What We’ve Been Up To!
All the children have been doing activities across our customised Educational Programmes which includes lots of free play, plus fun, child-centred games for learning key skills such as reading, writing, and maths.
Before Father’s Day on 20th June all the children helped prepare special Father’s Day takeaway breakfast parcels along with handmade cards – we hoped you liked them!
The children’s Father’s Day gifts
Here’s more about what the children have been up to:
Younger and Older Babies to grips with the new garden
The babies are not letting the older children have all the fun in the new garden, no way! Unlike our previous outdoor space, our new garden has a dedicated play area exclusively for our littlest members. An enclosed, clear play area – so that nothing can get in their way – with ample shade, new activities are set up for the babies to enjoy before each play session. Highlights this week include finger painting with colour paints, playing musical instruments, and getting splashy with water trays and water toys.
As well as lots of napping and yummy lunches, the babies have been enjoying babbling and singing along to nursery rhymes and getting to grips with lots of sensory play with slime and coloured glitter. Sensory play is especially important for babies and toddlers as it helps them develop thinking skills (what is it? what does it feel like? what does it smell like?) as well as honing those all-important fine and gross motor skills, such as crawling and sitting, and picking up objects.
Check out that smile – Axel in the younger baby room
Nora knows that a cake can never have enough sprinkles
Toddlers enjoy lots of outdoor play and pattern making
We’ve recently enhanced our Nursery Educational Programmes to include a new outdoor provision element.
This involves all age groups – including our busy toddlers – doing regular activities outside. There are multiple benefits for outdoor learning, including encouraging independence and confidence, as they explore different spaces, and learning about the natural environment.
Over the last few weeks our toddlers have been doing lots of garden-led activities. As well as free play they have been doing guided tasks, such as drawing a hopscotch grid with chalk and creating circular patterns by dipping hoops in water. They’ve also been learning about how plants grow by sowing giant sunflower seeds in the planters – some are already a few feet tall!
Alongside outdoor fun, our toddlers have been taking part in Toddler Talk – games which help them pronounce their first words – and indulging in lots of squishy/slimy/tactile sensory play.
Quintin showcasing his wriggly worm catching skills
Coming through! Fraser navigating the tunnel
Louis enjoying a little light reading in the garden
Pre-Schoolers prepare for Primary School
We’re incredibly proud of our pre-schoolers who have been prepping for their move up to primary school.
We take every care to ensure our children are supported at this time and that they feel school ready. Our Educational Programmes encompass a wide range of activities to help prepare the children for their transition, including aspects such as:
- Jolly Phonics – a fun approach to learning each of the 42 letter sounds
- Silly Science – engaging experiments to help the children learn more about the world around them
- Languages – fun games for learning first words in French and German
The children also undertake a tailored School Readiness Programme made up of a variety of confidence-building activities. This includes weekly Show and Tell sessions, encouraging children’s confidence in talking and listening in a group and taking turns. We also take an informal register by calling out the children’s names at welcome time and encourage them to raise their hands when they want to speak or ask a question at group times.
Another key activity is helping the children learn to recognise and write their own names. We spend time working on pencil control and tracing the letters until the children can create them freehand. In recent weeks lots of the children are managing to do this, which is wonderful to see.
It’s not been all work, there’s been plenty of play too. Our pre-schoolers have been busy creating beautiful nature art from finds outside and cooking up a storm in the nursery kitchen. We hope you enjoyed some of their delicious banana bread at home!
Mabel practising writing her name – lovely work Mabel
Olivia concentrating on writing her name – great work Olivia.
Vivie and Finley relaxing by the bubble volcano
