Stephen observed some of his children busy in the kitchen looking at some of the cook books together.

In order to further develop their role play and learning Stephen firstly observed closely and then he sensitively intervened where necessary to extend their communication and conversation further. He asked questions linked to what they were doing and what they were talking about. This then enabled the group to interact in even greater depth and explain their ideas, thoughts and feelings further; developing their communication and social skills through their self-initiated play.

There was definitely lots of talking and sharing of plans between them and they soon had a brilliant feast organised which they then set off happily to create together!!

We love seeing our children using real cookbooks to inspire their role play feasts…. and believe you me…. they are definitely feasts by the time they have all finished… cheers!! Xxxx

Our team showed themselves to be worthy of a job in Charlie’s factory when they recently worked hard as a team to make the…. ‘biggest chocolate ever’.

This self-initiated task sparked much imagination and creativity as our children became immersed in the magic of their role play scenario. They used water from the ‘water fall’ and mud and sand.

Everyone then mixed all the ingredients up together and then ‘cheersed’ themselves in celebration of their chocolatey creation!! xxxx

After sharing monster stories our children decided to design their own on our interactive screen!

Don’t get scared now… xxxx

Do you have what it takes to rescue the monsters from their homes?! Luckily our children definitely did!!

In doing so they were focusing upon their fine motor skills within enclosed spaces and the precision of their hand/eye coordination!

Within this activity patience was key whilst they used a steady hand to manipulate the tweezers with control in order to be able to rescue the monsters from their ‘homes’.

Our children were very focused and motivated by their monster mission and they loved to count how many monsters they were rescuing too!

In Early Years developing fine motor skills, finger strength and hand/eye coordination is so very important, as it a pre-cursor for writing and eventually leads to being able to hold and use a pen effectively, confidently and comfortably ready for school!

So you’ll soon see there was method in this monster madness as our children excitedly discovered whether they’d got what it takes to save the monsters!! Xxxx

Looks of amazement, laughter, snuggles, giggles and full-blown conversations…

The magic of make-believe as stories and songs truly come to life through puppetry xxxx

Have you booked your appointment at our Jolly salon yet?!

You’ll have to get in quick as it’s been non-stop appointments recently as clients have booked in for a shampoo and blow dry, or a quick restyle!!

Role playing days and superb hairstyling ways spent playing here at Jollies xxxx

Our sensory room used to look like this…

But…. exciting things are afoot here at Jollies as it is currently undergoing a transformation!

For the past almost 19 years we have been very proud of our sensory room and it is a space that has been enjoyed by soooooo many children over the years, but we have decided to make some changes based upon our observations of some of our current children’s responses to it.

We want ALL our children to benefit from this amazing space and we’d observed that for some it was just too busy, for some it was simply just too dark and we want it to be a safe, relaxing space which ALL children can enjoy and where children with additional needs can have a space to feel calm if they are ever feeling a little overwhelmed or dysregulated as we always want to remove any barriers to learning and development that our children may encounter along the way….

……So….. watch this space as transformations are occurring!!!!!

This little one showed lots of determination and concentration whilst playing outside. He absolutely loved all the different trucks and vehicles; especially the excavator!! He would try and try again to scoop different objects up so that he could drive away with them…

As well as partaking in some fabulous imaginative play and exhibiting concentration, focus and determination this little one was also strengthening his core and developing his balance and coordination as he moved, reached and navigated the playground skilfully.

You thought our children were ‘just playing with vehicles’ didn’t you? It’s truly fascinating when you start to analyse all the learning taking place through such independent, self-initiated play… xxxx

One of little ones has just celebrated a very special time at the weekend in her life as she got together with her family to celebrate Diwali. We have since loved carrying on the celebrations here within Jollies as she has shared some very special photographs with her friends on our app and then we have carried on finding out even more about Diwali this week too. We have shared even more books, we have learnt a song about Rama and Sita coming home and we have loved focusing on the light, colour and excitement that this very special festival of light brings by exploring materials and all sorts of lovely shiny, beautiful items together…

We’ve played in coloured rice and sparkles and added paint to crazy foam to represent the beautiful fireworks that have lit up the sky at the weekend and some of us even decorated our hands with paint and sparkles!!

We love celebrating our children’s achievements, their birthdays, family occasions (we all love a good wedding here at Jollies!) and any and EVERY special occasion that we can within their lives!!

Please don’t forget if you have ANY special occasions coming up within your family lives you can upload photos on our app afterwards; as we can then get your little ones to share their special times and celebrations with all their friends here at Jollies. This can lead to such inspiring wonderful play and fun as it derives from such a significant and meaningful place within their own lives xxxx

….And it definitely cleared the fallen leaves!!

Our children were superstars helping to look after their environment by sweeping up in our Jolly garden. They handled tools with care and skill and took it in turns and shared so very well with their friends xxxx