SEPTEMBER 2026 September has been a wonderful start to the new nursery year at Kingsmead Day Nursery. We are delighted with how well all our new children have settled into nursery life. They have adapted brilliantly to their new routines and are beginning to make friends and build new relationships with their key people. We also held a fundraiser for Jeans for Genes during September and were delighted to raise £53 for this fantastic charity. Thank you to all our families for getting involved and supporting us! Ducklings: Our youngest children have been enjoying lots of fun sensory and creative activities. Their September activities included Duplo bricks, cling-film painting, musical instruments in the tuff tray, sensory play, mark making with felt-tip pens and exploring an autumn-themed tuff tray. The Rainbows have been busy learning through play, with activities including threading, car painting, cars and tunnels, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, painting, colour matching and creating colourful rainbow collages. They also enjoyed making their own pasta bracelets. Our Sunshines have enjoyed a fantastic variety of activities designed to encourage their creativity, imagination, problem-solving and teamwork. They have taken part in office role play, played with trains and enjoyed junk modelling. They also explored an at-the-beach tuff tray and an underwater clean-up, along with September crafts, farm colouring, a pairs game and building bridges.There were plenty of challenges too, including finding hidden treasure, carefully carrying rice on a spoon without touching the sides and creating beautiful nature star wands using materials from the natural world. In The Really Wild Club, the children learned about oak trees and their different parts, enjoyed a leaf-matching activity and worked together to create a large oak tree on the ground. They also learned about animals and their habitats, matching animals to their correct habitats before making colourful animal masks..
AUGUST 2026 As we come to the end of another wonderful summer at nursery, we would like to say a very special goodbye to our school leavers. It has been a privilege to watch each child grow, learn and develop throughout their time with us. We are incredibly proud of all they have achieved and wish them every happiness and success as they begin their exciting journey into school. Throughout the summer holidays, all of our rooms enjoyed a range of spontaneous and child-led activities, following the children's interests and providing opportunities to learn through play. The children enjoyed puzzles, coloured sand, mark making, dinosaur footprint painting, stacking rings, transport play, sticking and gluing, sensory tuff trays, outdoor play, Bear Hunt activities, construction painting, crown making, princess role play, treasure hunts, animal play and chalk mosaics. These experiences supported the children's development across the EYFS, including communication and language, physical development, personal, social and emotional development, literacy, mathematics, understanding the world and expressive arts and design. It has been lovely to see the children exploring, creating, problem-solving and developing their confidence and independence while having lots of fun with their friends. We have had a fantastic summer and look forward to another exciting term of learning and discovery!
JULY 2026 We would like to say a huge thank you to all of our Sunshine parents and grandparents who joined us for our Sports Day. It was a wonderful afternoon filled with fun, laughter and plenty of team spirit! The children enthusiastically took part in a variety of sporting activities, including exciting sports games, a parent and child race, and a special school leavers' race. Afterwards, everyone enjoyed a well-deserved treat, with the grown-ups relaxing over a delicious cream tea while the children tucked into their picnic boxes. Thank you for helping to make the day so memorable. What We've Been Learning: Our Ducklings have enjoyed taking part in tea party role play, exploring tipping and pouring in the water tray, painting, sticking and gluing activities, paint stamping, and experimenting with painting using a variety of different tools. The Rainbows have been busy developing their creativity and fine motor skills through playdough, mark making, collage making, baby animal matching activities, and salt mark making. Our Sunshines have been exploring a wide range of exciting activities, including creating lasagne sheet mosaics, giant hand paintings, teddy bear colour patterns, making Sports Day flags, investigating diggers in the soil, enjoying the surfing bears activity, and exploring emotions through a feelings tuff tray.
JUNE 2026 June has been a very hot month at nursery. During the hottest days, the children spent more time indoors where they could stay cool with the air conditioning and fans, as well as enjoying refreshing ice pops. We also had a wonderful afternoon celebrating our Jungle-themed Duckling and Rainbow Party. The children enjoyed singing songs together before tucking into their picnic boxes, while the grown-ups relaxed with a delicious cream tea. It was lovely to see everyone enjoying the special event. For Father's Day, the children created thoughtful Father's Day cards and made thumbprint keyrings for their daddies as a special keepsake. We hope these handmade gifts were treasured by all the wonderful fathers and father figures. Thank you to all the parents who attended Parents' Evening, either in person or via a telephone appointment. These meetings are a fantastic opportunity to celebrate the children's achievements at nursery, share their progress, and hear all about how they are getting on at home. What we've been learning this month: Ducklings: Abacus, Tea Party, Busy board, Dinosaurs & Building towers. Rainbows: Play dough, Stamping & Chalk painting. Sunshines: Glue and sticking, Messy play cardboard, England flags, Rocket names, Making fans, Leaf painting, Ice play, Digging potatoes & Making suns.
MAY 2026 May brought changeable weather at nursery. We were lucky to enjoy a heatwave, giving the children the chance to cool off and have lots of fun splashing in the paddling pool with their friends. One of the highlights of the month was Pet Week, where we welcomed both small and large dogs to nursery. The children loved watching them perform tricks, enjoy treats and learning more about caring for pets. The Ducklings have enjoyed a range of sensory and creative activities, including mark making with felt-tip pens, chalking, exploring the mud kitchen, and playing with sparkly water. The Rainbows children have been busy exploring through walks, investigating a natural resources tray, practising shape matching, getting creative with arts and crafts, and having lots of fun in the ball pit. The Sunshines have enjoyed a variety of engaging activities, including following numbers with paint, caterpillar fingerprint counting, and an ice cream shaving foam tuff tray. During Pet Week, they were excited to meet Daisy the dog and explored the topic of where pets live. The children have also loved using the new dressing-up area, turning the role-play shed into a shop, bathing baby dolls, and taking part in the fun fish finger game.
APRIL 2026 With the arrival of the warmer weather, the children have been making the most of our outdoor spaces and enjoying a wide range of exciting seasonal activities. From searching for hidden treasures during our Easter egg hunts to planting vegetables in our allotment area, the children have loved exploring and learning through hands-on experiences. We have also been busy planting sunflower seeds for our special sunflower competition, and the children are very excited to take their plants home and watch them grow over the coming weeks. Our Ducklings children have been particularly interested in exploring their new busy board, which has quickly become a favourite addition to the room. It has encouraged lots of curiosity, problem-solving and sensory exploration. The children have also enjoyed a variety of engaging activities including water play, creative painting experiences, building train tracks and towers with Duplo, making music using pots and pans, and even helping to paint the outdoor fence. The Rainbows group had a wonderful time on their recent walk to the lakes, where they enjoyed observing nature and talking about the world around them. Back at nursery, they have been developing their fine motor skills through threading activities and exploring colours and creativity with exciting colour pop fun sessions. Their Easter egg hunt was also a big highlight, bringing lots of smiles and teamwork. Our Sunshines children have been thrilled to welcome back The Really Wild Club on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, where they continue to explore nature and outdoor learning opportunities. They have also been very busy taking part in a variety of creative activities including string painting, rainbow and tulip paintings, food stamping, mega block painting and practising their scissor control skills. These activities have supported the children’s creativity, confidence and fine motor development while allowing them to express themselves through art and play.
MARCH 2026 It’s been another wonderfully busy month at nursery! The children were thrilled to welcome back their newly built role play shed, which has quickly become a favourite space—especially after being transformed it into a bustling veterinary clinic. Alongside their imaginative play, the children have been busy planting flowers to take home as Mother’s Day gifts. We’ve also enjoyed celebrating a variety of special occasions, including Holi, St Patrick’s Day, St David’s Day, and World Book Day, each bringing its own fun and learning experiences. Ducklings have been busy creating Mother’s Day cards, planting flowers, playing with the new busy board and taking part in an Easter competition. Rainbows have also enjoyed making Mother’s Day cards, planting, and joining in with the Easter competition. Sunshines have had an especially creative month, exploring activities such as junk modelling, playdough baking, collaging, Holi-themed colouring, and colour-mixing through painting. They’ve also made St David’s Day pictures, practised threading, enjoyed tea party role play, created St Patrick’s Day crafts, designed World Book Day bookmarks, and prepared Mother’s Day cards and planting gifts, as well as Easter cards.
FEBRUARY 2026 It has been an exciting month at nursery, with the children enjoying lots of fun activities and celebrating special occasions, including Valentine's Day, Chinese New Year and Pancake Day. To celebrate Pancake Day, the children enjoyed tasty pancakes with fruit for their tea, which everyone loved. Ducklings have been exploring different musical instruments, experimenting with drums, and using wooden spoons with pots and pans to create their own music. They also enjoyed learning about cars and transport, with transport-themed painting, looking at transport books, playing with cars on roads, and a fun activity where a tractor and trailer delivered love hearts. The children also took part in watercolour painting and sand play, encouraging creativity and sensory exploration. Rainbows have been busy with a variety of themed activities including a Pancake Day tray, car cleaning, an animal tray, and a lovely teddy bear tea party. They also explored special celebration trays for Chinese New Year and Valentine's Day. Sunshine children have enjoyed a construction tuff tray, learning about foxes, and creating a colourful handprint Sunshine display. They also took part in a Pancake Day tuff tray, explored an animal tuff tray, and practised their number recognition with number caterpillars.
JANUARY 2026 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.
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