Thursday 17th June – Shearing Trip

On Thursday morning a group of children, staff, parents

and grandparents rode in our trusted tractor and trailer

to the sheep sheds at Park Farm.

There we watched the two shearers at work. The process fascinated the children.

Todd, the shepherd showed us some shears up close and one of the fleeces.

Back at nursery, unsurprisingly, the first choice of song at grouptime was; ‘Baa, baa black sheep’. The older children pointed out that we hadn’t seen any black sheep, so they suggested two new versions; ‘Baa, baa black-faced sheep’ and ‘Baa, baa black-legged sheep’ instead!With all Overbury farm hands hard at work, we did see several ‘bags full’!!

Maypole dancing 28th May

It could be us in a few years!!

So we had been watching the rehearsals closely through the fence for the last few weeks. Then on Friday we got to see the real thing!

On our walk through the village, knowing what we were going to see, one of our 2 year olds just kept repeating " I'm so excited!".

We were very proud of how well the nursery children sat as they watched out for the children they knew from breakfast and after-school club, clapping along with the rest of the audience,

they really seemed to enjoy it.

Thank you and congratulations to the Overbury School children and staff.

Fun in the sun! (Week beg. 17th May)

This week we have really enjoyed the sunny weather, but we have had a very wet week!!

The water tray has enabled us to enjoy enthusiastic, sociable, collaborative games, quiet exploration and experimentation, colour mixing, bubbly fun and lots more besides.

With outdoor play the preferred choice, we have tried to provide learning opportunities in all areas of the curriculum outside.

Snacks have been enjoyed outside at a table, as a picnic on mats and in a camouflage den!

Construction toys – duplo and mega blocks, were used to make trains, star wars spaceships and so much more!

Different mark-making materials have been on offer outside and all ages have made good use of them.

Small world games have been given more scope with a larger area to explore - farm animals, wild animals and cars and trains were all taken into the garden and some found their way into the water (don’t worry they survived!)

Bluebell Wood Trip 4th May

Last Tuesday (4^th May ) a group of children and parents enjoyed a tractor and trailer ride in the Spring sunshine to the Bluebell Wood above Beckford.

We had a walk across the stream and through the wood before stopping for picnic snacks for the children (tea and coffee for the parents).

Then we got out our reference books and magnifying glasses and took our time to really explore. As well as lots of lovely wild flowers - bluebells in abundance, marsh marigolds and red campion, we found all sorts of minibeasts under the logs including woodlice, millipedes and worms.

Back at nursery, the children did some colour mixing to paint some lovely pictures of bluebells and their trip to the woods.

We hope to be able to use the tractor and trailer (a huge hit with the children!) for more countryside trips in the future.

Learning from bugs!!

Over the last few weeks on nature walks, in Forest School sessions and in the garden and digging pit we have found lots of 'minibeasts'.

So this week we have been doing art and craft activities to reflect the children's interest in bugs.

Making collage caterpillars enabled the older children to hone their cutting skills.

Everyone enjoyed getting messy to create handprint butterflies.

We got out mirrors and experimented with the wonders of symmetry painting.

This week we have also enjoyed sharing bug books and songs.

It may be 40 years old but we never tire of 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar' and it inspired us to learn an action song teaching about the lifecycle of the butterfly and the story of 'The Very Lazy Ladybird' taught us that under those spots ladybirds have wings!

Planned trip to the Bluebell Wood - Tues 4th May

The children have really been enjoying their nature walks and have been very interested to learn about the wild flowers.

We have the opportunity to go to the Bluebell Woood (above Beckford) on the tractor and trailer next Tuesday 4th May and would like to invite the parents of children attending on Tuesday to share the experience with us.

There will also be a limited number of spaces for cchildren and their parents who do not usually attend on a Tuesday - first come, first served! Don't miss out! Let us know if you would like to come.

We look forward to sharing this special trip with you.

The cook, St. George, the dragon,and the volcano!!

Last week (19th - 23rd April) the children really enjoyed baking with Ruth. They made cookies and banana muffins and received a special request for their next recipe - so expect some chocolate brownies this week.

We found the story of St. George and the dragon on the internet, then used our cutting, colouring and folding skills to make our own dragons and shields.

Having heard all about the dust cloud and the volcano, we tried to find out more about volcanoes, this time in one of our 'telling' books. We also enjoyed using other non-fiction/reference books in our Forest School session, to look up all of the wild flowers we found.

Out and About - wk. beg. 12th April

Last week all of the children, were able to spend time in the orchard area we plan to use regularly for Forest school activities. They found woodlice and ladybirds, feathers and a molehill and lots of wild flowers. All ages were able to explore for themselves and start to learn Forest School rules.

We also went out for a walk to the 'real forest' where we found white violets growing and noticed all the spring growth, both leaves and blossom on the trees and in the hedgerows.

Meet the new staff!

I would like to introduce you to the new faces in our team: Ruth and Jenny. Both are level 3 qualified nursery nurses.

Ruth has a young family and has had lots of experience, particularly with the younger children, she has been nannying and is enjoying returning to a nursery environment. She will be working 3 days a week.

Jenny has a further qualification - Forest School assistant, which she was not able to put to practical use at her previous setting, she is already enjoying refreshing her skills in this area at Grasshoppers. Jenny will be working 4 days a week.

Ruth and Jenny are additions to our team, none of the existing staff are going anywhere! We feel confident that, with the team back to full strength, we will be able to offer the children in our care more and varied activities and we will be out and about everyday!

Visit to the lambing sheds - 9th April

On Friday morning the excited nursery and holiday club children (joined by friends who attend on different days throughout the week and their parents) were driven by Farmer Jake, in a tractor and trailer, up Bredon Hill to the lambing sheds at Park Farm.

Inside the shed Farmer Jake told us all about how the lambs are marked and tagged and how Todd the shepherd tries to make sure all the ewes look after two lambs each, giving one of triplets born to a sheep with only one lamb.

Then the children were invited to bottle feed the orphaned lambs, which they really enjoyed, but were careful to wash their hands carefully afterwards!

We were really privileged to see a lamb being born - it was a little boy, perhaps we should name him Hopper!




We had such a great visit the children couldn't stop talking about the tractor, trailer and lambs all day. I found it really difficult to choose the photos to post, so many fabulous shots were taken. Many more will be on the digital frame at nursery next week.

We are planning many more such outings, watch this space!!

But if you missed out on Friday, don't dispair, this Sunday, 11th April is Overbury Farm's 7th annual lambing day. The tractor and trailer will be making regular trips to the lambing sheds between 10am and 3pm, leaving from the village hall. (For more details see http://www.overburyfarms.co.uk)