Kids & Bloom

Today involved some retail therapy of the best sort !!!!!

(Tell me I’ve been paid my funding without telling me 😂)

Stocking up on our craft supplies 👩‍🎨🎨👨‍🎨✂️📝🖌️

A shopping trip isn’t complete with of a spot of brunch at the cafe, we had so many friendly faces saying hello to us and watching in admiration at how well behaved we all were 💕👏

Afterwards, a morning filled with outdoor play as we played ‘daddies’ and of course searching to ocean for what animals could be found ???? 🐟🐠🐬🐡🐳🐙🐬🐳

Starting our week of with a visit to our friends at Yurn To Learn, which is always a treat and what did we discover ??? Only some other wonderful kind of friends that we could say hello too !!! 🦋🐢

We spoke about how to be gentle and what they eat and the importance of handwashing after handling animals. 🫴🏻🧴🫧

Montessori Long Rods: From Presentation to Discovery ❤️

After receiving a presentation on the Montessori Long Rods, the children were invited to explore the material independently. Through hands-on investigation, they compared lengths, arranged the rods in sequence and experimented with different ways of using them.

One special moment came when a child proudly exclaimed, “I’ve made an A for my name!” Using the rods creatively, they transformed their understanding of length into a meaningful symbol that connected directly to their own identity.

This is the beauty of Montessori materials—after a careful presentation, children are given the freedom to explore, create, and make their own discoveries. What begins as a lesson in visual discrimination and sequencing can blossom into creativity, problem-solving and self-expression.

✨ Developing visual discrimination
✨ Building concentration and coordination
✨ Encouraging independent thinking
✨ Fostering creativity and self-expression
✨ Laying foundations for mathematical understanding

Every child sees possibilities through their own eyes and every discovery is a step in their learning journey.

It’s definitely a soft play kind of day ! 🌧️🌂

When we welcome a little one back from his holidays and mum mentions he has a new love of tractors and cars 🚙 .

How much fun can we have with a cardboard box 📦……. Lots !!!!!!!

🌊 World Ocean Day Adventure – Following Children’s Interests 🌊

Today was World Ocean Day, although I had planned a ocean-themed activity , one of our children had a different idea as they arrived this morning 🌅 – they wanted to go muddy puddle hunting! 💦🥾

Rather than sticking rigidly to the plan, we followed the children’s interests and turned the morning into a wonderful adventure full of exploration, discovery, and learning.

As we explored, we still found lots of ways to connect our experiences to World Ocean Day. The children noticed how the water moved when they jumped and splashed in puddles, watched ripples spread across the surface, and became fascinated by the reflections they could see looking back at them. We also enjoyed singing “A Sailor Went to Sea, Sea, Sea”, linking our puddle adventures to conversations about the ocean and water.

✨ Throughout the morning, the children:
💧 Explored puddles and investigated how water moves
🌊 Observed reflections and talked about what they could see in the water
🎵 Sang A Sailor Went to Sea together
🚶‍♀️ Walked incredible distances, with our youngest explorer managing so much without the pushchair
💪 Demonstrated resilience when a few muddy tumbles happened along the way
🔒 Investigated the locks on the bridge, noticing different shapes and identifying hearts and squares
🦆 Practised counting as we spotted ducks and boats during our walk
🌿 Enjoyed connecting with nature and the world around them

What started as a search for muddy puddles became a rich learning experience full of curiosity, mathematical thinking, physical development, language, resilience, and scientific exploration.

Sometimes the best learning happens when we follow the children’s lead. Today was a wonderful reminder that meaningful learning opportunities can be found in the simplest moments—and sometimes in the muddiest puddles! 😊💙

🌊💦🦆

When a morning at playgroup is completed by a visit to the allotment . 💕🫛🍓🥬🍅💕

🌊💙 Exploring the Ocean Depths 💙🌊

Today the children were introduced to the different zones of the ocean and discovered how the sea changes as we travel deeper beneath the surface.

Together, we discussed how the top of the ocean appears light blue because it receives lots of sunlight. As we imagined diving deeper and deeper, we learnt that the water becomes darker, until eventually, in the deepest parts of the ocean, it is completely dark with no sunlight reaching at all. The children loved imagining travelling in a submarine all the way down to the mysterious midnight zone! 🚢🌊

Through this hands-on activity, the children explored a range of mathematical and language concepts. We used positional language including at the top, beneath, middle, below and bottom as we discussed where each ocean zone could be found. The children counted how many colours we would need for our paintings and confidently identified and named the three colours used to represent the changing depths of the sea.

Our older children extended their learning further by independently matching and labelling the Sunlit Zone, Twilight Zone and Midnight Zone, demonstrating early reading skills and an understanding that print carries meaning.

Using carefully chosen resources and open-ended discussion, this activity supported children’s understanding of the natural world while encouraging curiosity, concentration and independent thinking—values at the heart of both Montessori-inspired learning and the EYFS curriculum.

✨ Learning highlights:
🌊 Understanding the World – exploring the ocean environment
🗣️ Communication & Language – developing new vocabulary and positional language
🔢 Mathematics – counting and recognising colours
✍️ Literacy – recognising and matching labels
🎨 Expressive Arts & Design – creating representations of ocean zones
🧠 Critical Thinking – making observations and predictions

The children were fascinated by the idea that there are places in our oceans where sunlight never reaches. A wonderful morning of discovery, creativity and awe as we continue our Under the Sea adventure! 🐋🐙🐠

🌊💙✨