The Flower Cottage

🎁 Gifted | Unboxing Our YPO Delivery 💜

An unexpected knock at the door from the postman last night could only mean one thing… a delivery! 📦✨

We couldn’t wait to get it open, and wow, YPO did not disappoint! 🤩

Inside was a huge bundle of creative resources and craft materials ready to inspire endless fun and learning throughout every season. From paper plates, googly eyes, beads, paints and glue, to mark-making resources, decorating plant pots, stencils, hanging decorations and so much more!

Everything you need to spark imagination, encourage creativity and keep little hands busy creating masterpieces. 🎨🌟

A massive thank you to YPO for this incredible selection of crafting essentials, we can’t wait to put them to good use and share what we create! 💜



YPO

Come and explore our dinosaur-inspired water play invitation with us! 🦕💦

I originally set out to buy an extravagant water station, complete with a roof, built-in features and all the extras. I sketched designs, researched ideas and gathered quotes, but nothing quite felt right.

Then it clicked.

Instead of investing in something new, I looked at the resources we already had available and focused on creating a sustainable, open-ended play environment using recycled and repurposed materials.

Three wooden pallets became the foundation, an unused plastic storage box was given a new purpose, and previously used camouflage netting was transformed into an immersive backdrop. Bamboo was secured to the shed, and hooks were added to create a flexible display system, allowing us to easily swap and change backdrops to reflect different themes, interests and learning experiences throughout the year. Our trusty Plum Play trays were then cleaned and refreshed, ready for a new adventure.

Once the base was in place, the magic happened.

This entire dinosaur water play provocation took less than 10 minutes to set up! 🤩

By repurposing existing resources and thinking creatively, we’ve created a flexible, open-ended play station that can be adapted for countless themes and learning opportunities. It’s a great reminder that meaningful experiences don’t need expensive equipment, just imagination, intentional planning and a willingness to see potential in the resources around us.

If you’d like to see exactly how this setup was created, comment “Dinosaur” below and I’ll put together a step-by-step video showing how to recreate this simple, sustainable water and sensory play station in your own setting.

I’m always passionate about sharing practical, budget-friendly solutions that help other educators and settings create engaging, child-led experiences that inspire curiosity, creativity and exploration. 🦖✨

How do you repurpose resources in your setting to create open-ended play opportunities? 👇

Montessori Circle Time Calendar🌷

Our Montessori pre-school circle time board, sourced from Etsy, has become a wonderful addition to our daily routine. It features wooden pieces for the days of the week, months, seasons, feelings, and holidays, all neatly stored in individual wallets to keep everything organised and easy to access. The interactive calendar is available in three sizes and comes with a wooden stand, with the option to personalise it. We also customised our name colour box to complement our setting’s interior, choosing a sage green finish with white lettering.

Each day, we come together as a group to start our session. We sing our hello song, greet our friends, and talk about what the day has in store. Circle time is kept short, engaging, and meaningful, typically lasting between 5 and 10 minutes.

During this time, we count how many friends are present, discuss our feelings, talk about the weather, and more recently, explore the seasons and the date. These daily conversations help children develop their communication skills, build their understanding of the world around them, and establish a reassuring sense of routine.

We also enjoy stories together throughout our day, creating valuable opportunities for language development, imagination, and relaxation throughout the day.

🍃✨🌿✨🌱

It was time to say goodbye to our very wobbly storage unit and welcome a fresh new addition to the space – another white KALLAX unit from IKEA!

I honestly can’t recommend these units enough. They’re incredibly sturdy, offer fantastic storage, and are the perfect height for our children to use as a play base. For our younger babies, we always bring the houses and open-ended resources down to floor level so they can explore and engage safely.

Within our role play and sensory cabin, we also provide plenty of opportunities for children to engage in small world play. We love our collection of houses because they can be used in so many different ways, alongside baskets, open-ended blocks, wooden platforms, and loose parts.

Our wicker baskets are filled with a variety of small world resources, inviting children to create, imagine, explore, and tell their own stories through play. We love watching the different ways they use these materials and where their imaginations take them!

We are also on the look out for some gorgeous woodland 50x70cm printed posters to fit into our large frames if anyone has any recommendations on where to purchase these!😍

And of course, no trip to IKEA is complete without bringing home a plant or two! 🌿 More trees and greenery have found their way into our environment, and we’re not mad about it at all. The lighter unit has really lifted the room, and as we continue making thoughtful adjustments to our space, that’s exactly what we’re aiming for - maintaining that cosy hygge feel while creating a brighter, lighter atmosphere ✨✨✨

Hygge in the Early Years