Once Upon a Time Childcare Ltd.

This week our little explorers set off on a wonderful walk down the canal, keeping their eyes peeled for all the signs of nature around them. The children were especially excited to spot the swans growing, noticing how much bigger and braver they’re becoming each week. These calm moments by the water help the children slow down, observe carefully, and connect with the natural world.

From there, we continued our adventure to Zoars Ark, where the children loved looking at all the different animals and chatting about the pets they have at home. It’s always a brilliant opportunity for language development and sparking conversations about caring for living things.

We have also visited the library, where we enjoyed choosing new stories to bring back to nursery. The children were so engaged browsing the shelves, recognising familiar characters, and discovering new favourites. Visits like this help nurture a lifelong love of books and reading.

What a lovely week we have had learning, exploring, and being part of our local community.

Football fever at nursery!
To celebrate the excitement of the FIFA World Cup , our children enjoyed a week packed with football based play- including our messy play😊

A week full of exercise and teamwork😊

Last week, as always, our mud kitchen was bursting with creativity. The children explored real foods with mud and water, to cook up their own imaginative recipes.

Using fruits, vegetables and herbs, the children chopped, mixed and created ‘meals’ while exploring colours,textures and smells.

With plenty of mud and water from our urn, the children stirred, poured and combined ingredients to make soups, potions and muddy treats. They explored cause and effect, problem solving and lots of imaginative story telling😊

Last week for Great Big Green Week, children enjoyed an earth sensory tray. The children used blue rice for the sea and frozen peas for the land, creating their own miniature Earth. They scooped, poured and sorted the colours while talking about oceans and how we can look after our planet.

We also had Earth themed playdough for the children to enjoy. They shaped waves, mountains, islands and tiny Earths.

The children also explored the tiny wonders of the natural world with our bug hotel tuff tray, a hands on invitation to celebrate nature and the Great Big Green Week.

Yr wythnos ddiwethaf, ar gyfer yr Wythnos Fawr Werdd, mwynhaodd y plant hambwrdd synhwyraidd ‘Ddaear’. Defnyddiodd y plant reis glas ar gyfer y môr a phys wedi’u rhewi ar gyfer y tir, gan greu eu Daear fach eu hunain. Roedden nhw’n sgŵpio, tywallt ac yn didoli’r lliwiau wrth siarad am y cefnforoedd a sut gallwn ni ofalu am ein planed.

Roedd gennym ni hefyd blastisin â thema’r Ddaear i’r plant ei fwynhau. Fe wnaethon nhw siapio tonnau, mynyddoedd, ynysoedd a Daearau bach.

Archwiliodd y plant hefyd ryfeddodau bach y byd natur gyda’n hambwrdd gwesty pryfed – gwahoddiad ymarferol i ddathlu natur a’r Wythnos Fawr Werdd.

Our children got wonderfully messy this week as we celebrated Big Green Week with nature inspired sensory play that brought the outdoors to life.

Using shaving foam mixed with cocoa powder to create soft, squishy ‘mud’, the children stirred, scooped and explored textures while adding real flowers to their creations.

We celebrated World Ocean Day with lots of seaside themed sensory play that the children absolutely loved. We had a sea themed rice tray, beach tuff tray, water and sand play, and ocean themed playdough.

Fe wnaethon ni ddathlu Diwrnod Cefnfor y Byd gyda llawer o chwarae synhwyraidd â thema’r traeth – ac roedd y plant wrth eu boddau!
Roedd gennym ni hambwrdd reis môr, hambwrdd traeth, chwarae dŵr a thywod, a phlastisin â thema’r cefnfor.

This week the children explored the wonders of the ocean through a beautifully messy, sensory-rich activity using blue spaghetti and sea animals.

The children loved squishing, stretching and swirling the blue spaghetti to create their own ‘underwater world’. Hidden sea creatures encouraged storytelling, fine motor skills and lots of imaginative play.

A simple, sensory way to celebrate our oceans and spark conversations about the animals who live beneath the waves.

The children discovered sea animals frozen in ice and worked together to ‘rescue’ them using warm water, tools and teamwork. This activity encouraged problem-solving, scientific thinking and conversations about how animals need clean, safe oceans to survive.

Yr wythnos hon, fe wnaeth y plant archwilio rhyfeddodau’r môr drwy weithgaredd synhwyraidd hyfryd a blêr gan ddefnyddio sbargetti glas ac anifeiliaid y môr.
Roedd y plant wrth eu boddau’n gwasgu, ymestyn ac ysgwyd y sbargetti glas i greu eu ‘byd tanddwr’ eu hunain. Roedd anifeiliaid bach cudd yn annog adrodd straeon, sgiliau mân symud a llawer o chwarae dychmygus.
Ffordd syml a synhwyraidd o ddathlu ein moroedd ac ysgogi sgyrsiau am yr anifeiliaid sy’n byw o dan y tonnau.

Darganfu’r plant anifeiliaid y môr wedi’u rhewi mewn iâ ac fe wnaethon nhw weithio gyda’i gilydd i’w ‘hachub’ gan ddefnyddio dŵr cynnes, offer a thîmwaith. Roedd y gweithgaredd hwn yn annog datrys problemau, meddwl gwyddonol a sgyrsiau am sut mae anifeiliaid yn dibynnu ar foroedd glân a diogel i oroesi.

We are very lucky that that Neath Port Talbot Council have organised a FREE Welsh Fun Day on
Saturday 11th July at Aberavon Fitness Centre, Princess Margaret Way, Port Talbot, SA12 6QW.
There are LOADS of free children’s entertainers/ activities on the day. The full event starts at 10.30 am and ends at 3.30 pm.

Most importantly, starting at 11.30 am (until 12.30 pm) we will be singing our nursery anthem ‘Once Upon A Time Childcare Song’ and taking part in a FREE Cynefin Music Project workshop for your child and yourselves to enjoy – just like the music workshops that we ran in the nursery in spring 2025.
We hope that as many of you as possible will come along and enjoy the FREE Welsh Fun Day and if you/ your child can also sing our nursery song loud and proud at 11.30 am, we would be super grateful!
Just a reminder, that this is our song ‘Once Upon A Time Childcare Song’: https://tinyurl.com/2tdea334

If you would like to attend and sing with us, Please ask one of the staff at Once Upon a Time for a permission slip for you to fill in.
We appreciate your support, as always.

Last week we carried on our Child Safety Week learning with a colourful traffic light themed messy play activity. The children explored red, yellow and green pastas and seeds, using scoops, cups and their hands to sort, pour and create their own traffic light patterns.

The sensory set up wasn’t just fun- it helped the children learn an important safety message- Red means stop, yellow means wait, and green means go.

Child Safety Week May last seven days, but our safety learning continues all year round. Through play, conversation and real-world experiences, we help children build the confidence and awareness they need to stay safe in their community.

Yr wythnos ddiwethaf, fe wnaethon ni barhau â’n dysgu ar gyfer Wythnos Diogelwch Plant gyda gweithgaredd chwarae budr lliwgar wedi’i ysbrydoli gan oleuadau traffig. Roedd y plant yn archwilio pasta a hadau coch, melyn a gwyrdd, gan ddefnyddio sgŵps, cwpanau a’u dwylo i ddidoli, tywallt a chreu eu patrymau goleuadau traffig eu hunain.

Doedd y gweithgaredd synhwyraidd ddim jest yn hwyl — roedd yn helpu’r plant ddysgu neges diogelwch bwysig: Coch yn golygu stopio, melyn yn golygu aros, a gwyrdd yn golygu mynd.

Efallai mai saith diwrnod yw Wythnos Diogelwch Plant ym mis Mai, ond mae ein dysgu am ddiogelwch yn parhau drwy gydol y flwyddyn. Trwy chwarae, sgwrsio a phrofiadau go iawn, rydyn ni’n helpu’r plant adeiladu’r hyder a’r ymwybyddiaeth sydd eu hangen arnyn nhw i aros yn ddiogel yn eu cymuned.

Last week our nursery was transformed into a prehistoric world as the children celebrated World Dinosaur Day through sensory play, outdoor exploration and plenty of imaginative storytelling. The children loved diving into activities that helped them explore textures, sounds, movement and the natural word - all through the magic of dinosaurs.

Our dinosaur themed tuff tray was filled with crunchy cereal, scoops, bowls and hidden dinosaur figures. The children enjoyed digging, pouring, crunching and discovering fossils and footprints buried beneath the layers.

Using homemade playdough, the children created footprints, fossils and mini prehistoric scenes. They explored shape, pattern and texture while developing hand strength and creativity. The children loved comparing different footprints and guessing which dinosaur they belonged to.

Outside, the children explored dinosaurs splashing through water trays, stomping through mud and making tracks across the garden. They experimented with floating, sinking, washing, pouring and creating muddy habitats. This outdoor play supported scientific thinking, problem- solving and plenty of imaginative story telling.

Yr wythnos ddiwethaf, cafodd ein meithrinfa ei thrawsnewid yn fyd cynhanesyddol wrth i’r plant ddathlu Diwrnod y Deinosoriaid drwy chwarae synhwyraidd, archwilio’r awyr agored a digon o adrodd straeon dychmygus. Roedd y plant wrth eu boddau’n ymgolli mewn gweithgareddau a’u helpu i archwilio gweadau, synau, symudiadau a’r byd naturiol — i gyd drwy hud y deinosoriaid.

Roedd ein hambwrdd thema deinosoriaid wedi’i llenwi â grawnfwyd crensiog, sgŵps, powlenni a ffigurau deinosoriaid cudd. Mwynheuodd y plant gloddio, tywallt, crensian ac ‘archwilio’ ffosiliau ac olion traed wedi’u claddu o dan y haenau.

Gan ddefnyddio chwarae-tegell cartref, crëodd y plant olion traed, ffosiliau a golygfeydd bach cynhanesyddol. Fe wnaethon nhw archwilio siâp, patrwm a gwead wrth ddatblygu cryfder dwylo a chreadigrwydd. Roedd y plant wrth eu boddau’n cymharu gwahanol olion traed ac yn dyfalu pa ddeinosor oedd wedi’u gadael.

Y tu allan, bu’r plant yn archwilio deinosoriaid yn sblashio drwy hambyrddau dŵr, stampio drwy fwd ac yn gwneud olion traed ar draws yr ardd. Fe wnaethon nhw arbrofi gyda suddo, arnofio, golchi, tywallt a chreu cynefinoedd mwdlyd. Roedd y chwarae awyr agored yma’n cefnogi meddwl gwyddonol, datrys problemau a digon o adrodd straeon llawn dychymyg.