Introducing...our next project!

THE KALEIDOSCOPE NATURE GARDEN!

The mound of earth at the back of the building is already gone and work has begun on our very own Nature garden!  

It was always part of the plan to have a Nature Garden as part of the play and learning opportunities at Kaleidoscope and now that we are settled in, the time has come to get on with the task of creating it!  We want the garden to be as accessable as possible and to this end, we have had to remove a HUGE pile of earth to level the garden with the building.  Simon has skilfully left us the bare bones of the garden shape, which is going to include a water feature for pond dipping and frog spawn,

a digging pit, for discovering lots of lovely worms in, 

lots of bug hotels of various designs, a group seating area for story telling or group show and tell and an orchard of native fruits.

The first part of the garden will be a vegetable plot with child sized raised beds, strawberry planters and maybe even our own compost maker...A miniature 5 bar gate will lead the children through  a "secret" tunnel of living willow and then out into the naturte trail section of the garden beyond.

This is such an exciting project and will bring so much fun and dicovery to the Pre-school.  Children will be able to learn about the changing seasons, how food grows, how to look after plants, what bugs lurk beneath the soil and in the water, what birds visit our gardens and so many other things. 


We are looking for fundraising support for the items in the garden and will also be needing your practical gardening help as the project continues.  Also, if you have any NATIVE plants that you could donate, they would find a very happy home and be most welcome on our very empty (so far) plot!  They do need to be native however, and probably prefering woodland  conditions as we are trying to create an English woodland feel to the garden.


Please watch this space for news about how you can help and how the project is going.  This project is something so special for our children and they will enjoy it for many years to come, so it's worth the hard work we put in now. Thanks!

We're In!

It has been two whole terms since we moved into our lovely new building and things are going really well.  Lady Egremont cut the ribbon back last August and we have gone from strength to strength and recently gained a "Good" Ofsted report, confirming how well the staff team and children have settled into the new space.

We had a brilliant opening celebration and we'd like to thank everyone who came and supported us.  It was a truly special day, attended by so many families, new and old and people from the community, all bringing cakes and treats to help us enjoy the day.

Since that day our numbers have grown steadilly and our new session on a Thursday from 12 - 1.30pm during which the children can enjoy their packed lunch followed by Little Movers is proving increasingly popular. The children love the music, movement and play involved in this time.

I'll leave you with some more photos of our opening day....

Finishing touches and Opening Day!!!!

The finishing touches have been put to the building - everything from filling the sandpit,

rolling the lawn,

labelling chairs, digging over the wild flower borders,

staining buggy the store and putting things on the noticeboard, to getting cameras ready, recording answer phone messages

and building fences for the playhouse.

There has been so much to do and everyone has worked so hard to get the new Pre-school building to this point - ready to open.  Some are more impressed than others though!  This is Reuben, my youngest who came down to "help" stain the buggy store!

As I write this, children will be getting ready to make their journey to Kaleidoscope, some for the very first time.  We wish them all the best as they start this wonderful adventure and hope they enjoy exploring the amazing activities on offer in their new building.  We wish all the hard working staff well too, especially Lucy, who has worked tirelessly to ensure all the children feel at home and settled on their first day.  We hope your first day back is a fun one!  We will hopefully post some pictures of the first day as soon as we have them.

As the term goes on, the building will continue to become home.  It has been a long journey, and something of a roller coaster, but we are finally here and I think you will agree, it has been well worth it!  This has been and will continue to be a Community Project and we could not have done it without the help of so many people giving their time, skills, energy, and money so generously.  So, on behalf of everyone at Kaleidoscope and the children who will use the building for many years to come, THANK YOU!  Please come and celebrate with us on September 18th, it will be a lovely occasion and one which we are all looking forward to.

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!