Digging pit tidy up!

Through the summer the weeds had taken over.... so, last week we gave our digging pit an overhaul! The children really enjoyed helping, lots of willing volunteers also learning to take care of precious resources.

While digging and clearing we found....

....weeds and seeds....

....and bugs and slugs!!

We were very proud of our morning's work, but needed a little rest from all our exertions.

This week there has been renewed interest in the rejuvenated digging pit!!!

Leavers' Picnic - 12th August

This year we drew upon our unique ties with Overbury Farms for our leavers' farewell.

The tractor and trailer was full - parents and siblings joining in with the celebration of the transition from nursery to school.

We had a ride to the top of the hill before returning to the picnic site.

Everyone had fun exploring the area, especially traversing the stream!

Before settling down to share the picnic provided.

When everyone had had their fill of the lovely food, the leavers had a treasure hunt.

Only if the children found a photo of themselves would they receive their special leavers' gift (making them work to the last!).

So they scrambled around rocks, looked in tree branches and up a steep slope, and eventually every picture was retrieved.

An impromptu , informal presentation while still out and about, exchanging the photos for the gifts, before a ride back to nursery and balloons to take home!

Good bye and good luck to all those starting school, we know they are all ready for the new challenges ahead - but we will miss them none the less!!

Bales and tractors!

Last week the wheat in the field visible from nursery's garden was harvested. The combining happened on Wednesday evening so we missed that, but we noticed the big round bales in the field next day and after seeking permission from Farmer Jake, we went over to have a look.

After a good run around the stubble field the

children were able to really explore.

Coincidentally they had been making spiral mobiles that morning and close examination of the big round bales showed they were huge spirals too!

Not only big, but heavy too - no matter how many children worked together they couldn't move them.

Next morning we saw something much better equipped to move the bales, hard at work in the field.

Of course we couldn't resist a closer look at three tractors at once!! So we took all of the children from 1- 9 years old, content to watch from a safe distance!!

Outdoor Learning - Mon 1st August

On our walk last Monday afternoon we were able to lots of exploring to learn about the wildlife and countryside around us.

The children found lots of feathers of different sizes and types. Then we heard a noise coming from the top of an oak tree and wondered if the owners of some of those feathers lived up there. We enjoyed running though the field to look at the Brake Pool (safely, from behind the fence) where we saw a pair of cormorants, a long way from their seaside home, perhaps they dropped a feather on their way over us.

As we are lucky enough to go on regular walks...

...we know who lives in the holes in School Field. It was my (Sharron) first visit to the Kitchen Garden but the children know their way around and were not surprised to see lemons growing in Overbury and could identify the vegetables growing there as Ted has told them all about them. And of course we all know where we are allowed to walk and always look out for the footpath markers.

Bugs are a firm favourite with the children, we found leaf bugs we hadn't seen before, butterflies and lots of ladybirds.

Counting the spots on all of the ladybirds we found enabled us to practise our maths skills, we used our problem solving skills to measure the trunk of a large oak tree and did more counting as we neared home - the stud horses in the field surrounding nursery.

So much learning squeezed into one lovely walk!

There are more photos from our most recent walks currently showing on the digital frame at nursery for parents to see when they drop off or collect their children!!

Making a splash!

We have found lots of ways to have fun with water over the last two weeks.

After enjoying an activity experimenting with floating and sinking the older children wanted to make boats.

Those who will soon be leaving us to go to school were very happy to let even our youngest join in, and everyone had great fun blowing their boats to race them across their indoor lake!!

With the improving weather we have been spending much of our time outdoors and some children have spent whole afternoons playing in the water tray.

We have long enjoyed painting outside with decorators' brushes and water but have recently taken our outdoor creativity to another level.

Huge, temporary art on the ground and walls made by spraying water from empty washing up liquid bottles.

Back indoors an activity washing toy dolls was not only very popular but also a good way of learning about hygiene and cleanliness.