The Nest Nursery Lime Tree

🎨 Outdoor painting at The Nest 🎨

The children have been enjoying taking their creativity outside this week with some lovely outdoor painting activities.

Working on a larger surface gave them the freedom to move their whole bodies, building strength and coordination while expressing their creativity!

They experimented with brushes, tools and even natural materials, creating some wonderful artwork inspired by the world around them. It was a joy to see their imaginations come to life while enjoying the outdoors! 🌈✨

There’s something wonderfully powerful about a pile of pebbles…

To us, it might look simple. To a child, it’s a whole world of learning. This week saw transporting schemas in action, the children collecting, carrying, moving, and rearranging these stones with such purpose and care.

But look a little closer and you’ll see so much more happening…
🔍 Strength building as they lift and carry
🔍 Problem-solving as they decide where each pebble belongs
🔍 Mathematical thinking as they compare size, weight, and shape
🔍 Pre-writing skills as they build muscles in their hands, wrists and shoulders

No instructions and No set outcome. Just real materials, open-ended play, and curious minds at work 💛

Sometimes the simplest activities are doing the biggest work. Some of our smallest children explored this wooden stacking toy placing, removing, trying again, and figuring it out step by step.

Activities like this help develop:
* hand eye coordination
* concentration
* early problem solving
* fine motor skills

But most importantly… they build confidence as children discover, 'I can do this'! 🔢👏

Messy play in action at The Nest!

Mark-making is one of the earliest steps in children learning to write. Through activities like this, the children explore movement, develop hand strength, and begin to express their ideas and creativity.

We believe learning should be hands-on, joyful and a little bit messy... 🫟🎨

Our babies have been enjoying some spring stories this week. We’ve been looking at colourful flowers, baby animals and listening to the sounds of spring.

Spring-themed books have been a lovely way to explore the start of the season together 🌷

Earlier this week the children made the most of the weather and had lots of fun exploring puddles!

Jumping, splashing and watching the ripples, even adding soap to make bubbles!

We talked about how the water moves, and listened to the different sounds our splashes made. 🌧️👢

https://www.facebook.com/thecuriosityapproach/posts/pfbid0Yjwy8BzjGt2QPcxEiyWVj6CQhqivUCJWEumc5HcyCPRtubyRkb4qJ335MkRdc85Ql

✂️ Autumn Leaf Exploration 🍁
The children collected a variety of leaves and used scissors to carefully cut and shape them.

This activity supports fine motor development, hand-eye coordination, and concentration, while encouraging creativity and hands-on learning with natural materials. A simple seasonal invitation that sparks curiosity and skill-building! 🌿✨

https://www.facebook.com/thecuriosityapproach/posts/pfbid02RrTUnqv5hyfBZwzfXSMM7kfVJaeDkh3W8rPBG2xUu1v1vALnBF7jf918Pt26Nqcfl

🍂 Little Helpers at Work! ✨
Our children love getting involved in looking after their environment. Today, they used a broom to help clear up the leaves — learning responsibility, coordination, and the joy of contributing to their space! 🌿

The importance of allowing children to explore!