Preschool

What joy and hope we have experienced at Preschool this year!

Thank you to all the parents who have so joyfully come again to craft mornings, helped cook in classrooms and most of all, we celebrate your beautiful children!

Over fifty families with their children came apple picking and attended our Mid-Winter and Spring Festivals together. Our community is central to who we are as a Preschool.

The parents have all done an incredible job in the last few years keeping light and warmth in their homes. We wish to pay tribute to the families and their dedication to the children.

In joyful relationship to each other and to their third teacher: Our beautiful environments

New parents who entered Glenaeon Preschool immediately noticed the simplicity, the beauty and the deep attention to detail that permeates our classrooms. The educators take great care of our physical space and plan the design of the rooms to be an extension of the creative home environment where children and teachers joyfully participate in meaningful work. This sense of feeling at home at Preschool has been paramount this year as many children regularly left their homes for the first time after lockdowns and needed to strengthen their sense of belonging and joy.

Inside

Teachers have been creating a gentle environment where the space has been beautifully organised to support engagement and connection. Our toys, made from natural materials with differing forms and gestures, have allowed the most imaginative play. Stones, shells or pine cones were directly collected from nature and brought into their play. Silks, crowns and cloaks have been used for pretend play and to create stories. Our flexible pieces of timber furniture have promoted open-ended play opportunities- chairs used for sitting around the lunch table were also used for a school bus. Outside

The time outside has allowed children to play in a variety of inventive ways while fostering a strong connection between them and the natural world. They have learnt to care for and nurture the garden, they have hunted treasures amongst the trees or built rivers and bridges in the sandpit, they have sought imaginary wilderness animals or ships at sea from the top of the climbing frame looking into the park. They have been engaged in endless opportunities for imaginative play.

We have visited the park every week and listened to birds soaring over the treetops and examined little creatures creeping around the ground. As seasons were changing, children were exposed to the subtle and delightful changes that transform their play spaces and bring great connection with the natural world.

Our environment is intended to make the children feel safe and immerse them in the surroundings, deeply nurturing their sense of life. 