The Orange Tree Day Nursery: Hucknall

The Orange Tree Day Nursery: Hucknall Where history & imagination come to life.

Exceptional childcare set in a stunning Victorian building with a warm, home-from-home feel.

👇 Book a tour or enquire below:

📍 Hucknall | ✉️ [email protected] | 📞 01159 640001

🚗🫧 Muddy Car Wash Fun! 🫧🚗Our Butterflies children have had a wonderfully muddy and messy time today with our very own ca...
02/09/2026

🚗🫧 Muddy Car Wash Fun! 🫧🚗

Our Butterflies children have had a wonderfully muddy and messy time today with our very own car wash! 🌿🤎

The cars were getting stuck in the thick, thick oozy mud, so our little mechanics had an important job to do… get them clean! 🧼✨

Using shaving foam as our ‘soap’, alongside toothbrushes, cloths and plenty of elbow grease, the children scrubbed, wiped and washed their cars until they were sparkling clean! 🚙🫧

This simple activity encouraged so much learning through play, including:
✨ Developing fine motor skills through scrubbing and wiping
✨ Exploring textures and sensory experiences
✨ Building language through describing what they could see and feel
✨ Encouraging imaginative and cooperative play
✨ Developing problem-solving skills as they worked out how to free the cars from the mud

And, of course… lots of messy hands and lots of giggles! 😂🤎

At The Orange Tree Day Nursery, we believe some of the best learning happens when children are free to explore, get messy and have fun! 🌳🍊

🎓🍊 GOODBYE & GOOD LUCK TO OUR SCHOOL LEAVERS! 🍊🎓And just like that, another group of our wonderful children are ready to...
28/08/2026

🎓🍊 GOODBYE & GOOD LUCK TO OUR SCHOOL LEAVERS! 🍊🎓

And just like that, another group of our wonderful children are ready to spread their wings and begin their next big adventure… SCHOOL! 🥹💛

We couldn’t be prouder of each and every one of you. Watching you grow from little ones into confident, curious and independent children has been such a privilege. From your very first days with us to now, you have learned, explored, laughed, made friendships and created so many special memories. 🌈✨

At The Orange Tree, we talk so much about helping children become ‘life ready’ — giving them the confidence, resilience, independence, communication skills and curiosity they need not just for school, but for all the adventures that life brings. 🌱🍊

And looking at our school leavers, we know you really are life ready! 💫

A huge thank you to all of our parents and families too. ❤️ Thank you for trusting us, working alongside us and allowing us to be such an important part of your child’s journey. Your support, partnership and encouragement have meant so much to us.

As you begin this exciting new chapter, remember:

🌟 Be brave
🌈 Be curious
💛 Be kind
🌱 Keep growing
✨ And always believe in yourself!

We wish every one of our school leavers all the luck, happiness and success in the world. We are so incredibly proud of everything you have achieved and cannot wait to see all the wonderful things you go on to do.

Once an Orange Tree child, always an Orange Tree child. 🍊💛

Go and shine, little ones — your next adventure awaits! 🎒📚🌈

🌟 Literacy Through Sensory Play! 🔤✨Our Early Years children have had lots of fun today exploring letters and early liter...
27/08/2026

🌟 Literacy Through Sensory Play! 🔤✨

Our Early Years children have had lots of fun today exploring letters and early literacy through shaving foam! 🤍

Using brushes, the children created wonderful marks in the shaving foam while also becoming little letter detectives, searching for hidden letters along the way. 🔎🔤

As we discovered each letter, we talked together about the sounds and words that begin with it, before having a go at writing the letters and words ourselves in the shaving foam. ✍️

It was a fun, exciting and hands-on way to introduce literacy to our little people, helping to build their letter recognition, phonics awareness, mark-making skills, vocabulary and confidence — all while having plenty of messy fun! 🥰

Because when learning feels like play, little minds are ready to explore, discover and grow! 🌱🧡

Inspire • Nurture • Grow 🍊

🦖🌿 Dinosaur Sensory Fun! 🌿🦖Our Caterpillars 1 children have been having lots of dinosaur-sized sensory fun! 🥰We explored...
25/08/2026

🦖🌿 Dinosaur Sensory Fun! 🌿🦖

Our Caterpillars 1 children have been having lots of dinosaur-sized sensory fun! 🥰

We explored a range of different textures, sounds and sensations as we played:

🪶 We practised blowing the feathers and watched them float through the air.
🤗 We felt the soft feathers gently tickling our skin.
🦖 We stomped our dinosaurs through crunchy pasta and rice, listening carefully to the different sounds they made.
👂 We explored how things feel, sound and move as we investigated the sensory tray.

There were lots of smiles, curiosity and plenty of giggles along the way! 💚

Sensory play gives our little ones opportunities to explore their senses, develop coordination and build confidence as they investigate the world around them through hands-on experiences.

🦕 Learning, exploring and having fun — all at the same time! ✨

🌟 A HUGE congratulations to Casey! 🌟We are so proud to share that Casey has been awarded Learner of the Month by Eden Tr...
24/08/2026

🌟 A HUGE congratulations to Casey! 🌟

We are so proud to share that Casey has been awarded Learner of the Month by Eden Training Solutions! 🧡🎉

This award recognises Casey’s excellent communication, hard work and dedication towards achieving her qualification. She continues to show such a positive attitude towards her learning, embracing every opportunity to develop her knowledge and skills. 📚✨

Casey, your commitment and determination are fantastic, and it’s wonderful to see all your hard work being recognised. We are incredibly proud of you! 🥰

Well done, Casey — you absolutely deserve it! 👏🧡

🦖🌿 Dinosaur Discovery! 🌿🦖Our Butterflies have been getting prehistoric today as they explored our dinosaur-themed sensor...
20/08/2026

🦖🌿 Dinosaur Discovery! 🌿🦖

Our Butterflies have been getting prehistoric today as they explored our dinosaur-themed sensory tuff tray! 🦕✨

The children used their imaginations to create their own dinosaur adventures, moving the dinosaurs through the textured green landscape and squelching, splashing and exploring the muddy-coloured sensory mixture. 🌱🦖

Activities like this provide wonderful opportunities for our children to develop their imagination, language and communication, fine motor skills and sensory awareness. As they moved the dinosaurs around the tray, they were encouraged to talk about what they could see, hear and feel, while developing early concepts such as big and small, in and out, over and under.

Most importantly, it was a chance for our Butterflies to explore, experiment and have fun together through play! 💚

🧡🎨 Little Hands, BIG Marks! 🎨🧡Our babies have been getting creative with a wonderful edible painting experience! 👶✨We cr...
20/08/2026

🧡🎨 Little Hands, BIG Marks! 🎨🧡

Our babies have been getting creative with a wonderful edible painting experience! 👶✨

We created our very own edible paints and introduced a variety of vegetables for the children to explore, dip, press and print with. 🥕🥦🥔

But this wasn’t painting at a table… we went BIG! 🤩

With large sheets of paper spread across the floor, our babies were encouraged to move their whole bodies as they explored making marks. Rolling, reaching, crawling, stretching and moving through the paint allowed them to discover what happens when they use different movements to create different marks. 🎨👐

🌱 Why is large-scale mark making important for babies?

Large-scale mark making isn’t just about creating a picture. It supports so much early development, including:

🧠 Physical development – encourages whole-body movement, coordination, balance and control.

✋ Fine motor skills – grasping vegetables, dipping, pressing and printing helps strengthen little hands and fingers.

👀 Hand-eye coordination – children begin to understand how their movements create marks on the paper.

🎨 Creative expression – babies can experiment freely without worrying about creating a ‘finished’ picture.

🧭 Spatial awareness – moving across a large area helps children develop an understanding of their bodies in relation to the space around them.

💭 Curiosity and exploration – What happens if I press harder? What happens if I drag it? What happens if I use a different vegetable?

For our youngest children, the process is far more important than the finished product. It’s about giving them the freedom to explore, experiment and discover through their senses and their whole bodies. 🧡

Big paper + little hands + lots of curiosity = BIG learning! 🌟

🎨🥔 Picasso-Inspired Potato Printing! 🥔🎨Our children have been getting creative today as they explored potato printing to...
19/08/2026

🎨🥔 Picasso-Inspired Potato Printing! 🥔🎨

Our children have been getting creative today as they explored potato printing to create their very own abstract faces inspired by Pablo Picasso! 🖌️

Using a variety of bright colours, the children experimented with different shapes and prints to create eyes, noses, mouths and other features. They discovered that faces don’t always have to look the same—and that being creative means there are no right or wrong ways to create! 🌈

We loved seeing the children make their own choices, experiment with colour and placement, and talk about the faces they were creating. Some were funny, some were colourful and some were wonderfully abstract! 😍

This experience supported the children to explore Expressive Arts & Design, while also developing their understanding of shapes, colours, patterns and creative thinking. 🧠✨

🎨 “What happens if your eyes go somewhere different?”
🥔 “Which shapes can you see?”
🌈 “Can you create a face using your favourite colours?”

A wonderful example of how we Inspire, Nurture & Grow creativity through playful learning. 🍊💭

🧱 Little Builders at Work! 👷‍♀️👷‍♂️Our Butterflies have been getting stuck into some brilliant construction play! 🏗️Usin...
18/08/2026

🧱 Little Builders at Work! 👷‍♀️👷‍♂️

Our Butterflies have been getting stuck into some brilliant construction play! 🏗️

Using our tuff spot, the children made their very own “cement” by mixing the ingredients together before using it to spread onto the bricks and carefully stick them together. 🧱✨

This hands-on experience encouraged the children to explore mixing, textures and cause and effect, while developing their fine motor skills, coordination, communication and problem-solving as they worked out how to build.

We love seeing our little builders getting creative, experimenting and learning through play! 💛🍊

🎉 A HUGE congratulations to Zoe! 🎉We are absolutely delighted to celebrate Zoe’s amazing achievement in passing her Leve...
18/08/2026

🎉 A HUGE congratulations to Zoe! 🎉

We are absolutely delighted to celebrate Zoe’s amazing achievement in passing her Level 3 Childcare Qualification! 🧡🌳

Zoe has worked incredibly hard throughout her qualification, showing dedication, commitment and a real passion for supporting and nurturing our little ones. 🌟

Achieving your Level 3 is a fantastic milestone and something you should be incredibly proud of. We can’t wait to see all the wonderful things you continue to achieve in your career! 👏✨

Well done, Zoe — you did it! 🎓🧡

Address

444 Beardall Street
Hucknall
NG157

Opening Hours

Monday 7:30am - 6pm
Tuesday 7:30am - 6pm
Wednesday 7:30am - 6pm
Thursday 7:30am - 6pm
Friday 7:30am - 6pm

Telephone

+441159640001

Website

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