March 2021

16 Buckden Roundabout March 2021 School & Pre - School During February, the children were busy exploring winter top- ics and creating crafts for our winter display board. One of their activities involved threading beads onto pipe cleaners to make snowflakes. The purpose of activities like these is not just to create something beautiful but to increase the chil- dren ’ s manual dexterity, which is essential for developing their pencil grip—an important part of the Physical Development curriculum. The children have also been loving their Book of the Week, with a chance to delve a little deeper into the sto- ries and practice recalling the key events and discussing the characters. Inspired by the RSPB's Big Schools' Birdwatch and Big Garden Birdwatch, we took the children on a bird spotting walk. This was not only good fun and great exercise, but a valuable activi- ty for fostering respect for wildlife and the Understanding the World curriculum. The children made bird feeders to take home, too, so hopefully they will spot more feathered visitors at home. Another important part of Understanding the World is learn- ing about a diverse range of cultures, and to mark Chinese New Year, the children had great fun playing with noodles and chopsticks—and perhaps best of all, trying Chinese foods at snack time! With Valentine ’ s Day on the horizon, we also talked about the people we love and why we love them, which is fundamental to their Personal, Social and Emotional Devel- opment. The children made a special Valentine ’ s Day card for someone they love, and we also introduced an ‘ Emotions Tree ’ following on from Children ’ s Mental Health Week. What a busy month! Our next activities include planting bulbs, growing vegetables, Mother ’ s Day crafts, dressing up for World Book Day, and marking St David ’ s Day and St Patrick ’ s Day. As always, we have been taking stringent measures to ensure everyone at Preschool is a as safe as they can be, and we hope everyone is staying safe and well too. BE PART OF BUCKDEN PRESCHOOL: JOIN OUR COMMITTEE! We are looking for new committee members. This role does not need to make huge demands on your time, and we ’ re grateful for whatever help or time people can offer! You do not need to be the relative or carer of a Preschool child to sit on the committee. Please contact our chairperson, Jo Chillmaid, whose contact details are below. Committee enquiries: contact Jo Chillmaid (Chairperson) at buckdenpreschoolchairperson@gmail.com or on 07393650084. To enrol your child or arrange a visit, contact the Manager, Nicola Henge, on 01480 810600 . For more information, visit www.buckdenpreschool.co.uk or see our Facebook updates at https://www.facebook.com/www.buckdenpreschool.co.uk/. March 2021 As we approach Spring don ’ t forget your local library is still here for you. Check out our window displays for new titles just arrived, some old favourites that might stand re - reading (or that you missed first time around), books on potential new hobbies, or activities to keep you out of mischief while we all wait to get back to normal life again. Help with home schooling We are particularly keen to reach out to parents, especially those home schooling who might be in need of additional books to add to school and home resources. Using the Select and Collect form accessible through the link on Cambridgeshire Libraries home page, you can request packs of books for your children – perhaps a batch of board books or picture books for little ones, early readers and easy chapter books for those getting going with independent read- ing, or a young adult selection for teenage readers. We also have a fantastic range of non - fiction books for help with school work, or ideas for a new project perhaps? Give us as much information as possible on the request form and we ’ ll do our best to find a selection that suits. Opening times At the time of writing we are still in a national lockdown, and our library continues to adhere to all lockdown restrictions and Government guidance. Our current opening hours are: Tuesday - 2pm - 6pm Friday - 10am - 2pm You can do the following: • Request books from the library catalogue using the normal on line reservations service or via Customer Services (contact details below). Normal charges have been reduced to 50p per reserved book. • Use our Select and Collect service to request a selec- tion of titles based on genre or author. Using the form available on our website or by calling Customer Ser- vices you can tell us what you like to read and library staff will select books based on your choices for you to collect at the door. • Book an appointment to use the library computers . Note that this is for essential use only to access public services. Can ’ t get to us? T hen we can come to you. Our Library at Home service is still operating and if you are housebound, or a vulnerable person continuing to isolate, we can deliver books to you. Get in touch with Buckden library on the number below to find out more. Village Hall, Burberry Road, Buckden Tel: 0345 045 5225 www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/library