Tiny Teddies Day Nursery - Whitley

20 outdoor sensory play activities for young children + free printable

There are SO many outdoor sensory activities that children can participate in! 🍃 Engaging sensory play can happen at a park, in a backyard, along a nature trail, on a beach or in a puddle. It can happen in the winter, spring, summer and autumn.

The website below offers a variety of great ideas for free outdoor sensory activities that are great for children! ❤️

20 outdoor sensory play activities for young children + free printable You don't need fancy equipment for sensory play. Everything your kids need for engaging sensory play can be found outside.

🌈🌟 Play holds significant importance for children as it serves as a vital means for their learning and development. 🌟🌈

By engaging in play, children can embark on journeys of exploration, delve into imaginative realms, and hone their social and emotional abilities. It presents an invaluable opportunity for them to acquire knowledge, flourish, and thrive in various aspects of life

We believe that all the children in our setting are so lucky to have such amazing parents! 🥰

🌼🌱 We love gardening and it also has loads of benefits! 🌱🌼

Gardening involves problem-solving, critical thinking, and decision-making, all of which are important skills for children to develop. It also provides an opportunity for children to learn about science and nature.

🌞🌼💛 What a cheerful sight at Whitley! The children have donned vibrant yellow outfits to celebrate the arrival of the first day of summer! 🌻🌈🌞

Glueing in arts and crafts activities can be a great opportunity for children to explore and develop their fine motor skills, improve hand-eye coordination, and spark greater levels of creativity and imagination. Such activities can open the door to exciting new creative opportunities, and provide a fantastic platform for children to develop and nurture their own artistic skills. 🎨

Using pavement chalk with children can be a fun and creative way to engage them outdoors. Here are some activities you can do with children using pavement chalk:

🌈 Drawing and Colouring: Encourage children to express their creativity by drawing and colouring on the pavement or driveway. They can create their own pictures, and scenes, or even make colourful patterns and designs.

🤸 Hopscotch: Draw a classic hopscotch grid on the ground and teach children how to play the game. It's a great way to develop their balance, coordination, and counting skills.

✏️ Trace Shadows: On a sunny day, have children stand in different positions, and then trace their shadows with chalk. They can experiment with different poses and see how their shadow changes throughout the day.

For Wheel Day tomorrow, please come into nursery with your bikes or scooters! 🚴‍♂️🛴

To commemorate Father's Day, the children at Whitley Nursery embraced the spirit of celebration by wearing costumes inspired by their dads, uncles, and grandads! 👨‍👧‍👦🎉 It was an adorable sight as the little ones proudly showcased their creativity and affection for the special father figures in their lives. 🎩💙👨‍👧‍👦

Happy Father's Day! ❤️

This summer, encourage your little ones to explore the great outdoors and let their imaginations take root in gardening! 🪴

With countless benefits, young minds and hearts can grow through observation, creativity, and connection with nature.

Here are ways to make gardening fun for children:

🌱 Involve them in the planning process: Let children help choose what plants to grow and where to plant them. This gives them a sense of ownership and responsibility and helps them feel more invested in the process.

🌱 Make it a sensory experience: Encourage children to touch, smell, and sometimes taste (if you're growing fruit or veg) the different plants in the garden. This helps them develop a greater appreciation for the natural world and its diversity.

🌱 Incorporate fun activities: Incorporate fun activities such as scavenger hunts, bug hunts, or garden-themed crafts to keep children engaged and interested.

🌱 Keep it simple: Keep the gardening process simple and age-appropriate, so children don't get overwhelmed or frustrated. Start with easy-to-grow plants and gradually add more complexity as they gain experience.

In honour of Father's Day, please come into nursery dressed as Dads/Grandads/Uncles tomorrow! ❤️

The children at Whitley have been celebrating butterfly day. The children came to Nursery dressed in bright colours and learnt the life cycle of a butterfly 🦋

Parents evening is the perfect time to discuss your child's development with their key worker!

The children at Whitley have been getting creative by making a volcano out of salt doh. The children painted it and made it erupt 🌋🌋

Last Thursday the children at Whitley had so much fun spending time with the dinosaurs. 🦕🦖

The children were looking for fossils and danced with the dinosaurs as well. Then our special guests Peppa pig and George joined in and celebrated dinosaur day all together! 🥳

Positive words can have an immense impact on a child's life, far beyond what one can imagine. ❤️

🦋🎓 Attention, little learners! In honour of Butterfly Education Day, we kindly invite you to come into nursery wearing lovely bright colours! 🌈🌼

🦖🎉 Calling all little adventurers! For Dinosaur Day (tomorrow), we invite the children to wear their most magnificent dinosaur attire when they come into nursery! 🌿✨

We'll also be having a very special guest joining us! 😀

Have you heard of the amazing activity that is Rice Play? 😃

You can fill up a messy play tray or a washing-up bowl with uncooked rice, then add spoons, bowls, cups, balls and other toys to the mix. It's a great way to let your kids have some fun indoors with no mess! Rice is so much easier to clean up than sand so it's a win-win all around.

Have you ever given Rice Play a try? Let us know in the comments!

☀️🌈 The children at Whitley had so much fun celebrating rainbow day. 🌈☀️

The children decorated staff member Jade as a pretty rainbow and the children were dressed in pretty rainbow colours as well. 🥰

Mud play can provide numerous benefits for children's development and well-being. Here are some of the key benefits of mud play for children:

👉 Sensory Development: Mud play engages children's senses as they touch, feel, and manipulate the mud. It provides a unique sensory experience that helps develop their tactile senses, which are essential for their overall sensory processing and integration skills.

👉 Creativity and Imagination: Mud play encourages children to use their creativity and imagination to explore and create with mud. They can make mud pies, build structures, or create mud sculptures, which promotes their imaginative play skills and fosters their creativity.

👉 Physical Development: Mud play involves physical activity, such as digging, scooping, pouring, and manipulating mud, which helps develop children's fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and strength. It also provides opportunities for gross motor skills development as they move and play in the mud, enhancing their physical development.

Cloud spotting is a great activity for your children as they can use their imaginations! ❤️

To go cloud spotting, all you need to do is find a comfortable spot to watch the clouds.

Benefits of cloud spotting:

☁️ encourages creativity
☁️ provides a slow, calming activity of rest
☁️ connects your children with the natural world

Always remind children not to look at the sun if it is sunny outside.

Is it that time of year already? Whitley's new upcoming events!

Last week the children at Whitley decorated biscuits in red, White and Blue to celebrate the King's coronation. 🥰

Last week the Children at Whitley made some crowns to celebrate the coronation of the King. 👑

Last week the Children at Whitley had so much fun celebrating the King's coronation. The children had a party in the garden and dressed up as Princes and Princesses. Look out for some more photos!

The children at Whitley have been having loads of fun playing in the sunshine! ☀️

📢📢 We are hiring!! 📢📢

Are you passionate about early years? Do you consistently strive to deliver the highest standards within your job role? If you have answered yes to these questions, then we want you as part of our team.

🌟 We have an opportunity for Level 3 nursery practitioners mon to Fri 9 am-4 pm term time only to join our growing team. 🌟

We can offer a range of benefits. What we seek in you is the ability to work as part of our team, a willingness to learn and the ability to ensure all safeguarding policies are followed.

If you think we might just be the team for you then please email us a full CV, including all qualifications, to [email protected] We look forward to hearing from you.

We would be so grateful if you could share this post so that it reaches more people. ❤️

Have you ever thought about how beneficial playing is for children?

Not only is it fun for them, but it's also a great way for them to learn and develop various skills. Through play, children have the opportunity to explore their surroundings, use their imaginations, and build up important social and emotional skills. We always include play in our activities as this is how children learn best! 🤩

Who loves pizza? 🍕

Here's a fun and delicious pizza recipe that parents can cook with their children! Here's a simple recipe:

Ingredients:
1 pound of pizza dough (store-bought or homemade)
1/2 cup of pizza sauce
2 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese
Toppings of your choice (e.g. sliced mushrooms, chopped onions, sliced bell peppers, pepperoni, cooked sausage, etc.)

Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C).

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pizza dough into a circle (or rectangle) shape, about 1/4 inch thick.

Transfer the pizza dough to a lightly greased baking sheet or pizza stone.

Spread the pizza sauce over the pizza dough, leaving a small border around the edge.

Sprinkle the shredded mozzarella cheese over the pizza sauce.
Add your desired toppings.

Bake the pizza in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown and the cheese is melted and bubbly.

Remove the pizza from the oven and let it cool for a few minutes before slicing and serving.

Cooking pizza with children is a great way to spend time together, and they will love being able to choose the toppings and help assemble the pizza. Enjoy! ❤️

The babies at Whitley have been embracing new shapes and textures - learning something new and delving into new experiences! Although it's been getting a bit messy, they can take pride in the fact that they are embarking on an adventure of discovery!

One of our big bears has shown an interest in writing her name and has been practising very hard!

Parenthood is a two-way street where both parents and children learn from each other. ❤️

The preschool children at Whitley were excited to find a spider in the garden. They used this opportunity to help foster a sense of appreciation and respect for nature by carefully placing the spider in a bug pot to observe before setting it free. With joyful wonder, this humble experience of care and respect was a truly inspirational reminder of how even the smallest of creatures should be treated. 🥰

The children at Whitley have been learning about Ramadan and have celebrated by practising henna design on their hands.

Hoping your Easter is as bright and beautiful as the flowers in spring. Happy Easter everyone! 🌷🌞🐇

If you would like some inspiration for fun activities to do with your little ones on this day then visit the link below as it has some great ideas! 😀

https://www.bbc.co.uk/tiny-happy-people/easter-activities-for-kids-and-toddlers/zpghn9q

Tips for teaching children to care for animals 🐶

- You don’t need to have pets for your child to begin to care for animals. It can be as simple as just looking for bugs and worms in your back garden or local park! Children will see the animals in their natural habitat. You can also discuss what the minibeasts eat and how they move while looking under rocks and leaves.

- If you have a pet or you have family/friends with pets then it could be a good idea to gently introduce your child to the pet! When children gently touch a dog or cat's fur, they begin to understand that all animals need to be treated with kindness, care and respect.

- Children learn by watching. Show them how to approach and interact with pets in a calm and gentle manner.