Head of school / Day Care Manager 's message

Dear Parents and Carers,

What a fantastic week it has been at Muriel Green Nursery! The children have loved exploring, learning, and making memories with their friends. Thank you for your ongoing support and the lovely moments we share at drop-off and pick-up, your partnership is essential to making your child's experience here the best it can be!

We also delighted to share some local news with you, Mandeville Primary School, St Albans, is hosting a Happy Lunar New Year 2026 celebration on Saturday, 7 February 2026, from 5pm to 7pm at Mandeville Drive, St Albans AL1 2LE. Families can look forward to fireworks, a lion dance, delicious food and drinks, music, a tuck shop, arts and crafts, and more. Tickets are £6.50 per adult and £3.50 per child (ages 3–12), with under 3s free. You can book your tickets in advance on Eventbrite for a discounted rate. The information is on the newsletter.

Wishing you a restful weekend, and we look forward to welcoming you back next week!

Dates coming up:

HALF TERM

Monday 16th to Friday 20th February s

Start of Term

Monday 23rd February

MADGE (mother , aunty, daughter, grandma and every other female) Celebration Day

Friday 13rd March 2.00pm to 5.30 pm

Last Day of Term

Friday 27th March

Easter Holiday

Monday 30th March to Friday 10th April
Friday 3rd April - Good Friday Nursery and Day-care is Closed
Monday 6th April - Easter Monday Nursery and Day-care is closed

Inset Day

Monday 13rd April Nursery and Day-care is closed

Follow us on Social Media, see what amazing things we do in Nursery and keep up to date.

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Additonal session are available in our daycare

We now have day care sessions available each week, offered on the ad-hoc basis with no weekly commitment required. Availability may wary, the table below details next week's available sessions.

To book or enquire, please email admin@murielgreen.herts.sch.uk

Conker Room
Book & Rhyme of the week

Next week our book of the week will be There’s a Bear on My Chair. We will use this story to build the children’s language, rhythm and rhyme awareness, as well as their understanding of feelings and friendships through playful,

Our Keywords are "Happy, Sitting, Igloo"

Our Rhyme this week is Jack and JiIl went up the hill

Home Learning:

Demonstrate the key word concepts to your child. Eg can you put your hand up/down?

Acorn Room
Book & Rhyme of the week

.story to support the children’s language, early reading skills and understanding of people who help us through related play

Our Rhyme this week is "Old MacDonald"

Home Learning: Picking and Pitching

Set up a large, shallow tray with big, chunky pom‑poms, cotton wool or large pasta shapes and a few clear containers or muffin tins. Invite your child to pick up the items using their thumb and finger and drop them into the containers.

Willow Room
Book & Rhyme of the week

Next week our book of the week will be Ten Terrible Dinosaurs by Paul Stickland. We will use this fun, rhythmic story to support early counting skills and number language,

Our Keywords are "Dinosaur, Spiky, Fierce"

Our rhyme of the week is "Shape up song"

Home Learning: Mark Marking

We are practicing our mark making skills this week. You can help at home by giving your child opportunities to explore using resources like chalk, pens, pencils or crayons.

Nursery Room
Book & Rhyme of the week

Next week our book of the week will be Jack and the Beanstalk. We will use this traditional tale to support children’s language and understanding of “beginning, middle and end. .

Our Keywords are Beanstalk, Giant/Giantess, Market, Stranger, harp, Lullabies

Our rhyme of the week is "Five Little Peas"

Home Learning: Number in the environment

Have a look for numbers in the environment. What numbers can you find in your home or when you go out for a walk? Can you find the number for your age? Can you find the number 1 to 5?

Birch Room
Book & Rhyme of the week

Rhyme of the Week:
Two Little Dickie Birds – Children will join in with the familiar rhyme using finger movements, puppets, and simple BSL signs. They will explore making marks to represent the birds, the wall, and their movements.

Focus Skill:
!We are supporting fine motor development and early mark making, including finger control, emerging pencil grip, hand-eye coordination, and the ability to follow short, adult-led tasks. Activities include posting, using puzzles, early drawing, and creating marks that link to the story, such as dots for birds, lines for the wall, and swooping lines for flying.

Ideas for Home:

Have fun singing the rhyme of the week together and encourage your child to use their fingers or a crayon to “draw” the birds flying or sitting on the wall. You could try:

Finger-tracing the wall or drawing simple lines on paper
Exploring different mark-making materials such as crayons, chalk, sand, or playdough

These activities build early control, hand strength, and coordination, while linking directly to the rhyme.

Success Story of the Week!

Our success of the week has been exploring our food of the week – avocado! The children were excited to cut, feel and taste the avocado, noticing its bumpy skin and soft inside. This activity supported their Physical Development as they practised safe cutting with support, and Understanding the World as they explored a new food and talked about where it comes from. We were so proud of how many children were curious and brave enough to have a taste, building confidence and independence around trying new foods, and sharing their likes and dislikes with adults and friends.