Little Nest Childcare

We went to Make it groovy today. We read The who’s whonicorns of unicorns book and got to make our own unicorn to dance around with! There were pom poms, ribbon bangles, stars and a rainbow river dancing props and bubbles at the end. At home we have been enjoying the garden and tracing our library books.

This week we have been able to enjoy the garden, visited the library and playgroups We also visted Kent Life where we fed the animals and enjoyed the soft play.
This Mothers Day the children decorated a plant pot and chose which seeds they to plant, we made Mothers Day cards using the ends of bottles for the petals which looked very effective and we made white chocolate Rice Krispie cakes as a treat for the Mummies.
As always the children had free choice and the crafts were all their own work which is so important. They are very proud of their creations.

Last week we:
-Visited the library for rhyme time and to choose some new books to read
- visited various playgrounds and managed to go out in the garden when the weather was nice
- attended Make it Groovy class, the book we read was Julia Donaldson’s the Smartest Giant in Town and made our own giants to dance with lots of props
- made blueberry muffins for our snack time
Spring is almost here and we cannot wait to do more outside activities!

A little late.. Friday we went to Bounce n play where the children had so much fun on the disco dome and soft play equipment.
We planted chives using our new gardening gloves.
Today we’ve been making Valentine biscuits and icing them, attempting to write Chinese letters and printing a horse as it’s The Chinese Year of the Horse. We did some cosmic yoga with Chinese new year theme. We also managed a trip to the playground while it was dry.

This week on Monday we had a childminder play date with a cars theme, painting with cars, car stories and exploring colour mixing.
We’ve been planted strawberry seeds, the children carefully poured the compost into the tray and used pincer fingers to pick up the tiny seeds and plant them in the tray. They were very excited and can’t wait to see them grow.
At childminder playgroup we had a winter Olympic winter sensory paint tray with rollers and stampers.
We made bird feeders using cardboard hearts to link to a valentines Day.
We drew pictures and then added water using pipettes to watch the colours merge and make patterns.
On Friday, we made jam tarts with various fillings. The children then tasted the different jams to see which ones they liked the best.

This week, we made snowflakes using aluminium foil. This was great for finger strength.
We have been reading the story Owl babies and we made an owl craft. We acted out the story with owl puppets and the children explored some natural feathers. They loved feeling how soft they were and used some great vocabulary to tell me about them.
We visited Larkabout soft play to burn off some energy.
At potters Mede playgroup we made bug houses.
The children have been exploring making enclosures and a car ramp using the magnetic tiles.

This week we attended a variety of play groups which is wonderful for helping cover the 7 areas of learning.
❤️Physical - many have slides, cars and ride on toys which when it’s a wet day helps burn energy - climbing running, and dancing build gross motor skills and practice gross motor control.
💙Personal, social and emotional development - building confidence in social situations, exploring new environments. Playing with others teaches sharing and cooperation
💜Communication and Language - Playing with others teaches sharing and cooperation
Small conflicts build early problem-solving
Familiar routines increase confidence and independence
Adult support helps toddlers
Songs and stories expand vocabulary
💛Literacy - Singing and rhymes develop early phonics awareness
Story time builds interest in books
Mark-making activities support early writing skills
Seeing print in context shows that words have meaning
Mathematics - Songs, snacks, and games involve counting out loud.
🧡Understanding the world - new experiences, exploring nature and using technology eg library computer.
Exploring new toys and materials encourages curiosity
🖤Expressive art and design -Music and movement encourage creativity
Art activities develop imagination

At home we have painting freely, making sticker pictures, been using the new toy shop/cafe, building using the magnetic tiles to make enclosures, exploring technology with the tonie box.
We got to go out in the garden.
We visited this to return and choose new books.
Today- we made cakes and enjoyed them for our pudding.

Photo dump! This week we’ve been at playgroup where we watched the nativity story acted out with puppets. Yesterday, we had a great time at Little Streets Christmas themed session. The children enjoyed dressing up and role playing as vets, postman, princesses, chefs and more.
Today we attended a playgroup Christmas Party. There was present wrapping, card writing, Ooblek to make snowmen out of, painting and biscuit decorating. We also saw the big man himself Father Christmas! The children were so excited to receive a little present and pose for a photo with him

A very messy play session
today. We had toasting marshmallows (play dough), rainbow rice, firework painting, apple dipping I’m chocolate with sprinkles, making hot chocolate with cocoa and coconut, songs and bubbles. The children LOVED it.

Halloween party at Teenie boppers was amazing. We’ve been making Halloween biscuits and icing them. Experimenting with torches and having a Halloween disco indoors as well as lots of spooky crafts.