Weekly blog and posts

This week we are exploring mini beasts. We will also be having fun learning new songs for our special end of year performances and Kirsty, our photographer, will be visiting to take our group and individual photos if requested. The ice cream shop remains open for business and the walls are filled with summer flower paintings in the Explorers' room and minibeasts and The Hungry Caterpillar story in the Discoverers' room, please do take the time to pop in and admire their work.

We begin with a warm welcome for our newest Explorers: Otis, Ted and Cooper and our new Discoverers: Emmy and Olivia. Our theme this week is summer gardens. We will be looking at flowers, their petals, leaves and roots. Outside, children can have fun searching for mini creatures in the garden, and spotting similarities and differences. We will remember to take care not to cause too much disturbance, and where a closer examination is needed, we will safely return the creature

Last week, we enjoyed role play at the fire station, taking calls, dressing up and putting out fires. The children loved having all our visitors who came to tell them all about their special helping roles. A big thank you to all that gave up their time. This week, we will be thinking all about different animals and celebrating our pets. The vets will be set up in the theme area ready to admit patients and we will be singing and joining in with action rhymes about different an

This week's theme is 'People who help us', and we are looking forward to visits from a Farmer with his tractor, the RAF, a Doctor, Firefighter, an Ambulance Driver and a Dance Teacher. Our pilot was a huge success last week. We very much appreciate the generosity of parents who have volunteered their time, even after night shifts and long days, and know how much the children enjoy and learn from the visits. So a heartfelt thank you from us all! Indoors, our theme area will be

This week we are focusing on our mechanical world. In the theme area, we will be travelling on our imaginary bus, buying tickets to favourite destinations and having fun with songs and car music. Children will need to remember to ring the bell when they see their stop. Sarah's very special car horn will be coming out in the Explorers' room and the children will have lots of fun! We even have a special visitor coming to tell us all about what it is like to be a pilot. Outside

Last week was very busy. The Barn space rocket went on many missions, with the children keen to fly into outer space and dress up in their astronaut suits. Outdoors, we had fun scooting over ramps, painting rock planets, planting flowers, playing with the water and cooking up delicious tea parties in the mud pit. It has been a lovely sunny week. Please can all children bring sun hats this week in their bags and please apply an all day sunscreen prior to their arrival. This we

This week the Explorers will be investigating the air around them, they will be looking and listening for signs of movement around them and learning a kite rhyme. The Discoverers will be looking more closely at the Earth and where we live by exploring the land, the sea, different habitats and discussing some of the animals that live in those habitats. Outside, they will be thinking about conservation in our oceans and looking after the sea life in the water tray by helping to

We hope that you all enjoyed the Easter break, and warmly welcome our newest Explorers: Saskia, Esme, Glen, Beatrice and Nihan. During the first week of the summer term, we will be exploring space, identifying planets and thinking about space travel. In the theme area, our astronauts will be exploring the universe in The Barn spaceship and they might decide to land at the Moon Café in the home corner. We will also have fun counting with astronaut rhymes and creating pictures

The children have had great fun in the florist shop this week, there has been lots of decorating and wedding planning! The vets will be open for business in the theme area next week . Jack's magic beans have also turned into a giant beanstalk that has been growing daily. We would love you to keep us updated too on how big the Discoverers' beans grow at home. This week we are thinking all about new life. At gatherings, the Explorers will be learning the names of baby animals a

The eggs arrived on Tuesday morning and so far, 4 yellow ducklings have hatched! We even got to watch one as soon as they arrived. This week we will be able to hold them and watch them swim for the first time in our special duck pool.The Discoverers' children will be busy keeping a Duck Diary with their drawings and comments. The walls in The Barn are looking colourful with the children’s pictures of spring flowers and pastel prints. This week we will be looking at spring gro

We are looking forward to the arrival of duck eggs on Tuesday, which we hope will hatch, allowing us to watch the early growth of the ducklings. The fascinating experience unfolds over ten days, and the children will be busy watching , holding, measuring, identifying features, and learning all about ducks and how they live. We will be posting pictures on the website gallery for you to enjoy with your children. We will also be thinking about the special women in our lives as w

This week, we will be enjoying favourite stories and celebrating World Book Day. It is always lovely to share a book together, whether as a quiet end to a busy day or to share ideas, chat about outcomes and explore possibilities. At gatherings, the Discoverers will be taking part in 'The Big Read' activities and Explorers will be acting out 'There Was A Princess Long Ago' we will also be sharing favourite books and discussing their different features. The theme area has becom

This week, we will be celebrating Chinese New Year, Barn style! We will be finding out about China, exploring the Dragon Dance and listening to the ancient Chinese New Year story. A pop up Chinese restaurant has opened in the role play area - no need to book! The Chinese New Year marks the beginning of a Chinese calendar year and each cycle is named after an animal. 2026 is the Year of the Horse. During small circle time, the Discoverers will look more closely at the similar

This week, hearts are everywhere as we think about the special people in our lives. We will also be practising our fire drills this week so we know what to do when we hear the whistle. The restaurant in the theme area is the perfect place to go for a Valentine’s Day meal or maybe just to sit and talk with our friends. We will be playing the traditional circle game 'I sent a letter to my love', sorting and matching shapes and decorating a heart-shaped biscuit to enjoy at home.

This week we are exploring shapes by naming them and discussing their properties. We will be busy going on shape walks and spotting familiar shapes in our environment and thinking of ways to record them. At gatherings, we will be singing shape rhymes, dancing and making different shapes with our bodies and playing lots of matching and guess the shape games. Outside in the garden, there will be lots of gross motor fun from painting on a large scale canvases to using shape sten

This week we are going to be finding out how animals and people survive in polar landscapes. The Discoverers will be acting out 10 Tubby Snowmen in gathering and the Explorers will be learning a penguin number rhyme and taking part in a snowflake dance. In the afternoon, at small circle, we will be investigating real fish and their anatomy. In the theme area, the Hot Chocolate Stand will be open for business, the perfect place to keep warm and dry. Outside, we will continue t

The weekend of the 23-25th January is the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch. Throughout the week, the children will be finding out about garden birds, where they live, what they like to eat, and their identifying features . The children will all be making their own bird feeders to take home and hang outdoors. Small circle time will involve a game of matching pairs, with the children looking at the features and identifying different birds and the Explorers will be acting out their Dic

This week, the winter fun continues with a Jack Frost story (click to open YouTube link) . The Children will also be dancing to music and freezing as frost statues. Percy's Shed was very popular last week and the fun will continue, we wonder where the animals will choose to hide and sleep this week! Every afternoon, in small circle, the Discoverers will be exploring different sounds in Mrs Browning's Box and will be coming up with ideas of how to describe them. Outside, chil

We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and look forward to welcoming you all back for the start of the new year. We would like to offer a warm welcome our new starters; Gabriella, Isra and Tallulah. Percy's shed has arrived in our theme area and we will exploring the story One Snowy Night. At Rainbow times this week, the Explorers will be exploring patterns and the Discoverers will be finding out alll about woodland animals. The afternoon activities continue with Music and

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