural resources. Digging in the mud, bug hunting, making dens and having fun.
We are not sure what the virus may bring us in the future, but we are happy the children are back, playing and learning and making new friends.
Stay safe.
Summer Term 2020 - Pre-school reopens 8th June 2020
As we all begin to slowly emerge from our safe places during this term’s lockdown, we feel sad for families who have lost loved ones and families who are working in key industries and have lived apart to keep their children safe. For many of us the lockdown has meant staying home with our family and just making the most of quality time spent together. We look forward to hearing about the lovely things the children have been doing – walking, cooking, cycling, painting and just stopping to smell the flowers.
For our older children moving up to big school, it will be a chance to finish their chapter at pre-school, and we will still made an occasion of handing over their yellow books full of photos and pictures drawn or painted since they started. It is always wonderful to see how much they grow, in height and confidence, during their time with us.
We look forward to our little ones returning in September, and new faces beginning their journey with us. We know it will be a little different, but preschool still remains a safe place to run and laugh and learn together – whether that is with a few friends or all together. We will wait and see.
Thank you to all our wonderful parents and children who have stayed in touch during lockdown and kept us up to date with their news. We wish those of you leaving us this summer – good luck for all the new adventures school will bring, and to those children returning in September – we will see you soon. Take care.
Happy New Year 2020 from Mrs Horler, Mrs Maher & the team
A huge thank you for all the kind words, Christmas cards and gifts we received, and for the money collected to help us celebrate the end of term with a staff night out. The ladies had a wonderful meal at The Polecat Inn near Great Missenden. Many thanks – it was a good night!
All the Christmas events of 2019 were superb and kept us all busy. The Christmas bazaar was fantastic and great fun – many, many thanks to our parents on the Committee who all worked hard to make this a success; especially Fundraising Lead Lucy Waite, Chair Sophia Corbett and the rest of the team. The money raised will go towards extra activities such as our Preschool day out in the spring, Rugby tots, Cooking and replacing resources.
Our annual invitation to Burford School to watch the reception children’s nativity is always a highlight and the children were excited to walk up to the school. We all enjoyed the experience of sitting in the big hall to watch the production. It was amazing!
Following weeks of song practice, the children performed to their families at the Christmas Show, and Sami, the local Vicar, joined us to read the Christmas Story. Thank you to all the parents, carers, and grandparents who came to watch and support the children. It makes it extra special for the children to have such a large audience.
The final event of the year was the Christmas party, and the children were entertained by “Hayley Turay” with her party music and games including decorating the staff as snowmen. We also had a surprise visit from Father Christmas who gave gifts to the children before dashing back to the North Pole.
A BIG THANK YOU, to all the members of the Committee – The pre-school could not continue without a team of parents to guide the decisions, organise fundraising projects and support the staff throughout the year. The Committee are always looking for new members and if you would like to make a difference in the running of your child’s pre-school, big or small, please speak to Tina Horler or Paola Maher for more details.
We wish you and your families a Happy, Healthy and Fun 2020.
Autumn Term 2019 Newsletter
Our first day back is Friday 6th September 2019, 9am to 3.30pm, and we look forward to seeing the children and hearing all about their summer.
On Thursday 5th September we open at 10am for a drop in “Coffee morning” for the new parents and children. They meet the staff and can ask any first day questions, and it is a good opportunity to be able to chat with other new parents at the start of their journey together through the school system. Each parent gets to meet the member of staff who is allocated as their child’s teacher and who will work closely with the parents or carers to ensure their child feels secure and confident to play.
Our theme for September 2019 starts with “All about us” and the children will think about their favourite things, their families and pets. We will also be talking about the summer holidays and hear how the children have spent their time. We will explore our environment with walks to the local shops and park, and our weekly Forest School sessions will resume in the nearby woods.
Come and join in with the fun!
Our Committee Meet and Greet/AGM evening is on Thursday 19th September at 8pm in the Village hall – all parents are welcome. This is a chance to meet the staff and existing Committee and find out a little more about the important role (big or small) each parent can make in running your child’s pre school.