We’re not sure who has had the most fun on our ‘Football Party Day’ today…. our children or Team Jollies?!?!

It is safe to say we have lots of supportive, excited footie fans in the building…. COME ON ENGLAND!!!!! xxx

Our scissor skills (fine motor) development is pretty impressive too!!!!!

COME ON ENGLAND!!!!

On Wednesday Natalie and Imogen’s children were roleplaying shops together walking around the room with their toy trolley talking about what they were buying and then adding lots of things into their trolley… It was super full!!!!

So to extend their learning and inspire their roleplay further they decided to go on a little adventure together to Lidl…

They walked all the way to Lidl holding hands and listening carefully to the grown ups learning about how to keep themselves safe when walking; not walking near the road, staying away from the kerb, and looking left and right before crossing!!!

They walked through the train station as this was a safe and exciting way to get across the busy main road and the added bonus was that they saw three trains, and a really LONG fast train, almost as soon as they got near the station!

After much excitement they continued their walk talking about everything they could see around them within the environment; including different types of transport, shops, houses and all the numbers they could see too.. there were LOTS!!

When they got to Lidl they got a big trolley and found the shopping list they had written before setting off and they were ready to shop!

They went around every aisle looking for what they needed and then ticking the items off once they had located them and added them to their trolley.

They were also browsing everything too! (…..because you just can’t go to Lidl without having a nosey around the middle aisles!!)

They all had a turn at putting their shopping onto the conveyor belt ready to pay before helping to pack and then paying the lovely lady too.

Just before heading back to nursery they needed a quick snack pitstop, so they found some shade and had a bit of a rest finished off with a newly purchased ice lolly and a big cup of water. They then walked back to nursery still listening really well and once again enjoyed having a chat about everything they could see along the way!!!!

It was such a lovely morning learning about soooo many different things together which had derived from their initial interests and their original play and Natalie and Imogen can’t wait to see how their future shopping roleplaying will be further enhanced and enriched…. We don’t think it will make a LIDL difference…. we think it will make a LOT!!! xxxx

How do you keep cool in the baby room on a hot, hot day?!

You rescue flamingoes, unicorns and ducks from ice of course!!!

What a super exciting morning Pouncing Possums had recently! The children watched cars, buses, and vans from the window, sharing their excitement through their giggles and squeals. So to build upon this vehicle obsession their closely observing grownups decided to head across the road to the train station so they could extend their current interests in an even more exciting manner… not just hearing trains from the room’s window, but seeing them too!!!!

Along the way they talked together about the sounds they could heard and all the different vehicles they could see.

When they arrived they all sat safely along the wall to watch for trains and enjoy a tasty snack in the great outdoors…

Seeing their children’s excited faces and their interactions with the train conductors and members of the local community made the Possums’ grownups day!! Our children were relishing receiving smiles and waves from passengers on the train as they passed by and from those alighting at the station too!

Their excitement and sheer focus upon the task in hand was wonderful to see…. Trainspotters? Yes we are and we’re proud of it!!! xxxx

Our 2026 visit to Swithens Farm for our Reception Class School Leavers treat trip was nothing short of fantastic!!!!

We were sooooo very proud of our children and their superstar behaviour and their brilliant enthusiasm and amazing listening ears.

Our guide for the day, Ady, was excellent at allowing us to access and enjoy the farm in a safe way. We were all pros at washing our hands at the numerous handwashing stations throughout the farm after we’d touched the animals. We knew we needed to wash our hands first if we ever needed to touch our faces too.

He introduced us to all the animals and we fed a huge variety of them carrots (from a flat hand so little fingers didn’t get nibbled!!) from alpacas, donkeys and goats to HUGE cows!!

We met pigs and piglets, we fed the lambs with bottles and we listened to the farmer very carefully so we knew how to do it and hold the bottles in a special way so they didn’t get air in their tummies as we didn’t want them to feel poorly.

We loved exploring some of the farm’s play areas… the soft play, trampolines and tractors were fun and the huge sand area was amazing too as we loved to dig to find buried treasure and then climbed aboard the pirate ship there.

We wolfed down our packed lunches as we’d expelled so much energy and so we were very hungry!! After a huge drink and a toilet stop we were ready to go again for more fun on the farm in the afternoon.

It was just so exciting to see all the animals and find out more about them from Ady.

We tested out the new toboggans and this was very exciting for us all, not everyone wanted a go and some of us just preferred to swing and climb and go through the tunnels there instead.

We then went to the gift shop to spend our pennies and it was so exciting to be able to choose our toy as a memento of our special day out. We loved handing Ady the money from our purses/envelopes and popping our toys in our backpacks for their safe journey home where we could show our families and tell them all about our day!

We had a tractor ride from Tony all the way down the lane before catching the 446 back to Jollies.

We were exhausted but it had been wonderful to spend the day with our key people and make some extra special Jolly memories before we embark upon our journey into big school life…. (Lovely that Emily could join us for the day too with her gorgeous baby girl!!)

Tracey, Sian and Team Free-Flow would like to thank each and every one of you for making this day such a brilliant one, it was a pleasure and a privilege to have spent this time with you all xxxx

We have been loving welcoming in Reception class school teachers from our local primary schools over the past few weeks as part of our children’s transitional process.

Their key people have also been busy writing reports ready for when they leave for their next teachers, so we hope that when they read them they will get an insight into our lovely Jolly children and ‘where they are at’ and ‘what makes them tick’; highlighting strengths and any areas they may require some additional support with.

However, another part of the transition process which we really value and work so hard to ensure occurs, is a visit to our setting from their teacher. We know that many schools do home visits, but we feel that seeing little ones in a nursery setting interacting with their peers and being super comfortable is an invaluable insight into them as individuals too and we also welcome the opportunity for their key people to have a conversation all about them with their next teachers whilst they are here.

It is so lovely to observe our little ones introducing themselves as they meet their next teachers and watch them proudly showing them their Jolly Memories Books and talking about things that are important, significant and special to them…

To see their confidence when meeting their new teachers makes us all proud and we love that their personalities shine through in what they choose to share with them, or in this case show them….. dinosaur tattoo anyone?!? xxxx

It was Imogen’s home(Jolly!)-made ice lollies that were all the rage today in our bid to keep as cool as possible!!

Our children selected the pieces of fruit that they wanted to add into their very own ice lollies… they added juice and then the lid was popped on the mould before it was frozen.

They waited patiently and observed the changes from liquid to solid before thoroughly enjoying their very own lollies!!!

Keeping cool in a healthy fruity kind of a way on a jolly hot, hot day!!!!

Laura and I have just visited Swithens Farm as part of our pre-visit risk assessment and planning process as we will be taking our BIG school leavers (those leaving for Reception) there as part of their leaving treat.

This is always a wonderful day out, it’s great to support local, and the farm is so well-organised and the knowledgeable guides have always ensured we’ve all had a fabulous, safe and exciting visit.

This year there is a new addition, a sled run, so we went to check our children would be ok to have a go on it and do our own risk assessment of the ride.

As I’m sure you’d expect there’s much planning and preparation that goes into a trip of this size and we can’t wait to take our children out and share in this very special day with them all…. Exciting!!!!

Shall I be a police officer, a firefighter, should I read a book, or should I have a giggle and a chat with my friend?! I know…. I’ll do all of them at once!!!!

Loving life in the early years… Xxxx