Adventure Farm Day Nursery & Pre-School

🌿💚 Wellbeing at Adventure Farm 💚🌿

At Adventure Farm, we believe there is no better place for children to learn, grow, and thrive than the great outdoors.

Whether they're exploring our gardens, caring for animals down at the farm, splashing through puddles, or discovering nature's treasures, our children spend the majority of their day outside — rain or shine! ☀️🌧️

Being outdoors offers so much more than fresh air. Research shows that time spent in nature can help children build confidence, improve their physical health, develop resilience, and support their emotional wellbeing. Outdoor play encourages creativity, problem-solving, communication, and independence, while giving children the freedom to move, explore, and connect with the world around them.

The changing seasons, different weather conditions, and natural environments provide endless opportunities for learning and discovery. Every muddy boot, rosy cheek, and excited smile tells a story of adventure and growth.

We are proud to give our children the opportunity to experience nature every day, helping them develop a lifelong appreciation for the outdoors while supporting their wellbeing in the most natural way possible.

So whether the sun is shining or the rain is falling, you'll find us outside making memories, learning through play, and embracing every adventure that comes our way. 🌱🐑🚜

🏅🌟 Our First Ever Sports Days! 🌟🏅

What an incredible week we've had hosting our very first Sports Daysl! 💚

On Tuesday, we welcomed our Under 3s for a fun-filled afternoon of activities. The children took part at their own pace, enjoying bike races, obstacle courses and lots of opportunities to develop their physical skills whilst having fun with their friends. 🚲✨
To round off the event, we invited our parents to join in with a friendly (and very competitive!) tug of war, which was enjoyed by children and adults alike! 💪😆

On Wednesday, it was time for our Preschool Sports Day. The children showed fantastic determination and enthusiasm as they took part in running races, sack races and team games. 🏃‍♀️🏃‍♂️🥔
We also got our parents involved with some exciting parent races and another tug of war, creating lots of laughter, smiles and memorable moments for everyone involved. 🌈

A huge well done to all of our children for taking part, trying their best and showing such wonderful sportsmanship throughout the week. We are so proud of every single one of them! ⭐

Thank you to all of our families who came along to cheer the children on and joined in with the fun! 💚

💚🚜📚School readiness📚🚜💚

Our Preschool children have been working incredibly hard on developing the skills they will need as they prepare for their exciting transition to school. 🌈✨

School readiness is about so much more than letters and numbers. It's about building confidence, independence and the skills children need to thrive in their new environment. 💛

Over the past few months, the children have been:
👕 Practising getting themselves dressed and managing their own belongings
🔢 Developing their number recognition and counting skills
🔤 Exploring letters, sounds and early reading skills
✏️ Practising writing and forming letters, numbers and shapes
🥣 Self-serving their own food and making independent choices at mealtimes
🪥 Building self-care skills such as brushing their teeth and washing their hands and faces independently
🤝 Developing confidence, resilience and problem-solving skills through play

We are so proud of how much the children have grown and how they embrace new challenges each day. These important life skills help to create confident, independent learners who are ready for their next adventure. 🌟

🌿 Preschool Foraging Fun 🌿

Last week, our Preschool children had been exploring the farm and allotment whilst foraging for sticks, leaves, herbs and flowers to use in our beautiful eco collages 🌼🍃

As we explored, the children discussed the different fruits and vegetables growing within the allotment and learned more about the natural world around them 🌱 Back at nursery, we used our findings to create nature collages and enjoyed smelling the different herbs and flowers we had collected.

Activities like this are fantastic for supporting creativity, communication and fine motor skills whilst also encouraging curiosity and exploration ✨

Spending time outdoors and connecting with nature also has a huge positive impact on children’s wellbeing. Exploring natural environments can help children feel calm, relaxed and connected to the world around them, whilst encouraging mindfulness, confidence and happiness 💚🌍

🌊 World Oceans Day 🌊

This week we have been celebrating World Oceans Day through lots of exciting ocean-themed sensory and creative activities! 🐠💙

The children explored sand art, created their very own “gloop ocean,” and enjoyed rice and water ocean play filled with scooping, pouring and imaginative exploration 🌊✨

These activities were fantastic for developing fine motor skills, creativity, hand-eye coordination and communication skills whilst encouraging the children to explore different textures and materials through sensory play.

Ocean-themed sensory activities also support children’s wellbeing by creating calming, mindful experiences that encourage curiosity, relaxation and imaginative play. Exploring water, textures and nature-based themes can help children feel calm, engaged and connected to the world around them 💚🌍

This week in Preschool 2, we explored the story “The Life of a Little Cardboard Box” 📦♻️ We spoke all about recycling, where cardboard goes once we are finished with it, and the important journey it takes to be reused again.

The children then decorated their own cardboard boxes, practising shape recognition, mark making and letter formation by writing their names onto their creations ✏️✨ Activities like this help to support fine motor skills, creativity and early literacy development.

As part of our eco ethos, we love teaching children how to care for the world around them from a young age. Eco learning also links beautifully to wellbeing, helping children feel connected to nature, develop a sense of responsibility and build pride in making positive choices for the environment 🌱💚

🏆✨ We Have Some Very Exciting News! ✨🏆

Last Friday some of our ladies attended the NDNA Awards, where we were proudly nominated for the new award for 2026 'Learning Through Play: Awe and Wonder Award'.

We are absolutely delighted to share that we won! 🎉🏆

Bringing home this award is a fantastic achievement and a reflection of the passion, dedication and hard work our team puts into creating inspiring learning experiences for our children every single day.

We are incredibly proud of the whole Team AF. Their commitment to nurturing curiosity, creativity and a love of learning is what makes our nursery such a special place, and this recognition is truly well deserved.

Well done, Team AF – you really are an award-winning team! 🌟🎉

💚✨ The Key Person Approach ✨💚

The Key Person Approach is a very important part of early years care and education. Each child at nursery is assigned a special member of staff known as their Key Person. 🫶

This person helps your child to feel safe, secure and settled within the nursery environment by building a warm and trusting relationship with them. They get to know your child’s individual personality, interests, routines and development needs, helping to support them both emotionally and educationally. 🌿✨

A Key Person will:
💛 Support children during transitions and settling in
🗣️ Encourage communication and confidence
📚 Plan activities based on children’s interests and development
🤝 Build strong relationships with families
🌈 Help children feel happy, safe and valued every day

By having a familiar and trusted adult to turn to, children are able to develop confidence, independence and secure attachments which support their overall wellbeing and learning. ✨

🎨🌱 Our Toddlers have had a fantastic week exploring a variety of textures through fun, hands-on activities!

The children have been getting creative with fork painting, using different tools to make marks, patterns and colourful masterpieces while developing their fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination. We have also been busy planting, giving the children the opportunity to explore natural materials, dig in the soil and learn about how things grow.

Throughout the week, our toddlers have been encouraged to touch, feel, investigate and explore the world around them. Texture-rich activities provide valuable sensory experiences that help children make sense of their environment, build confidence and develop important early learning skills. Whether it was feeling the paint glide across the paper or getting their hands muddy while planting, every experience sparked curiosity and excitement.

Sensory exploration also plays an important role in supporting children's wellbeing. It encourages mindfulness, creativity and self-expression while helping children to feel calm, engaged and confident in their learning. By exploring different textures and materials, children develop independence, resilience and a positive sense of achievement as they discover new experiences.

We have loved seeing our toddlers embrace every opportunity to learn, create and explore this week! 💚

🌈✨ Our Preschoolers have had a very busy and exciting week full of learning, creativity and self-expression! ✨🌈

This week, we celebrated Pride by exploring the importance of kindness, inclusion and celebrating what makes each of us unique. The children also enjoyed getting messy with gloop play, exploring different textures and using their imaginations through sensory play. Alongside this, we spent time talking about our feelings, helping the children to recognise and express their emotions, while also practising our early writing skills by having a go at writing our own names.

These experiences all play an important role in supporting children's wellbeing. Celebrating diversity helps children develop a sense of belonging and respect for others, while sensory activities encourage confidence, curiosity and emotional regulation. Talking openly about feelings supports emotional development, and practising name writing helps build self-esteem and independence as children take pride in their achievements.

We are so proud of our Preschoolers for their enthusiasm, creativity and willingness to try new things every day! 💚