Mini Explorers Nursery

🌟 WE’RE HIRING – ROOM MANAGER / SENIOR LEADER 🌟

An exciting opportunity has arisen at Mini Explorers Nursery! 🌿🐑

Are you ready for your next challenge? Are you an experienced Early Years professional looking to take the next step in your career, lead a team and make a real difference?

We’re looking for a Room Manager / Senior Leader to join our team! 💚

This is more than just a room-based role — you’ll be responsible for leading and supporting a team alongside the Room Leader, working together to drive high standards, support staff development and ensure our children receive the very best care and learning experiences.

If you’re passionate about Early Years, confident in a leadership role and ready for your next challenge, we’d love to hear from you! 🌱

📩 To find out more or apply, please email:
[email protected]

Please feel free to share this post with someone who may be looking for their next Early Years opportunity! 💚

🚜🌾 Our Hoppity Hares were very excited to spot Farmer Max with the combine today! We discovered that Max was cleaning the filter, and he explained that this is something he needs to do before and after using the combine to help keep the machinery working properly.

The children were delighted to have a turn at cleaning the filter too! Using the air sprayer, they carefully controlled the trigger and watched as the air blew away the dust. This was a fantastic opportunity to develop our fine and gross motor skills, as well as our hand-eye coordination and control. 💨🤲

Once the combine was ready, we watched as Farmer Max climbed inside and headed out into the field to begin cutting the crops. 🌾🚜

We waved goodbye to Farmer Max and the combine as they headed off to work - what an exciting way to learn about life on our working farm! 👋🐑🌱

🚜🌾

🌾🎨 Farm School One took their learning outdoors as they explored the hay bales in our fields!

The children were fascinated by the different shapes and sizes they discovered, carefully comparing the bales and sharing their observations about what they could see. They used descriptive language to talk about the shapes, sizes and patterns they noticed within the farm environment.

We linked our exploration to our Artist of the Month, Piet Mondrian, discussing how he used simple shapes such as squares and rectangles to create his famous artwork. The children enjoyed spotting similarities between the shapes found in Mondrian’s paintings and the shapes they could see around them in the fields.

The children showed fantastic curiosity as they investigated the hay bales, asking questions and sharing their own ideas about the world around them. This experience supported their mathematical thinking, language development and creativity, while encouraging them to see how inspiration for art can be found in the everyday environment around them. 🌱✨

🌾 We headed down to the field to see how hard our baler has been working, and the children were excited to discover the freshly made hay bales!

The children quickly noticed that the bales looked different to last year. Rather than the round bales they remembered, this year’s bales were rectangular, giving us plenty to look at, compare and talk about.

Naturally, the children wanted to investigate them a little more closely! They worked out that the best way to climb onto the bales was to carefully belly flop onto the top before swinging a leg over the side. They showed great determination as they figured out how to position their bodies and move safely.

Even more lovely was seeing the children work together. They realised that they could help their friends by creating a little climbing step with their own bodies. One child curled into a ball with their back facing upwards, allowing their peers to carefully climb onto their back and reach the bale. 🤝

This was a wonderful example of children using problem-solving, physical coordination, communication and teamwork as they explored their environment and worked out solutions together.

And our adventure had one final surprise… on our way back, we spotted three deer in the distance! 🦌 What a special sight to finish our afternoon in the fields. 🌿

🌸🌿 Our Hoppity Hares were very excited to explore the beautiful wild flowers growing in our flower bed! 🌼

The children took time to look closely at the flowers and recognised the lovely pink and purple colours. We also used our sense of smell to investigate the flowers, enjoying their different scents as they tickled our noses! 👃🌸

We then found our watering cans and gave the flowers a lovely big drink of water to help them grow. 💧🌱 The children carefully watered the plants, talking about what flowers need to stay healthy and grow.

A lovely little outdoor exploration full of colour, sensory experiences, caring for nature and curiosity! 💕🌿

🌞🌙 With a solar eclipse taking place tonight, our Mini Explorers have been learning all about this fascinating event happening in our skies! 🔭✨

We discovered that a solar eclipse happens when the Moon moves between the Sun and the Earth, blocking some or all of the Sun’s light and creating a shadow on Earth. 🌍🌙☀️

Tonight’s eclipse will be a partial solar eclipse here in the UK, with the Moon covering a large part of the Sun. In some parts of northern England, around 90% of the Sun will be covered! 🤯

We also learned just how special these events are. The next total solar eclipse visible from England won’t be until 2090, making eclipses a wonderful opportunity to spark children’s curiosity about space and the world beyond our planet. 🚀🌌

The children designed their own eclipse glasses as part of our learning, thinking carefully about their designs while discussing the importance of never looking directly at the Sun without proper certified eye protection. 🕶️🌞

A brilliant day of questioning, exploring and discovering more about our incredible universe! 🌎✨

✈️💡 Farm School One have been inspired by the wonderful story Rosie Revere, Engineer as we explored creativity, problem solving and the importance of never giving up!

After sharing Rosie’s story, the children talked about her amazing inventions and how she kept trying, learning and improving even when things didn’t go to plan. We discussed our own ideas and the things we would love to invent, encouraging the children to think creatively and believe in their own ideas.

Inspired by Rosie, the children became engineers themselves and designed and created their very own aeroplanes. They carefully folded, decorated and tested their creations, making changes along the way to see how they could help their planes fly further. There was lots of excitement as the children took turns launching their planes, experimenting with different throwing techniques and celebrating each other’s successes.

This activity supported the children’s creativity, confidence, perseverance and problem solving skills, while showing them that great ideas can take flight when we use our imagination and keep trying. 🚀✨

🌾🚜 Farm School One have been exploring the exciting changes happening around the farm as we enter harvest season!

The children headed out into the fields to see the farm machinery busy at work. They enjoyed spotting and naming the different machines, discussing what each one is used for and comparing the different sizes, shapes and features. There was lots of curiosity and some fantastic questions as the children discovered how these incredible machines support farmers during this important time of year.

During our walk, we also explored the crops growing in the fields and talked about the foods they become. The children enjoyed making connections between the plants they could see around them and everyday foods such as bread, cereal and pasta, discovering that many of the things we eat begin life right here on the farm.

Our harvest walk provided wonderful opportunities for the children to develop their understanding of the natural world, build their vocabulary and learn more about where our food comes from. It was fantastic to see their curiosity grow as they explored the farm they are so lucky to be surrounded by. 🌱

🌿✏️ Farm School Two visited the fairy tree and used the natural resources around them to explore early writing in a creative way.

The children collected twigs from the ground and carefully selected the right pieces to create the first letters of their names. They searched for sticks of different lengths and shapes, thinking carefully about how they could arrange them to replicate the formation of each letter.

For those who felt confident, the challenge was extended as they worked towards creating their full name using the twigs. This encouraged the children to think carefully about letter shapes, sequencing and the small details needed to make each letter recognisable.

It was wonderful to see the children combining their imagination with their developing literacy skills, using the natural environment around them as their classroom. 🌱

The children in Farm School Two made an exciting discovery in the hex hut... a fascinating caterpillar!

The children were captivated by its amazing colours and unique features, including the two incredible spikes at the top of its head. They watched carefully as the caterpillar slowly crawled across the table and made its way onto a bed of leaves.

This discovery led to lots of curiosity and conversation as the children thought about what kind of habitat the caterpillar would need to feel safe and comfortable. Together, we discussed what creatures need to survive, including shelter, food and a suitable environment.

The children carefully chose a safe area where the caterpillar could continue exploring its natural surroundings. They showed great care and respect for the tiny creature, taking time to observe it closely before returning it to a suitable habitat on the farm. 🐛🌿