Exciting progress!

Last week the roof window and bi fold doors were fitted, giving the building a wonderful feel.  Standing under the roof light, with the rain and wind in the trees outside, the space really feels opened up. 

The view from the bi fold doors up into the garden is lovely too now that the turf has been laid and our "telly tubby hill" is in place. 

Simon has also cleverly built a sunken sandpit and completed the covered area just outside the building.
The outside space is going to be chocked full of exciting things for the children to enjoy.

Meanwhile, inside, the building continues to come together and take shape into a pre-school, with equipment arriving all the time.  Last night, we held a "Flat pack party" to assemble the mountain of new furniture.  as you can see, we ended up with quite a pile of recycling! 

We had lots of fun, unpacking miniature wooden sofas for the reading corner, art storage, bookcases, and very exciting, a new role play area for the centre of the space, which will enable the children to play any number of different role play games, such as shops, garages, railway stations, post offices etc....so much potential!

The kitchen is gradually getting stacked with all the necessary supplies too.  The low hatch shelf will enable the children to participate in simple cooking activities.  We also unwrapped two armchairs and coffee table for the kitchen area so that the staff will at long last have a specified place to sit and eat their lunch and have their tea breaks!

The store room is filling up as Lucy and helpers (thanks Oli...Lucy's eldest son!) gradually transport things from the old cupboard.  The Cupboard in the Hall has been a big part of Kaleidoscope history, requiring great expertise to carefully stack and take care of the contents, using every available inch!  It has served us well, but I am sure it will be a relief for the staff to be able to have a bit more space to store things  in!

Please don't forget to put September 18th in your diaries.  Come and help us celebrate the opening of this wonderful new building with a picnic, games, treasure hunt and taster activities.  11am to 2 pm.  See you then!

Soft Play!

The soft play area was laid today and looks fab!  This covered area will provide vital space for the children to play on and extend the opportunities for outside play, even when the British weather sets in like it has in the last couple of days!  It will also mean that there will be free flow between inside and outside spaces.
As a parent, I can see how much this will add to the children's experiences and along with the planned Nature trail garden at the back of the building, will ensure that they are as in touch with their surroundings as possible in a safe and secure environment.

Save the Date!

Announcing...the Kaleidoscope Building Opening Event on Saturday September 18th from 11 to 2pm.
We hope as many of you can make it to help us celebrate this special achievement and the beginning of a new era for this long running Pre-school.
We are so proud of what has been achieved, with so many peoples' help along the way.  So many have given their time and energy to create something amazing for the children and families of Petworth and surrounding areas. 
We hope that the building will stand as testament to what a community can achieve when it gets together with determination, understanding, care and creativity as well as providing an awesome space for our children.
You are invited to come and celebrate with us and mark this important moment.  Bring a picnic and chill out in the new garden while the children play.

Take a look around!

The Working party got together on Thursday night, down at the new building to plan our opening celebrations.  It was also a lovely opportunity for us to have a quick look around at the building inside.

It is such a lovely space, with so much potential for play and learning. 
The children will have specially designed toilets to use, encouraging independence with low level toilets and sinks.  The facilities also include a children's toilet with disability access and separate facilities for adults.

The kitchen has been designed with a low level hatch so that cooking activities can be reached by the children, although the main kitchen will of course still be an adult only zone!  There is also as side room for quieter activities.

There will at last be a dedicated office space, which has a hatch into the reception area, where our new "Friends of Kaleidoscope" notice board will hang.

We sat in the garden (or what will be!)with our cups of tea and imagined how it will be transformed from it's current dusty state to lush green lawn with wild flower borders and probably a "telly tubby" like hill!  the three trees in the middle will really add to the shade and the feeling of being surrounded by nature.

There are also some brilliant plans for the Nature Trail garden at the back of the building, which will develop as time goes on.

All in all, the building is coming together as planned and already looks and feels like a beautiful, calm, open place to be.  It's not hard to imagine what it will be like in September, full of children having a fabulous time!