Once all of our children are welcomed into their new bases they start to discover the wonderful experiences our garden has to offer at this exciting time of year and become ‘outdoor explorers’.  Our garden is striking in this season offering children an abundance of opportunities to quickly gain a strong awareness of the seasonal changes that autumn brings. Early mathematical and scientific concepts are exploited, for example, our younger children might explore leaves and enjoy jumping in puddles whilst our older children collect, sort and classify leaves and other interesting items they discover in the garden. They then use these objects to create detailed land art.  It is also time to harvest our many fruits and vegetables whilst developing an appreciation of a range of foods and learning where they come from. All the children are encouraged to eat the products we grow and for some children it is a valuable opportunity to try new flavours and textures. The health and wellbeing of our children is paramount and this links in with the annual National Fitness Week. The children also learn how their bodies move and the impact movements can have through our regular dance and movement routines in 'Wake and Shake', 'Busy Feet' and exercise circuits in the garden. These activities support children to gradually begin to gain control over their movements and develop confidence to move in a variety of ways. 

The return from autumn half-term brings the excitement of Bonfire Night and children enjoy exploring the variety of colours and sounds they see and hear. They recreate their images of fireworks in paintings whilst developing an appreciation of a past event and how it is remembered. They also become aware of how to keep safe around fire and fireworks which is supported by a visitor from one of our emergency services.  On Remembrance Day we always hold a short service by our war memorial plaque and pause with the children to recognise the importance of this day and raise their awareness of family history.  This is one of many traditional ceremonies we recognise throughout the year and is closely followed by recognising Diwali ‘Festival of Lights’. All children have the opportunity to try a range of Indian foods, and our oldest children work with clay to make their own Diva Lamp, recreate ‘Rangoli’ patterns, and learn of the associated Hindu story of 'Rama and Sita'.  To support health and safety awareness we also participate in ‘Road Safety Week’ ran by the charity Brake. Aided by child friendly video’s, role play in the garden, and learning the song ‘Stop – Look – Wait!’ children begin to understand the importance of being safe near the road.  All our activities are shared with parents/carers via the ‘ClassDojo’ app, which enables learning to continue at home.

Nursery rhymes play a huge part in the life at the centre. They are proven to aid language development and support key skills in literacy enabling children to become interested in the rhythm and pattern of language. Evidence shows this benefits children learning to read and write. All of our children enjoy singing and chanting rhymes every day and we emphasise the ones promoted by ‘World Nursery Rhyme Week’ each year and we are sure parents/carers will too! 

We support many fundraising campaigns during the year and one of our favourites is ‘Children in Need’. The children are encouraged to wear something yellow or spotty, bring their special teddies along, and bake and sell buns. This helps them to gain an awareness of the lives and needs of others whilst joining in with the many fun games and activities throughout the Centre.

Christmas is obviously a very special and magical time for our families. The children enjoy many Christmas activities throughout the centre with creative ‘Stay and Play’ sessions for parents to come and support their children making cards, calendars and table decorations. We continue to honour traditions such as making a wish whilst stirring the Christmas cake which all children and staff take part in throughout the Centre. We learn and sing the many Christmas songs around the Christmas tree and our FS1 children re-enact the traditional Christmas story and present this to family members and younger children in the centre. All the children are invited to one of our Christmas parties where they receive a special gift from Santa himself!  The Centre is proud to be a hub for the local community and every year we have a designated Christmas tree where from parents and staff can take a tag from and donate a gift for a local child in need.  In addition, we also support the mission of ‘Operation Christmas Child’ which helps our children gain awareness of children in need around the world. We also think Christmas is a good time to promote the ‘Drop the Dummy’ campaign and children can leave their dummies on the special Christmas tree in our reception area for Santa’s elves to take, and then they receive a certificate and lots of praise in return.

The arrival of summer brings longer days, warmer weather, and further wonders in the garden. The children from all bases begin to learn how different flowers, fruits and vegetables grow by planting sunflower seeds and potatoes we have chitted, and other vegetables in our lovely garden. The children water and nurture the things they have planted and talk about the changes as they see them grow. There are so many wonderful outdoor activities at this time of year from making pies in the mud kitchen, kebabs for the fire pit, jam from the different fruits, and salads and soup from the vegetables they have grown.

This term we celebrate Eid with the end of Ramadan which brings another opportunity for the children to experience different cultural celebrations. the children compare this with other celebrations they have experienced or have knowledge of and use books and ipads to learn about the sun, stars and moon and how they are important symbols for Eid. Children enjoy painting pictures or recreating the shapes using playdough and taste the traditional foods such as samosa, pakora, and naan bread at snack time.

In May the Centre joins in with National Smile Month. This helps to raise awareness of oral health and good dental hygiene. The children are given toothbrushes, toothpaste and leaflets to take home to share what they have learnt with their families. Throughout this time the children also continue to be made aware of the other things that help to keep us healthy, such as exercise, sleep, hygiene and the food we eat.