We have been enjoying lots of summer-themed activities at Holly Bank Nursery, inspired by our favourite beach stories and the wonderful experiences that come with summertime!
We have enjoyed reading beach-themed stories, including “Pip and Posy Make a New Friend at the Beach.” The story inspired us to create our very own ice cream sensory experience!
In a large sensory tray, we added shaving foam, spoons and cups for the children to explore. We then added different drops of food colouring to the foam to create lots of colourful ice cream flavours. As we explored, we named the different flavours aloud, encouraging the children to listen and have a go at repeating the words. Some of our favourite flavours were “strawberry,” “chocolate,” “lemon” and “mint”!
The children used spoons to scoop up the foam and carefully tip it into their cups, providing a fantastic opportunity to develop their hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills and concentration.
Of course, no ice cream would be complete without sprinkles! We added coloured sand to our shakers so the children could decorate their pretend ice creams. They particularly enjoyed grabbing the shakers and shaking the colourful “sprinkles” over their creations.
Growing Our Own!
Summer has also been a wonderful time for getting outdoors and growing our own plants and vegetables. The children have helped us plant our very own wildflower border, creating a beautiful space for flowers and insects to enjoy.
We have also been busy in our allotment planting sunflowers, peas and cucumbers. We are especially excited to see just how tall our sunflowers will grow! We will continue to care for our plants, watering them and watching closely as they grow and change.
These experiences provide wonderful opportunities for the children to learn about nature, growth and caring for living things, while developing their curiosity and understanding of the world around them.
It has been a wonderful summer filled with sensory exploration, imaginative play, outdoor learning, growing and lots of fun!
