Monique Montessori
Day Nursery
Phone: 01732 452931
Email: info@moniquemontessori.co.uk
Address: 41 Chipstead Lane, Sevenoaks, Kent, TN13 2AJ
Extra Curricular Activities
We are very fortunate to have our own premises in a beautiful location. Our experienced staff are able to give the children further experiential learning with cookery, science and relaxation and also organising walks and a Leavers' outing. We also specially invite people to come to talk to the children in relation to specific projects such as a dentist, a vet and a policeman for our People's Jobs project.
Outings
We try to take the children to local places of interest relating to our projects. We have visited Little Street,Groombridge, Sevenoaks Wildlife Reserve, the Fire Station and our local fishmonger, made doughnuts at Tesco and take trips to the library to change our classroom books.
Outings from the nursery serve a number of very positive purposes for the children which include :
• Enhancing the child's understanding of the world,
• Offering access to a broader range experiences and facilities than available at the nursery
• Adding excitement to the daily routine
• Offering opportunities for practising social skills and safe road awareness skills
• Giving the child opportunities for increased confidence through responsibility and supported independence
Cookery
The children have the opportunity to do cooking and baking as part of a weekly activity as well as being part of our celebrations. This might include preparing vegetables for the stir fry noodles for Chinese New Year, making scones to celebrate St George's Day tea party and making cookies for Mothers and Fathers day.
Science
It was observed that the children have a fascination with science and wanted to encourage their natural inclination to discover for themselves. After they have been shown how to do the experiments the children are free to choose to do certain activities for themselves. These include finding out about magnets and which items are magnetic, conductivity using a battery circuit and sinking and floating. There are also class experiments such as finding out about the importance of light to seedlings. Favourite experiments are inflating a balloon using bicarbonate of soda and vinegar and the erupting volcano.
Yoga (Outside Agency)
The benefit of relaxation techniques for young children is gaining widespread recognition and contribute to the holistic well being of the child.
The relaxation session includes simple poses that focus on balance. As preschoolers practice skills with their arms, legs, and whole body (gross motor movements) along with fingers, toes and facial muscles (fine motor movements), they learn how their bodies move and gain confidence, balance and coordination. As a group the children are shown how to breathe and relax. Stillness leads to the ability to listen with focus and attention.
Nature Walks
We like to take advantage of our wonderful location in Chipstead whenever we can. As well as being able to play on the local green, we also walk to the woodland and park beside Riverhead School and visit Chipstead lake and sail boats down the river.
Priory Farm (Leavers trip)
Each year the children that will be leaving the nursery to start at Primary school are invited on a special trip to Priory Farm. This is a highly anticipated event which the children really enjoy. We follow the trail and discovery lots of hidden adventures, such as a fairy garden, a musical area, a castle climbing frame, and a large tire dragon, to name a few.
Zoo Lab Visit
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Every year, we invite Zoo Lab into our nursery to introduce the children to a selection of mini beasts. Zoo Lab is always an exciting day for the children and they love learning about the animals, as well as being able to have a hands on experience with them. Last year the children handled a Giant African Snail, a giant millipede and a small snake.
Forest School
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We are very fortunate to be able to provide Forest School within our curriculum here at Monique’s. The children have access to our special designed Forest School area all through the week, and on top of this there is a structured Forest school session led by our owner Dayo who is a fully trained Forest School Leader.
Forest School gives the children unique opportunities of experiencing play and learning in a controlled outdoor environment, while developing their independence, confidence and self-esteem. Some of the activities the children will take part in include shelter building, minibeast hunting, seed planting, autumn leaf printing, mud painting, woodwork activities , shadow tracing and many more creative tasks.
Sensory Circuit
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Sensory circuits are a series of sensory based movement activities , done in a specific order. These activities provide sensory input and help to regulate and optimise a child's nervous system , better preparing them for learning and engaging. The children work through a variety of physical activities in the three stages of Alerting, Organising and Calming. these activities include star jumps, bunny hops, balancing activities, bubble blowing, gym ball exercises and many more. Sensory circuits can be very beneficial for all children but especially for children that may have sensory processing difficulties or need help regulating themselves.