Our play session routine in Nurture Nursery

Understanding how Nurture Nursery works is very important to the children while they are away from their family. Getting to know what is happening next, and when home time will come, helps the children feel confident and secure. We spend a lot of time ensuring the children are familiar with this predictable routine and keep to it as closely as possible. As with everything involving two year olds, just occasionally, our routine has to flex a little to accommodate the needs of the children attending and the events of the day. 

Everyone arrives and settles in gently.

Children are offered toast or breadsticks and drinks of milk or water, just to ensure they are fuelled and ready for a mornings busy play. 

The garden door is opened and children are free to choose where, and with what, they want to play.

Mid-session is snack time - Supported by the adults, we gather as a group to share a relaxed snack time of fruit and vegetables and can choose milk or water to drink.

We return to indoor and outdoor play.

Song time - We gather together to finish the session with some fun and games, varying from singing, musical instruments or games, to dancing, talking and listening, or even child specific exercising. Children who are not quite developmentally ready to sit for long yet (this is very normal for this age group) are free to join in where they want, or continue to play if they prefer.

Home time - We finish with a goodbye song and then play as we wait for families to arrive.

Our staff are available to the children at all times during the session; keeping them safe, supporting activities and learning, sharing children’s play, chatting, sharing stories, encouraging independence skills and responding appropriately to everything taking place.

We take a step back when children are deeply engaged in their investigations, or to enable children to learn to play together; and to give them freedom to take on challenges independently. Of course, we are always there to understand and support children through any difficulties, care and comfort them, change them, help them learn to use the toilet when the time comes, and most importantly, to have lots of fun.