Important date for your diary:
The Riverside Nursery Graduation Ceremony: Friday 10th July 2026 followed by a special party tea, music and games.
Bring the seaside to you!
With summer finally here, the children’s favourite thing to do is play with cool splishy, splashy water in the nursery garden.
We’ve put together five simple, fun water play ideas you can try at home with your little ones:
1. Sponge Splash Station
Fill a shallow tray, washing-up bowl, or paddling pool with a small amount of water and add clean sponges of different sizes. Babies and toddlers will enjoy squeezing, splashing, and transferring water between the different containers.
As well as helping develop hand strength and coordination this will keep children cool on warm days.
2. Toy Car Wash
Set up a ‘car wash’ using toy cars, plastic animals, or dolls. Provide a bucket of water, sponges, and soft brushes.
Children can scrub, rinse, and clean their toys while engaging in imaginative play.
3. Water Wall Adventure
Let us tell you, our playground’s Water Wall is the place to be when the sun shines.
To create a simple water wall at home attach recyclable plastic bottles, funnels, and tubing to a fence or trellis using string or cable ties.
The children can pour water at the top and watch it travel down different routes. Not only good fun but it encourages curiosity and early understanding of how ‘cause and effect’ works.
4. Garden Sprinkler Fun
On a warm day, set up a garden sprinkler on a low setting and let your little one explore the gentle water spray.
Babies may enjoy sitting nearby and feeling the water on their hands and feet, while toddlers can toddle and run through the streams.
5. Seaside Water Play
Bring the beach to your back garden! Fill a paddling pool or large water tray and add seaside toys, such as buckets, spades, boats, shells, and watering cans. Children can spend time scooping, pouring and floating different items while creating their own seaside adventures.
Safety Reminder: Play safe – always supervise children closely during water play.
I spy a mini beast!
Younger and older babies enjoy outdoors and bug spotting
The beautiful warm weather has provided the perfect opportunity for our littlest ones to enjoy nature. The babies love being outdoors and we offer lots of sensory activities, including water bowls with toy sea creatures and bobbing boats, and sand trays for dipping and wriggling their toes, just like the seaside.
The babies have also been learning about garden bugs, in particular spotting bees and butterflies, however there was much excitement one day when a hoppy grasshopper decided to join us!
For the babies who prefer to relax, we set up lots of comfy, shady spaces where the babies are read to and play with soft toys.
Toddlers dress up and explore different textures
Our curious toddlers have been busy as ever. Over the last few weeks, they’ve really been enjoying construction corner – a dedicated area of the nursery brimming with fun building blocks, toy diggers and sand trays.
The space is ideal for role playing, and the toddlers have ample dressing up clothes to choose from. The children enjoy dressing up as construction workers with hard hats, but we’re also delighted to see train drivers, mermaids, and even giraffes helping on site.
As part of learning about the world, the toddlers have also been playing games encouraging them to touch, feel and describe different textures. Popping bobble wrap with our feet was a definite favourite!
I dig you!
Dress up time
Exploring textures – everyone loved popping bubble wrap of course!
Pre-Schoolers go outdoors
Our pre-school children have had an exciting few weeks as they continue to prepare for their move to school in September. Alongside taking part in a variety of school readiness activities, they have been making the most of our wonderful outdoor spaces.
The children have loved spending time outside, riding bikes and scooters, exploring the garden, and enjoying the fresh air with their friends. Den building has been a popular activity with the children working together to create imaginative hiding spaces for games and storytelling. The obstacle courses have also been a firm favourite, with the children eagerly taking on different challenges like jumping through hoops and navigating wobbly bridges
In the garden den
The blindfolded balloon challenge
Mel with her team’s edible artwork
In January, our talented nursery team had their annual team building event in nearby Ascot.
Always imaginative, always fun, this year’s event was called ‘Task Master’.
The team had to work collaboratively, think creatively, and – most importantly – laugh, a lot.
Divided into teams, staff competed in a variety of lateral-thinking challenges presented in sealed gold envelopes.
Tasks ranged from the ‘blindfolded balloon’ where blindfolded members of the team competed to blow up the biggest balloon without it exploding, to building the tallest tower they could out of marshmallows and spaghetti.
Amber, Maddi, Jess, Tianna and Ceriane’s team won the overall prize of a bottle of champagne and £100 voucher.
Thank you everyone for being such great sports, you were fabulous as ever!
Latest news from the Riverside Day Nursery Team.
Bumper Baby News
The stork has been busy delivering a bountiful number of bouncing babies.
Many congratulations to Charlotte B on the birth of baby boy, Ralphy, Sophie on the arrival of Arabella, and Jemma on the arrival of baby Nia. We hope you are doing well and enjoying time with your little bundles.
Also, congratulations and all best wishes to Jess who will start maternity leave in June.
Finally, a big welcome back to Maddi M, Elle, and Grace who have returned from maternity leave.
Exam Successes
Congratulations to Aysha, Daria, Ellie and Tilly who have successfully completed their Level 3 Diplomas in Childcare for the Early Years Educator.
This qualification means amongst other things; they can be a ‘key person’ for the children and be counted in adult-to-child ratios in the nursery. Well done everyone!