Little Gem’s Of The Sea Nursery

📚✨ Today we took a few of the children out on a lovely trip to the library! 🚌😊

They had such a great time exploring all the books, finding new stories, and enjoying a quiet space to read 📖💭. It was wonderful to see their excitement as they discovered their favourite characters and picked out books to take home ❤️

Trips like these are so important for sparking imagination and building a love for reading 🌟📚

Well done everyone for such a fantastic outing! 👏😊

🐻📖 Goldilocks & the Three Bears Sensory Play 🥣✨

Today we brought the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears to life through a fun sensory tray activity! The children explored porridge oats, using spoons, bowls, and their hands to scoop, pour, and mix while acting out parts of the story with the bears.

✨ Learning & Development:
🖐️ Fine Motor Skills – Scooping, pouring, and using spoons helps strengthen hand muscles and coordination needed for writing and self-care tasks.
🧠 Language & Communication – Retelling the story and using story words like big, medium, small encourages vocabulary development and storytelling skills.
🔢 Early Maths Concepts – Children explored size comparison, quantity, and filling/emptying bowls.
🎭 Imaginative Play – Using the teddy bears and props allowed the children to recreate the story and develop creativity and role-play skills.
🌾 Sensory Exploration – The rice provided a tactile experience, encouraging curiosity and engagement through touch.

The children loved scooping the “porridge” and helping the bears get their bowls ready! 🐻🥄

🌳☀️The children are super happy the sun is out and we can finally get back out on the field! 💚🥰

🍓🍌 Fruit Kebab Fun at Nursery! 🍉 🍏

Today our wonderful 3&4-year-olds had a fantastic time making their very own fruit kebabs!

The children carefully used child-friendly cutting tools to help prepare the fruit. They showed great focus and listened carefully to instructions about how to use the tools safely. We are so proud of how sensible and responsible they were!

We explored lots of different fruits including juicy strawberries, sweet bananas, delicious watermelon, crisp apples and tangy oranges. The children enjoyed fruit tasting and talked about their favourites – some even tried new fruits for the very first time!

Once the fruit was prepared, the children threaded the pieces onto skewers (straws) to create colourful fruit kebabs. This activity supported their fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination.

The best part was sitting together to enjoy their healthy creations. The children practised wonderful sharing skills and used kind words with their friends.

A fun, tasty and healthy learning experience all round – well done everyone! 🌟

❤️💗 Valentine’s Sensory Fun! 💗❤️
Today we explored red & pink rice with a fun tipping and pouring activity! 🌾🥄 Using cups and spoons, little hands scooped, poured, spilled (and poured again!)—messy play at its best 😍

✨ This activity supports so much learning:
🔴 Fine motor skills – scooping, pouring, and grasping tools
🧠 Cognitive development – cause & effect, problem-solving, and focus
👀 Sensory exploration – texture, color, and sound
📏 Early math skills – filling, emptying, and comparing amounts
🗣️ Language development – describing colors, actions, and feelings
💪 Independence & confidence – “I can do it myself!”

Messy hands, happy hearts, and big learning moments 💕🌈

🌲 Our First Forest Walk Adventure! 🌲

Today the children went on their very first forest walk and what an exciting experience it was! Before we set off, we talked together about what we might see along the way 👀🍃. The children shared their ideas about animals, insects and nature, getting everyone excited for the adventure ahead.

While exploring the forest, the children carefully looked for animals and insects 🐜🐞, picked up sticks and stones 🪵🪨, and used their imaginations to talk about making dens. There was lots of laughter as the children enjoyed jumping in muddy puddles 💦🥾

🌱 What the children developed:
• Curiosity and understanding of the natural world 🌍
• Communication and language skills through discussions and sharing ideas 🗣️
• Physical development through walking, jumping and exploring 💪
• Imagination and creativity while pretending and building dens ✨
• Confidence and independence in an outdoor environment 🌟

We had such a fantastic time exploring nature together and can’t wait for our next forest adventure! 🍂🌳

🌊 Ocean Gloop Exploration 🐢🐬

Today we transformed our gloop into a beautiful ocean-themed sensory tray! 💙✨ The children explored the thick, squishy texture while playing with different sea animals. They were excited to talk about which animals live in the water, naming fish, turtles, sharks and more 🦈🐟. This sparked lots of conversations, imagination and curiosity about the underwater world 🌍

🌱 Learning & Development:
• 🧠 Cognitive Development – Encouraged thinking, sorting and discussing animals that live in water.
• 🗣️ Language & Communication – Children shared ideas, named animals and used new vocabulary such as ocean, sea, swim, and water.
• 🖐️ Fine Motor Skills – Scooping, squeezing and moving the gloop and animals strengthened hand muscles.
• 🌈 Sensory Development – Exploring the texture of gloop supported sensory awareness and regulation.
• 🎭 Imaginative Play – Creating ocean stories and scenarios with the animals encouraged creativity.
• 🤝 Social Skills – Turn-taking, sharing resources and talking together supported positive interactions.

A fun, messy and meaningful activity that brought the ocean to life through sensory play and conversation 🌊💙

🌟 Meet Our Little Gems Family Team 🌟

At Little Gems, we believe it’s the people who make the magic happen. Behind every smile, cuddle, learning moment and happy goodbye is a team who truly care. Today we’d love to introduce the amazing family that supports your children every day 💎

💛 Gemma McEntee – Owner
Gemma has proudly owned Little Gems since 2010, pouring heart, passion and dedication into creating a nurturing, safe and loving environment where children and families can truly thrive.

💛 Laura Chater – Manager
Laura joined Little Gems in 2014 and became Manager in 2022. With years of experience and a calm, caring approach, Laura leads the team with warmth, knowledge and commitment.

💛 Jane – Deputy Manager
Jane stepped into her role as Deputy Manager in January 2024 and has quickly become a wonderful support to both staff and children, bringing positivity, organisation and care to every day.

💛 Mailey – Senior Practitioner
Mailey has been part of the Little Gems family since 2021. Her dedication to children’s learning and development shines through in everything she does.

💛 Brett – Nursery Practitioner
Brett joined us in 2022 and is a valued member of our team, known for being kind, reliable and always ready to support our children with enthusiasm and care.

We are so proud of our Little Gems family and incredibly grateful for the love, commitment and teamwork they show every single day 💕

Thank you for trusting us with your little ones – they truly are at the heart of everything we do ✨👶🧸

We currently have spaces available for children from birth to 5 years in our warm and welcoming nursery 🤍

Our setting is cozy, calm, and neutral, carefully designed to create a safe and nurturing environment where children feel secure, confident, and ready to learn. We believe every child grows best when they feel at home, supported, and free to explore at their own pace 🌱

Through play, curiosity, and gentle guidance, we support each child’s development, independence, and love of learning.

If you’re looking for a caring place where your little one can grow, thrive, and feel truly valued, we’d love to hear from you.
📩 Message us for more information or to arrange a visit.

🧼🐄 Farm Animal Wash Day! 🐖
🫧

Today the children enjoyed washing the farm animals in warm, soapy water. They loved scrubbing, splashing and making the animals clean again! This fun, hands-on activity supported the development of fine motor skills through squeezing and scrubbing, hand–eye coordination, and
sensory exploration as they felt the water and bubbles.

The activity also encouraged language development as the children talked about the animals, and caring skills as they looked after them. A lovely mix of play, learning and fun! 🌈✨