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Bees Knees Pre-school meet weekday mornings during term time at Boldre Memorial Hall in Pilley. The children who attend the group range in age from two and a half years to nearly five when they start school. Children come from the surrounding area including Pilley and Boldre, East End and East Boldre, Beaulieu, Lymington and Pennington.
The pre-school got off to a slow start in September, as a large proportion of the children left in July to start school. However, with the hard work of a strong parent committee, support from the local community, and an influx of new children, the group is now thriving, with a waiting list for September 2007.
In November we organised an autumn walk in the forest and invited parents to join us. We had a lovely walk on a crisp, sunny morning at Whitefield Moor, then stopped for snacks and coffee, while the children played with toys brought along to the forest from the pre-school.
At Christmas local people were invited to come to our very successful Christmas Fayre and Nativity, where the children performed some Christmas songs and enjoyed dressing up. Attractions included 'reindeer' rides, icing Christmas biscuits, decorating baubles, a craft and gift stall, grand raffle with great prizes, coffee and mince pies, and games for the children. We also had a visit from Father Christmas.
In February, at the invitation of George and Kate Heathcote, we visited Warborne Farm to see some of the new arrivals. The children enjoyed their walk to the farm and then meeting the lambs, piglets and chicks, and riding in George's trailer!
We are now looking forward to Easter and the summer term, with some nice warm weather to enjoy. Plans for the summer include a Sports Day, possibly another visit to the forest and an end-of-term party. It's always sad at the end of the summer when we have to say goodbye to some of our children, but we often stay in touch and see them at the local schools. They even come back to visit sometimes!
Liz Power and Cathy Wakefield
Supervisors
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