Grant Thorold Forest School - Early Years Educare Ltd

07/10/2026

Exploring cultures 🍜

Our Butterfly group had lots of fun experimenting with eating noodles using chopsticks! They showed great concentration, perseverance and determination as they developed their hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills, carefully picking up the noodles and having a go at something new.

This hands-on experience also encouraged the children to explore different foods and cultures, while developing their confidence and independence during mealtimes all lead by our very own Miss Lord. 🌏❤️

07/10/2026

☔️ Exploring the rain 🌧️

06/10/2026

⭐️🚀 Twinkling Stars – World Space Week! 🌙✨

Our Butterflies had lots of fun exploring the night sky! 🎨🌌 Using black card and white paint, they experimented with flicking paintbrushes to create their very own twinkling stars. ⭐️

This activity supported EYFS learning through developing fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, creativity and mark-making, while encouraging curiosity, imagination and communication. 🖌️💫

The children loved adding rockets, astronauts and planets and sharing what they already know about space! 🚀👩‍🚀🪐

05/10/2026

A beautiful, sunny morning looking for Forest School Treasures 🍂

Our Early Years children went on a treasure hunt in Forest School, searching for natural treasures to add to our treasure wall🍃

The children carefully selected leaves, sticks, feathers and grass, then used their creativity to weave and peg their natural treasures onto our treasure wall. They worked with concentration and determination, strengthening those important fine motor and pre-writing muscles through gripping, threading, weaving and using pegs. ✋🧠

As we explored, we also talked about the different colours and characteristics of the leaves we discovered. The children noticed green, dark green, brown and red leaves, comparing them and talking about their similarities and differences. 🍁🌿 They were encouraged to look closely, make observations and use descriptive language to share what they had noticed 🙂

03/10/2026

Following the children’s interest in the changing season and the leaves falling from the trees, the children were invited to take part in an open-ended natural exploration activity. The children enjoyed exploring the leaves using their senses by admiring the different colours, texture and noises.

The experience naturally developed into child-led play, with the children throwing and picking the leaves, listening to the crunching sounds, and exploring how the leaves moved through the air. Some children extended their imagination by creating “leaf angels”, showing their curiosity, creativity and enjoyment in the outdoor environment.
EYFS Links:
* Understanding the World
* Physical Development
* Communication and Language
* Personal, Social and Emotional Development

01/10/2026

🍂 We’re Going on a Leaf Hunt! 🍁

After some of our children brought in leaves they had collected, we thought, “Why not go on our very own leaf hunt?” 🌳🍂

We enjoyed reading We’re Going on a Leaf Hunt together before heading outside to search high and low for lots of different leaves. The children worked as a team, took turns collecting and carefully placed their treasures into our basket. 🧺

We talked about the different colours, shapes and sizes we could see and used our senses to explore the leaves. Some felt “crunchy” while others were “wet”! 🍁👀👋

A lovely autumn adventure filled with curiosity, teamwork and lots of learning through play! ❤️🍂

29/09/2026

After observing the children following the trajectory schema in their play, we invited them to explore our new drum set and discover what happens when actions are repeated.
We introduced a metronome and encouraged the children to drum along to the rhythm, experimenting with different sounds and movements. 🎶
Their curiosity took the investigation even further when they noticed the drums vibrating and shaking. One child had the brilliant idea of placing a pinecone on the drum to see if it would move! 🌲🥁
Through playful exploration, the children were developing their understanding of cause and effect, rhythm, movement and vibration, while testing their own ideas and making predictions. ✨
Thank you for the wonderfully kind donation of the drum kit 💕

28/09/2026

🔬 Experiment Mondays! 🔬🌿

🐛 Butterflies have been busy little scientists today! 🦋
We went on a nature-inspired investigation and looked at some interesting pinecones! 🌲 We took a close look at them, noticing their shape, texture and appearance, and began wondering…

💭 “What happens to a pinecone when it gets wet?”
💭 “Does it really close when it rains?”

Our curiosity got the better of us, so we decided to put our theory to the test! 🧪💦

We carefully poured water over our pinecone using a jug, pretending to create our very own rain shower ☔️. We then placed the pinecone into water and made our predictions about what might happen next.

The Butterflies showed fantastic curiosity, concentration and excitement as they explored, observed and discussed their ideas. We are now leaving our pinecones to do their work and will be checking back tomorrow to see whether our predictions were correct! 👀🌱

Will the pinecones close?
What will they look like tomorrow?
Let’s wait and see! 🔍✨

26/09/2026

Parents please complete the attached local authory survey to help discover if enough childcare is being provided for local families 💚

Do you use funded or non-funded childcare? We want to hear from you!

Do you have any feedback about finding childcare locally? Does your childcare provider meet your family's needs?

Each year we survey parents to help us to understand the childcare needs in the local area.
These responses help us to plan and make sure that there is enough childcare to support our local families.

To take part, click the link: https://tell-us.questionpro.eu/a/TakeSurvey?tt=yZ2%2FHcf5efISDmjMryqYrQ%3D%3D&fbclid=IwY2xjawUE0eJwZG9mAWV4dG4DYWVtAjEwAGJyaWQRMHFCNjVUd3ViRUdETkhlQ1RzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeH1UARpXaX1GEsd4_qDNaqoSGqHzOMTS4qfwUfy6JZ7HH4SNPCWTmbU9Em48_aem_EvGnQHcfM9L1NLS4iAYUwA

25/09/2026

☀️🍂 Forest School fun in the autumn sun🍂

During our Forest School session, our Butterfly group explored the outdoor environment, becoming familiar with the new setting and developing confidence as they investigated the natural world around them.

They used their senses to notice sounds, textures, sights and movements, while developing their curiosity, communication and physical skills through outdoor exploration.

We finished with a fun music session, where the children joined in with songs, rhythms and actions, supporting their listening, attention, coordination and self-expression. 🦋🌳🎸