Seasons Nurseries

We have some last-minute September availability for over-twos at our exciting new setting in the grounds of Great Ballard School in Eartham, near Chichester.

The site offers a balance of indoor and outdoor learning, and children will spend their days moving freely between thoughtfully designed classrooms and areas of woodland and meadow. The setting supports growing independence, curiosity and confidence, while staying rooted in our child-led, nature-based ethos.

If you'd like to visit to find out more about what Seasons@Great Ballard can offer your family, book a tour on our website today: seasonsnurseries.co.uk/ournurseries

With blackberry season upon us, we decided to make use of this natural resource to do some painting!

The children foraged for ripe blackberries, crushed them to make a natural paint, then experimented with adding water to create different shades. They then used the paint they had made to create some great artwork.

One simple new piece of equipment can often prove a hit with the children, and the addition of a wooden ladder to our obstacle course in the woods has been just that!

The children have been moving the ladder around the area, placing it against trees and climbing up it to extend this play. We have been discussing risk with the children and talking about how we can keep ourselves safe while climbing.

With the children noticing that the blackberries on the bramble bushes were ripening, we decided to make natural blackberry playdough this week in the woodland!

The children helped to measure, scoop and pour the flour, salt, water and oil into a bowl, then mixed them together to create the playdough. They then foraged for blackberries, making sure to choose the ripe, dark berries over pink unripe ones to ensure they'd be soft and juicy.

They mashed the berries and mixed them into the playdough, noticing the colour changing to a rich purple as the juice spread through the mixture.

Then they explored it and played with it as they wished, adding things they found around the woodland to their creations. One of the children made a pizza, using leaves and sticks as toppings, while another made a pirate ship, rolling their dough into a cylindrical shape and using a stick as a mast.

They say that birds of a feather flock together, and our under-twos recently enjoyed coming together to learn all about bird feathers!

The children explored a variety of different types of feathers, comparing the colours, textures and patterns while learning about the outside world. They looked at reference books to see if they could match the pictures to the real item, learning that books are a great source of knowledge.

Our under-twos recently had the best time exploring colour, texture and mixing with paint in the garden. They used their whole bodies to explore this medium, using their hands to mix the paint and making lines, swirls and more with their hands and feet on the paper.

It was a beautiful sensory experience, which was then followed by water play with plenty of bubbles to clean themselves off - the pictures say it all!

While we adults might simply see a pile of wood offcuts, open-ended resources like these encourage children to really think creatively. Last week the children used their imaginations to create all sorts of wonderful things with these offcuts.

Some became engineers, building houses and cars, experimenting with different shapes and sizes. Others used the blocks as part of their role play, using them as pillows and blankets in the moon beds outside to extend their mum, dad and baby play.

Child-led play such as this enables children to solve problems and develop their social and communication skills as they play with their friends. It's been wonderful to see how one simple resource inspired so many different learning experiences!

Hot weather calls for lemonade, and the children loved making their own recently!

They squeezed the lemons by hand then combined the lemon juice with water and some honey. The homemade lemonade was a perfectly refreshing drink enjoyed by all at snack time.

We're hiring - Nursery Practitioner Level 3 🌿 If you're passionate about child-centred play, open-ended learning and nature-based experiences, this role could be for you. We're looking for a Nursery Practitioner Level 3 to join our growing team at Seasons Nursery at Aldingbourne Country Centre.

To find out more, read the full job description here: uk.indeed.com/viewjob?jk=a4f7b494d3c1810a

The decorators are in this week, and it's so exciting to see Seasons at Great Ballard starting to come to life.

One of the first rooms to be transformed is our baby room. Yes, it's pink.

Pink can be quite a divisive colour, and it's certainly not a choice we've made simply because we like it. The inspiration actually comes from traditional Steiner colour theory.

Whilst we are not a Steiner nursery, we do draw inspiration from a range of respected early years approaches, including Steiner, Reggio Emilia and Forest School. These philosophies have all influenced the way we've developed our curriculum, particularly our emphasis on creativity, imagination, natural materials, beauty, meaningful experiences and a deep connection with the natural world.

In Steiner settings, soft pink is traditionally used in baby rooms because it is believed to create a gentle, warm and nurturing atmosphere. The intention is to help babies feel safe, secure and held during this important stage of development. As children grow, the colours within the environment gradually evolve alongside their developmental needs.

There isn't definitive scientific evidence that pink walls alone change children's behaviour, but we love the thoughtful intention behind creating environments that support emotional wellbeing. Every design decision we've made has been about creating spaces that feel calm, beautiful and deeply nurturing for our youngest children.

We can't wait to share more of the nursery as it comes together over the coming weeks.