Tennis * There is a small fee for this session
Our tennis lessons are run by Giles who has coached at
Portishead Lawn and Tennis Club, and now teaches at David Lloyd
Health Club. Giles has been teaching tennis at Lakehouse and
Stationhouse for the last seven years and is an enthusiastic
teacher. Alongside one of our team, he promotes teamwork and
gives lots of encouragement whilst learning new tennis skills. He
holds a Level 3 Tennis Coaching qualification with the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) and a
Professional Tennis Registry (PTR) Instructor level qualification. The children are given the
opportunity to learn skills which support physical development and hand-eye coordination.
Giles provides child size tennis rackets and soft tennis balls, and as children progress through
the course they learn a range of tennis strokes and skills. We may well have the next Andy
Murray or Johanna Konta on our hands….
French * There is a small fee for this session
Bonjour les parents! We are extremely lucky to have Anna
running language classes at nursery. Anna studied French and
German at university, gaining a BA Joint Honours. After a few
years working for a German insurance company in the foreign
claims team, using both languages daily, she took the plunge
and completed her secondary PGCE as a teacher of modern
foreign languages. She then spent six years in a secondary comprehensive teaching German,
French and Spanish. After having children Anna started teaching languages to younger
children both in primary schools and on a freelance basis. Now a busy Mum of three she
remains passionate about making language learning accessible and fun for all. Anna uses a
range of stories, songs and puppets to teach the children French words. Lessons are always
supported by a member of the team. French lessons are run in small groups and it is a great
opportunity for the children to share with you, and their friends, the key words that they
have been taught. This is such a wonderful experience for children to start to learn a different
language at a young age and has many proven benefits. It’s fun, it promotes development,
and the many cognitive and social benefits will last a lifetime.
Classical Kids * There is a small fee for this session
Classical Kids is a 45 minute class which introduces 3 and 4 year olds to classical music in a
fun and imaginative way. Katherine, the teacher, is a trained classical singer and singing
teacher working in Portishead. She has three children of her own who are being brought up
surrounded by music and she cannot recommend a musical upbringing highly enough. Music
is an excellent way to develop listening awareness, verbal memory and literacy skills, as well
as building confidence and self-awareness. Did you know that we produce more oxytocin
(the happy hormone) when we sing, play or listen to music?
The Classical Kids course includes:
- Listening and dancing to operatic, orchestral and choral classical music extracts.
- Composing songs set to well-known melodies.
- Listening to Katherine singing with a trained classical singing voice.
- Learning about basic music theory through interactive games focusing on pitch, rhythm, dynamics and notation.
- Learning about musical instruments and the sounds they make.
Music and Movement – No extra fee
Linsey visits nursery on a weekly basis, working with our Babies
and Toddlers and she is absolutely fantastic. Being a UKCP
Humanistic Dance Movement Psychotherapist, Supervisor &
Educator, with a Drama and Dance background and an MA in
Dance Movement Psychotherapy, Linsey believes passionately that
we have the ability to communicate fully though our bodies and
doing so enhances our personal social and emotional wellbeing.
She works in a variety of clinical and community settings moving
and creating with people of all ages and abilities. Children
absolutely love Linsey's sessions which focus on enabling the
children to feel connected, confident and free in their bodies. The sessions provide an
opportunity for the children and babies to experience free movement, creativity, rhythm and
release. Children are encouraged to access their full movement range from fine motor
skills to grand gestures, explore balance, weight, varying movement qualities and moving
together. With the use of a variety of props, their imaginations can run wild and (specifically
for the babies) the sensory experience can be both calming and energising.