02/09/2026
What a lovely summer we had!
I can’t quite believe we’re into September already! We’ve had such a lovely summer, filled with lots of adventures, exploring, playing and making memories together!
As we head into autumn, our days will continue to be filled with opportunities to learn, explore and have fun — both here in the setting and out in the wider world around us.
We get outside every day as often as we can!
This might mean exploring in the garden, going for a walk, visiting our local area or simply noticing what is happening in the world around us.
Learning through their interests
As always, our learning in the early years is very much based around the children's own interests and curiosity.
There is lots of child-led exploring and play, with me carefully observing, joining in and introducing new ideas when I can see an opportunity to extend their learning.
A simple interest in bricks might turn into counting, sorting, comparing sizes and colours. A fascination with dinosaurs might lead to stories, new vocabulary, imaginative play and problem-solving.
This is how meaningful learning happens — through play, curiosity and experiences that matter to the child.
Kindness, friendships & working together
One of the things that is particularly important to me in my setting is learning how to be with other people.
Of course, learning numbers, letters, colours and shapes is important, but the early years are about so much more than what a child can remember or recite.
A child might be able to count to 200… but can they:
Be kind to another child?
Work together to solve a problem?
Tell someone what they need?
Listen to another person's ideas?
Share and take turns?
Make and maintain friendships?
Understand how someone else might be feeling?
These are hugely important skills that children will carry with them throughout their lives.
Why speech & language matters so much
The early years are a particularly important time for speech, language and communication development.
Every conversation, story, song, question and little chat during our day helps children develop the skills they need to communicate their thoughts, feelings and ideas.
We talk about what we are doing, introduce new vocabulary, listen to stories, sing songs, ask questions and — perhaps most importantly — give children lots of opportunities to talk and be listened to.
Good communication helps children to build relationships, express themselves, understand others and become confident learners.
Building strong little hands
You may also notice that we do lots of activities that involve fine motor skills — threading, using tools, building, puzzles, drawing, mark making, picking up tiny objects and lots more.
These activities aren't just about keeping little hands busy!
We are developing the strength and coordination in those little fingers, hands, wrists, arms and shoulders that children will eventually need for tasks such as controlling a pencil and developing handwriting skills at school.
Before a child can comfortably control a pencil, they need to develop the underlying strength, stability and coordination to do it.
So when you see us building towers, carrying things, climbing, threading or making marks, there is often a lot more learning going on than meets the eye!
September brings a whole new season of opportunities to explore — crunchy leaves, changing colours, conkers, puddles, cooler days and all the wonderful things that autumn brings!
