Friends Forest Nursery Ash

𝗪𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗮 𝘄𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹 𝗶𝗻 𝗔𝘀𝗵, 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗱 𝟯 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝟱 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗹𝗱, 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗷𝗼𝗶𝗻 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗳𝗮𝗯𝘂𝗹𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺!

We currently have Nursery Nurse positions (Qualified) and Lunch Time Assistant positions (Qualified or Unqualified) available.

𝗪𝗲 𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗺𝗮𝘇𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗳𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗮𝘀:
⭐️ Generous discount in childcare
⭐️ Competitive salary
⭐️ Uniform bonus
⭐️ Lunch provided
⭐️ Treat Thursdays
⭐️ Health care and shopping discounts
⭐️ Opportunity to complete Level 3 in Forest School and go on to do higher levels of Childcare qualifications
⭐️ Generous holiday allowance + your Birthday off, as well as a week off at Christmas!

𝗣𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗺𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝟶𝟭𝟮𝟱𝟮 𝟰𝟶𝟱𝟱𝟰𝟰 𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘀𝗵@𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗻𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘆.𝗰𝗼𝗺 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲!

Good evening everyone!

On Saturday 19th, the team embarked on a very exciting adventure to London for the NMT Awards at Westminster Park Plaza Hotel.

As you may know, we were nominated and put through to the final for Best Team 2022, competing against 6 other nurseries around the UK! This is such an achievement, and we are so proud of getting through for this prestigious award.

Although we may not have won, we all had an amazing evening celebrating our team. I'm sure you will all agree we have a fabulous team here at Friends and will join us in congratulating all of the team on getting through to the finals.

Wish us luck for next year!

Good Morning everyone!

This is Hayley, our chef at Friends. Hayley has been working at Friends for 4 years now. Hayley loves to cook for each celebration at nursery and wows the children with her creations. Hayley's favourite celebration day this year was Diwali, where she made a feast of chicken curry, lentil dahl, samosas and naan bread with rice pudding and dried fruits for dessert!

On Thursday, we had a very exciting afternoon as we used our new fire square for the first time!

The preschool children helped to find 'snappy sticks', and built up the fire with the help of Chloe. Chloe then lit the fire and the children enjoyed eating marshmallows and telling stories around the fire.

We spoke about how our 'sparky stick' works, and what is included in the fire triangle in order for our fire to light.

Happy Monday!

This is Amy S, our Baby Room Leader at Friends. Amy has been working at Friends for 4 years now. Amy's favourite type of activity to do with the children is sensory play, where the children learn about different textures and explore awe and wonder in their play.

📢 The World Cup 2022 has officially started! 📢

The 2022 World Cup in Qatar kicks off on Sunday, November 20 at the Al Bayt Stadium when the hosts take on Ecuador in Group A.

Together we can change young lives❗

Too many children have experienced the worry, dread, and hopelessness of living through COVID, and the current cost of living crisis is forcing many more families into poverty. Children In Need strives to end this anxiety in many children in the UK.

Good Morning everyone!

This is Jasmine, our Deputy Manager at Friends. Jasmine has been working at Friends for 7 years now. Jasmine loves to partake in Forest School with the children, as well as sensory play where the children can talk about texture and describe the different materials used.

Good Morning everyone!

Over the next few weeks, we will be posting 'meet the team' pictures on our page, to show you our wonderful team!

This is Amy G, our Acting Manager at Friends. Amy has been working at Friends for 4 years now. Amy loves to create new and exciting tuff trays for the children to explore and learn from.

Good evening, everyone. We hope you have had a lovely day!

We would love to show off our new fire square in the Forest School Garden, done by our maintenance man - Ryan.

We cannot wait to use this and have been speaking to the children about fire safety, showing them our fire bag and talking about the importance of keeping safe around the fire - watch this space!

On November 11th, 1918 world war I was brought to a close after 4 years of continuous warfare. On this day, we pay our respects to all of those that gave their lives in service of our country.

This week we have been learning why Remembrance Day is so important, we discussed what this day is for. Each room explored the different activities which sparked our curiosity and motivated us through our play.

Number confidence week is about supporting people on their journey to overcoming any anxieties with numbers!

It’s Bonfire Night! 🎆

We know the children are excited to see some fireworks, bonfires and sparklers. 🎇

May you scare more and get scared less this Halloween. Happy Halloween! 🎃 👻

Today is Diwali!

Diwali is the Hindu festival of Lights, which is celebrated with fireworks, decoration and feasting. Diwali also marks a new beginning through the arrival of a new moon.

♻️ Reduce! Reuse! Recycle! ♻️

It is Recycle Week! Encouraging children to recycle is a way of teaching them about sustainability. Learning the importance of being sustainable shows them that the environment is important. 🌍

You can provide your child with opportunities to play in the mud by simply taking them outside after a rainy day to investigate muddy puddles.

The possibilities for mud play activities are practically unlimited! Here are some ideas:

👉 Mud Stew
👉 Coffee shop Mud Play
👉 Make mud castles and buildings.
👉 Paint and write with mud using a large paintbrush or sticks.
👉 Muddy Car Wash
👉 Make a mud racetrack or roads for toy cars.

Tuff Trays encourage group play, allowing numerous children at once to join the activity, playing alongside each other or together. Tuff trays provide great opportunities to build on social skills, confidence and speech and language development.

Have a think about how you could create the following tough trays:

Autumn Tuff Tray
Halloween Tuff Tray
Dinosaur Tuff Tray
Minibeast Tuff Tray
Animal Tuff Tray
Construction Tuff Tray
Summer Tuff Tray
Water Tuff Tray

Thank you for your service Queen Elizabeth II. Our thoughts are with The Royal Family today.

How to create and use a story sack at home. 🏠📖

Story sacks are a great resource to use with children. They can extend a story and support children in various development areas. The sacks are often made up using a storybook and visual aids or activities based around a particular favourite story. The Gruffalo, The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Room on the Broom are popular choices. Creating a story sack at home is a fun activity you can do to get your children engaged in reading. Children enjoy books and read more when they are interested in the stories.

⭐️ Gather your child's favourite book and a sizable cloth bag to start. A pillowcase or cotton grocery bag will work perfectly. Any of the following can be added to aid with story time:

A copy of the book

Story-related CD or DVD

Related non-fiction books or toys (stuffed animals are great)

Models of the story's characters and relative objects

Pencils and paper

⭐️ Then, make an activity card for the story to include in the story sack.

How to make an activity card:

1. Write down a list of activities you can do and topics you can discuss in connection to the story.

2. Discuss the story and the children's favourite parts.

3. Ask lots of open-ended questions about the characters and storyline.

4. Retell the story using the toys and props you have in the bag

Create your favourite character using playdough 😀

It's Roald Dahl Story Day! 📖

Visit the link below for some fun Roald Dahl Printables and Activities.

👉 https://www.readbrightly.com/roald-dahl-printables-activities/

Thank you for your service. Rest in peace Her Majesty. 🕊️👑

Using scissors is a great way to improve children's fine motor skills❗️ We have a few tips to get children more comfortable with using scissors. ✂️

Get your child ready for school/nursery/pre-school with our 'Ready for School' checklist! 📝✅

Time is precious when facing an emergency, which makes it crucial to have a children's/baby’s First Aid Kit readily available at home.

Below is a link for 6 of the best baby First Aid Kits that you can order at Amazon:

https://www.healthline.com/health/parenting/best-first-aid-kits-for-babies#comparison

It’s the summer holidays now, which makes it the perfect time to explore the UK with the children!

Plan your staycation now 👇

https://www.travelsupermarket.com/en-gb/blog/inspiration/best-uk-family-staycation-destinations/

In the summer, it’s natural for children to want to go for a dip and splash in the pool. We have some pool safety tips to share, to ensure that all children are safe:

⭐️ Always teach children to never go in the pool unsupervised
⭐️ Ensure children are using inflatables, on their upper arms only. (However, this is not a substitute for supervision!)
⭐️ Even if a pool has a lifeguard, it’s still best to supervise all children in the pool

We’ve already experienced some crazy heatwaves this year, with temperatures reaching 40 degrees! Below are some tips for children (and adults) to stay safe in the sun

☀️ Avoid the sun when it’s at its strongest, in the UK this tends to be between 11 AM - 3 PM.
☀️ Using at least factor 30 on children is ideal, as children have more sensitive skin.
☀️ Wearing a hat… our choice of clothing is our first line of defence against the sun, and wearing a hat is perfect for protecting children’s heads.

Learn more about staying safe in the sun via the NHS website.

https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/seasonal-health/sunscreen-and-sun-safety/

Playday takes place on the first Wednesday of August each year! This day is dedicated to the important role play has in the lives of children. The theme for this year’s Playday is … Summer of Play. ☀️

Go team! 💪

What a joyous moment it was for the England Lionesses and England as a whole! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿⚽

⭐️ It’s World Breastfeeding Week! ⭐️

World Breastfeeding Week is to protect and support breastfeeders all around the world! Breastfeeding supports children's development and health, making breastfeeding extremely important! 🥰

Today is the 25th Annual World Book Day!
To celebrate World Book Day today, we have a range of activities based on the children's books and characters we love.
What is your favourite book to read with your family?📚

Looking to start or progress your childcare career?

Call or email us today for a chance to join our amazing team as a Nursery Practitioner at our Friends Forest Nursery in Ash.

The children have created their own experiment – they left some water filled with animals in the garden which when they came back into nursery they noticed it had turned to ice! The children used a high level of mental energy when trying to work out how to get the animals out of the ice, they soon worked out that it melts if left for a period of time which was very exciting.

The pre-school children have been cooking this week. They have been independently using their own childproof knives to cut up the vegetables to go into the nursery butternut squash soup. We discussed the different foods and why they are healthy, we also looked at different shapes and sizes along with the different smells!

Here is our hygiene station which supports the children’s understanding of hygiene and brushing teeth. They recall on own experiences when at home and their day to day routine.

The Baby Room have been making their own smoothies this week. We encourage independence within the children at Friends Nursery, they really enjoyed pressing the button and watching the smoothie blend. We looked at real-life pictures to match what food was going into the smoothie. This also helped with speech and language encouraging them to repeat the fruit. The noise shocked them at first then they became very excited hearing the sounds.

Happy New Year everyone!
What is your no 1 goal for 2022?

Merry Christmas to all of our Families, from the Friends Team!

We hope you have a magical Christmas and New Year. We would like to say thank you to all of our lovely families for making this year so special, full of laughter, joy and learning new things. We cannot wait to see you all in the New Year and hear about all the lovely things that you have done during the Christmas break.