Ninas Nursery High Lane

RSPB Bronze Wild Challenge

As part of our RSPB Bronze Wild Challenge, preschool children took part in an environmentally friendly invitation to play by creating compostable bird feeders for our outdoor area. The children used leftover orange peel halves as natural containers and filled them with a mixture of lard and bird seed to help support local birds and wildlife.

Throughout the experience, the children explored the textures and materials with curiosity and enthusiasm. They independently mixed, scooped, pressed, and filled the orange peels while engaging in conversations about the birds that may visit our garden. The children discussed how birds need food, water, shelter, and care and began to develop an understanding of how humans can help protect wildlife and the natural environment.

This invitation to play provided valuable opportunities for the children to learn about sustainability and caring for the world around them. By reusing leftover orange peel instead of throwing it away, the children were introduced to the concept of recycling and reducing waste in a meaningful and hands-on way. They showed excitement when learning that the feeders were fully compostable and safe for nature.

The children strengthened their fine motor skills through mixing and handling the ingredients while also developing communication and language through discussions about birds, habitats, and the environment. The invitation to play encouraged cooperation, turn-taking, and a shared sense of responsibility as the children worked together to create something that would benefit living creatures.

The completed bird feeders were placed within the preschool outdoor environment where the children will continue to observe visiting birds and engage in ongoing discussions about local wildlife and conservation. This experience reflects our commitment to promoting environmental awareness, sustainability, and positive relationships with the natural world through meaningful, child-led experiences.

Today we celebrated the birthday of one of the world’s greatest advocates for animal welfare, David Attenborough. Inspired by is advocacy for wildlife and the natural world we took the time to learn about endangered animals, wildlife conservation, and deforestation, the children explored clay to create their own animal sculptures.
As the children carefully moulded the clay, they discussed with their play partners animal features including shells, fins, tails, trunks, and patterns while developing a deeper understanding of how animals need safe habitats, clean oceans, forests, food, and protection to stay healthy and survive. Through meaningful conversations, the children explored new language including “endangered,” “conservation,” and “deforestation,” helping to build empathy, compassion, and respect for all living things.
Using our nursery tablets, the children researched wildlife conservation projects David Attenborough has been apart of and discovered how nature documentaries are created. Alongside this, we explored age-appropriate e-safety and discussed how to use technology safely and respectfully.
Filled with awe and wonder for the natural world, the children became wildlife photographers and filmmakers themselves, using the tablets to photograph and video their friends and small world animals just like real documentary creators. This rich experience supported creativity, communication, fine motor development, digital literacy, and inspired the children to think about how we can all help care for animals and protect our planet.

Why does play-doh have to become play-doh straight away?
In our Curiosity Approach setting, we choose to slow the process down and really value what happens before the final product is reached. Our preschool children create their own play-doh each day, exploring it through every stage of its transformation. It begins as a liquid mixture, moves through sticky and unpredictable textures, and gradually becomes the familiar soft, malleable dough — with each stage offering something new to discover.
This experience goes far beyond simple sensory play. As children mix and observe changes, they are developing early scientific thinking, noticing how materials combine and transform, and beginning to understand cause and effect. They test ideas, make adjustments, and learn through real, hands-on experimentation that is meaningful to them.
There is also rich mathematical learning taking place as children measure, compare, and explore quantities and volume. The changing consistency invites them to think critically — is it too runny, too dry, what needs to change? Alongside this, their language flourishes as they describe textures and processes, using words like runny, sticky, lumpy, smooth, and stretchy, building confidence in expressing their ideas.
Physically, each stage supports development in different ways. Pouring and stirring strengthen coordination, while kneading and manipulating the dough builds the fine motor strength needed for later writing. Just as importantly, children are developing executive function skills — learning to problem-solve, persist when things don’t go to plan, and adapt their approach.
By making their own play-doh, children gain a real sense of ownership and pride in what they have created. The process encourages patience, focus, and resilience, helping them understand that outcomes don’t need to be instant to be rewarding.
In slowing things down, we are not just making play-doh — we are creating space for deeper thinking, curiosity, and meaningful learning to unfold.

We are opening our curiosity approach nursery doors for our Spring open day on the 21st of March
Please contact Amanda via email [email protected] to book your space.

Within our rooms, natural wooden treasure baskets are often thoughtfully used as provocations to spark wonder, curiosity, and calm exploration. Filled with real, sensory-rich objects, these baskets invite our children to explore through touch, movement, and their senses, supporting early brain development at a pace that feels safe and unhurried.
We view our environment as the third teacher, carefully designing spaces that communicate calm, trust, and respect for even our youngest learners. Treasure baskets are intentionally placed within reach, presented simply, and rotated thoughtfully to maintain interest without overstimulation.Through these quiet invitations, our children develop concentration, confidence, and an early sense of awe about the world around them. In these moments of stillness and discovery, learning begins.

Storytelling Week 2026.

Donated nesting book–style boxes have been beautifully reimagined as captivating provocations, inviting children to immerse themselves in imaginative and schematic play. As each box was opened, children uncovered miniature worlds filled with delicate thimbles, ceramic dwellings, and secret compartments — each treasure igniting curiosity, inspiring storytelling, and strengthening fine motor precision.
Some of these magical spaces have also been lovingly adapted into bird habitats, nurturing children’s growing awareness of environmental stewardship and deepening their understanding of the delicate interconnectedness of all living things. These moments of exploration naturally sparked meaningful conversations about care, responsibility, and respect for our natural world.
To further enrich this immersive sensory experience, we introduced a tapestry of auditory stimuli through melodic birdsong recordings and our interactive musical bird book. These soundscapes encouraged children to tune into rhythm, tone, and pattern, heightening their listening skills while deepening their emotional and sensory engagement.
Alongside this, another powerful narrative thread emerged. Wooden soldiers discovered within the nesting books became a gateway for exploring British values. As children listened attentively to the National Anthem, they demonstrated remarkable focus, reverence, and cultural appreciation. These shared experiences fostered a strong sense of belonging, emotional regulation, and community cohesion, as children connected meaningfully with both their peers and the wider world around them.

At our Curiosity Approach nursery, we pride ourselves on creating an environment that is rich in sustainable and purposeful resources. Around 90% of our materials are upcycled, reused, repurposed, or drawn from natural sources, reflecting our commitment to eco-conscious learning. Among our carefully selected resources, Lanka Kade wooden treasures hold a special place within our provision. Their durability and timeless design make them a perfect long-term investment for the nursery, supporting both environmental responsibility and high-quality play. The beautifully crafted fair-trade figures also enhance our toddlers’ understanding of colour, shape, and schematic play through open-ended exploration and storytelling. By combining natural and sustainable resources with thoughtful additions like Lanka Kade animals, we create a setting that inspires curiosity, creativity, and respect for the world around us.

In our toddler room the children are given the time and space to lead their own learning through meaningful play. They chose to use simple metal tins to create a pathway they could walk across.
The children self-selected the tins, independently transporting them and carefully deciding where to place each one. Through trial, error, and collaboration, they explored balance, coordination, and spatial awareness—moving the tins, adjusting their positions, and testing their ideas with confidence and curiosity.
Some children chose to work alongside play partners, while others looked to their peers for support, strengthening trusting relationships and learning that it’s okay to seek help when working towards a goal. These moments of shared problem-solving helped build emotional security, communication skills, and a strong sense of belonging.
As the children successfully walked across their pathway, their pride was clear. Each step taken helped grow their confidence in their own abilities, resilience, and willingness to take safe risks. By giving children time to play without interruption or expectation, we allow them to develop not only physically, but socially and emotionally too. We gave them time to repeat their play, providing an opportunity for them to sequence their learning as they went from holding hands for support to completing the pathway independently.

“If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change”

Today our children explored paint in ways that felt truly meaningful to them — painting on their own bodies, with each other, and on our glass door. Experiences like these sit at the very heart of our Curiosity Approach. Our children have the freedom to learn in their own way without judgement or fear of ‘being messy’, in a way that allows them to learn to their fullest potential.
They noticed how the paint felt on their skin — cool, slippery, and then slowly drying and tightening as time passed. They observed the changes, touched it again, compared it to their friends’ paint, and talked about what was happening. These simple but powerful moments are full of awe and wonder, supporting children to slow down, notice, and make sense of the world through their senses.
Painting on glass transformed an everyday surface into something magical, as light shone through colour and the children saw the world differently. Painting on skin and with friends supported self-expression, body awareness, and strong relationships, as children communicated, asked permission, and cared for one another.
By trusting children with open-ended experiences, we offer freedom and autonomy — children choose how, where, and with whom they create. As adults, we observe and support, knowing that meaningful learning happens when children feel safe, valued, and free to follow their curiosity.
This isn’t about the end result — it’s about the experience, the exploration, and the confidence children build when their ideas truly matter.