February 2026

Dear Parents and Carers,

As we come to the end of this half term, we would like to say how incredibly proud we are of the
children. They are developing meaningful friendships and are consistently kind, caring and helpful
towards one another. It has been wonderful to see their confidence and independence growing
each week.

Over the past few weeks, we have been focusing on developing independent skills. The children
have been practicing pouring their own water and drinking from an open cup, as well as collecting
their own coats and putting them on independently. You may wish to encourage and practice these
skills at home to help build their confidence even further.

Our literacy focus has been on learning how to handle books carefully and developing a love of
sharing stories together. We have particularly enjoyed reading the Elmer the Elephant stories. The
children had great fun creating their own colorful Elmer pictures using bright paper to reflect
Elmer’s patchwork patterns.

We have also learnt the song ‘If You’re Happy and You Know It’ in British Sign Language and will
be learning many more songs using sign language.

Please remember to bring your child’s red book bag in once a week so they can borrow one of our
books to share with you at home. Sharing stories together really supports their language
development and fosters a love of reading.

If you are looking for more books to enjoy, Ashford Library is a wonderful local resource and a real
treasure trove of books for children. It is well worth a visit if you have the opportunity.

Next week is half term. The last day of term is Friday 13th February, and we return on Monday 23rd
February.

We wish you all a fun-filled and safe week off.

Kind regards,
Alison, Patricia and Sophie