Your Comments!

Thank you so much for your presents this year, but even more for your kind comments this Christmas about the care we provide! Its great for us to know that both the children and parents are happy with us! Here are a few of them ...

"Thank you for all your help and support, we appreciate it so much. Its lovely knowing she goes to a pre-school she truly loves!"

"Thank you for being totally brilliant, flexible and loving"

Tables at the Christmas Fair

We still have a couple of tables available for the Christmas Fair!

If you have anything you would like to sell or advertise then please let us know! Tables cost just £10

Christmas Fair Quiz

With only a few days to go before the Christmas Fair, why not have a go at our Christmas Quiz. Entry forms are available at Baby Ducks or Kids Dreams in Shoreham!

It costs just 50p to enter, then take the quiz home and try and work out the clues. Bring the quiz along with you on Saturday and hand it in for a chance to win a bottle of wine!

Policy Updates

We have added a page to our website where you can see all of our Policies. At the moment only 5 had been added but more will go on each week as they are reviewed and updated!

Have a look at : http://www.babyducks.co.uk/policies.html for details of our Key Person, Fire Procedures, Admisssions, Equal Opportunities and Complaints Policies

Books at the Fair

We will have a children's book stall at the Christmas fair with a great selection of titles from as little as £1.95 making them an ideal Christmas present!

Many of the books are by well know authors as well as a selection from Child's Play including traditional fairy tales!

If there any books you are looking for let us know before hand and we will see if we can get them!

We are pleased to announce that Father Christmas will be able to come to our Christmas Fair on 15th December.

It will cost just £1.50 for the children and they will each receive a small gift! Please come along and join us from 1pm!

The Christmas Fair

Our Christmas fair will be on Saturday 15th December at 1pm!

There will be mince pies, stalls, a raffle, mulled wine, face painting, games and of course Father Christmas!

Stalls are available at £10 per table, if you would like one then please let one of the staff know!

We also need prizes for the tombola so if you have anything please bring it in as soon as you can!

George and the Dragon

This week we have been reading 'George and the Dragon' and some of the older children have been taking some pictures of 'our castle!!!!'. Here are some of the results they have produced!

I think some of them are quite good, maybe some budding photographers?

Main Event Photographic

We are having a visit from Main Event Photographic next Thursday (6th) to take some new pictures for our Website and advertising material! Parents of children scheduled to attend that day will be getting a letter today! We need your permission to take photo's of your children, so please speak to Maryann or Zoe.

If you would like to know more about this company, then please see ; http://www.maineventphotographyuk.blogspot.co.uk/

MacMillan Coffee Morning

Just a quick reminder that this morning is the MacMillan Coffee Morning!

Please come along and join us for a cup of coffee and support this great charity!

Through the Eyes of a Child

The council have given us a link to this video, which we thought might be of some interest to parents with children between 2 and 3 years olds.



Let us know what you think and if you would like more information of this type.

How to contact us!

We have been having some issues with the new phone line which has resulted in us being unable to take incoming calls! This should be resolved very soon but in the mean time if you need to contact us please use the mobile number or send us an email!

Also just to confirm during times when the setting is closed please use the email system for messages rather than leaving a message on the phoen as these will only be checked when we reopen which may be to late!

On Line Forms

Today we have put our first form onto the blog page. The online application form allows parents to send us a form with some basic details to apply for a place with us. This is hopefully only the beginning, in the future we will use this system to contact us on a number of subjects!

Open Day

We are planning an open day at our  new setting on Thursday 6th September!

We will not be open until the Monday 10th September, but we will be setting the hall up as it would be, you are welcome to bring your children along and they are welcome to play for a while!

We will be there from 9am until 3pm and will be happy to answer any questions that you may have!

A New Beginning!

The week is a big week for Baby Ducks! We have left our home of Glebe Villas!

The last bits left the hall yesterday and were moved to our new home, which if you did not already know is the Parish Centre in Portslade!

The big duck was the first thing to go in to the hall taking up his new place under our notice board!

We will be publishing more information about our new home over the coming weeks, so keep checking the blog for more information including details of our open day and the Parish Centre Summer Fair!

I would however like to say a massive thank you to our truly awesome staff for all the hard work they have put in over the last few weeks and especially yesterday!

Thanks also to all the support that the parents have given us during what has been a difficult time, put simply we could not do it without you!

Quiz Night Date Changed!

Due to a lot of parents being away this weekend we have taken the decision to change the date of the quiz to the 17th November. More details about tickets, etc at the beginning of next term!

Quiz Night

Its that time of year again, its time for a quiz night!

This time it is going to be on Saturday night, the 21st July!

Start time is 7pm and tickets cost £5 which includes your first drink.We will be holding the evening at our new home the Parish Centre in Portslade. (More details about our new site will be posted soon!)

If you want a ticket then please ask Zoe or Maryann

Starlight Studios UK

Just a quick reminder that Starlight Studios UK are at Kids Dreams in Shoreham this week offering a photographic session and complimentary 10'x8x portrait!

If your interested ask Zoe for a special discount voucher!

Slip, Slap, Slide

Here is a video of the new Sun Safety Song which we will be using :


Why not sing it with your children to help reinforce the message!

Tesco and Sainsburys Vouchers

Please could you check to see if you have any more Tesco or Sainsburys vouchers that you have not given in.

We will be completing the orders soon and we still need 300 Sainbury vouchers and few Tesco vouchers to get the items that we are hoping for!

Thank you so much for all the vouchers you have collected so far, it will make such a difference to the children!

Bigger Space to Play!

This week the children have been helping use to create a bigger space indoors to do more active play.

We have made use of the foam tiles that we occasionally use outside. With the weather being so unpredictable it gives them a safe area to use up some energy!

Playdoh

Its been a while since we put out the playdoh and as you can see they seemed to have missed it!

The table has had at least 6 children at it all day! If any one wants the recipe for the playdoh that we make then please ask and we will be happy to give it to you.

Slugs and Snails Follow Up Visit

Matt from Slugs and Snails will be back tomorrow with the pictures that he took a couple of weeks back. He is planning to come in from 12:30pm. If you want to come in and see the pictures then please let us know so we can ensure that he does not miss you.

Pictures will be on an on line catalogue for a few weeks after tomorrow but he can only offer a discount on orders placed on the day.

I will post details of the link once we have it. (You will need a password which we will email to all parents tomorrow)

The prices that they will be charging are:

SIZE	On the Day Orders	Website
6” 4”	£10	£16
7" x 5"	£15	£22
9" x 6"	£22	£30
12" x 8"	£30	£42
18" x 12"	£48	£64

Goodbye Glebe Villas

As you will all now be aware, we are saying goodbye to our home for the last 6 years, the site that to you has probably been know as simply Baby Ducks!

Glebe Villas has got lots of great memories for us and we will of course be very sad to go, but there is nothing as constant as change! I would like to celebrate our time at the hall, so please feel free to comment on any good memories that you have!

We hope to have news of a new home for Baby Ducks soon, so watch this space!

Something to do when it rains!

The weather may be bad, but the children have been making the most of the large inside space and have had great fun playing with the parachute today!

They tried to get the balls to bounce off and had to learn to listen an work together, but most importantly it was really good fun!

Slugs and Snails Update

Hopefully all the children in today enjoyed having their pictures taken! Matt from Slugs and Snails will be back to show the pictures and give you a chance to order any that you are interested in at a special discount price! We had originally planned for this to be Thursday next week, this however has needed to be changed! I will let you all know the new date as soon as we have it!

Were Back!!!

Just to confirm today is the first day of the new term!!! Hope you all had a great Easter!!!

Slugs and Snails

We have arranged for a professional photographer to visit Baby Ducks on Thursday 26th April.

They will be taking pictures of the children including a group photo which has been arranged for 10am. They will return the following week to show the results and parents will be able to order! If you want you child to attend on this day or just pop in for the group picture and it is a day the they do not normally attend then please ask Zoe or Maryann.

If you want to have a look at some of their work then visit http://www.slugsandsnails.net/

Sport Relief

A really big thank you to everyone to your support with our 'walk around the block'

The children did really well and we raised £207.10 for sport relief, which is really great!

Haven Fun and Fitness

Thanks to everyone that has registered their support for Baby Ducks with Haven Fun and Fitness! We have had some really lovely comments for which we are very grateful! If you have not had a look, then please use the link below:

http://www.havenfunfitness.com/school.asp?id=2869

We are currently at 60% which means we have only 10% left to go before we get any free equipment! Please help us to get to this target!

Healthy Choice Award!

Today we are proud to say that we have received our healthy choice award!

E-mails

We have now completed a database of parents e-mail addresses which we will be using to send out information to you that we previously would have sent by letter. This will hopefully be much quicker and ensure that all parents get the information at the same time! We have had a couple of e-mail addresses fail this week and will be checking with some of you that we have the correct details. It is also important that we have an e-mail address that you are likely to use. If you are not getting our e-mails please let us know as soon as possible. If your e-mail address changes please remember to keep us informed!

We have been working on a Nutrition Policy as part of our Healthy Early Years programme.

Here is the finished policy, you should also receive a copy by e-mail over the next couple of days!

Please feel free to give us some feedback!

At baby ducks we offer snack both in the morning and during afternoon sessions, we also supervise the children’s lunch time meal, although do not provide a lunch menu. All children staying over the lunch period will be required to bring in a suitable lunch box.

Our nutrition champion is Maryann Clifford.

A weekly menu for snacks will be on display in advance. 

The weekly snack menu will provide the children with a tasty, varied selection.

All the children will have food suitable for them

Milk will be served with morning and afternoon snack.

Soy milk drinks will only be given as a substitute for cow‘s milk with the parent‘s agreement and then only those fortified with calcium.

Water will be available at all times.

Children will be given items from their lunch boxes and encourage to eat savoury items before being given other items such as desert..

Parents or guardians will be advised if their child is not eating well.

A specific allergy plan will be in place to deal with any child having an allergic reaction.

Carers will sit with children while they eat and will provide a good role model for healthy eating.

Withholding food will not be used as a form of punishment.

Children will be encourage to develop good eating skills and table manners and will be given plenty of time to eat.

Advice will be given to parents about contents of their child‘s lunch box.

Advice will be made available to parents regarding the appropriate size of food portions for their child‘s age.-.

Children will be encouraged to play outside every day, weather permitting. This will ensure that they have an opportunity to be exposed to summer sunlight which helps their bodies to make vitamin D. 

Please do not feel obliged to bring in things to give out to the other children if it is your child’s birthday. However if you do want to bring something then we would encourage a non-food item such as a balloon or sticker.

Healthy Eating - Portion Sizes

In accordance with the healthy early years program we would like to encourage children to bring in a healthy packed lunch each day. Although lots of our children already do this, to make it easier we have listed portion sizes for some popular lunch choices to help. These are portions for children aged one to five, the age and size of the child will reflect whether they will be at the top end or bottom end of the scale.
As a rough guide, a portion size is the equivalent to the size of your palm, so if the portion is for your child then it is the size of their palm.
Please note the size of a sweet drink/juice should be 100 – 120ml, lots of children bring in large cartons of drink which fill their tummy’s making them too full to eat much of their lunch. It is not necessary to bring in a drink as we always offer water or milk for those that don’t bring one. If a child has a favourite drinking bottle we are happy to fill it with fresh water.
Also, portion sizes of crisps and biscuits should be noted.
We do not allow children to have fizzy drinks or sweets in lunch boxes.
If you would like to check what you’re child is consuming over a period of a week to see if it is within the healthy guidelines I have attached a chart. 




Bagel      ¼ - ½ bagel
Bread roll     ¼ - ¾ roll
Bread slices     ½ - 1 medium slice
Cream/wholemeal crackers   1 – 3 crackers
Pasta (cooked)    2 – 5 tablespoons
Apple      ¼ - ½ medium apple
Banana      ¼ - 1 banana
Clementine/manadarine   ½ - 1 fruit
Cherry tomatoes    1 – 4 tomatoes
Pizza      1 – 2 small slices
Ham      ½ - 1½  small slices
Sausages     ½ - 1 medium sausage
Tinned fish in a sandwich/salad  ½ - 1½  tablespoons
Grated cheese (in a sandwich)  ½ - 1 teaspoon
Yoghurt     1 average pot (125ml)
Fromage frais     2 small pots (60g each)

Puddings and Snacks

Biscuit      ½ - 1 biscuit
Cup cake     ½ - 1 (25g) cake
Cereal bar     ½ - 1 (20g) bar
Croissant (plain)    ½ - 1 medium pastry
Danish pastry/Choc croissant   ¼ - ½ medium pastry
Muffin      1/8  – ¼ of a large (125g) muffin

Sauces and spreads

The maximum serving size should be limited to upper end of range as these foods are high in energy or salt and an excess of high-energy foods can contribute to overweight and obesity.
Butter/margarine    thinly spread
Chocolate spread    thinly spread  (1 teaspoon)
Honey, jam, marmalade   thinly spread  (1 teaspoon)
Marmite     thinly spread
Mayonnaise, salad cream, dressing  1 – 2 teaspoons
Sweet drinks (eg. fruit juices/squashes) 100 – 120 mls

Confectionary

Bar of chocolate/choc coated biscuit  1 – 4 squares or a funsize choc bar
Boiled sweets     1 – 2 sweets
Chocolate buttons    6 – 8 small buttons
Popcorn (sweet)    1 small cup
Sweets (eg. fruit pastilles, wine gums etc.) 2 – 5 sweets 

Savoury Snacks

Crisps and packet snacks    4 – 6 crisps
French fries (thin, fast food)   6 – 10 fries 

Comments

We are hoping that parents will add comments to this site, but unfortunately it has been pointed out that it is very difficult to do this. Thanks to those that have tried! I think that it is now working correctly. When adding comments it should now be possible to select 'anonymous'.

You can also leave a comment by selecting Name/URL, you will only need to enter your name, but it may ask you to confirm that it is a person entering the comment rather than SPAM by entering the letters shown on the screen!

Let us know if you still have any problems!

The Letter 'o','O'

This weeks letter was 'o'. Thank you for bringing in items for the table, we have had oranges and several octopus toys.

Letter work sheets and other activities can be downloaded from sparklebox. (link is at the bottom of the blog!)

Please could you try and think of some items for next weeks letter, which of course will be 'p'.

Fee's Update

From January 2012, we are requesting that all parents pay there fee's for at least one month at a time, rather than one week as we have previously done. I hope that this does not cause any problems, but if it does then please ask to speak to Gary or Zoe.

Happy New Year!

We are back to normal this week, with the setting opening on Tuesday 3rd January, with the exception that as of this week we are now open extended hours, we are still here until 4:30pm on Thursday, but we are also open every other day until 3:30pm. If you are interested in changing your hours please speak to Zoe or Maryann.