Pom-pom play dressed as a dragon of course!!

Exploring colour, sorting, size, quantity, capacity and counting in THE best ways possible… welcome to nursery life xxxx

It was all about accessorising recently as our children created their very own pasta jewellery. They loved threading their selected pieces on before then wearing them all day long.

Throughout this activity little hands were working hard as hand/eye coordination and perfect pincer grips were called upon to create the pasta chains.

Children instinctively counted as they created and naturally commented upon their necklace’s progress as lengths were compared with their friends’ creations and discussion was had about how many more they thought they might need to add to achieve their desired length.

But the best bit by far was wearing their necklaces proudly afterwards for all to see… some even went on to accessorise even further by creating a matching bracelet!!

Threading ways and pasta jewellery wearing days spent in style here at Jollies xxx

We are always looking at ways to promote independence here at Jollies! Our children automatically take their shoes off when they first arrive at nursery and they pop their slippers on as we all like to feel cosy and comfy, just like we would at home with toasty feet!

However, popping them back on again can be a little more tricky, but our children have been working upon putting their own shoes on with lots of encouragement and praise from their supportive grown ups and they have shown perseverance and persistence and have been VERY proud of themselves when they’ve popped them on… Good job everyone… what independent superstars you all truly are

A wonderful time was had developing physical skills climbing on and off our scuttlebugs and of course scooting and scuttling them all around our Jolly garden… xxxx

The cutest time was had with this little one by Fiona and Katy recently as they all read the Wonky Donkey!

Our children love, love, love stories and their familiarity, rhythm, rhyme and repetitive refrains lead to such enjoyment as they join in and share their genuine love of books and reading with our Jolly grown ups.

This cutie pie was a perfect example of this as she would say ‘hee haw’ in just the right places and she had Fiona and Katy laughing as she said ‘niiiiccee’ after the description of the donkey too!! She was just too funny!!

Wonky Donkey ways and amazing hee-hawing story-telling days spent giggling together here at Jollies xxxx

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Natalie observed her children being REALLY interested in hair last week; they were also asking the Jolly grown ups if they could put plaits in for them and they were brushing and even trying to put bobbles in their hair together too at every opportunity. So that was it… Natalie went on a trip up to our attic and the hairdressing resources came out and then they all quickly got to work!!

They used lots of different hair tools/equipment and resources to make the dolls’ heads (and Imogen and Nat Nat and each other!!) look fabulous and they all did a great job as they worked together as a team sharing everything and role-playing together.

They learnt how to use the curlers and rollers too and now they are all officially pros!!!!!

Will you be booking in at our Jolly Salon for a happy hairstyle soon?! Appointments strictly necessary as we are just soooooooo busy!! xxxx

Our children have been busy taking care of their babies and it has been wonderful to see them meeting their babies’ needs in the most loving of ways.

We’ve seen nappy changes, strolls around the garden in a pushchair, taking a bath in bubbly water in the outdoor area, being fed lunch in the highchair and, of course, millions and squillions of kisses and snuggles!!! Xxxx

Recently this little one showed that she has a good understanding of self care as she took it upon herself to ‘wash’ her hands in the role-play kitchen sink before going on to play with all the pots and pans as she prepared her lunch! Xxxx

Emma, our Deputy Manager, has been at Jollies for 17 years and she’s quite simply magic!! She never ceases to amaze us with her creativity and her new and wonderful ideas, but she’s also such a superb practitioner because of her natural ability to turn the children’s requests into reality as she takes their learning off in such exciting ways which have derived organically from their individual fascinations and interests!

On Friday she had a request to go on a woodloose hunt outside as one little one came in with binoculars hanging around his neck. So she went and collected resources from the attic so the room could all do some pre-hunt prep inside first. The group had magnifying glasses and books to identify the bugs and they adored looking at, and playing with, the giant bugs before later going hunting for real ones…

However, the same little one had also had a second request when he came into the room that morning which was for a BIG pirate ship with cannons and a flag……….so teamwork made the dream work and in the blink of an eye one sailed into the playground!!!!

Once this little one stepped aboard and saw it fully materialising his requests got even more detailed!!!! The canon had to shoot out balls ‘like boom!’… It is safe to say that he LOVED it; along with ALL of his friends. The group role-played the whole time they were out there… they were frequently waving their flags and saying it was windy so Emma would shout ‘there’s a storm coming!’

It was just a magical afternoon and the real bug hunt outside was soon forgotten as it was suddenly all about the GINORMOUS pirate ship!!!!

What an AMAZING day!!!! xxxx

Free-Flow have been busy cooking up a feast inspired by the recipe books within their role-play kitchen…

Whilst doing so they were naturally (and spontaneously) working on their number recognition, their understanding of weight, their sequential reasoning as they followed stages of a recipe and their role-playing skills too as they chatted away happily and negotiated together. As always they had such a fun morning and the food looked simply delicious!! xxxx