Information bulletin  Group 1-2   

This information is aimed specifically at groups 1-2.  As you know, you can find all general information on the website, in the school guide and/or in our school's annual supplement. The website contains many documents, such as, for example, the school's internal regulations.  

First encounter:  
Before your child officially enters school, the school administration will contact you and suggest a date for an introductory meeting. At the same time, appointments are also made for four settling-in moments (before the fourth birthday). You should attend the introductory meeting together with your child and, if necessary, your partner. Your child can then get acquainted with the teacher or one of the teachers when working in a duo formation and see the class he/she will attend. The teacher can also go through specific information about your child with you during this introductory meeting (based on the intake form you fill in beforehand). After making arrangements for the introductory meeting and the settling-in days, your child will receive an invitation card at home. 

The school, through you, likes to receive a transfer report from the playgroup or nursery called "Peuterestafette". This allows us to connect well with your child's needs and development.  
When your child has been at school for a few weeks, we will invite you to a first evaluation meeting. During this evaluation meeting, the first experiences of you and the school are exchanged. The Peuterestafette is also discussed. 

Introductory meetings with parents are held for all groups in our school about 3 or 4 weeks after the start of each school year.  
During the 15-minute interview, for which you will be assigned to an afternoon, we hope to lay a good foundation for a great collaboration between parents, children and teacher(s) in that coming school year. 

The kindergarten group:  
At our school, we have combined kindergarten groups.  
This means that group 1 and 2 pupils are in one group together.  
This is a conscious school choice with the following advantages:  

The children in group 1 already see from the older children what the rules are and how the daily routine is in the group.  
The older toddler can help with certain things; such as putting on/off coats. This is good for each child's self-confidence and younger children are thus encouraged to try it themselves. We call this the "buddy system".  

The children's development is easy to follow because they stay with the same teacher(s) for longer.  
The composition of the group does not change as much, making it easier to create a group feeling.  
Children learn, stimulate and challenge each other more through a vertical age structure. 
Each preschool group works on the same theme.  
A theme usually lasts six to eight weeks.  

A themed corner or table is often set up with the children during the theme period. By giving the children their own input, the theme will really come to life and you as parents will hear about it through your child. We will keep you informed about the themes via e-mail and the school app.  

Daily schedule:   
Walk-in (inloop) 
Toddlers enter the building through the nursery entrance (front of school). Coats and bags (with any after-school items) are hung up. The "snack" (drinking cup/tray) is placed in the designated area just outside the classroom.  

Upon entering the room, the children choose something to do during the walk-in. The options for this are somewhat less extensive than during the play/work time that follows later in the morning,  but will be clear to them fairly quickly. During the walk-in, materials are sometimes laid out together with the name tags of certain children. The intention is then for those children to work with these and for the teacher to look at the work later on. 

Small circle (kleine kring) 
From 8.30 a.m., the teacher will work with a small group of preschoolers out 20 minutes on a targeted maths and language activity in the "small circle". The place in the room reserved for this is indicated by means of a card. The children whose turn it is to do this can then sit in these places. Until the teacher joins them, they briefly "read" a book. 

In a small group, involvement is higher and attention tends to be better. 

Large circle (kring) 
After the walk-in, we clean up and all take a seat in the circle. During the morning, there are two "big circle moments".  

Every day, two children are "helpers". They may then also sit next to the teacher. During the 1e large circle, attention is paid to the opening of the day in which the day, the date, the weather and the programme are visualised for the children via the daily routine cards. 
In the 2e large circle, various other activities related to the theme such as a circle discussion, reading aloud, musical education, etc. also take place. 
After the 1e big circle, alternating outdoor play/gym or the play/work round comes up.  

Play/work time (werken en spelen)

The children have playwork time twice a day. We use a dialing board during playtime. The dial board is used to structure and clarify play activities and work with materials for preschoolers.  

The children hang their cards where they want to play/work. The teacher has already hung the activities the children can choose on the board and it is clear to the children how many children can play with which material. The teacher can also hang up cards or place them on the table so that it is visible to everyone which children the teacher is going to work with. 
During playtime, the teacher observes the children's play. The teacher can then broaden and/or deepen the children's play by guiding the play (play coaching).   

Playtime is always concluded with tidying up the classroom and evaluating playtime in the circle. 

Break time (Pauze)
Around 10.00 there is always a break time. Please bring drinks and something to eat, e.g. a piece of fruit or a biscuit. We do not want children to snack during this time. Please place the name visibly on the cup/packet and bowl to avoid confusion. Our regular fruit days are Thursday and Friday. Please cut up grapes or cherry tomatoes to prevent choking. 

Outdoor play/movement education (Buiten spelen)

According to a schedule, a group or two groups go outside before or after the eating/drinking break. We also use the playroom in our school building. All nursery groups use the playroom twice a week. Once a week they are taught by the gymteacher (equipment lesson). The other time, the group teacher provides the gym lessons (games).  We ask all toddlers to bring gym shoes (preferably with elastic or velcro fastenings), please labelled with their name. Each preschooler receives a gym bag from school in which to store the shoes and simple gym clothes (shorts/leggings, t-shirt). Before the holidays, we give the gym bags so that the gym clothes can be washed but you are always free to take the clothes home for washing more often. It is better not to wash the gym bag itself as this will quickly deteriorate its quality. 
 
End of the day  (einde van de dag)

At the end of the day, the teacher walks out with the class. For all nursery groups, there is a fixed place near the entrance/exit where the children are lined up. Once the teacher has seen you and called your child's name, your child may go to you. For parents and teacher, this is a pleasant way to keep a good overview. Should your child unexpectedly be picked up by someone other than the regular parent or babysitter, please let the teacher know. It prevents "unpleasant surprises". If your child attends BSO, we would like to know which days your child attends BSO and if that is not the case, that you inform both the BSO and the teacher. This is then clear to both the teacher and your child.  

Stoplight on independent work:  
A traffic light is used during playtime: 
Red: you work quietly and must not disturb the teacher 
Orange: you work softly and must not disturb the teacher 
Green: you can ask the teacher something 

Working according to a reasoned offer 
In the preschool groups, work is carried out using a reasoned offer. This means that the school year is divided into five periods. This is always a period from a holiday to a holiday. So from summer to autumn, autumn to Christmas, Christmas to spring, spring to May and May to summer.  

For each period, goals are described for both group 1 and group 2 that include linguistic, arithmetic and motor development.  

Through the theme, we ensure that these goals are offered repeatedly. In a time span of 6 to 8 weeks, the theme will receive attention in as diverse a manner as possible, with the children's own input being given great attention. New material that is offered during the circle often finds an in-depth focus during the play and work round in the various play and work corners.  

Birthdays:  
Usually, the new 4-year-old still celebrates his or her birthday at the playgroup or nursery and not immediately at the primary school. This is the most familiar for the child and is also an immediate farewell moment for most children.  

When a child turns 5 or 6, he/she gets a party hat.  
There will be singing for the birthday boy or girl and treats will be allowed. Please keep the treat small (please do not add small toys to the treat). Lollipop and chewing gum treats are not allowed.  

Please check with the teacher whether there are children with allergies in the group. Please discuss with the teacher on which day your child can have a treat.  
The treat can be consumed at school, but can also be taken home. The birthday child may take a wrapped treat, if necessary, past the other kindergarten groups and past the headmaster's office.  

Toy Mornings:  (speelgoedochtenden)
There are 2 toy mornings listed on the school calendar. On these mornings, preschoolers may bring toys from home. Fragile toys, or toys with many small parts that can easily get lost, are not helpful to bring during a toy morning. Toys that provoke the playing of war and/or fighting games are not wanted at school.   

Bringing toys in between mornings is not allowed. We may make an exception depending on the situation. Just showing something to the teacher and then taking it home again is always okay.  

We do greatly appreciate it when children bring items for the theme corner or theme table.   

MyKleutergroup (mijn kleutergroep)

To follow and register your child's development, we work with the registration system Mijnkleutergroep.nl. For this purpose, we use an IPad/laptop in the group on which we can efficiently register and track goals achieved. 

These goals are based on the goals from the reasoned offer. These are objectives that help teachers visualise and monitor children's development. The objectives we use are based on the objectives of the SLO (National Expertise Centre for Curriculum Development) and are in line with the continuous learning lines for primary education.  

Activities during the school year:  
On the calendar, you can see which activities are scheduled for the coming school year.  
In addition to these activities, group 1/2:  
A performance and/or workshop from the arts menu.  
We also make an excursion from the cultural policy plan (e.g. an autumn walk/visit to the petting farm or a visit to the nativity scene in St John the Baptist Church). You will receive more information in due course.  

 If there are any questions, feel free to ask! 

 Kind regards, 

Group 1-2 teachers.  

 Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)