As the weather has warmed up, the children have been delighted to return to one of our favourite areas of the nursery garden – the water feature!

There has been plenty of splashing, paddling, pouring, filling, emptying, fishing and experimenting as the children immersed themselves in full-body water play. From exploring the sluice gates and discovering how water travels, to dunking themselves into deep buckets of water and feeling the water swirl around them, the children have embraced every opportunity to investigate and play.

Water play offers so much more than fun on a sunny day. It encourages children to think like scientists as they explore cause and effect, test ideas and solve problems. It supports early mathematical thinking through concepts such as full and empty, more and less, volume and capacity. Children develop their physical skills as they carry, pour, balance and control water, while also strengthening their communication and language through sharing ideas, negotiating space and collaborating with friends.

Perhaps most importantly, water play engages all of the senses. It is joyful, calming, exciting and deeply absorbing. Watching children become completely immersed in their play, following their own ideas and discoveries, is a wonderful reminder of how powerful hands-on learning can be.

After all, some of the very best learning happens when you’re having so much fun that you don’t even realise you’re learning! 💙💦

The children in Butterflies have been busy bringing our core story, Wibbly’s Garden by Mick Inkpen, to life through imaginative play in our wooden castle.

Using the drawbridge, giant and other characters, the children have been creating their own adventures, retelling parts of the story and inventing exciting new ones of their own. As they explored together, they shared ideas, negotiated roles and worked collaboratively to develop their play.

Story-based play helps children to deepen their understanding of books, build vocabulary and develop communication skills, whilst also encouraging creativity, problem-solving and social interaction.

It has been wonderful to watch the children’s imaginations flourish as they step into the world of Wibbly Pig and create their own magical tales. 🌱✨

What do you see when you look at a simple wooden stall?

The children saw an ice cream shop!

With no signs, buttons, sounds or instructions, the children used their imaginations to transform our wooden shop into a bustling ice cream parlour. There were ice creams to choose from, orders to take, customers to serve and plenty of conversations taking place as they worked together in their new business.

Open-ended resources like this are incredibly valuable because they can become anything a child imagines. One day it might be an ice cream shop, the next a café, post office, pet shop or market stall. The possibilities are endless!

Through role play, children develop language and communication skills, learn to negotiate and cooperate with others, explore early mathematical concepts such as counting and money, and build confidence as they take on different roles and responsibilities.

Most importantly, they are developing creativity, problem-solving skills and the ability to think beyond what is in front of them—skills that will support their learning for years to come.

Sometimes the simplest resources inspire the richest play. 💛

There was great excitement in the Woodland Garden this week as the children set off on a mini-beast hunt! Armed with curiosity and keen observation skills, they searched high and low to discover the creatures that share our outdoor environment.

The children found an amazing variety of mini-beasts, including ladybirds, snails, worms, beetles, woodlice and many more. They carefully observed their discoveries, discussing what they looked like, how they moved and where they might live.

Hunting for mini-beasts helps children to develop an understanding of the natural world around them. They begin to learn about habitats, life cycles and the important role that even the smallest creatures play in our environment.

As they searched together, the children shared their findings, compared discoveries and worked collaboratively, developing their communication and social skills. They also showed great care and respect for the creatures they found, learning how to handle living things gently before returning them safely to their homes.

The Woodland Garden continues to provide endless opportunities for exploration, investigation and discovery, inspiring children to become curious, confident learners and budding nature enthusiasts. 🌿✨

The Ladybirds children have been bringing one of their favourite songs to life as they carefully climbed a low-level tree and acted out Five Cheeky Monkeys Swinging in the Tree.

With plenty of excitement, laughter and a little bit of bravery, the children explored the tree, finding places to sit, balance and climb while singing along together. Through experiences like these, children learn to assess risk, make decisions and develop confidence in their own abilities.

At Caverstede, we know that managed risk is an important part of learning. Climbing helps children develop their balance, coordination, strength and spatial awareness, while also encouraging them to think carefully about where to place their hands and feet. These experiences support children in learning what their bodies can do and how to keep themselves safe.

Combining the climbing experience with a familiar song made the play even more meaningful. The children were developing their communication and language skills, recalling familiar words and actions, counting the monkeys and using their imaginations as they transformed the tree into the setting of the story.

It was wonderful to see the children challenging themselves, supporting one another and taking pride in what they could achieve. Sometimes the best learning happens when a favourite song, a tree and a group of enthusiastic children come together! 🌳❤️

At first glance, drawing underneath a table might look like a fun and unusual way to make marks—and it certainly is! But this simple activity is also helping children develop the physical foundations they need for future writing.

As the children reached up to draw on the underside of the table, they were strengthening the muscles in their hands, wrists, arms, shoulders and upper body. These larger muscles provide the stability needed for the smaller, more precise movements involved in holding and controlling a pencil.

Drawing in this position also encourages children to cross the midline of their bodies, develop shoulder stability and improve hand-eye coordination—all important skills that support early mark making and writing development.

Of course, the children were far more interested in the fun of drawing in an unexpected place! The novelty of the activity encouraged creativity, concentration and lots of conversation as they shared ideas and admired each other’s marks.

At Caverstede, we know that writing begins long before a child picks up a pencil to form letters. Through playful experiences like this, children are building the strength, coordination and confidence they will need to become successful writers in the future.

Sometimes the best learning happens when we simply turn things upside down! 😊✏️

Inspired by our core story Jasper’s Beanstalk, the children have been busy planting their very own runner beans.

First, they carefully filled their flower pots with soil, developing their hand strength and coordination as they scooped, poured and patted it down. They then made small holes, gently placed their runner bean seeds inside and gave them a drink of water to help them begin their growing journey.

Planting seeds helps children learn about the natural world and encourages patience as they begin to understand that living things need time, care and the right conditions to grow.

To continue the excitement from the story, the children explored our willow wigwam, imagining it as a giant beanstalk. As they looked up through the canes, one child excitedly said, “I hope we find a castle at the top!” 🏰

We can’t wait to watch our beans grow over the coming weeks and see where our imaginations take us next!

Water play is a staple part of life at Caverstede Nursery School, but with the current warm weather we’ve been turning up the splash factor and bringing cooling water play into every part of our day!

From mixing magical water potions in the shady mud kitchen, to splashing in our water feature, washing painted feet clean after creative adventures, and even transforming our outdoor water trays into mini paddling spots, there has been no shortage of refreshing fun.

As children play, they’re doing so much more than simply keeping cool. Water play encourages exploration, creativity, communication, problem-solving and teamwork, while also supporting physical development as children pour, scoop, carry and splash.

Most importantly, it brings plenty of smiles, laughter and opportunities to enjoy the outdoors safely during the warmer weather.

We think there’s no better way to stay cool than through play! 💙💦

Inspired by our core story, Wibbly’s Garden by Mick Inkpen, the children have been busy looking after the runner beans they planted last week.

At first, there was a problem… despite lots of watering and careful looking, there was no sign of a giant beanstalk growing into the clouds! The children were beginning to wonder how they would ever reach the castle and find the giant.

So, Katy and the children decided there was only one thing for it… we needed some MAGIC! 🪄✨ Together we carefully mixed up some special magic water and gave our beans an extra-special drink.

The next morning, we rushed outside to see if our magic had worked and WOW! The beans had started to grow! Some of the beanstalks were already as tall as the children, reaching higher and higher towards the sky.

The children have loved checking on their beans each day, talking about what plants need to grow and making predictions about what might happen next.

Will our beanstalks keep growing? Will they reach the clouds? And most importantly… will we get to meet the giant? 👣☁️🏰

Sometimes the simplest provocations spark the richest learning!

This week, Katy introduced a special bag of unicorn-themed treasures for the children to explore. Inside were a variety of resources including books, small world figures, headbands, soft toys and other magical surprises. There was no set outcome or expectation—just an invitation to investigate, discover and wonder.

The children eagerly unpacked the bag, examining each item, sharing their ideas and talking about what they noticed. Conversations flowed as they compared objects, asked questions, created stories and shared their own experiences and knowledge about unicorns.

These open-ended provocations provide wonderful opportunities to develop language and communication skills, introducing new vocabulary and encouraging children to express their thoughts and ideas. As children handled the different resources, they were also developing fine motor skills and dexterity through grasping, manipulating and exploring the objects in different ways.

Perhaps most importantly, the children practised valuable social skills as they negotiated turns, shared resources, listened to one another and worked together to create imaginative play scenarios.

What began as a simple bag of unicorn treasures quickly became a world of curiosity, conversation, creativity and collaboration—showing once again that when children are given the time and freedom to explore, their learning can take them anywhere… perhaps even to a magical unicorn kingdom! 🦄🌈✨

Even during the heatwave, outdoor play remains an important part of our day at Caverstede Nursery School.

To help keep children and staff as comfortable as possible, we’ve been carefully adapting our outdoor environment and moving activities to make the most of the shade throughout our gardens. From natural shade provided by trees and planting, to additional shaded areas we’ve created, children have continued to enjoy all the benefits of outdoor learning while staying cool.

You might spot us exploring the woodland garden, creating in the shady mud kitchen, enjoying water play, sharing stories under the trees, or moving resources to different parts of the garden as the sun travels across the sky.

This flexibility allows children to continue developing their physical skills, creativity, curiosity and friendships, while helping everyone stay safe and comfortable in the warmer weather.

As always, the children have shown incredible adaptability, embracing new play spaces and discovering that every corner of the garden offers something exciting to explore.

After all, a little shade, a splash of water and lots of play make for the perfect summer day! 💦🌿

Sometimes the best learning happens when we use our whole bodies!

The children had great fun exploring paint with their feet, squelching, stepping and creating colourful patterns and prints. What may look like messy play is actually supporting so many important areas of development.

Painting with feet helps children to:
🌈 Explore different textures and sensations
💪 Develop balance, coordination and body awareness
🎨 Express themselves creatively
🗣️ Build language as they describe what they can see and feel
😊 Grow confidence as they try new experiences

There were plenty of smiles, laughter and curiosity as the children investigated the paint in their own unique ways. Some enjoyed making footprints, while others were fascinated by the marks and patterns their movements created.

At Caverstede, we know that sensory experiences like these provide valuable opportunities for children to learn through play, exploration and discovery.

Our children explored making marks in shaving foam, using their fingers, hands and even whole arm movements to create lines, circles, swirls, patterns and pictures. It may look like messy fun (and it certainly is!), but this type of sensory play is also an important stepping stone towards early writing.

Making marks in shaving foam helps children to:
✏️ Develop the muscles in their hands, wrists and shoulders needed for writing.
✏️ Practise the movements that will later form letters and shapes.
✏️ Build hand-eye coordination and control.
✏️ Explore creativity and self-expression without worrying about making mistakes – one swipe and they have a fresh page to start again!
✏️ Engage their senses, supporting concentration, confidence and language as they describe what they are creating.

The soft, squishy texture encourages children to experiment freely, helping them become confident mark makers long before they begin writing with pencils.

At Caverstede Nursery School, we know that learning to write starts with playful, meaningful experiences just like these. Every swirl, squiggle and smile is helping to build strong foundations for future learning.

There is something truly magical about a sandpit. A simple resource that offers countless opportunities for learning through play.

Today our children have been busy digging, scooping, pouring, filling, transporting and creating. Some carefully filled containers, others buried treasures (or themselves! 😄), while friends worked together to build, investigate and share ideas.

Sand play supports so many areas of development:
🤎 Developing fine and gross motor skills through digging, lifting and pouring.
🤎 Building early mathematical understanding as children compare quantities, sizes and capacity.
🤎 Encouraging language as they describe textures, negotiate roles and tell imaginative stories.
🤎 Inspiring creativity and problem-solving as they experiment with different ways to play.
🤎 Providing rich sensory experiences that help children explore the world through touch.

Most importantly, it is joyful. The kind of play where children become completely absorbed, following their own ideas and learning naturally alongside their friends.

At Caverstede, we know that some of the richest learning happens when children have the time, space and freedom to simply… play. 🌿

Sometimes the simplest invitations to play spark the biggest conversations.

Today, we introduced a basket filled with a variety of bee figures for the children to explore. They eagerly investigated the different sizes, colours and markings, carefully comparing them and talking about what they noticed. Some sorted the bees, others created imaginative small-world adventures, while many asked wonderful questions about where bees live, what they eat and how they help our world.

Open-ended resources like these encourage children to:
🐝 Develop rich vocabulary as they describe similarities and differences.
🌼 Build early scientific thinking by observing, comparing and asking questions.
🐝 Strengthen fine motor skills through handling and manipulating the figures.
🌼 Use their imagination to create stories, characters and new adventures.
🐝 Learn about the natural world and begin to understand the important role bees play in pollination and caring for our environment.

At Caverstede, we love providing thoughtful provocations that inspire children to wonder, explore and discover. After all, every question asked today could become tomorrow’s new learning adventure.