As one group of children’s obsession with dinosaurs continued the grown-ups were thinking of different ways to explore them. After a game of hide and seek the day before they thought they could then combine the two and so they created a ‘dinosaur hide and seek’! Although it was a ‘dinosaur hide and seek’ with a difference as the added twist was that the adventure didn’t take place within Jollies’ grounds…Instead the dinosaurs were taken down to the canal and hidden by the grown-ups so their children could then find them and then find out how many they had in total. Afterwards the children (and grown-ups!) even walked liked dinosaurs and roared their way along the canal towpath too – just like true dinosaurs!!They all had a fab time and they even had their snack there before they then got very excited as they did some running away from the Gruffalo!! Dinosaurs stomping, children chomping, ducks quacking, Gruffalo chasing… Woodlesford canal definitely had it all going on!

Cooperating, collaborating, negotiating, planning, trying, changing, amending and deciding… these were but a few of the things this little group did as they spontaneously created an exciting icy environment together outside recently!!Once it was built and completed to fully meet all their requirements they then had a ball playing imaginatively together in their icy kingdom… Teamwork definitely does make the dream work here at Jollies xxxx

Some wonderful dialogue emerged recently between Katie and her little ones. Katie was busy playing on the floor with some of her children exploring all the loose parts. Then, in the next moment, a phone was swiftly handed to her by a little one (as they too had found their own handset) and then the conversation truly flowed… The exchanges that took place were spontaneous, funny, warm and truly reciprocated. Communication is key and having brilliant conversations on role-play phones is just one way of sparking this during the nursery day. We all to talk here at Jollies and helping our children develop speaking and listening skills; understanding the nuances of conversation, pausing, thinking and responding, turn taking is all just part of the fun as we chitter chatter happily together throughout play, role-play different scenarios, take part in circle time discussions, ask and answer questions during story times and generally just enjoy each others’ company and the chance to have a good old natter together!! We wonder what fab conversations you will find yourself having this week?

You have ALL grown and blossomed and are more than ready to go…Good luck to everyone who is starting school this week…. You have grown and blossomed at Jollies and we know you are more than ready for this next exciting chapter…. Wishing you oodles of fun there and sending you off with the hugest of hugs from all the grown-ups xxxx

Happy Tuesday Everybody!! We hope you all had an awesome Bank Holiday weekend.Our children have come back even more inspired and enthusiastic after the lovely long weekend and for those who have moved rooms they are already making awesome strides within their new learning environments.The children are playing together so well and they are inspiring each other and sharing ideas through their play…Look at this amazing railway station that they have been busy creating together this afternoon. The intricate detail, the different levels, the range of resources used that had been selected and collected from around the room was nothing short of amazing. To hear the group describe the different functions and elements of their building was brilliant as to see such depth within their play and building is just wonderful. We are impressed!!!!Just wow

September brings new rooms for some of our children and Team Jollies members…. It’s such an exciting time as our staff team brim over with enthusiasm and excitement as they create new spaces to play in for them and their children… Here’s a little sneaky peek into some of the areas that have already been created by our team with lots and lots of xxxx

What better way to develop imagination and encourage creativity than following the children’s of trains and all this could lead to…

The children loved to create tracks for their trains. They would use the chalk making exciting movements from side to side to make lots of marks in the immediate area around them so that their trains could then chug along on the tracks they had created. We had swirls and circles and shaded areas and straight parts and the trains whizzed along a whole new exciting train track… a lovely twist on the traditional wooden tracks we are used to playing with. It was fabulous to see imaginations in full flow as the children covered the floor with their terrific tracks!! Xxxx

One of our little giraffes has shown herself to be an expert at tea making in the mud kitchen. The children have access to a water container so they can help themselves and add water to their baking and make themselves ‘cups of tea’ (this is always the most popular drink on the Jolly menu!)Initially this little one struggled a little with turning the tap, but after perseverance and a little bit of further trying she proudly managed it.She then filled up a cup and carefully transferred it into the teapot before pouring out the tea again and bringing it to Fiona excitedly saying “Here you go!”What a lovely cuppa Xxxx

Whilst exploring the counters on the light box one of our little giraffes was very excited when they discovered that they would stack. She then watched Fiona stacking them and asked if she could join in doing this too. So that was it, the challenge was then on to see who could build the tallest tower!!This little one was definitely determined to make theirs taller than the grown-up’s one.The counters were a little fiddly at times and they kept falling over, but this little one kept calm, persevered and would just rebuild it if it came tumbling down. She talked about the fact she was catching up with Fiona’s one the more she added to hers, as she naturally compared their heights whilst doing this. Once her tower started to wobble she moved onto building other towers next to her original one telling Fiona that she then had ‘lots of towers’.Then another little one joined in with the play saying they too were going to build ‘a really big one’ and they wanted it to go ‘all the way up to the sky!’Exciting building on the light box as towers were created, counters were counted, sizes were compared and challenges were set as the most marvellous mathematical language emerged… xxxx

I come from down your way, and I can play, What can you play?I play the………..

A few of our giraffes have loved to create lots of music in the multi sensory room… this was alongside also being mesmerised by the bubble tube and exploring the light table and the ‘spaghetti’ (fibre optic) lights of course (you just can’t go into our sensory room and not play with these!!).Whilst making music the group would shake their maracas, turn the rain maker over and over and bang, bang, bang on the tambourine!!They spontaneously all sat in a circle with their instruments and would make lovely music all at once, and all together, and they had such a fab time playing in their own mini Jolly band xxxx