I cannot praise Cheeky Monkeys highly enough. Through every stage of Maxi´s time there, the team have cared for him as an individual and have been instrumental in his development.
Eils Berrisford
The preschool room is an absolute hive of activity. Their busy day aims to allow children to develop all of the crucial skills ready for school in a warm, fun and friendly environment. As a nursery, we follow the ‘in the moment planning’ ethos meaning that the children’s passions and interests are followed and strongly influence the day’s activities. Every interest is welcome and we enjoy very varied and exciting experiences with the children with visits from diggers or ponies to writing letters to pirates! This way of learning ensures that the children are excited and engaged and hardly notice all of the social play, literacy, mathematics skills and much more that they are engaging in.
As well as all of our exciting events such as Christmas productions and even graduations for the little ones leaving us to go to school, we also have a day filled with lots of activities such as messy play, sand and water and lots of creative opportunities to name but a few. We ensure that if the children are engaged in an activity then we enhance it and challenge the children as best we can, adding wild animals to Lego for example to allow the children to build shelters for them or exploring colour mixing in the shaving foam play! Its always so much fun!
“When I arrive at nursery there is always someone to greet me and give me a cuddle if I’m feeling a little unsure. I then find something fun to play with or enjoy some yummy breakfast!”
When arriving at nursery a carer greets the children and is on hand to chat to, whether it be some information about the children’s routine, family events or health we are always on hand to talk to.
“With so much to do I can’t decide whether to play in the sand and water, read a book or make some tea in the home corner”
The staff are always on hand to engage with children and enhance their learning experience. The resources that we provide allow the children to engage in authentic play experiences with less use of ‘toys’ instead using real objects such as real cups, saucers and tea pots and real woodwork tools (under supervision!)
“let’s make our fingers dance! Its time to go to the dough disco!”
To strengthen the muscles in the children hands ready for writing we engage in a super activity involving playdough! We each take a small piece of playdough and squeeze, pat, pinch and make our fingers dance in it! We love to have a boogie to the music too!
“All that fun has left me a bit peckish, I think ill visit the snack bar”
A member of staff is on hand to help support the children while using the snack bar. The children are asked to find their name before visiting the snack bar and this not only supports their literacy skills but also ensures that all of the children have had the opportunity to have some snack. The children are then able to pour their own milk or water and then choose a healthy snack. The children then really seem to enjoy washing their plate and cup up once they have finished.
“Now I think I´ll play outside with my friends. I like climbing and going on the slides. I might go and have a look in the greenhouse to see if my seeds are growing.”
The children are encouraged to make the most of the outdoors. We acknowledge the health benefits of fresh air but also the many learning opportunities that arise in the outdoors such as discovering the effects of the change of the seasons. A weekly sports development plan also runs throughout the year and during this time the children are encouraged to take part in fun games and activities that exercise their body and develop their core body strength (valuable for all areas of learning).
“I love to play games and sing songs with my friends. The listening games are my favourite, especially Mrs Bear's Honey!”
The children engage in a letter and sounds activity daily and is split into two groups. The younger children engage in songs, rhymes and various activities that encourage good listening skills and encourages language. The second group explore concepts such as rhyme and alliteration all wrapped up in fun and engaging activities.
“Yes! its flapper maths time! I love to dance as we form the numbers!”
We engage in maths activities every day and our very fun and interactive maths program is so much fun! We begin by using fabric squares in each hand to encourage counting using all of our bodies, we then move on to moving our bodies to music and forming the shapes of the numbers, for example, up and down for one and round and round for 6 and 9. Finally we use crayons in each hand to make these marks onto paper, using both sides of the body really helps to engrain that movement memory.
“Forest school is my favourite place to be! I love to get really messy making mud pies or seeing how high I can climb the tree!”
The forest school is an incredible place to play and explore. Once we have our mud suits and wellies on we get stuck in! It is so much fun to dig in the digging area, go on bug hunts, plant seeds and make water shoots to name just a few!
“My tummy´s rumbling again, it must be nearly lunch time.”
Lunch time is a social time where the children are encouraged to engage with each other in a social environment. The lunch is served by the children (with some adult support) meaning that they have some input into what they would like although we do encourage the children to try new foods. Good table manners are also modelled by the carers who join the children as they eat.
The afternoon routine runs similarly to the morning with children accessing a variety of activities and opportunities. The staff ensure plenty of variety of activities to make sure that children aren´t repeating the same activity over and over again. There is another snack bar available in the afternoon as well as high tea being served to the whole group. Although there are set times for meals it is important that the children are aware that they can help themselves to fresh drinking water at all times.
The staff continually acknowledge and praise positive behaviour. The children receive rewards through verbal praise, a smile or having their photo moved up on the beanstalk reward chart. This is a sure winner which certainly boosts morale and motivation. Although the day may sound a little hectic, the book room is always available to the children where they can sit calmly and read a book. Some even indulge in a little snooze on the bean bags!
Upon collecting your child, you will be provided with a full detailed handover informing you about their day, their achievements and the fun they´ve had along the way!
The preschool children experience the same opportunity of care and personal contact as the younger age groups but also ensure that there is room for the children’s independence. With an adult on hand for support the children are encouraged to try tasks such as hand washing, dressing and making some simple decisions such as the book they may like to read at story time. Before the children leave us to go to school we also engage in small group activities called ‘key life skills’ and these are games and activities aimed around skills such as putting on socks or finding their own belongings, giving them a helping hand as they begin school.
Although we do follow a daily routine, the day is always varied and never dull! We love to have picnics on sunny days or make snow balls in winter, have a visit from the local vicar or spend some time reading to George the PAT dog. We certainly make the very most of every minute of the nursery day!