The Playway Nursery - Sri Lanka: February 2011

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Hello and Welcome!

“We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day”. ~ Edith Lovejoy Pierce.

As Pierce has said it is all about how we are going to write Our Story!!! Isn’t it so? Stay wide awake and work with genuine effort. Love what you do and it will make the difference!!!

Welcome everyone back to the playway! Hope you all had a very pleasant & relaxed holiday! the playway staff and I had a super holiday, and are geared with fresh hopes and knowledge to face the challenges and demands of the day!

Thank you everyone for being with the playway at her teething and all through out! This year the playway celebrates her third anniversary!

We at the playway, hope to enhance the facilities and services to the children under our care, their families and the community as our goal is to improve every aspect of our services.

A very special and a warm welcome to little Amelia and Thehara who join the playway this semester to fill the vacancies arose when Apoorva and Mikayla left. Welcome Amelia and Thehara! Hope you will enjoy being part of our exiting play circle.

Thank you everyone who donated toys and clothes for the needy children at the Bearwell Estate crèche. The children there were truly delighted to have received the toys and the clothes. The happy smiles shown here will give you an idea what it was all about…

Happy Birthday(s)

January 07: the playway is three years old now, Congratulations and Best Wishes from all of us at the playway

January 10: Many happy returns of the day Amaan and Amelia! Congratulations, you both are 3 years old now!

January 19: Thehara, Hope you will have loads of FUN and many happy returns of this day. Guess what…? Thehara will be two years old soooooon…

Our Current Theme : “ Me, Myself & I”

This dynamic theme is an all time favourite with under-fives. As a tradition at the playway we start the calendar year by finding out who we are, what our strengths & weaknesses are. The children will explore who they are, their strengths and what similarities and differences they have compared to their peers.

We shall first focus on the child as an individual then move on to some of the physical attributes of the human body. Thus we will give the children the opportunity to develop their investigation skills and gain awareness of who they are and how their bodies work!

Also, the emotional side of the children’s nature will be focused to when we discuss about the feelings and needs of each others. The theme will also give an enhanced idea on the health and hygiene.

The language arts, number and number concepts art and craft, music, PSE, PE and basic science will be integrated with the theme by focusing on the contextualized Language instruction method.

Please assist your child to find the materials he/she would want to make their booklets about them. The notes indicating what is needed will be sent soon…

Overseas Leave: I shall be leaving to Hyderabad to attend an International Conference on teaching English to Young Learners: The British Council and the EFL-U (English and Foreign Languages University) are co-hosting a three-day conference on ‘Starting, Stimulating and Sustaining English Language Teacher Education and Development’ for the English Language Teacher Educators from 22-24 January 2011 in Hyderabad, India. The event is being supported by the ELTAI (English Language Teachers’ Association of India) and the IATEFL’s Young Learner Teenagers Special Interest Group (YLT SIG) and Teacher Training and Education Special Interest Group (TTEd SIG).

Ms Amaal Junaid, a former teacher at the playway will substitute me for the 3 school days January 21, 24, and 25. The work is planned in advanced to have a smooth run of the nursery. Please email me at neelika.e@gmail.com if you have any inquiries while I am away. I shall try my best to be in touch!!!

Dates for your Diary

January, 17	Topic of Inquiry (Me, Myself & I) starts…
January, 19	Poya holiday~ No play
January ,28	Cookery Day
February, 03	National Day Celebrations
February, 04	Public Holiday~ No play
February, 18	Celebrating “ME”

Have a Joyous January and a Fabulous February,

Neelika Edirisinghe,

Director, the playway nursery

Our Philosophy

•We shall provide the children with a warm, friendly and inviting atmosphere where they will feel secure and be happy in their new environment.

•We shall provide caring teachers who show genuine love and concern for the children in their care.

•The environment will cater for the needs of all children and encourage the healthy development of physical, emotional, intellectual and social skills.

•We shall provide safe and well-supervised learning areas.

•We shall respect the rights and opinions of parents and the community and encourage parent participation and a broad interest in the community.

•Throughout the day children will be exposed to small group, whole group and individual learning experiences, which will be developed from the needs and interests of each child.

•We shall provide opportunities for the children to explore language, music and movement, science and the arts, to help them make sense of their world.

•All children will be given adequate time for meals, rest and relaxation because above all the young children need to grow both physically and mentally.

•We shall encourage children to value and respect each other’s differences while promoting the development of a positive self-esteem.

•We shall create a learning environment, which will encourage children to interact, take on roles and develop relationships with others through play.

•We shall encourage children to be respectful, sensitive and thoughtful towards their natural environment.

Parents Feedback

Hi! Neelika i must say i was really touched and impressed to see karan's work and continious progress at school. A heartfelt THANKYOU for that.Karan would miss PLAYWAY big time in these holidays...Keep up the good work a BIG thumbs up for you aunty amaal and yoga. I am proud and satisfied of the fact that i chose PLAYWAY as karan's foundation.It is in deed a second home to karan. All the best for your future endevaours. Best wishes..mrs.Rahul.

Please make a general comment about you and your child’s experience at the playway?

Jaana loves the playway and is very happy here. We are very pleased with it and hope to keep her here as long as we can. We are very happy with the amount of thought and care put into the activities and arrangement of toys and classroom.

What do you like best about the playway?

That it is ALL play!

Also the great stimulation, colors, care and attention to detail to make everything so attractive and of course, the teachers.

Any suggestions for improvement?

Nothing for now really. Perhaps more singing.

Please make a general comment about you and your child’s experience at the playway?

We appreciate that the number of students are limited to a small group. This has provided greater individual attention.

What do you like best about the playway?

It is well equipped and child friendly. The garden activities are very good.

How did you come to know about the the playway?

Through a promotional leaflet at some event.

Any suggestions for improvement?

Please continue the good work.

Good Job!

Suggest taking the children out on a visit to a park or the zoo etc. (accompanied by parents).

Please make a general comment about you and your child’s experience at the playway?

Nice warm friendly environment with teachers who make the children feel special.

What do you like best about the playway?

Lots of different activities for the children and the way the children are taken care of.

Any suggestions for improvement?

Some more outdoor activities.