Fell off the back of a lorry!

HOW EXCITING!!!!  The building finally arrived today, in pieces on the back of several lorries.  Two of the lorries remained parked up alongside the green for a while, waiting for the first part of the building to arrive, but finally they all came in in the right order and we can really see how beautiful our new building is going to be!

We couldn't have asked for better weather for the delivery of the building and I am sure the children enjoyed watching the crane do its work.  Katie, our project manager was surprised this morning to find the crane parked outside her home, having been given the wrong address!  That will certainly get her neighbours talking!  It did eventually arrive on site though and everything went smoothly from then on!

Lucy checking out the new building.  The ply boards are where the bi fold doors will be and you can see what a lovely garden play space the children will have under the trees from this angle.  I think Lucy is pointing out where her new office will be!
We also want to say a special thank you to Andy Carr from Adroit (the company that made our lovely building) for all his help getting us to this point.  he also took some brilliant sneeky peek photos of the building being constructed in the factory for us.... 

Calling all potential sponsors

The build is progressing well and the perimeter fence is almost finished, showing what a lovely space the preschool is going to occupy.  The garden we will have dedicated to the children will be accessed through bi fold doors that fold completely back to allow them to move freely between indoors and outdoors spaces.  The mature trees that were once part of the shrub land that grew on the earth heap have been saved to provide wonderful shade to the garden and will add to the natural beauty that will surround the children as they play.

Thanks to Jonathan Arnold for drawing up plans for our new gardens, which will include wild areas, bug hotels, bird and bat boxes, plenty of grass of course, a hard play area, sandpits, and all sorts of other treasures for the children to enjoy and discover.  Jonathan has given his time and expertise for no charge, so if you see him around, give him a big handshake and a thank you!

Above is an artist's impression of what the new building will look like.  I'm sure you will agree, this looks like a lovely place for the children to play and learn.

Something that would make this space even better however, is a brilliant pirate ship wooden climbing frame.  This is one of the items we are looking for businesses or individuals to sponsor. If you want to see the whole list click here and if you think you, or a business you know may be able to help, please either email us or talk to Lucy at Kaleidoscope.

All sponsors will be given a spot on our Daily Notices Board in the new reception area of the building.  This will be a constantly changing display, regularly looked at by parents and carers as well as visitors, so a good place for local businesses to get a bit of free (almost!) advertising!

Parking

It's getting easier to see where everything is going to be as work progresses at the site.  There is now a new pavement, which will make things much safer for dropping off and picking up children, and the perimeter fence is going up too.  Eventually the whole of the car park will be much better organised, to allow more cars to park in an orderly and safe way, and for turning of cars to happen easily. 

Thank you for continuing to be careful as you park in the meantime, especially with restricted space.  There may be a couple of one off dates coming up where we need to ask for your help with parking arrangements.  We  will let you know as these come up.  Thank you for your patience and creative parking!

We're on track for a September opening

The building is currently being manufactured in the factory, whilst on-site the foundations, drains etc are being laid. The on-site ground works will continue throughout June and July, and the building will be delivered mid-July. Throughout August we will be finishing the building internally, setting up all of our new equipment and resources, moving all of our existing equipment and resources over from the Hampers Green Hall and landscaping the garden and car parking areas. We will be opening on the first day of the Autumn Term in September!

It's exciting to think that our building is currently being put together, ready to be craned into position later next month.  It's been a steep climb so far to get to this point, but we are really approaching the light at the end of the tunnel!  Not long until Kaleidoscope staff will be able to settle into their new workspace and welcome the children into their brilliant new play space!

Open Day

Today, Kaleidoscope opened its doors to visitors young and old(er), for a play session designed to show how we run on a daily basis.  The room was buzzing with children enjoying the different activities and playing with staff and parents and carers chatted over a cup of tea.
Everyone was very interested in the display showing the plans for our new building, which will be ready in September for some of the children looking round today.  The work continued outside as we chatted inside and as you can see from the photo below, the footings are in.

Foundations of a new future

Well, the foundations are going in!  In the picture below you can just make out the footprint of the new building.  Towards the bottom left hand corner will be the office and the reception area and you may be able to work out the large play space in the middle, which will have folding doors to lead onto the garden.

The mound of earth at the back will eventually become the wildlife garden, full of all sorts of creatures and plants for the children to explore in supervised sessions.

You may also have noticed the bat and bird boxes on some of the trees.  These are part of our efforts to protect the existing wildlife that may have been disturbed by our building works, to encourage new wildlife to take up residence, and also to provide interesting learning opportunities for the children in the future.  It's amazing how diverse and thriving small piece of land can be, and we hope it will stay that way!

Work Begins At Last!

Noah Welch, Polly Johnson and Ben Sullivan sporting the latest fashion this season - Kaleidoscope hard hats!
If you have been down to the Hampers Green Hall recently you will have noticed a few changes.  The Horticultural Society Huts have gone and work has begun to remove the mound of soil next to them and level the ground, ready for OUR NEW BUILDING!

On the day the diggers moved in, a few of us met on site to share a cuppa and a bacon buttie - a small way of marking our great joy (and relief) that the project is starting it's transformational stage.

There are lots of people involved in this build, and as the blog goes on, I hope to give mention to a few, so that you know who is who. Katie, the lady in the pink hard hat above, is not only mum of three (including Ben in the Superman T-shirt) but is also our very hard working project manager.  She is overseeing all sort of things, from budget, to press releases - so next time you see her, give her a big pat on the back!

And the man in this digger is Simon.  He's doing a lot of the groundwork and it's amazing to watch how skillful and precise he is with such a huge machine!