Dragonflies Childcare

12/08/2026

11/08/2026

That time of year has come round where we will be saying goodbyes to some of our dragonflies who will be leaving us to start school and begin their new adventures. We wish them all well ❤️

04/08/2026

Please can I remind parents to renew their funding code by 31st August ready for the new term

A reminder for eligible families: if you receive childcare funding through a Working Family Code, you'll need to renew your code by 31 August to ensure funding remains in place for September.

Don't leave it until the last minute. Renewing now can help prevent any delays or disruption to your childcare arrangements.

29/07/2026

We have been very busy at Dragonflies over the last few weeks with different activities going on. The children are always busy exploring and learning new skills. It is lovely the friendships too in which they build between themselves.

14/07/2026

🍓 Today we had a fantastic day at the farm, providing the children with a wealth of exciting experiences and meaningful learning opportunities. From the moment we arrived, the children embraced every activity with enthusiasm, curiosity, and a real sense of adventure.

The children thoroughly enjoyed picking fresh strawberries and raspberries, exploring the wildflower fields 🌺,and admiring the beautiful sunflowers. 🌻 These hands-on experiences encouraged the children to use all of their senses as they explored the natural environment, talking about the different colours, textures, scents, and tastes they discovered. They asked thoughtful questions, made observations about the plants growing around them, and developed a greater appreciation of where some of our food comes from.

A particular highlight of the day was our tractor 🚜 ride around the farm. As we travelled through the different areas, the children eagerly looked out for crops, flowers, insects, and wildlife, engaging in meaningful conversations with both adults and their friends. This experience supported their understanding of the world, encouraging them to observe, explore, and make connections with their own experiences.

To end our wonderful visit, each child had the opportunity to choose and pick their own sunflower to take home. This gave the children a real sense of pride and achievement, allowing them to take home a special reminder of a memorable day spent learning through exploration and play.

Throughout the day, it was wonderful to see the children developing their confidence and independence as they made choices, followed instructions, and safely explored their surroundings. They demonstrated excellent listening skills, patience, and turn-taking, while showing kindness, encouragement, and respect towards their peers. The children worked together, shared their discoveries, and celebrated each other’s achievements, helping to strengthen their friendships and social skills.

Experiences like today’s play a valuable role in supporting all areas of the EYFS. The children developed their Communication and Language through conversations and asking questions, strengthened their Personal, Social and Emotional Development by building confidence and working cooperatively, enhanced their Physical Development through walking, climbing, picking fruit, and exploring the farm, and deepened their Understanding of the World by learning about nature, plants, farming, and the environment. The day also inspired their Expressive Arts and Design as they admired the beauty of the flowers and natural surroundings.

Seeing the smiles, laughter, excitement, and sense of wonder on the children’s faces throughout the day was truly heartwarming. We are incredibly proud of how well they represented our setting, embraced every opportunity, and demonstrated such curiosity, resilience, and enthusiasm for learning. It has been a truly memorable day, creating lasting memories while fostering a lifelong love of nature, exploration, and discovery.

07/07/2026

Today, the children explored our wooden reels in a variety of ways, demonstrating creativity, curiosity, and excellent problem-solving skills. They used the reels to build structures, balance on, and enhance their imaginative play with the superhero hand puppets. It was lovely to observe the children leading their own play, sharing ideas, and using their imaginations to create their own scenarios.

The open-ended nature of the loose parts encouraged the children to think creatively and explore different possibilities. They confidently experimented with how the reels could be used, adapting their ideas as their play developed. Children worked collaboratively, negotiated roles, and supported one another, showing increasing confidence in expressing their own ideas while respecting the ideas of others.

Through balancing on the reels and moving them around the environment, the children developed their gross motor skills, balance, coordination, and awareness of risk. Their imaginative play also promoted language development as they communicated with one another, created storylines, and brought their superhero adventures to life.

This rich, child-led experience highlights the value of loose parts play. With no right or wrong way to use the resources, every child was able to explore, investigate, and learn in a way that was meaningful to them, developing independence, resilience, and critical thinking skills.

EYFS Links

* Communication and Language: Sharing ideas, negotiating roles, and using language to develop imaginative play.
* Physical Development: Developing balance, coordination, and gross motor skills while moving and balancing on the wooden reels.
* Personal, Social and Emotional Development: Building confidence, working collaboratively, taking turns, and developing resilience while exploring different ideas.
* Expressive Arts and Design: Using imagination and creativity to create original play experiences with open-ended resources.

Characteristics of Effective Teaching and Learning

* Playing and Exploring: Children investigated and discovered different ways to use the wooden reels.
* Active Learning: Children remained engaged, motivated, and persisted as they developed and adapted their ideas.
* Creating and Thinking Critically: Children solved problems, made decisions, tested their ideas, and used their imaginations to lead their own learning.

13/06/2026

We are raising funding for our outdoor area for the children to play. We would love to get more people to support us to achieve this. Please sign up where you can and start supporting us.

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08/06/2026

🌊🐟 World Oceans Day 🐟🌊

Today we celebrated World Oceans Day, learning about the vital role our oceans play in supporting life on Earth. It was a great opportunity for our little ones to explore ways we can care for our seas by reducing litter, using less plastic, and protecting marine habitats. Together, we can help create a cleaner, healthier future for the wonderful animals and plants that live beneath the waves. 💙🌊🐠

05/05/2026