… fun for you and fun for me!! Two little friends made the most of our new water tray as they planned a little tea party for two We saw excellent pouring and lots of sharing and caring as they negotiated their party plans together.Busy, busy, busy they certainly were and the perfect cuppa they definitely created!! Xxxx

For years and years and years now these have always been a firm favourite with our youngest giraffes as they experiment and explore happily and with such focus… as their natural curiosity is sparked through the use of treasure baskets.If you are interested in finding out more about the ‘method behind the madness’ (as everything we do/set up/create/devise at Jollies has a learning intention behind it and the way in which this is then implemented hopefully has an impact upon our children’s learning and development…) of just one of the many things we use within nursery you may enjoy reading this interesting article explaining how you can create your very own treasure basket at home and the rationale behind why this could be a very good idea for you and your little one…. Curioser and curioser we hear you say?! Happy reading and happy treasure hunting xxxx

A little bit of small world this morning…can we help to fix the broken track for the train? Will the animals be ok? Are the builders busy? What are they creating?!…The possibilities are endless as we let our imaginations lead the way… xxxx

Two boxes of new sleep mats for nursery were received, but this also meant that we had taken delivery of two HUGE cardboard boxes!!The first thing our children wanted to do was clamber into them, so after some crawling in and out we decide to cut some windows out of them so they could have a more satisfying game of peekaboo with their friends outside the box… rather than crawling out the end each time to say boo, they could then peer through the little windows instead if they wanted to. This generated lots of smiles and giggles as our babies took it in turns to explore the box from both inside and out!After a lot of playing the box gradually lost its shape and became squashed and squeezed and battered, but the box fun didn’t stop there!!Next it was opened out fully on the floor and investigated further as we’d observed that whilst playing in the box before our children had scraped toys along it and banged on it and naturally investigated the sounds their fingers made as they scratched along its ridges.So we provided some crayons for mark-making and our children were intrigued as they moved their fingers over the box and then drew on it too and this then fascinated them even more as they heard the different sounds being created when both their fingers and the crayons moved along the box’s bumpy cardboard surface. It was very satisfying for them to see sweeping marks emerging, but also hear their interesting accompanying sounds!The experimentation didn’t stop there though, as our children also moved on to ripping it, stamping on it and bashing it in pursuit of their investigation into making further amazing sounds with their box! +5177People reached8EngagementsBoost postLikeCommentShare

Meanwhile an impromptu concert was occurring in our movement room upstairs as this little duo decided to play their instruments and sing a medley of songs together… needless to say they’d soon gathered quite an audience and they kept Natalie and all their friends VERY entertained. What a marvellously creative, confident bunch we have here at Jollies Bring on the singing and instrument playing!! xxxx141People reached6EngagementsBoost post

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……… Stick out your tongue!! Check out this ‘enjoyment’ and ‘I’m so clever’ face… as this little one relishes joining in with the words and actions singing happily in their room.We do love a sing-along here at nursery!! What’s your favourite song to sing together at home?! Xxxx

Snack times provide a wonderful opportunity for our children to develop their independence…From expressing their preferences as they select their fruit of choice, peeling it themselves (amazing fine motor control and opportunity to develop finger strength!) to pouring their own milk into their cups.We love to choose and then help prepare our snack as we are just total foodies here at Jollies!! xxxx

…Then again sometimes stillness is just as important as movement and we like to take a moment and rest and chill… Cue the movement room’s focus changing from constructing to chilling for this little one as they naturally independently found a cushion, a book, a soft rug and some space for their own fabulous thoughts xxxx

It’s all things construction in our movement room at the moment… Tonnes of discovering, exploring and critical thinking whilst using our imaginations to build using all the resources provided! (Not to mention the refining of physical skills as fine motor is definitely drawn upon here to join the differing construction pieces together)… What can we make?! What will we use? How will we create it?!Problems are solved, tools to join construction kits found and shared, plans made and executed as teamwork makes the dream work yet again here at Jollies. So lovely to observe friends lending a helping hand designing and creating their own mini projects together… in a very short time we have had ‘a monster robot’, ‘an animal pen’, ‘a talking car’ and a ‘racing car’… we can’t wait to see what comes next… eeeek exciting!!

Lillie and her little ones had fun in the garden checking out reflections, shadows and seeing the world around them from a different perspective… The sky in the mirror?! ….And whose is that gorgeous face?! Xxxx