Claremont Day Nursery

The weather has been a topic of discussion at nursery as it is now much colder. We have discussed what we need to wear outside, what we can do to keep warm and the changes we can see such as frost or ice.

To extend our discussions, we set up a role-play campfire. The children really seemed to enjoy this, pretending to warm up their hands, cook 'pasta', make hot chocolate and explore how the various camping tools work. This gave us lots to talk about and helped us to create some lovely imaginative games!

To remember and honour the soldiers who fought in the war, some of the children went to visit the Earls Barton War Memorial.

They walked really well and demonstrated great listening skills throughout, also being very respectful during the 2 minute silence.

We had compliments on how well the children behaved and the children enjoyed conversations with some of the people there.

We are very proud of them all. Well done!

After learning about Diwali and Bonfire night, we used forks to create our colourful firework pictures. We dipped them into the different shimmery paints and printed them onto our paper. Our grown-up was teaching us lots of different words such as 'stamp', 'bang' and 'pop'. We are getting very good at repeating words in the Ladybird room!

After talking about all the fireworks the children saw on bonfire night, we decided to create some pictures of our own.

The children used elastic bands on a tray to create the firework effect. They painted underneath the band and then pinged the elastic. It made a 'splatter' effect on the card, table and floor! 😀

We have been looking at Diwali and how people celebrate it/why. The children then made their own Diva lamp. They rolled the clay in their hands to form a ball and then used the rolling pin to push an indent in the middle for the candle to sit in. Once the clay was dry, they painted their lamp and sprinkled on some glitter. Each and every Diva lamp created, was beautiful! We then looked at the books all about Diwali.

The children really seemed to enjoy exploring the pumpkins. First, they painted them lots of different colours. They then watched them be cut open, before scooping out the insides! For some, using the spoon to scoop the flesh and seeds was a little tricky... but they didn't give up.

The pumpkin stalks were of a particular interest to the babies and they explored these by poking and pulling.

Across the nursery, we learned lots about pumpkins; where they come from, their different shapes and forms and how they can make a scrumptious meal!

A huge well done to the new babies in the Bumblebee room, who have persevered through all of the challenges of being away from their Mummies, Daddies or both. They have been very brave and are now settling in beautifully, with the fantastic love and care of our staff.

They have been getting involved with lots of different toys and activities recently, and are building wonderful bonds.

It was the Ladybird's turn to explore the soft play room this week. They were climbing, balancing, walking, hiding and rolling!

They showed great bravery and were able to use their bodies in different ways, both independently and with a grown-ups support. There were smiles all round and they seemed to have a really fun time.

We went on an outing to the co-op! The children walked beautifully there and were saying, 'wow' and 'hello' to the cars and people passing by. All the children showed a good understanding of some road safety and listened well to the grown-ups instructions such as 'wait' and 'look' when crossing the road. The children were saying 'thank you' whilst doing so!

We then went into the co-op to look for our snack. The children seemed fascinated by the fruit and vegetable section, looking at all of the different, bright colours. We smelled the different vegetables and explored their shape and size. After having a good look, they decided they wanted to get the cucumber.

We also picked up some sour cream and chive dip, to dip our cucumbers in when we got back to nursery. It was a very yummy snack!

Take a look at our colourful flower prints, as we say goodbye to Summertime!

The children have been climbing on, in, under and across all of the equipment in the soft play room. They have really grown in confidence when using their bodies to explore the soft play, and have been taking some exciting risks to learn more about their capabilities!

Some children were learning how to balance, whilst others were challenging themselves to jump from a height.

What a fantastic way to stay active and boost your self-esteem!

Today, the Ladybird's took advantage of the beautiful weather and took a trip out into the community. The purpose of the trip was to explore the environment, collect some resources and notice the changes that are taking place, ahead of Autumn.

The children were able to use all of their senses to observe their surroundings with the support of their grown-ups, talking them through what they could see and helping to identify lots of interesting objects. They found pine-cones, “sleeves” (leaves) and sticks and seemed to have fun traveling in the buggy as they were shouting “weeee”, down the hills!

They then stopped for a rest to eat their snack in the wonderful sunshine.

The children seemed very happy with their findings and had a closer look at them when they returned to nursery. All of the items collected will then be used to create some beautiful collages. Well done to the Ladybirds, the collection looks great!