Little Hedgehogs Day Nursery

Little Hedgehogs Day Nursery We are an Ofsted registered Early Years Nursery and preschool group based in Boreham Essex. Accepting FEEE1, FEEE2 & FEEE3-4

We offer educational childcare in our homely, safe & nurturing environments, both term time and all year round places.

Walk to Nursery and Preschool and make the journey part of the learning! 🔎As we enjoy the last of the 2026 summer, why n...
10/09/2026

Walk to Nursery and Preschool and make the journey part of the learning! 🔎

As we enjoy the last of the 2026 summer, why not leave the car at home when you can and walk to nursery together?

Walking is a lovely way to begin the day. It supports physical and mental wellbeing, gives children and grown-ups time to talk and connect, and creates so many opportunities to notice what’s happening in the world around us.

And we can turn the journey into a little adventure!

As part of the Make it REAL training we’ve been doing with Essex County Council, we’ve been exploring environmental print – all the words, letters, numbers, symbols and logos children naturally encounter in everyday life.

Try a letter & word safari on your walk. Can your child spot a letter from their name? Recognise a familiar shop or supermarket logo? Find numbers on houses, road signs or bus numbers? Notice a STOP sign or a street name? What colours, shapes and symbols can they find?

There’s no need to test them or get every answer right – notice it, talk about it and enjoy discovering it together. These everyday conversations help children understand that print has meaning and that reading and writing are part of real life.

☀️ So, while the summer is still hanging on, pop on those walking shoes and see what you can discover on your journey to nursery.

Learning really is everywhere.

Today one of our children became very busy collecting sticks from around the garden. Each new find was carefully added t...
03/09/2026

Today one of our children became very busy collecting sticks from around the garden.

Each new find was carefully added to their collection and, naturally, the counting began!

“1, 2, 3”

Through something as simple as gathering sticks, we’re developing early mathematical skills, counting with one-to-one correspondence, noticing quantity, comparing size and beginning to understand that the last number counted tells us how many we have altogether.

No planned maths activity needed, just a curious child, a garden full of treasures and the freedom to explore.

We hope all our Little Hedgehogs families are enjoying the long weekend and making the most of these final summer days. ...
30/08/2026

We hope all our Little Hedgehogs families are enjoying the long weekend and making the most of these final summer days. Whether you’re heading out for an adventure, splashing in puddles, enjoying a picnic or simply spending some quiet time together, we hope your weekend is filled with happy moments.

September is just around the corner, bringing new beginnings, familiar routines, exciting adventures and lots of opportunities to explore, discover and grow.

For now, let’s enjoy the last little bit of summer! 🌻☀️

What are your family’s plans for the long weekend?

🍃 GETTING READY FOR NURSERY 🍃Little things that can make those first few weeks a little easier. Starting nursery is a bi...
29/08/2026

🍃 GETTING READY FOR NURSERY 🍃

Little things that can make those first few weeks a little easier.

Starting nursery is a big milestone for children and their grown-ups!

As we prepare to welcome our new Little Hedgehogs, here are a few things you can begin thinking about at home:

🌙 Sleep associations
If your child will be sleeping at nursery, it can really help if they have ways of settling that aren’t solely reliant on breastfeeding or a bottle. A familiar comforter, dummy or other familiar sleep cue can help us recreate some of their home routine at nursery.

🧸 A little piece of home
A special comforter, teddy or familiar item can be incredibly reassuring during those early days. Please make sure it is clearly named.

👕 Spare clothes – and plenty of them!
Nursery life can be messy! Mud, water, paint, food and outdoor adventures are all part of the fun. Ideally, please keep two complete sets of spare clothes in your child’s bag and check regularly that they still fit and are suitable for the season.

🌧️ Invest in a waterproof all-in-one
We play outside throughout the year and don’t let a little rain stop us! A good waterproof puddle suit/all-in-one is one of our nursery essentials. Please name it clearly.

👟 LABEL, LABEL, LABEL!
Shoes, coats, jumpers, hats, puddle suits… if it comes to nursery, please put your child’s name in it! You’ll be amazed how similar everyone’s little shoes can look. 😊

☀️🌧️❄️ Dress for the weather
Please send appropriate outdoor clothing and accessories for the season — sun hats in warm weather and warm coats, hats and gloves when it gets colder.

💧 Named water bottle
Please bring a clearly named water bottle each day so your child can access their drink throughout the day.

And perhaps most importantly…

🦔 Don’t worry if everything isn’t perfect on day one.

Part of settling into nursery is us getting to know your child. Understanding their routines, their little ways, what comforts them and what makes them smile.

We’ll work together with you to help them feel safe, secure and ready to enjoy their next adventure.

Welcome to Little Hedgehogs. We can�

Making Transitions Positive. At Little Hedgehogs, we know that transitions are a big part of childhood and learning how...
28/08/2026

Making Transitions Positive.

At Little Hedgehogs, we know that transitions are a big part of childhood and learning how to manage change doesn’t just happen when it’s time to start nursery, preschool or head off to big school.

In fact, our children practise transitions every single day.

🦔 Tidying away one activity before moving on to another.
🧼 Washing our hands ready for snack or meals.
🌳 Getting ready to move from indoors to outdoors.
📚 Finishing a story and choosing what comes next.
🧥 Putting on our coats and shoes ready to go outside.
👋 Saying goodbye at the end of the day

These might seem like very small moments but they are helping children learn something incredibly important: change is safe, predictable and manageable.

We support these little transitions with familiar routines, gentle reminders, songs, visual cues and plenty of encouragement. Children begin to understand what is happening now, what will happen next and what is expected of them.

And gradually, those little everyday experiences help build the confidence and resilience needed for the bigger transitions.

That’s why we also believe goodbyes should be positive. ❤️

As some of our children prepare to leave Little Hedgehogs and begin their next adventure at school, we don’t want their final days to feel sad or worrying. We celebrate them! 🎉

We talk about their new adventures, remember all the wonderful things they have achieved, have fun together and make their goodbye something to look forward to.

Because being ready for school isn’t simply about knowing letters and numbers.

It’s also being able to cope when something changes, understanding routines, becoming increasingly independent, knowing what happens next and feeling confident enough to take that next little step.

Small transitions, every day, preparing our children for life’s much bigger ones. 🦔

Another day of goodbyes at Little Hedgehogs…Today we say goodbye to some more of our wonderful children as they get read...
27/08/2026

Another day of goodbyes at Little Hedgehogs…

Today we say goodbye to some more of our wonderful children as they get ready to take that very exciting next step, off to big school.

Goodbyes are always bittersweet. We are so incredibly proud of each and every one of them, but goodness, we are going to miss them!

We’ve watched them grow in confidence, independence and curiosity, build friendships, discover new things, overcome challenges and achieve so much during their time with us.

And now, as we watch them standing together, ready for their next adventure, we know they are more than ready for their next chapter.

To our Little Hedgehogs school leavers — keep exploring, keep asking questions, keep being brave and most importantly, keep being wonderfully you. 💚 🦔

We have loved being part of the beginning of your story and we can’t wait to hear about all the wonderful things you go on to do.

Go and shine at big school! 🌟 We’ll miss you more than you know. 🦔💚

🍋💛 A day of yellow! 💛🍋Today, we’re immersing ourselves in the wonderful colour yellow through curiosity and hands-on exp...
25/08/2026

🍋💛 A day of yellow! 💛🍋

Today, we’re immersing ourselves in the wonderful colour yellow through curiosity and hands-on exploration!

The children have been busy drawing, painting and creating with different shades and textures of yellow. We’re also transforming our outdoor area into our very own lemonade stand, where the children can squeeze, mix, pour, serve and enjoy lots of imaginative play.

This afternoon, we have investigated lemons more closely:

🍋 How do they look, feel and smell?
🍋 What do we think they might taste like?
🍋 What can we find inside?
🍋 Why are some lemons waxed while others are unwaxed?
🍋 Why are they transported in little net bags—and what might those bags help to do? Are these bags plastic? Are they good for our oceans?

A beautiful day of sensory discovery, creativity, conversation and child-led learning. All inspired by one wonderfully sunny colour. ☀️ 🌻☀️

It’s so shiny!

Using small hand held tools to cut and slice.

A rare September space has become available!Due to an unexpected last-minute cancellation, we now have a nursery place a...
24/08/2026

A rare September space has become available!

Due to an unexpected last-minute cancellation, we now have a nursery place available from September.

It is extremely unusual for a space to become available at such short notice, and we expect it to be snapped up very quickly.

If you are interested or know a family currently looking for a warm, nurturing nursery please contact us today.

📞 Phone 07889 857574

📧 Email [email protected]

🦔 Exploration • Discovery • Growth

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🦒🐘 🦁 Safari Adventure: The Quest for Water! 💦With the sunshine blazing today, our little explorers headed off on a very ...
13/08/2026

🦒🐘 🦁 Safari Adventure: The Quest for Water! 💦

With the sunshine blazing today, our little explorers headed off on a very important safari mission… the animals needed to find water! ☀️🦓

One of our tuff trays became a dry safari landscape, and the children helped the animals travel across the sand until at last… they discovered the watering hole! 💧🐘

Through their imaginative play, we talked about why water is so important for animals AND for us. The children discovered that our bodies need water to stay healthy, especially when the weather is hot. We chatted about feeling thirsty, keeping hydrated and making sure we drink regularly throughout the day.

With today’s heatwave, it was also the perfect opportunity to talk about keeping ourselves safe in the sunshine. We enjoyed our safari adventure beneath the lovely natural shade of our trees, keeping cool while still enjoying plenty of outdoor play. 🌳☀️

There was lots of wonderful sensory exploration too — digging, scooping, making tracks through the sand, building around the watering hole and creating their own safari stories together.

A simple tuff tray became an opportunity for imaginative play, communication, sensory exploration and an important real-life lesson about looking after our bodies. 💚

💦 Water keeps us healthy.
🌳 Shade helps us stay cool.
☀️ And even on the hottest days, there are still lots of ways to explore and learn outdoors!

With a solar eclipse and meteor shower to look out for, our Little Hedgehogs have been busy making their very own pinhol...
12/08/2026

With a solar eclipse and meteor shower to look out for, our Little Hedgehogs have been busy making their very own pinhole eclipse viewers! 🔭

Before we started, we talked about what happens during a solar eclipse and, importantly, why we must never look directly at the Sun. We explored ideas around light and shadow, thinking about how shadows can change depending on where we stand and where the light is coming from.

Then it was time to get making!

Before using the scissors, we talked about how to use them safely. The children confidently explained that we needed to be careful because “they are sharp!” They showed fantastic awareness, carefully holding and carrying their scissors and using the black lines as a guide while cutting their paper, cardboard tubes and foil.

There was lots of concentration, hand–eye coordination and fine-motor control involved as little hands cut, stuck and carefully made the tiny pinhole needed for our viewers.

Once they were finished, we headed into the garden to test them using the sunshine! ☀️

The children turned their backs to the Sun, pointed the foil end towards it and watched as the sunlight travelled through the tiny pinhole and projected an image onto the white screen inside.

Now our Little Hedgehogs are ready to look to the skies! 🌙⭐ 🌒

Address

Main Road
Chelmsford
CM33JB

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 5:30pm
Tuesday 8am - 5:30pm
Wednesday 8am - 5:30pm
Thursday 8am - 5:30pm
Friday 8am - 5:30pm

Telephone

+441245461052

Website

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