We’ve had a fantastic and very busy Autumn, Harvest and Halloween Activity on Wednesday. With lots of sunshine we were able to explore, play and learn both inside and outside in the nursery garden. We had a great time and welcomed lots of parents and carers, grandparents, siblings and friends to take part in our Harvest and Autumn activities.

Throughout the activity day, our children and families enjoyed a wide range of fun activities to help them to learn about the season of Autumn and about Harvest both in this country and abroad. During the day we chatted about the autumn harvest growing food to feed ourselves and others and about the things that happen during the season of Autumn. Our activities included Autumn songs and music in the Sensory Room, vegetable printing and a 'Halloween Witches Stew', water tray potions and Halloween Beebots in the Big Room and tasting healthy vegetable soup on the snack table. We also built homes in the construction area for our British wild animals and threaded leaves and made Halloween playdough models in the Long Room. Outside in the nursery garden we tried some new recipes in the mud kitchen , used our new steps to help us with a familiar rhyme and tried to roll the conkers and apples that we’d found in the garden, changing the speed that they rolled at.

Also in the nursery garden the children and adults took part in a very special hand print promise activity. As a Rights Respecting School we have been talking all of our new children (and reminding our older cohorts) about their rights as a child and our ‘job’ as adults (staff and parents/ carers) to help them to enjoy these rights. We talked and signed particularly about making a promise to do good playing, good learning and keep ourselves and each other safe. The hand prints were made by the children, staff and parents/ carers too and we are going to make a giant Rights Respecting Rainbow in nursery to display our commitment and our whole nursery promise.

Wow! What a busy day.

At the end of the session we all went together into Long Room together. The children helped to put lots of food, which our families had donated, onto our harvest table. We talked about our right to have food to eat and that not everyone is as lucky as us to have enough food or money to buy everything that they need to keep them healthy and well. We explained that the food that had been donated was going to help others in the community less fortunate that ourselves and this discussion reinforced the importance of helping others. The charity “Gears of Goodwill” will be taking all of our donations to Derby to help the homeless in the city who are very grateful for our help and support. Many thanks for all the donations, your generosity is very much appreciated. For more information about the work that ‘Gears of Goodwill’ look them up on Facebook and Twitter.

Many thanks also to Andrew at the Coop for donating to our harvest table and also the refreshments for both children and adults this is very much appreciated!. A huge thanks to McDonald's too for the donation of 'hot cups' to use, without these we would not be able to offer complimentary hot drinks - which our grown ups love!