In a separate building situated at the rear of the main building is the Butterflies, this is used for our pre-school children, where we try and prepare these children for school by carrying out more challenging activities, looking at all areas of learning.
Children will focus on weekly themes and have a work book which they will take home. The idea of the work book is to help children develop and learn about colours, numbers, seasons, shapes etc. The children get a chance to bake on a weekly basis and make play dough.
There is a large book area filled with a wide range of books and stories as well as a television with a DVD player and a Computer where children can develop their ICT skills.
Butterflies is set out into various sections where children can experience: a home corner, construction, mathematics, art and craft, small world, writing and mark making, sand and water and a music area. The children also have a pet fish that they help to care for.
In Butterflies we have ‘free flow’ play, where children can flow between indoor and outdoor play. One member of staff will stay indoors and one member of staff outdoors continuously throughout the day.
The outdoor environment will be part of the curriculum, as there are greater ranges of learning experiences outdoors.
The EYFS guidance indicates that wherever possible, there should be access to an outdoor play area, which can benefit the children whom they care for, rather than being regarded as just one of the ‘areas of interest’ in a setting (alongside the messy play area, the book corner and so on), the outdoor environment has to be considered as equivalent to half of the early years learning environment, providing a full range of relevant educational experiences, encouraging a healthier life style.
Outdoor activities will be planned for too, just like the indoor activities.
Outdoor learning complements indoor learning and is equally important. Play and learning that flow seamlessly between indoors and outdoors enable children to make the most of the resources and materials available to them and develop their ideas without unnecessary interruption. Outdoor learning encompasses all that children do, see, hear or feel in their outdoor space. This includes the experiences that practitioners create and plan for, the spontaneous activities that children initiate, and the naturally occurring cyclical opportunities linked to the seasons, weather and nature.
We will provide continuous activities outdoors which will change regularly these areas may include:
- quite areas/book areas
- large construction play – logs, milk carts etc
- gardening and planting
- sand/water/soil
- imaginative play
- den making
- mark making
- outdoor visits
- physical play using – bats, balls, scooters, bikes etc
Due to the greater amount of time the children will be spending outdoors we would ask parents to consider the type of clothing your child brings with them into nursery. We believe there is no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing! So on rainy days a Mac and wellies, you could even choose to label a Mac and wellies and leave these at nursery for your child so they don’t miss out on outdoor play experiences.
The children also have a gardening area where they plant flowers and grow there own vegetables, these have included – green beans, carrots, and watercress.
All children have access to fresh drinking water throughout the day, so we would request that you provide us with a drinking bottle for your child.