Blog
JANUARY 2025 It has been lovely welcoming the children back after their Christmas break and hearing all about the exciting presents they received from Father Christmas. The children also enjoyed spending time outdoors, making the most of a light sprinkle of snow at nursery. In the Duckling Room, the children have enjoyed sharing a variety of stories and taking part in imaginative play in the kitchen area, creating lots of delicious pretend meals. The Rainbows had great fun exploring a sensory messy play activity using Gelli Bath, encouraging curiosity and creativity. Meanwhile, the Sunshines have been very busy setting up a bakery in their outdoor cabin, enjoying role play and teamwork. They also had fun exploring a messy beach tuff tray with dinosaurs, sparking imaginative play and storytelling. It has been a fantastic start to the term, full of fun, learning, and creativity.
DECEMBER 2025 December has truly sparkled at nursery, bringing joy, creativity and festive magic to every room. The children have been very busy throughout the month making decorations, cards and beautiful calendars to take home — each one thoughtfully created and full of personal touches. We hope these treasures bring lots of smiles to families over the holidays and become keepsakes for years to come. Our nursery Christmas party brought plenty of excitement, with dancing, games and lots of laughter. Later in the week the children were served a traditional Christmas dinner. The room was filled with festive chatter and the joyful sound of Christmas crackers being pulled, complete with paper crowns and jokes that had everyone giggling. One of the highlights of the month was a visit to our nursery grotto, where some of the children were able to meet Father Christmas himself. With twinkling lights and festive cheer filling the space, the children were delighted to receive a special Christmas book to take home and enjoy. A huge WELL DONE to our Sunshines children who performed their Christmas Nativity at the Hilt with such confidence. They sang their songs beautifully, remembered their lines brilliantly, and lit up the stage with their festive costumes and big smiles. All of the staff were incredibly proud — it was a wonderful moment to see their hard work and rehearsals come together so perfectly. And finally a big thank you to everyone who joined in with Christmas Jumper Week. It was lovely to see the nursery filled with colourful jumpers, and cheerful festive designs. Together, we raised an amazing £120, which will go towards supporting our chosen cause — a fantastic achievement and a lovely way to give back during the festive season.
NOVEMBER 2025 November has been a wonderfully busy month filled with colour, creativity, and meaningful celebrations. From Children in Need to Bonfire Night and Remembrance Day, the children have explored important events in engaging and age-appropriate ways. Throughout the month, our rooms have been buzzing with arts and crafts, hands-on activities, and opportunities to explore the world around us. Our Really Wild Club has continued to inspire curiosity about nature and wildlife, and the Sunshines have begun practising for their upcoming Christmas Nativity — excitement is definitely in the air! The children also enjoyed ball and tube play, role play cooking, writing a letter to Santa and learning all about raindeers in Really Wild Club. We are also incredibly proud to share that, together, we raised £49 for Children in Need. Thank you to everyone who supported this wonderful cause.
OCTOBER 2025 Over the past month, the children have been having a wonderful time at nursery. There has been a real buzz of excitement as they helped to decorate the rooms and got involved in a range of Halloween-themed activities. One of the highlights was in the Really Wild Club, where the children used white sheets to transform themselves into spooky ghosts—there was lots of laughter and imagination at play! It was also a real delight to see all the children arrive in their fantastic Halloween costumes; the effort from families made the celebrations feel extra special. The Ducklings have enjoyed a busy and varied month filled with exploration and hands-on fun: The children loved being outside, using the sit-and-ride cars, rolling balls through tunnels, and exploring trains and tracks. They also took time to notice signs of autumn, looking closely at leaves, acorns, and other natural treasures. Indoors, the Ducklings experimented with different ways of making marks, using felt-tip pens, finger painting, chalking on both paper and blackboards, and practising their drawing skills. To round off the month, the children took part in Halloween picture mark making and got stuck into spooky spider-themed water play, which was a big hit! The Rainbows have taken part in a lovely mix of routines, creative projects, and seasonal learning. They explored elements of their daily care and routines, learned about first aid in a simple, child-friendly way, and got creative with “funky fish” art. As part of Diwali celebrations, they made colourful rangoli-style artwork. Halloween crafting and pumpkin carving brought lots of excitement, while sand mark making and a tree-themed craft encouraged sensory play and fine motor development. The Sunshines embraced imaginative and messy play this month. They constructed aeroplanes using sticks, made adorable panda masks, and decorated pumpkins with enthusiasm. A Gruffalo-themed tuff tray provided storytelling and sensory exploration, and the children enjoyed apple stamping to create autumnal prints. One of the most entertaining activities was ghost bowling—combining movement, laughter, and a playful Halloween twist.
SEPTEMBER 2025 We would like to extend a very warm welcome to all the new children who joined our nursery in September. It has been wonderful getting to know each of them and watching them settle so beautifully into their new routines. They have already begun forming lovely friendships and are enthusiastically taking part in all our daily activities — from creative play to outdoor exploration. Our Ducklings have been having a wonderful time exploring a variety of musical instruments. They have enjoyed discovering different sounds using shakers, rain makers, and our special musical instruments box. It’s been lovely to watch them move and groove to the music! In water play, the Ducklings have loved splashing in the orange water tray with jungle animals, washing their “hands” with sea creatures, and exploring sensory water bags. The Rainbows have been developing their colour recognition and fine motor skills through a range of engaging activities. They have enjoyed colour-matching construction games, fishing fun, and exploring their stencil animal books. The children have also loved matching trains and cars by colour, turning learning into a playful and hands-on experience. Our Sunshine group has been busy with a wide variety of exciting activities! They have explored finger painting shapes, taken part in a fireman rescue role-play, and practised tracing numbers. The Gruffalo tuff tray has been a huge hit, inspiring lots of imaginative play and storytelling. The Really Wild Club took advantage of the beautiful autumn sunshine and went off on a nature detective walk to the lakes. To top it all off, they had a special visit from the Healthy Families team, who shared fun ways to stay active and healthy.
AUGUST 2025 The children have had a fantastic summer here at nursery, filled with laughter, play, and plenty of new adventures. Our staff have been leading lots of exciting, spontaneous activities each day, making the most of the sunshine. The Sunshine children especially loved taking part in The Wild Club, where they explored the outdoors, discovered nature, and enjoyed lots of fun in the fresh air. This summer, we said a fond farewell to our school leavers as they begin their exciting new journeys at primary school. We are so proud of everything they have achieved during their time with us and we wish them the very best for the future. A big thank you also goes to all the parents for the thoughtful gifts—we are truly grateful for your kindness and support. Meanwhile, our nursery children who are continuing with us have transitioned smoothly into their new rooms. They have shown so much confidence and enthusiasm, quickly adapting to their new environments, forming friendships, and embracing fresh opportunities to learn and grow. There has been so much excitement at the nursery with the arrival of our newest members—two adorable guinea pigs! The children were overjoyed to meet them and after lots of discussion, we decided on the perfect names: Oreo and Fudge. The children have loved helping to care for our new furry friends, learning how to feed them, keep them comfortable, and, of course, give them plenty of gentle attention. Having pets in the nursery has already sparked lots of curiosity and conversation, offering wonderful opportunities for the children to learn about responsibility, kindness, and the needs of living creatures.Oreo and Fudge have settled in beautifully and are quickly becoming much-loved members of our nursery family. 🧡 It has been a joyful and memorable summer for everyone at nursery, and we can’t wait to see what new adventures the coming term will bring!
JULY 2025 July was a month full of celebration and discovery at Kingsmead! We began by welcoming all parents, grandparents, and children from the Duckling and Rainbow rooms to a Disney-themed afternoon tea. The children and staff treated everyone to a music and dance performance before sharing a lovely picnic Afternoon Tea alongside their families in the garden. The Sunshine room also hosted their families for an energetic Sports Day. The children had great fun racing each other, cheered on by their loved ones, and parents enthusiastically joined in some friendly races of their own. Afterwards, our 84 guests enjoyed a delicious afternoon tea while the children tucked into picnic teas served in their very own snackboxes. The Really Wild Club embraced the great outdoors with a month of nature-inspired fun. They explored the fascinating worlds of butterflies and owls, learning about their habitats and behaviours. The children enjoyed a walk by the local lake, spotting wildlife along the way, and went on exciting bug-hunting adventures — uncovering all sorts of tiny creatures hiding in the grass and under leaves.
JUNE 2025 The children have been making the most of the beautiful hot weather, cooling off with refreshing ice lollies and spending plenty of time outdoors. They've especially enjoyed exploring a variety of outdoor activities, with the water trays being a particular favourite! Our school leavers have been doing brilliantly on their school visits, showing great confidence and excitement for their next steps. It was also wonderful to welcome so many parents to our Parents' Evening where we had the opportunity to discuss each child's progress during the year. For Father's Day, the children created lovely handmade cards and took home thoughtful keyrings as a small token of appreciation for all the fantastic dads and father figures out there. Other activities are: Ducklings: Sand play- Tipping and pouring sand, Making marks in sand, Coloured sand picture, Wet and dry sand & Wet sands with molds. Arts and Crafts- Paint stamping, Natural resources sticking collage, Walk to the lakes to feed the ducks, Food collage & Felt tips / crayons Construction and stacking cups- Large and small wooden bricks, Duplo bricks, Wooden logs, Stacking rings/cups/ pole and ring & Wooden bricks/logsTransport- Trains and track, Putting cars through the tunnel, Small cars & Transport box. Rainbows: Baby washing, Father's day cards, Role play kitchen, Jelly play, Water bag painting, Chickpeas play, Dinosaur footprint painting, Dinosaur shaving foam fun & Dinosaur fossil/ eggs. Sunshine : Design your own superhero, letters and shaving foam, Father’s Day crafts, tissue paper collage letters, number ice creams, letters of my name and play dough, shape matching, upper and lower case letters, obstacle race, dots and number matching, alphabet matching.
MAY 2025 In May, the children took part in a variety of fun activities. To celebrate VE Day, everyone dressed in red, white, and blue and enjoyed a picnic tea outdoors. During Pet Week, the children had the chance to meet some friendly dogs and even a duck who visited the nursery. The Really Wild Club explored nature, learning all about trees, bees, and bugs, and enjoyed a beautiful walk to the lakes. Ducklings : Water play - Painting the fence, Water play with scoops, cups, funnel and balls, Water play with plate and cups and Water play with sea animals. Messy play - Soil with natural resources, Shaving foam with paint, Paint Cereal tuff tray and Messy play natural resources with water. Animals - Animal puzzles, Recognising the animals, animal books, Animal box and Farm and farm animals. Half term fun - Sticking and gluing, Animals and Stamping painting. Rainbows: Farm book match, Train sensory tray, Storytelling and Jungle hunt. Sunshines: Role play shed changed to a school. Planting vegetables, watering plants, emotion monsters, sensory name hunt, tissue paper collage, counting cars, pet week, VE Day celebrations.
APRIL 2025 April has been eggtastic at nursery, with the children enjoying Easter egg hunts, making cards to take home, and joining in our Easter egg competition. They also got creative decorating pictures and flags for St George’s Day. The weather has been very warm and sunny this month and the children have been doing their various activities outside in the garden. The vegetable garden has been prepared and the children have helped us plant potatoes which they will eventually enjoy eating for lunch at the end of the season. The Really Wild Club have been creating woodland mud creatures. Our pre-schoolers found out which school they’ll be starting in September—and they are all thrilled about their new adventure ahead!
MARCH 2025 This month, the children had a wonderful time creating a special necklace and card for their mums in celebration of Mother’s Day. They also enjoyed decorating shamrocks for St. Patrick’s Day and had a tasty treat of pancakes with fresh fruit for Pancake Day. On World Book Day the children and staff dressed up as their favourite book character and enjoyed reading their favourite books. The Really Wild Club took a walk to the local lakes where they enjoyed looking for items on the scavenger hunt check sheet and building a mini den. In another big bug session they wend for a big bug hunt, made a spider out of pine cones and built a giant spider web out of sticks for Sid, our friendly resident spider!
FEBRUARY 2025 This month, the weather has been quite cold and wet, but it hasn't stopped the children from playing outside. They've been using the grassy area and having fun splashing in the puddles on the playground. We've also celebrated Valentine's Day and St. David's Day, creating lots of arts and crafts. The Really Wild Club has finally resumed, and the Sunshine children have enjoyed taking part in nature-inspired activities. Ducklings: Role play kitchen and food- Kitchen and food, Tea set and Mud kitchen outdoors. Sensory play- Water play with pom poms, Gelli baff and Gelli slime, Sensory play with animals, Natural resources tray, Sensory tuff tray -food, and Gluing and sticking, Half term-Stamping with paint, Sticking and gluing and Playdoh, Exploring musical instruments. Rainbows: Big construction fun, Dinosaur playdough, Hammering, Dinosaur sensory tray, Valentines colour match, ICT fun and St David's day daffodils. Sunshines: Love heart flower print, Feelings creative activity with monsters and book, Car tape tuff tray with cars, Obstacle course, Creative name activity, Large tuff tray colouring, Sponge painting, Floor is lava game, Tin foil painting and Marble football with number recognition.
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