The day is baking hot, the long walk to the town of Reggio has us longing for a cool sparkling water and perhaps one of those delicious pastries Italy is famous for. We stop at a pavement cafe and whilst waiting to be served I look around. To my left sit a group of...
My working holiday, in Italy, involved a trip to Reggio Emilia to the Loris Malaguzzi Study Centre. I was able to spend hours and hours reading about the history of Reggio Children, looking at the photographs of children's work and studying an enormous collection of...
It is never easy to say goodbye to loved ones and I am certainly no different, to other people, when it comes to saying goodbye to our pre-school children. I have never been the sort of teacher who can see them off at the end of term and forget them. This current...
Pre-school children have loved learning about the Olympics and this has been made even more meaningful because one of our parents is an olympian! Carlos Parro represented his country, Brazil, in the Eventing, the children loved to watch the horses jumping the fences,...
Would you consider this as an insignificant black squidge on the path outside?? Well only if you are not a small child or early years practitioner. Early this morning I was called to the garden, by one of my team, to witness a very moving scene. A small boy, less than...
Prior to beginning our weekly trips we had believed that they would provide a great opportunity for children to learn, which they have done, but we adults have had to justify the risks that taking children out of the setting presents. Yes, we have produced risk...
My team and I met on Saturday for a staff training event, hosted by Graeme and I, at a local hotel, where I delivered training on ‘Extending the Reggio Approach’ For inspiration to change we have used the book, The Hundred Languages of Children, by editors from The...
Waving at tractors. I must have one of the only jobs in the world where it is not only acceptable but expected that I should stand at the side of the road and wave at tractors. Of course it is a much more acceptable practice when holding the hand of a small and...
Slugs, morality and dead baby birds (in that order) Whilst this was not the ‘planned topic’ for this weeks’ outdoor adventure it is the ‘topic’ that children chose and the one that we adults had to follow. Slugs. Once again our forest-school-type experience led to the...
Yesterday we took our pre-school children for the regular weekly outdoor experience. Our plan, this week, was to take a tent with us for children to help to erect and play in. The children were quite excited about this and helped to put the tent up. They also enjoyed...
Pre-school children are looking at modes of transport this week. I prepared to read them the story of, 'Please Don't Talk to the Bus Driver' before I did so I asked,'What is transport?' 'It means vehicles' said Ella. I must admit I thought this was a wonderful...
Come and join us for the fun at our Open Day Event on Saturday 25th June at 10 until 12.30pm. Meet the team and find out how our unique approach to educuation ensures that children achieve great academic results! email or call to book your place now.
Today was our first Forest School Adventure! Well to be strictly accurate it wasn't forest school because we were are a popular nature site which wasn't very 'foresty' but that didn't spoil our fun at all. We set off with four toddlers, eight pre-schoolers, three...
All ready for play and learning. I love to walk around the Prepatoria just before the children come in each day. Looking at the activities prepared by the team to capture children's imagination always makes me proud. They work hard to think of lovely things for...
If your child is starting school in September you have probably been thinking about and planning this for more than a year. As we approach the time for our first cohort of pre-school children to leave us I can tell you that we have been planning this for more than two...
What an exciting day for pre-school! This week children have been doing the story of Snow White and the seven dwarfs. They have been involved in a wide range of activities related to the story but today children arrived to find a letter from Snow White for them. The...
Jane Smalley is a Licensed Parent Coach. If you would find it useful to have one to one coaching to discuss your child please feel free to contact her at the Prepatoria.
Learning to read need not be a daunting task for either child or parent. With 90% of our current pre-school children already reading I can assure you this been a fun and exciting time for all children. Children love spending time in one to one activities with a kind...
Living Eggs. The eggs were delivered last Friday and we were told to expect chicks to begin to hatch by Wednesday. We were not disappointed! I arrived early this morning to find two fragile little chicks staggering about the incubator. As each team member arrived they...
I have now been teaching children to read for a very long time and I never cease to feel thrilled when the first sounds and word is blended and read. It is quite a wonderful moment, in the long journey and process of learning to read and write, when children begin to...
A recent article in one of the broadsheet newspapers informed us of the government's desire to provide more support for parents in the form of Parenting Courses or classes. The government's suggestion was to provide parents with vouchers they could redeem against such...
We are delighted to announce that we are finalist in the Business for children Awards 2016. We will attend an evening award ceremony in March when the overall winner will be announced. We would like to thank the family who nominated us for this award.
At Shrewsbury Prepatoria we understand that children learn best when they are taught in small groups and led by experienced and knowledgeable adults. Our pre-school accommodates a maximum number of just 16 children. Children are organised into small groups, dividing...
Deciding to use a nursery or return to work is probably one of the hardest decisions a parent will ever make. You will want to make sure that the nursery you choose really does have your child's best interest at heart. But how can you really know what the right place...
Autumn is a really beautiful time and a fantastic opportunity to teach children about the seasons of the year. Our pre-school children have enjoyed collecting leaves for a wide range of creative activities but most of all they have enjoyed climbing trees. One small...
Thanks to all our parents who attended the Prepatoria Open Day yesterday to support us and to chat to prospective families. It is always so exciting to meet new parents and children and to show off our lovely environment too. It was a busy happy day with lots of...
As a licensed parent coach I find it enormously rewarding to share the highs and lows of parenting with the families of the Prepatoria. The coaching sessions support us to communicate better with each other, to listen more, to ask questions to clarify meaning and to...
A routine part of the role of the practitioner is to assess children's learning and development against the Early Years Foundation Stage Outcomes. In some settings this is seen as a laborious task as the practitioner searches through statements looking for markers...
Occasionally when showing a parent around the Prepatoria they will tell me, I'm not really worried about the education side of things, he/she will get all that at school. I just want them to be happy. And of course a parent that is all we want for our children. We...
Children at Shrewsbury Prepatoria are given lots of opportunities for mark making. We use a variety of exciting resources to provoke interest in writing and drawing. One of our latest purchases was a light-box. These are normally used by graphic designers as they...
If you are returning to work and thinking about choosing a nursery then please look at our short Guide to Choosing a Nursery. You will find it below. If you have any questions please contact me for further help and guidance. A guide to choosing a nursery
The answer to this question will vary enormously and responses from adults will be based upon their own experiences. Experiences of childhood, being parented and parenting all colour our views. And of course if you ask an 'expert' for advise then expect something...
At Shrewsbury Prepatoria we really want each and every child to feel happy, safe and securely attached from when the moment they are first left in our care. In order for this to happen the all adults involved in the process will need to commit to a great deal of time...
Welcome to Miss Wallace. We are delighted to welcome Naomi Wallace who will join the team as a full time practitioner from 4th August. Naomi will undertake further training whilst in our employ but will be mentored and trained by Miss Birch and Miss Astbury. Naomi has...
The completed outdoor classroom. We are delighted with the refurbishment of the outdoor space, which will become the Art Studio. Malcolm Shambly at Limetree Landscapes completed the original transformation when he turned the car park into a wonderful garden. Malcolm...
Summer Barbeque Our Summer Barbeque was held on Saturday 23rd June and it was a wonderfully warm afternoon. The barbeque was lit and families cooked their own meat and fish. There was a lovely spread of cakes, nibbles and salads for people to share, all kindly donated...
Join our mailing list to receive the latest news and updates from our team.