Shooting Stars Nursery & Preschool Wolverhampton

29/09/2026

Settling into nursery is about much more than saying goodbye at the door. It is about developing a genuine sense of confidence and belonging.
Over time, children begin to recognise familiar routines, form warm relationships, explore more independently and show us their unique personalities. These everyday moments are important signs that they feel secure within their nursery community.
Through close partnerships with families, we help every child feel known, valued and ready to thrive.

28/09/2026

🍂 Learning Through the Seasons 🍂
As autumn arrives, the changing season creates rich opportunities for children to learn through hands-on, sensory experiences.
Exploring seasonal colours, textures, scents and natural materials helps children develop their curiosity and understanding of the world around them. These experiences also strengthen fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination, while encouraging creativity, problem-solving and imaginative thinking.
Talking about what children can see, feel and notice introduces new vocabulary and supports communication and language development. It also encourages children to make connections, share their ideas and become confident, inquisitive learners.
📷photo credit: SSN Wolverhampton. This lovely moment captures just how much meaningful learning and joy can take place through seasonal play 😊

28/09/2026

As the leaves start changing colour and the nights begin to draw in, new safety risks emerge. From Halloween hazards to cold weather challenges, here are our top tips for keeping children safe from serious accidents this autumn.

Take a look: https://capt.org.uk/autumn-safety/

25/09/2026

🍂 Preschool Autumn Adventures! 🍂

Our Preschool children have been exploring autumn through a wonderfully sensory autumn spice playdough activity.

Using patterned tools, the children moulded, shaped and printed into the playdough, discovering the different marks and textures they could create. Some even collected sticks from the garden to press, roll and carve their own patterns, exploring how natural, everyday objects can be used in creative ways.

Through this hands-on experience, the children developed:

⭐ Fine motor skills through squeezing, rolling, pinching and shaping
⭐ Creativity and imagination through unique patterns and designs
⭐ Problem-solving skills by investigating the marks made by different objects
⭐ Communication and language as they shared their ideas and described their creations

The children also practised tracing patterns with felt-tip pens, helping to develop hand control, pencil grip and concentration - important foundations for early mark-making and writing.

A fantastic way to explore the changing season while developing key skills through play! 🍁

24/09/2026

We have been following our Toddlers' curiosity through a range of exciting, hands-on experiences that encourage exploration, creativity, and learning through play 🦖🌋

At the playdough table, the children have been creating and exploring volcanoes. This activity was introduced to extend their interest in dinosaurs and the prehistoric world. As the children moulded and shaped their volcanoes, they developed their fine motor skills, hand strength, and coordination whilst learning new vocabulary such as volcano, lava, eruption, and crater. The experience also encouraged imaginative play and discussions about how dinosaurs may have lived in different environments.

To further extend this interest, the children used a wide variety of materials, including cardboard tubes, tissue paper, natural resources, and recycled materials, to build their own "Dinosaur Volcano City!" This open-ended activity promoted creativity, problem-solving, and decision-making as children explored different ways to construct and decorate their models. They worked together to share ideas, develop their imaginative storytelling, and create exciting habitats for their dinosaurs.

Through these experiences, the children have been developing their communication and language skills, fine motor development, creativity, and understanding of the world, all whilst engaging in meaningful play based on their own interests.

We can't wait to see where their dinosaur adventures take us next! 🦕🌋✨

24/09/2026

🍂 Baby Room Home Link: Autumn Adventure! 🍂
As we continue exploring our wonderful Autumn theme in the Baby Room, we'd love to invite our families to join in the fun at home!
Why not go on an Autumn Hunt together? Look out for signs of autumn during your walks and collect natural treasures such as:
• Colourful leaves
• Pine cones
• Conkers
• Twigs and sticks
• Acorns
If you find any autumnal objects that you would be happy to share with us, please bring them into nursery so we can use them in our explorations and sensory experiences.
We would also love to see your adventures! 📸 Please take some photos of your autumn hunt and share them with us on EY. We will use the photographs to spark conversations, develop language, and explore the changing season together in the room.
Thank you for helping us bring learning from home into nursery. We can't wait to see what autumn treasures you discover!

23/09/2026

A child’s brain develops more rapidly during the first 5 years than at any other stage of life, with more than 1 million new neural connections capable of forming every second.
But early development is not about rushing children towards formal learning. It is supported through warm relationships, responsive interactions, physical activity, communication, exploration and plenty of purposeful play.
These everyday experiences help children build the strong foundations they need for learning, wellbeing and life beyond the early years.

22/09/2026

Much like starting nursery, moving into a new nursery room is an exciting step, but even confident children can need support while adjusting to different adults, routines and surroundings.
Our room transitions are carefully planned around each individual child. Familiarisation visits provide opportunities to explore the new environment, meet the team and begin forming relationships before the transition takes place.
We also share important information about each child’s interests, development and care needs, helping the new team provide continuity and make the move as smooth and positive as possible.

18/09/2026

Looking for a little extra support or guidance? Coram Family Lives offers friendly, non-judgemental advice on a wide range of parenting and family topics. They also have lots of helpful short courses available completely free of charge on a range of topics such as * Bringing up confident children * Parenting neurodivergent children * Sibling arguments * Co-parenting after divorce or separation * New baby in the family * Let's play online (play and development for children 0 - 5s) Further information is available on the website and socials.

Visit their page using the link below to find out more.

Need someone to talk to? Whether you're struggling with your child's behaviour, relationship issues, or simply having a difficult day, we're here to listen. Message us on WhatsApp at 07441 444125 – open until 3pm today

18/09/2026

Congratulations to our GEM Award winner, Manjit! 💎 ✨

Manjit is an important part of our Wolverhampton team as our Nursery Cleaner, but her contribution goes far beyond her role. She is always happy to lend a hand, from supporting the team with room moves to clearing, sorting and reorganising our storage spaces, always with a smile on her face!

Thank you, Manjit, for your hard work, positivity and willingness to help wherever needed. A very well-deserved award!