Bushy Park & foam clouds!

On a sunny morning we all had a lovely idea to go for a long walk to bushy park! An invitation was extended to the preschoolers who decided to join the trip with some of their children. When it was time to set off and the children had suncream applied and hats on, they waved goodbye to the nursery and started chants of “Let’s go”. The excitement was palpable which only continued to grow as there were sightings of trucks, lorries and police cars along the way. As the buggies were nearing Hampton Court the children paused to wave hello to the police standing guard and had a quick look at the palace but hunger quickly took over as chatter upon seeing a food stand filled each buggy. This set them up perfectly for snack time and as soon we arrived at the park a few minutes later and set up camp with picnic mats the children indulged in their snack of fresh fruit and breadsticks. As soon as they were finished they were up and moving, some going in small groups to visit the play ground and others exploring the field and nature around. With the explorer bags at the picnic blanket Arlo and Henrietta quickly retrieved some binoculars and made their way to a large tree. While standing at the bottom they both looked up into the branches and Arlo stated, “Oh I can see a bird up there, it so high up in the tree…. Hello birdie” which made Henrietta react with a big “Oh!” as she quickly corrected her binoculars and echoed what Arlo had said in an excited shout “It’s a bird! Look! Bird!”.  They followed it as it flew to another nearby tree with lots of excited squeals.
Whilst sat doing drawings of the differnt things they could see Harry paused and said “What’s that over there behind that wall?” While pointing to a short wall along the side of a stream. When the group went over to investigate Matilde said “Ducks ducks” and pointed as she ran closer to the wall. They watched the ducks for a short while before bursting into laughter as one duck put his head under the water with Harry explaining, “He showed his bottom to us”. Meanwhile a few children were exploring the playground where George was able to climb up the steps of a large slide and exclaimed “I did it!” once he reached the top, sliding down in celebration. Hugo was attracted to the large hammock like swing and once settled in took this as a time to relax and fully reclined whilst closing his eyes. When it was time for lunch the children reconvened at the picnic blanket and tucked into some delicious tuna pasta and peaches before back into the buggies and heading back to nursery…having a quick nap along the way. Heaven!

Over the last couple of weeks, the under two’s have been have been busy learning all about the weather and exploring their senses during sensory and malleable play week! Inside, they were very eager to get stuck into our ‘Walking on clouds’ activity and could not contain their excitement. Charlotte clapped her hands and giggled as the foam was sprayed into the builders tray, whilst Margaux gasped and said, “Oh wow!” As soon as all was ready the children approached and their hands went in first. Next, with their shoes and socks off, they could have a real sensory experience by stepping into the foam clouds, with many of the children curious to know what it felt like on their feet. Zachary was the first to be lifted into the clouds, as he kicked around and laughed at the feeling he enjoyed so much. Shortly after his friends followed suit and had a great time playing with the foam in this whole new way. 

Outside the sensory adventure continued with activities such as crunchy sensory trays using a variety of pasta shapes and gloopy slime with scoops. One activity the children thoroughly enjoyed was the ice painting. They used various coloured paints and then chose an ice shape to investigate how the colours mixed in with the ice. Cora picked up her paintbrush and couldn’t quite work out what colour she wanted. She pointed out every colour and finally selected red, whilst encouraging her friends to join in. Sebastian picked up the blue paintbrush and decided to give himself a great, blue moustache, making his friend burst out with laughter. 

Graduation!

It was graduation day for our school leavers last week and what an amazing show the little ones put on for their parents and siblings! The children have been very busy over the last couple of weeks, rehearsing their lines and learning some new songs to sing as a part of their play and their efforts certainly paid off. We know the little ones have been practicing their words at home too with their families. The count down started on Monday with Rowan, Lana and Luna reminding all of their friends, “It’s 3 days until our graduation!”. Sadie gave the 2 day reminder on Tuesday and when it came to graduation day, the children couldn’t wait to show each other their costumes. Olivia was mostly excited about her ears and tail and Zack just couldn’t wait for a face paint. What a fantastic job the children did with their words and lyrics before getting up and receiving their leavers certificate and starting school book. Thank you to all the parents who provided the animal outfits and came to support the children. Fabulous fun!

This week, the shows have continued with the children making their own stages in the garden using the wooden platforms to be able to put on their own performance. With the new tall wooden rulers in hand, Sophie and Luna placed the benches next to each other and then checked that there was enough space. Sophie reassured her friends, “It’s ok guys, don’t worry, there’s 100 space for everyone”. Once all the children had taken their seats and Sadie letting them know, “I’m Joe, I need to read the first words!” which made her friends laugh, the show took off. 

We are very sad to see the children go and wish all them all the very best of luck at their new schools!

Bear Hunt & Sports!

Over the last couple of weeks, the children have enjoyed being active and learning about different sports as well as focusing on our book of the month 'We’re Going on a Bear Hunt’. After sharing the story at circle time, the children had the opportunity to go on their own small world bear hunt. Emily was first to the table, choosing 2 small world people and immediately heading off through the long wavy grass. Soon after came Ava, heading straight over to the deep cold river to see what she could find and was very excited to see some frogs on lily pads. She held one up for all of friends to see and shouted “Frog!… Ribbit”. Henrietta headed straight to the bears cave and let out a squeal of excitement “A bear! Look bear!” while pointing in the cave. She took hold of the bear and let out a big “Roar!”. Max giggled and took one look at the bear and excitedly said “Feed it” and ran and found some green pom poms and started to put them to the bears mouth, even storing him some extra food under a log. All of a sudden Harry said “Oh no… help… he stuck in the mud!” Arlo picked up a person and said “I help you Harry!” walking his person over to rescue him. The children had lots of fun creating their own narrative with this activity and had lots of fun exploring. 

Outside, the children have been very creative using the blocks and beams on the decking. George and Santiago set out 2 blocks on the floor then grabbed a circle block each and sat down. They twisted and turned the circle block in front of them. George shouted “Bee bee” pushing his hand onto the middle of the circle shortly followed by Santiago shouting “Beep beep!”. Once their friends heard the noise they were eager to join in. Ethan pointed and said “Look, a car!” Grabbing his own blocks to add. Arlo and Rafe went off to the shed and found some cushions to add to the car. Isla came over to see and said “Can I have a turn?” She sat in the car and said “I need to shut the door”, picking up a flat block and placed it next to her foot. The other children climbed in and when asked where they were going Leo shouted, smiling “The beach!” 

Over the past two weeks, the under twos have had a blast spending lots of time in the various outdoor areas the nursery has to offer! With the new book of the month ‘We’re Going on a Bear Hunt’ and the sports week, the children have had the opportunity to get busy with lots of activities engaging their senses and gross motor skills. 

Within the garden the children were transported into the “deep, dark cave” with their very own bear to find! A blanket covered tunnel and tuft tray made the perfect cave, allowing the children to become immersed in the story where they were able to crawl, climb and sneak their way into the cave, lifting the blankets to find the darkness underneath. Zachary and Henry were incredibly curious as they entered the garden and immediately began to explore the cave, finding their way under the blankets, whilst Evelyn crawled in through the tunnel. Whilst they were encouraged to sit within the cave, and join in the sing along of the story, Leo began tapping his legs to the beat and giggling at the sounds of ‘oozy mud’ and the ‘whirling snow storm’. 

Later in the week they also got the chance to go for a hunt of their own, but instead of a bear, the children were on the look out for the animals on the nursery grounds. At the beginning of the walk Sienna and Leonardo joined in making noises of the animals they might see, ‘clip clopping’ like horses, ‘tweeting’ like birds and ‘woof woofing’ like dogs. As soon as he entered the grounds Sebastian pointed to the field opposite, “Horse, horse!” he said and began making the sounds from before. Sebastian and Margaux were very excited to see a horse standing right next to the fence, lifting his head as the buggies approached. This horse was very brave and stayed right where he was whilst the children giggled and waved. As the walk continued they saw even more horses and sang the ‘horsey, horsey’ song as they watched from the gate. Once the bridge was in sight, Sienna and Imogen began to ‘quack’ knowing they would soon see the ducks in the water. Ready with duck food and bread to throw in, Madeline and Phoebe watched as duck after duck appeared from the bushes and swam along the water. Sienna joined in as Laura began to count the ducks, ‘one, two, three..’ but so many ducks came they couldn’t keep count!

During the sports week, the children got another opportunity to learn some numbers and begin to be introduced to counting. Cora, Cara and Charlotte were particularly interested in the ring toss, entering the mud kitchen for the game with colourful paper plate rings and being challenged to throw them onto the sticks in the soil. At first they were unsure of what to do with them, Cora holding the ring to her face as a mask, Charlotte poking her arm through as if wearing a bracelet and Cara holding it up looking at the dots. After a little demonstration of how to throw them, the group had a try on their own, launching the rings into the air and watching where they land. Each time they tried they got a little closer to the target and eventually Cara landed one on the stick, congratulated by a round of applause. Soon, it was time to count the rings the children had thrown and the children were encouraged to use the language “one” “two” “three”, with Charlotte enjoying picking the rings up as they were being counted to have another turn. 

Our Trip to Bockett's Farm!

Over the last couple of weeks, the preschool children have been focusing on farm animals on the build up to a very exciting Bockett’s farm trip! The children have been discussing which type of animals live on a farm, as well as exploring Jungle, Sea and Safari animals by participating in a range of animal themed activities. Chloe, Alfie, Isaac and Caiden enjoyed making some houses for the horses using the wooden blocks, with Isaac quizzing his friends, “Do you know what a horses house is called?” When his friends thought for a moment at what Isaac had asked, he gently reminded them, “Remember it’s called a stable.”. Chloe was using a ruler to measure up their stable and, when it was at the right height, suggested to her friends, “I think we can put the roof on now”. Next it was time to make more houses for other animals and very quickly, many more friends were helping out, using rulers and tape measures to get the correct measurements. Max had a guess, “I think it needs to be two hundred, thousand, million long”, which made his friends laugh a lot. 

On the day of the farm trip, the children were so excited to show each other their lunch boxes and eagerly waited for the coach to turn up to nursery. Sadie calmly reminding some of her friends, “We need to be patient guys, it will soon be here!”. The coach trip was very exciting for the children, with Florence and Ada pointing out the directions to their houses. Once getting to the farm, Madan and Tom were very keen to get to see the pig race. Iris, Jude and Oliver jumped up and down with excitement when seeing the tractor and Freddie asking, “Is it lunch time now?” The tractor ride was a great opportunity for the children to be able to see the animals that were deeper in to the farm fields, with many of the children looking around in amazement, big smiles on their faces and taking in all of the information the tractor driver was giving about the animals they could see. When it was time for the pig race, Sadie and Iris were cheering the pigs on, clapping and calling out, “Come on piggies!”. 

On the coach journey back and at nursery, the children were all talking to each other about their favourite part of the day with Ada letting Alfie know that, “The piglets were so small and cute and I loved them” and Ollie telling Amelie, “I really really liked the pig race, it was fun”. Sadie, Lana and Chloe went on to draw their own farm pictures, Lana adding some of her preschool friends on to her farm picture and when Rowan came to investigate what they were doing, he then went off to collect the farm animal toys for his friends to be able to draw.

Streams & Dinosaur Eggs!

The toddlers absolutely loved their trip to the stream one morning and were so excited to hear what they would be doing. As they saw spare clothes, wellies, wetsuit trousers and water toys all being gathered and put into the buggies Arlo asked, “Are we going for a walk? In the buggies?” Which Max overheard and celebrated with a cheer, “Go on a walk, Yayy”.  As the two were celebrating Arlo watched as their water bottles and a snack were placed into a bag too “We having snack on the walk too, it so tasty”. Once the children had their sun cream applied and hats on they were ready to set off in the buggies and began lots of chatter about vans, trucks and police cars that they might spot along the way. As they arrived at the stream they did some fabulous listening skills as made their way along the bank and sat down beside the stream to have a quick snack. Hugo was munching on a breadstick when he all of a sudden he stopped and shouted, “Ah Duck! Duck!” and pointed down the stream where two ducks appeared. This started a chorus of “Duck” and “Quack” amongst the children along with lots of giggles as Rafe tried to feed one his breadsticks. As soon as snack was finished the children were keen to get going and made their way straight into the water. Harry immediately gravitated towards the cups to scoop and collect water while Arlo chose a net. Arlo dipped the net in and scooped up a large amount of water, giggling as it trickled through the net, followed by a gasp as he saw what was left. He held it out to Harry to have a look who replied “Wow they are little stones… can you tip them out into the water? They go splash” which Arlo did and caused a little splash. Harry was about to pour out his full cup of water but hesitated and asked “Can we put this little water back into the big water?” Whilst pointing at the stream. Once Harry was reassured he could pour it out he turned his cup upside down with a splash. Matilda and Santiago enjoyed holding hands and wading through the water together, slowly making their way along the stream, stopping occasionally to giggle as the water flowed around them. Joseph spent a lot of his time on dry land, choosing to use his hands to investigate the water as he squatted down and used the cups and nets to collect water as it flowed at the edge of the stream. The toddlers spent all morning splashing, scooping, pouring and investigating the stream with the morning finished up by bundling into the buggies and setting off back to nursery for lunch. 

Over the last couple of weeks, the under twos have had an amazing time exploring our music and movement theme and all things dinosaurs. 

Inside, the children thoroughly enjoyed making their own rain makers using a cardboard tube, decorated by them and then filling it with rice. Sienna and Leonardo approached the table curiously, wondering what they could be doing. Sienna picked up the small scoop and put it to her her mouth, pretending she was eating and saying, “Mmm yum”, which made Leonardo giggle and join in. Once a short demonstration was given, the under twos began scooping and pouring rice into their shakers and played with them all afternoon. They also adored the sensory bag drumming activity. They used their hands or drumsticks to bang on sensory bags, filled with paint, along to the beat of drumming music. Margaux threw herself into this activity and set such a great example for her friends. Using both hands, Margaux drummed on the sensory bag and mixed up the colours, getting very excited when she left a hand print in the paint too. 

Outside the under twos have had lots of water and ice play to cool down in the glorious weather we’ve had. As they were loving the dinosaur theme, we continued it into the garden and made some frozen dinosaur eggs. The little dinosaurs were frozen inside spheres of ice which the children were able to feel and play with inside a sensory bin. Charlotte approached and felt one of the eggs which made her gasp and giggle, as she pulled her hand away saying, “Oh! cold ha ha”. During this activity, the under twos began exploring the garden in order to find things which could help them break into the eggs to get to the dinosaurs. Imogen came back with a spade from the sandpit and Leo came back with a saw from the toy tool kit. All in all, they gave it a very good go and we’re taking part for such a long time, the dinosaur eggs melted and created a dinosaur swimming pool.