Cromwell Road and Portslade Day Nurseries and Pre-Schools

Some of the most meaningful learning happens outdoors 🌿

Recently, our children at Cromwell Road Day Nursery and Pre-School had a fantastic time taking part in a giant bubble activity, using hula hoops to create enormous bubbles filled with excitement, laughter and wonder. The children loved chasing, popping and exploring the bubbles together as they floated through the garden.

Activities like this may look simple, but they provide valuable opportunities for learning. As children run, reach and move, they develop their physical coordination and balance. They also build communication skills as they share their excitement with friends, while their natural curiosity is encouraged through exploration and discovery.

Our garden is much more than a place to play. It is a space where children can investigate, create, move and learn at their own pace, making memories and developing important skills along the way.

For many children, some of their happiest nursery moments are made outdoors — exploring, discovering and enjoying the freedom to learn through play.

📩 We'd love to show you around our outdoor learning spaces. Contact [email protected] to arrange a personal tour.

Portslade Day Nursery and Pre-School🌿

With the warmer weather arriving, the children have been enjoying spending more time outdoors, and what better way to explore than by creating magical potions in the garden.

The children chose their own coloured water before collecting a variety of natural materials and objects to mix, stir and swirl together. As their potions came to life, some children decided to use paintbrushes to make marks and patterns, extending their creativity even further.

These experiences help to support imagination, communication and creativity, while encouraging children to make choices, explore different materials and express their ideas through play.

It was wonderful to see the children so engaged in their potion-making, sharing ideas with friends and creating their own unique mixtures.

🌿 Try at home: Collect leaves, petals, sticks and other natural treasures from the garden and create your own magical potion together.

Portslade Day Nursery and Pre-School🛶

The Pre-School children have been enjoying exploring what happens when different objects are placed in water through a fun sink or float investigation.

The children carefully selected a variety of objects from around the room before making their own predictions and testing whether each item would sink to the bottom or float on the surface. There were lots of discussions as the children shared their ideas, compared results and discovered some surprising outcomes.

These experiences help to support curiosity, problem-solving and early scientific thinking, while encouraging children to develop new vocabulary and confidence in expressing their ideas.

It was wonderful to see the children so engaged as they tested their theories, made discoveries and learned together through hands-on exploration.

🌿 Try at home: Gather a selection of safe household objects and see if your child can predict which ones will sink or float before testing them in a bowl of water.

Portslade Day Nursery and Pre-School 🎨

The toddlers have been exploring new ways to make marks with paint through a fun and creative sensory activity.

The children went on a hunt to find a variety of textured balls before rolling them through different coloured paints and across large sheets of paper. As they explored, they discovered how each ball created different patterns and marks, leading to lots of conversations about textures such as spiky, smooth and bumpy.

As the activity continued, the children became fascinated by what happened when different paint colours mixed together, eagerly watching new colours appear as they rolled and painted.

These experiences help to support creativity, communication and early understanding of cause and effect, while also encouraging children to explore textures, patterns and new vocabulary through hands-on play.

It was wonderful to see the children's curiosity as they experimented with different textures, colours and mark-making techniques throughout the activity.

📩 To book a tour and explore our nurturing learning environments, please contact [email protected].

World Ocean Day 🌊

Today, we’re celebrating our wonderful oceans and all the amazing sea life that lives beneath the waves. From tiny fish to enormous whales, oceans are home to so many fascinating creatures for children to discover and learn about.

Throughout this week, the children will be exploring ocean themes through stories, discussions, creative activities, and conversations about how we can all help care for the world around us, including putting rubbish in the bin and helping to keep our beaches and parks clean.

We love encouraging children to explore the world around them with kindness, curiosity, and an appreciation for nature 💙

Pre-School at Portslade Day Nursery and Pre-School 🌼

With the arrival of the warmer weather, our Pre-School children have been showing lots of interest in the bright flowers appearing around the nursery.

Inspired by their curiosity, the children enjoyed planting their own seeds. They carefully scooped soil into pots before using their fine motor skills to place their chosen seeds into the soil, taking great care throughout the activity.

These experiences help to support fine motor development, patience and understanding of the natural world, while encouraging children to take responsibility for caring for living things.

Over the coming weeks, the children will be watering and caring for their plants as they watch them grow. It has been lovely to see their excitement as they begin this growing journey together.

🌿 Try at home: Plant a few seeds together and encourage your child to help water them each day. Talk about any changes you notice as they begin to grow.

Cromwell Road Day Nursery & Pre-School 🏖️

Our Little Explorers had a wonderful day at the beach, enjoying the opportunity to explore, discover and spend time together outdoors.

From throwing stones into the sea and collecting shells to enjoying the fresh sea air, the children were fully engaged in their surroundings as they shared their discoveries and explored the natural environment around them.

These experiences help to support curiosity, communication and understanding of the world, while also encouraging children to build confidence through new experiences and outdoor adventures.

It was lovely to see so many smiles throughout the day and to watch the children embrace their seaside adventure with such enthusiasm. We are incredibly proud of how well everyone behaved and can't wait for our next outing together.

🏡Try at home: Next time you visit the beach, see how many different shells, stones or natural treasures you can find together. Encourage your child to talk about what they notice, hear and feel as they explore.

Our Open Evening is taking place this Thursday ✨

If you're considering nursery for your child, this is a wonderful opportunity to experience the setting in person.

Take a look around our learning environments, meet our friendly team, and find out more about daily life at nursery, from settling-in sessions and mealtimes to learning through play and school readiness.

Whether you're looking for a place now or planning ahead for the future, we'd love to welcome you and answer any questions you may have.

🌙 Thursday 4th June at Portslade Day Nursery
⏰ 6pm – 8pm

📩 To arrange a personal tour or reserve your place, please contact:
[email protected]

Books to Read This June 📖

To celebrate World Ocean Day next week, we’re sharing a collection of ocean-inspired books we love - from fascinating underwater discoveries to gentle stories about life beneath the waves.

Reading together is such a lovely way to encourage curiosity, imagination, conversation and a lifelong love of learning from an early age. Ocean-themed stories always seem to spark so many questions, discussions and discoveries with children.

This month’s selection includes a mixture of beautifully illustrated stories, factual books and interactive favourites for little explorers to enjoy together at home.

Swipe through to explore our ocean-themed recommendations 🌊

Which book do you think your little one would choose first?