Autumn Social Event!
The pre school children have been very excited on the build up to the autumn social with many of them discussing the event throughout the week. Some of the children were eager to invite their mums and dads and some grandparents in to nursery, whilst others could not wait for their older siblings to come and play at nursery. Whilst getting ready for families to arrive, some of the pre school children got ahead of the autumn bingo activity and were on the search for pictures of foxes, hedgehogs, pine cones and leaves which were hidden all around the garden. Whilst on a hunt around the garden to find all things autumn - themed, a group of children sat down together in the sand pit, discussing how excited they were for the party and what areas of the garden they would like to show their families.
Once families started to arrive, the children were keen to set off to the garden, some children joined in with autumn bingo whilst others enjoyed a football game together including inviting parents to also play. The children also enjoyed showing their families some of the pumpkins that the children had selected at Garsons farm for the autumn social event.
The toddlers were so excited for their mummies and daddies to come and see where they play, with quite a few brining up the afternoons “party” throughout the morning. Once parents started arriving the smiles were beaming and constant with lots of laughter and happy sounds being heard across the rooms and garden. A couple of children played a few games of football with their parents on the grass while others followed the colourful lights around the back trail of the garden searching for hidden autumnal animals and items in a game of autumn bingo. A group of dads built sandcastles with an audience of their children over in the sandpit while a smaller group of children and siblings challenged themselves with the balance beams and tunnels, being encouraged by mum and grandma who watched on with a plate of tasty party food. After finishing their sandwiches and fruit a small group of toddlers gathered for a story around the ‘campfire’ scene in toddler room with lots of smiles and full tummies!
The under 2s loved having their mummy’s and daddy’s come and visit them at nursery! The children were all really keen to show them around the room and the garden, with lots of the children showing off the toys they were playing with as their parents arrived. They also loved exploring the garden with their parents, and showing them their skills with footballs as they aimed kicks towards the goal. As each of the children received their plate of party food, they were so excited to show off what different things they had picked up, with a few of the children even sharing their food with each other and members of staff! After tucking into their sandwiches and snacks, the children all played with their friends and then cheerfully waved goodbye as the party came to an end!
Garson's Pumpkin Parade!
The pre school children have been getting ready for their brilliant Garsons Farm trip this week and have been taking part in many activities over the last couple of weeks discussing the harvest and including planting some seeds. They explored how crops are harvested with tractors as well as investigating what different types of vegetables look like once they are harvested. A group of children particularly enjoyed some imaginative play, making vegetable soup in the mud kitchen for their friends. Once the soup was handed out, the children reminded their friends, “Remember to blow, it’s hot!”.
On the journey to Garsons the children were so excited to be on the coach, singing along to the wheels on the bus and pointing out some of their houses and roads as they drove past. The children thoroughly enjoyed the pumpkin trail, looking around at all of the pumpkin set ups and playing some games together, noughts and crosses being a clear favourite. The children looked closely at all of the different styles and colours of pumpkins and chose their own to place in to the wheelbarrow to later take home with them which they were eager to do so. Most of the children even remembered which one they had picked to take home.
When the children returned to the nursery, they were so excited to show which pumpkins they had chosen at the farm. Some children chose to do an observational drawing of their pumpkin whilst some others discussed making some pumpkin soup at tea time. Whilst playing outside in the garden, the children were using the footballs as pretend pumpkins, loading up the new wheelbarrows and transporting them around the garden.
We can’t wait for our next visit!
Exploring Nature and Changing Seasons!
Recently, the toddlers have been exploring the theme of autumn and the changes in the environment around us. They have been searching the garden and Imber Court grounds for leaves of different colours, conkers, pine cones and sticks, all to bring back to nursery to further investigate. When some of these items were frozen into balls and blocks of ice, a group of children immediately began investigating, touching the ice tentatively with their fingers, while a few were brave enough to pick the smaller blocks up with both hands, shivering with the sensation. When Madeline tried to pick up a large block of ice she held it with both hands and said, “Ugh it’s so heavy!”, Theo watched on and began lifting the ice up too, grunting with exertion. As the ice started to melt away and the natural items began to partially reveal themselves, some of the toddlers tried plucking them out, using their nails to scratch away the remaining ice or using large pieces of bark as a hammer, tapping on the edges.
It was the perfectly windy day for a group of children to go on a listening walk around the grounds to see what they could hear! As they made it onto a field a big gust of wind blew, causing leaves to rustle and their hair to be blown in all different directions, causing a few giggles and “Woah’s!”. They caught the sound of some birds chirping in a nearby tree as well as a tractor going past. When the toddlers came across a collection of small fallen branches with leaves on the end, they decided that they made the perfect musical instruments! The children each picked up a branch and began waving it in the air, creating a rustling sound as the leaves on the ends shook with the movement. The wind blew, creating even more rustling amongst the trees and creating a chorus of sound!
Over the last couple of the weeks, the under 2s have joined in with lots of sensory and art activities, as well as activities to work on their fine and gross motor skills.
Inside, the children got stuck in with some painting on cardboard boxes which were laid out around the room. A group of the children grabbed their paintbrushes, ready to show off their painting skills! They ran between each box, dabbing and swiping their brushes on the cardboard, and proudly showing off to each other the pictures they had created. The children also joined in with a singalong session within a ‘sensory cave’ filled with coloured scarves, teddies and sensory lights. They happily joined in with all the actions to their favourite songs including ‘baa baa black sheep’, ‘I had a little turtle’, and ‘row, row, row your boat’.
Out in the garden, a group of the children loved exploring the messy tray set up with some dinosaurs and some trimmings from the herb garden. They came over quickly to investigate the activity and eagerly reached forwards to grab the different herbs, before squeezing them between their fingers and realising they had a smell! The children then showed off their great knowledge of dinosaurs by stomping them on the table and shouting out lots of “Roars!”. Another activity involved cardboard tubes laid out on the table where the children could clip pegs onto the top of the cardboard. The children wandered over and began to look at the pegs with curiosity. They were shown how to clip the pegs onto the tubes, however they decided to create their own game between them, and began to see how many they could drop into the pipes before lifting them up to watch them all fall out! A member of staff then went to get some lollipop sticks which they could use to continue their game, which was met with a round of applause.
