Poppies Day Nursery Aldershot Hampshire

Another end to another busy week here at Poppies
Monday the children took part in " Talk like a pirate day" . Some of the children dressed up in costumes. They had such fun taking part in pirate themed activities.
Treasure maps( we previously stained paper using tea bags)
Pin the sticker on the the treasure poster.
Treasure hunt with sequins.
Lovely sparkly pictures created with sparkly sequins.
We all shared some fun pirate books.
And lastly, a favourite, was walking the plank.
The children that attended that day received a pirate certificate.

Also..

Some wonderful creations using the playdough.
We loved the long snake made by a new comer to the setting, eyes were also added, with a demonstration of how a snake moves.
Gloop is always a favourite, it's amazing what the children can do with it, using their imagination. Pumpkin pie being one.

On Friday an autumnal tray was available for the children to explore . They smelt the lavender,ripped the leaves and rolled the conkers before moving to the mud kitchen to cook it all up.

So....... If you go out for walks, maybe encourage your children to gather, small sticks, leaves, conkers so we can create some wonderful pictures.

Another busy week at Poppies.
The children have been using tea bags to stain the paper ready for treasure maps for our " talk like a pirate day" next week. "Ahoy there me shipmates".

The children have enjoyed the pasta play, using the pasta to make letters from the alphabet., then moving on to make birthday cakes, using their lovely singing voices to sing happy birthday to each other.
Also some fun foil painting and mixing of colours and using their fine motor skills with the paint brushes

It has been lovely seeing some friendships being made and lots of amazing turn taking.

Another use for old records with great imagination from the children, using them as stepping stones.

Dinosaur land is always a hit with the children, like last week , lots of dinosaur roars.

Lots of opportunities for language throughout the week and new words being heard.

RIP Queen Elizabeth II
Thank you for 70 years of service.
As a mark of respect Poppies is closed today so our staff and families can pay their respects to our Queen while spending precious time with their own families and friends 👸🇬🇧💜

What a busy week....
This week the children have taken responsibility for making sure our resident African snail Brian and the baby snails 🐌 🐌 🐌 have been well looked after. The children have been using their fine motor skills to cut the cucumber and using the spray bottle to make the soil damp. The children have now got used to the rountine of feeding the snail's.

We have had house building for the very roarsome dinosaurs. Lots of roars from the children. The children used their imagination to find the resources to make a house. We even made a tree house.

Silver foil painting was an interest. First it was used for sensory sounds. Then we put it in the water tray. The children found this amazing. They added cars and foam shapes. This sparked lots of vocabulary.

What can you do with a tube? The children found talking to each other amusing. They also worked together taking turns putting cars down the tube and catching them at the bottom.

Maths and estimation with building towers. I wonder who’s is the biggest!

We at Poppies hope you all have a lovely Bank holiday weekend 🇬🇧👸

Friday Funday!!
Lots of fun had by EVERYONE in the garden today 😊

The first baby snail has been adopted and taken home today!!

We hope Geoffrey the snail is very happy in their new home 😊🐌

Some photo's from this week 😊

🍊 At snack time the pre-schoolers were peeling their own satsumas.

🌿 In the garden everyone had lots of creative fun using herbs, lavender and a range of tools to explore the playdough.

🐌 Two children were watching the baby snails and then drew a picture of them all!
Fantastic artwork!!

Since revamping the music and maths area's the children have enjoyed exploring them both - they've even been number spotting in the garden!!

The pre-schoolers have concentrated on a fine motor activity today - placing marbles onto a padded glove!

We often get asked; why don't we wear aprons?

If a child is completely engrossed in play, using their imagination and freely expressing themselves using their whole body and we stopped them to put an apron on, we will be interrupting their thought process, a learning opportunity and brain development!

Think of it this way if you are having a moment of quiet for yourself reading a book and someone keeps interrupting you, you can't concentrate can you?

✨Clothes will wash but these memories will last a lifetime ✨

What a busy day we have had in the Early Years room.
Making the children curious about Maths and Music in our revamped areas

There has been lots of fun and curious exploration in the garden this week.....

* The children have made some fantastic playdough with a range of herbs and colours

* Someone was experimenting with water and resources to make some handsoap

* Mark making in sand using fingers, sticks and even a pipe

and also

* Plane spotting with friends!

Snail update 🐌🐌🐌🐌

Our baby snails are getting bigger and their shells are starting to go hard, so will soon be ready to re-home.

Would anyone like to adopt one?

They are low maintenance pets who will just need a bit of food and moisture every now and then.

If you do, then you will need a tank and some soil. We bought ours from Amazon - you can go anywhere else - but this is what we bought:

* Check this out at Amazon
Ferplast Plastic Container for Small Animals GEO EXTRA LARGE Aquarium Tank 11 L for Fishes Terrarium Turtles Insects, Sturdy Plastic, Ventilation Grills, 35,6 x 23,4 x h 22,8 cm Red https://amzn.eu/0qqoZH9

* Exo Terra Plantation Soil Substrate, 8.8 Litre https://amzn.eu/1xqQFYu

Keeping hydrated in this heat;
We have introduced a water dispenser into the pre-school room to encourage the children to be more independent in filling up their bottles. This has worked fantastically today as they all wanted to drink more to fill up again!!

Staying cool in this heat 🥵😊

Yummy watermelon for snack and lots of water / ice play in the garden 💧🚿💦🧊🧊

The under 2's room has had a bit of a move around this week to encourage more exploration and curiosity 😊

Exciting news from Poppies!!!!!

Our fish has finally had babies 🙂🐟🐠🙂

Another celebration this week

Tuesday marked Theresa's one year anniversary with Poppies 😊🎊🎉💐

Thank you for all you have done for Poppies so far and looking forward to many more memories 🙂

Snail watch day 8

The eggs are starting to hatch!!

This week the pre-school children have LOVED exploring the new craft area and creating some wonderful masterpieces!!

In the garden we have been making flags for our sandcastles and playing with shredded paper.

The babies have been enjoying exploring the shredded paper too!!

Snail watch - Day 3

We have moved the eggs into a seperate tank to keep them safe and keep a closer eye on them 🐌🐌🐌🐌🐌🐌🐌🐌🐌🐌🐌🐌🐌

Exciting news today ..I'm so excited Brian has had babies 👶 😍

The pre-school craft area has had a bit of a revamp today and lots more resources have been added 😊📕🖍🖌🖊🎨

The pre-schoolers have been getting very creative inside too!!

They have also started self registration, so finding their name and then hanging it on the tree 😊

Lot's of fun in the garden this week - in between all the rain!!

The babies have been using pots and pans as drums and making some lovely music 🎶 🎵
They were also pulling faces and smiling in the mirror and exploring the sand tray.

The preschoolers loved the shaving foam messy play! They've also been busy making tea for everyone using a range of tea bags, leaves and green water!

Lots of fun had by all this week

Fabulous morning at Victoria Day, Aldershot Aldershot Town Centre parade. Thank you to our gorgeous little bee children and our lovely poppies parents. It was a wonderful atmosphere and a great community to be involved with. Have a brilliant weekend everyone 🌺

A lovely read ahead of the parade that we are part of tomorrow. Look forward to seeing you in the morning with your bees buzzing with energy and excitement 🐝 🌺👸

Why do we celebrate Victoria Day in Aldershot?

- original post by Keith Bean (reposted with permission from Historic Aldershot Military Town )

Queen Victoria was no stranger to our town, a fact we celebrate every year with our very own ‘Victoria Day.’ Her husband Albert was One of the major reformers of the British Army, and it was he who chose to build a Royal Pavilion at Aldershot. He personally chose the spot by riding around on a horse and dropping sticks with a subaltern marking out the perimeters. He chose the location because it overlooked the cavalry barracks, and the garrison town in general. It was a simple four bedroom colonial style bungalow, and was entirely paid for from their own purse, no taxpayers money was spent! There were separate servants quarters and a separate kitchen. Adjacent to the Farnborough Road was stabling for some 30 horses. Queen Victoria often Rode on her horse ‘Alma’ all around caesar’s camp.

The Royal collection at Windsor contains many sketches of Aldershot, as seen and drawn by the Queen. You can find these online as well. It is fascinating reading her online journals, where she documents every visit to Aldershot. You will also find her referring to “ my beloved Aldershot” and frequently she states how much she enjoyed the Pavilion and local area, often recording how she was “loathe” to leave here.

After Albert’s death and her substantial period of mourning, she stayed away from the Royal Pavilion here, and I would suspect that it simply brought back too many painful memories of her beloved husband Albert, and all that he did here, not only for the British Army but her, spending many happy days with his wife and children here. After an absence of some 15 years, Queen Victoria once again returned to Aldershot, and continued her close association with the town and it’s townfolk.

Queen Victoria first visited ‘the camp’ on the 10th of June 1855. The royal pavilion had yet to be finished, so a large circular tent was erected along side the building works, and lunch was duly served.

28th of June 1899 marked the last ever visit to Aldershot by Queen Victoria. “Her Majesty,” read an account in the ‘Aldershot news,’ “appeared greatly changed, infirm, bent and tottering. Leaning heavily upon the arm of an Indian attendant she walked slowly down the ramp of Farnborough station where the Duke of Connaught and Sir Redvers Buller were in readiness to receive her.”

Rumour has it that Victoria was the 1st to walk across the five arch bridge upon its completion, but I have found nothing to substantiate this claim. Well you mustn’t let the truth get in the way of a good story....

It is said that outside of Balmoral, Windsor and Sandringham, Aldershot is the most visited place by members of the royal family.

One can still see all around the town today the legacy of Queen Victoria and her influence upon our great town. just look at the road names, pubs past and present and building names. Not to mention some of the great Victorian architecture which can still be found.

We have a lot to thank her for, and long may her legacy and association with Aldershot remain. And so this ended a 43 year association, with Queen Victoria having seen Aldershot grow from wooden huts standing on the exposed heathlands to the established home of the British Army.

Rest in Peace Ma’am

Another creative week this week with clingfilm sensory painting and sticking and glueing with our new reusable glue sticks!!
Also some fantastic turn taking with the drill too 😊

Victoria Day is this Saturday and Poppies are taking part in the parade 😊

Another celebration last week was Carly’s one year anniversary working at Poppies! Thank you Carly for everything you do for Poppies and the team, we are so lucky to have found you 🌺

What a FANTASTIC Jubilee party 🎉😊
Thank you to everyone who attended, I think everyone had a super time.
We had lots of red, white & blue messy play, played musical thrones and pin the tail on the corgi 🙂

Not only was today our Jubilee party - but it's Poppies 1st birthday!!!!!!!!
We opened our amazing nursery a year ago today 🥳🥳🥳🥳

We have enjoyed lots of different garden activities this week 😊

We have started Jubilee activities and have been busy making our own amazing flag!!
We have also had London block play and been finger painting Union Jacks.

Lot's more fun, red, white & blue, jubilee activities planned for next week too!!!

We have exciting news at Poppies, a very pregnant fish 🐟
We shall keep you updated with any news !!

We had some lovely feedback from the work experience girls we had in last week, Poppies we try and give everyone the opportunity to come and see what Childcare is all about.

So pleased they enjoyed their time here.🙂

" I enjoyed working at Poppies;). All staff members were really friendly to me and they helped me when I didn’t know what to do, when I was confused or wanted to know more about something they always tried to answer me in the best way. I am so grateful for everything. One more time thanks for giving us the opportunity to work!!
Anna

The work placement went absolutely great. We had lots of fun there and I did learn a lot of things. The staff are really great there they provided me knowledge about the things that I was not aware of. The poppies nursery is really good as well the children there. Thank you for giving us opportunity to have our work placement there.
Thank you!!
Tina

We have all thoroughly enjoyed playing outside in the garden so far this week 😊🌞

- not sure the sunny weather will continue today 😕

Lots of fun, creativity, exploration and physical activities inside and outside this week 😊🙂

Another lovely day in the garden today 😊

We got the climbing frame out and everyone enjoyed lots of physical fun!

The babies - hidden under the parachute, enjoyed exploring gloop 🙂

Lot's of fun in the sun today
😎😊🙂

Exploring the baby garden this morning 😊😊

Also some fantastic mark making going on too!

We have been making some lovely changes in the nursery this week 😊

The baby garden has been completed and is ready for exploring.

The Early Years room has been changed around to include lots more role play opportunities.

With all this lovely sunshine, we have enjoyed a variety of activities outside which include large scale painting, water play, sharing a story together and shredded paper!!

The children have loved exploring the torches this afternoon 😊

Making Easter cakes and going on an egg hunt today!!

We are very excited to show you lots of lovely new additions we have added to the nursery this week 😊😊

In the baby room we have a new mirror with bar for cruising babies and a beautiful gorgeous new teepee!!

Outside by the front door there is an information board which we will keep updated with local info and Poppies news.

The biggest addition is "The Sensory Pod"
This is a lovely space for quiet activities 😀

Lot's of fun had by everyone this week - especially exploring our new climbing frame 😊

Morning

We have our collection of the clothes you have given for wear, Share Care on Wednesday so please have a look thorough your cupboards one last time and bring what you don't need before Wednesday
Thank you again for your support x

Lovely sunny day today - great day for lots of fun in the garden!!

Wow what a difference in a year!!