Week Commencing 14th September 2026

The Nest

Wow, what a busy week we have had in the Nest this week, with some fantastic learning opportunities provided for our children which they have adored and shown fantastic levels of interest and engagement.

The children have explored a range of edible sensory experiences ranging from blended Cheerios to jelly play.

Physical Development:

We enjoyed a delightful walk to the community gardens. The children observed the vibrant flowers, towering trees, and interesting sticks along our path. We then paused to listen to the sounds around us, taking in the peaceful atmosphere. They used lots of pointing and babble sounds as they pointed to the flowers and trees.

This children were introduced to some edible sand (blended Cheerios) which the children were curious and keen to explore. They showed skill in using utensils to scoop it up and watched as it fell from the spoon observing it’s descent. The children demonstrated good hand eye coordination as they attempted to pour the edible sand into small containers. The children eagerly reached into the tray, exploring the texture and observing the trails their movements left in the blended Cheerios. The children explored the Cheerios further by tasting it. The children made lots of excited babble sounds throughout their exploration, which was lovely to hear, as well as to see the happiness and curiosity on their faces.

The children have had a lovely time in exploring jelly with different spoons. They demonstrated good hand control in scooping up the jelly and bringing it to their mouth further developing their hand eye coordination. Some children wanted to explore the jelly further using their hands, and feet as well as mouthing it – which proved to be very tasty!

Communication and Language:

We are delighted to share that the children have begun exploring the early signs of Autumn within the Nest this week. To enrich their sensory experiences, we have introduced cinnamon scented playdough and a variety of natural objects gathered from the garden into our play.

The adults said “Shall we play with some playdough?” The children were eager to get involved, showing their curiosity. There was lots of curiosity demonstrated through actions, babble and expressions as the children began touching and feeling the playdough and natural objects.

We demonstrated pressing the leaves onto the playdough, as well as pushing the sticks and pinecones on top, which the children repeated, noticing the effects this had on the playdough – leaving imprints, patterns and marks.

We introduced new words for the children to hear like “bumpy” for the pinecone. The children all had a touch of it, appearing fascinated and interested in its texture.

The children further extended their exploration by holding some of the different natural objects and playdough to their mouths.

There was some lovely interactions observed between the children with lots of engagement and enjoyment.