The children have returned from half term refreshed and ready to go! For our pre-school children this will be their last term with us, which is always such a bittersweet time for us as staff. They are so ready for their next big adventure but we really do miss them!! We had some VIP visitors to playgroup. One of our pre-school children is raising ducks with his family and they came in for a visit. The children absolutely loved their experience and learned so much about being

On June 11th we celebrated International Day of Play, a day that recognises something we see every single day at Amberley Playgroup – the incredible importance of play in children's lives. To many adults, play can sometimes look simple. Children building towers, mixing mud, dressing up, running, painting, exploring, and pretending. But behind every game and every adventure, children are learning vital skills that will support them throughout their lives. The International Day

Just a short post this week to round off the half term. But what a lot we've packed in! We've spent so much time out in our garden, dodging showers but learning SO much. We made a new chalkboard, brewed potions, built up our finger muscles pegging out the dolls clothes and had lots of fun chasing bubbles! After several (impatient) weeks our caterpillars have finally turned into butterflies. We released them into the wild after saying our goodbyes.

The sun is shining and we have been making the most of it!! We've been enjoying our time in the garden, exploring, digging, sliding and so much more! During our pre-school afternoon we took advantage of the nice weather and went out for a stroll. We stopped to admire an excavator and we got a full demonstration!! We visited our local allotments and one of the gardeners told us all about the things they grow. We also enjoyed saying good afternoon to everyone we met! We all had

It might be the start of the summer term, but it's all about the signs of spring here at Amberley playgroup. The children have really enjoyed planting their bean seeds and eagerly await the roots beginning to grow. We have also made 'cress heads' to observe the shoots... and hopefully make some yummy sandwiches! This week we have also begun our caterpillar journey, a firm favourite of the children and teachers alike! This year the children have named our caterpillars 'Monster

What a busy two weeks it has been! The children have packed in so much fun and learning in the run up to half term. We've all been working so hard on our snipping skills, the children have tried so hard and their efforts have really paid off! As well as working on our fine motor skills with scissors we have been building those shoulder muscles in our outdoor area where digging has been the name of the game! We love to dig here at Amberley Plagroup. We hope all of our children

The last few weeks have passed in a blur! We've been really excited to explore birds this week, and have seen all sorts appear at our bird feeders. As well as being fascinating to watch, we've practiced our counting skills, making marks to record each bird. We've made bird feeders to hang up at home, and have learnt lots of bird facts. The children have explored painting on various different mediums this week! Ice and tinfoil were the firm favourties!

We were so happy to welcome the children back this week, especially our new faces that have joined us for the first time. We are exploring all things frosty at the moment! The children (and grown-ups) are ever hopeful for some snow. Our pre-school children enjoyed exploring the works of George Seurat and had a go at making their own pointillism pictures!

The run up to Christmas is such an exciting time in the playgroup calendar. We've had so much fun, though we arent expecting to get the glitter out of the carpet any time soon! The children have enjoyed a host of festive activities and have learnt some of the origins of the christmas story during our visit to the church. Our christmas celebrations culmunated in our christmas party, complete with entertainment by Ange and of course a special visitor! We hope all of our familie

Over the last few weeks, we've been focusing on our gross motor skills, building our upper body strength and learning to control our arm and shoulder muscles. This is a really important step to help a child learn to write when they get to school. We've climbed and rolled, stirred and swung... and had lots of fun of course! The 16th - 22nd November is road safety awareness week and so the children have been learning all about how to cross a road safely with a grown up. We all

When you come into playgroup you will often see our tuff tray, and it is always a popular activity with all the children. It might look pretty and colourful, and quite honestly a recipe for a giant mess, but the tuff tray is so much more! So on top of showing off our fun tray creations, we're going to take a minute to explain exactly what your children get out of it. The EYFS is split into 7 areas of development, the three prime areas : Communication and Language, PSED (Perso

After a lovely week off for a bit of rest and relaxation we are back and raring to go! The children settled in quickly and have been enjoying being back with their friends. We've enjoyed exploring colour and texture whilst learning about bonfire night. Look at that concentration, especially for the chocolate sparklers!! This week we've also explored remembrance day, and the children learnt all about why we wear our poppies. The pre-school children went for a visit to the chu

The last two weeks have been a time of celebration here at Amberley Playgroup. We've explored harvest, Diwali and Halloween, some of our favourite topics! During this harvest season we've enjoyed playing with the farm and having our very own farm shop. We've learnt all about combine harvesters from Tractor Ted, and have loved to sing about them too! We talked about being very fortunate to always have food in our homes and we talked about those that didn't. We had a collection

At Amberley playgroup we like to follow the children's interests wherever possible, and this approach leads us to some really magical places! Over the last two weeks we've become Palaeontologists, discovering new species of dinosaur, we've been dancers, shop keepers, racing drivers and cleaners, we were architects, public speakers, performers , builders and artists! Whilst having all that fun, we've learnt so much too! We've practiced our speaking and listening skills. We've

The children have really settled in well to playgroup and are embracing all the opportunities we present them with! The children enjoy...

Story Time Wow what an amazing first few weeks it’s been! The children have all settled in fantastically well, some returning to us after...

From wheeled suitcases to backpacks bigger than children when it comes to packing for playgroup we’ve seen it all! But knowing what to...