NEWS

Carrot cake was on the menu this week in the Hedgehogs Bakery. The children mixed the ingredients together and loved watching Emma's electric grater. The children chose either acorn or pumpkin shaped moulds for the mixture to bake in. Liz put them in the oven and the smell of mixed spice was delicious!

National Eary Years SENDCo Day is dedicated to professionals who help ensure every child receives the support they need to thrive. This year, it falls on Friday 9th October. Best Practice Network is the organisation that is proud to have established the annual day which recognises the ‘extraordinary contribution Early Years SENCOs make to children, families, colleagues and settings across England.’ (https://www.bestpracticenet.co.uk/EYSENCO-day) At St Michael’s Nursery,

Back in the Spring, the Green Fingers Gardening Club spent many weeks planning, preparing and planting seeds for the summer crops. Our Runner Beans took a little while to get going this year thanks to the extreme heat. One of our families kindly donated some small Runner Bean plants and these took to the ground and grew tall and strong producing beautiful rosy red flowers. We learnt all about pollinators and how they have an important job to land on each flower to help turn t

We've had an amazing summer and really made the most of our large garden, playground, summerhouses and extensive forest school area. We have nurtured plants, saplings and vegetables through many a heatwave, enjoyed walks out in the community, sang songs, acted out stories, dressed up, took part in science experiments, danced, built towers, dug holes, climbed trees and enjoyed picnics. Some of our favourite things in Forest School has been the older children learning to whittl

Back in April, the Green Fingers Gardening Club planted sunflower seeds. We have been looking after them and nurturing them through some of the hottest weather that we have experienced in our gardening club. Over the summer, yellow petals have glinted and emerged from their sleepy bud to be greeted with overjoyed cries of "there's a sunflower!" The children have really enjoyed watching them open, they have measured them, watched pollinators excitedly land on them, drawn and p

During Summer term, the Kindergarten children that are leaving for school, enjoy plenty of opportunities as part of our 'Life Skills' programme. Most recently, Kim from Torrington Dental Practice visited us to talk to the children about effective brushing techniques. Kim started the session discussing why it is important to brush your teeth regularly. She discussed different food groups and showed pictures of teeth that hadn’t been brushed. The children were keen to tell

Our multi-seat stroller and double buggy enable us to regularly get out and about to explore. This also meant that our youngest friends can join some of our older children in Kindergarten to explore our local area. We are so lucky to be situated where there is so much to see and explore within our local community. The sun was shining in the sky and armed with plenty of drinks, we set of for an adventure. We noticed lots of things along the way....numbers on houses, colour

Families were invited to spend an evening on the lawn to celebrate the 'Puffins' Kindergarten class as they prepare to leave nursery and start their school career. Sarah welcomed everyone warmly and commenced proceedings with a thank you to all the outside agencies, friends and family who visit us in order to enhance the children’s learning, adding to their Cultural Capital. We thank Clare from Story Bears, bringing music, storytelling, movement and rhyme, regularly as part

St. Michael’s Nursey is proud to be signed up with the annual Early Years Alliance ‘Week of Play’. This has been a fun week showcasing how we support children’s learning, well-being and development through play. This year’s theme ‘Books and Beyond’, highlights how books, stories and imagination can be an amazing springboard that inspire children to discover, build empathy, test out real life scenarios, communication skills and make sense of their world. The team support

Some children in Kindergarten enjoyed a walk in the local area to learn about their community and the wider world. As we walked and chatted, we noticed numbers on houses, street signs, different shaped leaves, the garage - "that's where my Mummy gets petrol!" We learnt about road safety and counted the cars, the lorries and laughed with delight as the bus gave us a cheery 'beep beep!' Once we reached the viewpoint that stretches over the horizon of Barnstaple, one excited l