News blog for Little Cedars Day Nursery, Streatham. Latest posts etc.

Babies, Childcare, Early Years, Early Years Education, Infants, Learning & Development, Nurseries, Nursery, Preschool, Preschoolers, Streatham, SW16, Toddlers, Under-5s

Little Cedars Nursery – 5-Star Rated by Families

When you’re searching for the best nursery for your baby or toddler, or the perfect preschool for your 3-or-4-year-old, the choice can often be overwhelming. A Good Ofsted rating will help, of course. However, genuine customer feedback is crucial as a tool to gauge the suitability of local childcare providers. And recommendations and 5-star ratings can be priceless. So, if you’re a family looking for childcare in the Streatham or Tooting area, it may help to read what the parents of some of our children have to say about us — and that’s exactly what today’s post is designed to showcase.

The good news is that our reviews on Google and elsewhere are awash with 5-star reviews and glowing testimonials about the quality of our childcare services and the loving, nurturing qualities found at the setting. Take a look below to read just some of the wonderful feedback that Little Cedars Nursery receives, from families past and present.

20 November 2023/by Mark

Activities, Early Years Education, Free stuff, Infants, Learning & Development, Learning through play, Nature, Nature Activities, Nurseries, Nursery, Outdoor Play, Parenting, Preschool, Preschoolers, Toddlers, Under-5s

Autumn Treasure Hunt!

Autumn is a time of the year when magical colour changes occur across gardens, parks and landscapes. Leaves can be seen in a multitude of different colours before falling along with seeds, ripening fruits and berries. In autumn, nature shows us a wonderful metamorphosis and it’s a time of beautifully crisp air and clear distant views. It’s all incredible to behold and also offers children some unique seasonal activity opportunities.

One such activity is an autumn treasure hunt. Here, children get to explore the outdoors and see if they can spot some natural delights that are only available at this time of year. For example, can they spot a red leaf? How about a purple one… or a multicoloured one? Can they spot an acorn that’s fallen from an oak tree or spot ‘winged’ seeds falling like helicopters from a sycamore tree? Can they find some conkers or sweet chestnuts? And so on. With that in mind, we’ve put together a free reference sheet featuring 20 such items for children to look out for. Children or accompanying adults can print it out, take it along and tick off each item that’s successfully found. The activity could even be the basis of a competition between multiple children, perhaps with a treat or extra sticker for the child that checks off the most.

31 October 2023/by Mark

Activities, Creativity, Early Years, Halloween, Learning & Development, Learning through play, Nurseries, Nursery, Outdoor Play, Play, Preschool, Preschoolers, Streatham, Toddlers, Under-5s

Spooky Kids’ Activities for Halloween

The arrival of October means it’s time for children and families to prepare for Halloween! Arriving on the 31st of the month, it’s a firm favourite for any childhood and gives children the opportunity for uniquely spooky fun, games and dressing up. Indeed, Halloween offers a wonderful variety of activities for children to take part in and that’s exactly what we look at in today’s article. Stand by, then, to prepare the household for some spookylicious Halloween activity ideas for kids!

17 October 2023/by Mark

Babies, Child Benefit, Childcare, Early Years, Free stuff, Funding, Nursery, Parenting, Parents, Toddlers, Under-5s

Child Benefit: a Complete Guide (2023/24)

Today’s guide aims to explain everything you ever wanted to know about Child Benefit in the UK. This benefit could be a lifesaver with the current economy and interest rates being what they are. Learn the rules around eligibility, discover how much you can get, and see how many children you can claim for. We’ll also explain what impact your earnings may have, how long you can continue claiming for, and much more. So, if you’re responsible for bringing up a child, take a look!

29 September 2023/by Mark

The Power of Outdoor Play in Early Childhood

In today’s guide, we take a close look at the incredible importance of outdoor play for children, including those under five. Outdoor play isn’t just about fun; it’s one of the cornerstones of childhood learning and development and has an immense number of benefits for little ones. So, in this comprehensive article, we’ll explore why outdoor play is so essential for our youngsters and how its effects can be transformative. Let’s take a look…

20 September 2023/by Mark

Early Years, Health & Safety, Health & Wellbeing, Infants, Learning through play, Nature, Nursery, Outdoor Play, Parenting, Preschool, Preschoolers, Toddlers, Under-5s

Outdoor Safety for Kids — Top Tips

As parents and caregivers, we understand the incredible value of outdoor play in our children’s development. The fresh air, unstructured exploration, sensory-rich experiences, and social interactions contribute significantly to their holistic growth. However, while we encourage outdoor adventures, safety must remain our top priority. With that in mind, this article provides some essential tips and precautions that will help to safeguard children during outdoor play. The suggestions can be used as a checklist, but parents/caregivers should use it only as a starting point and do their own risk assessments.

31 August 2023/by Mark

Minibeast-Spotting Nature Activity for Children – With Free Poster!

Activities, Early Years Education, Free stuff, Learning & Development, Learning through play, Minibeasts, Nature, Nature Activities, Nurseries, Nursery, Outdoor Play, Preschool, Preschoolers, Toddlers, Under-5s

Free Minibeast-Spotting Activity & Poster for Children

Today’s minibeast-spotting activity is the third in a series of nature-based children’s activities and, like the others, comes with a free poster. As with the bird-spotting activity and butterfly-spotting poster, children can display this new minibeasts poster on their bedroom/nursery wall, or print it out for reference when they’re spotting minibeasts outdoors. This is another fun and educational nature-based activity and, as we know, spending time in nature is hugely beneficial to children, including the very young.

The minibeasts poster will help children identify 30 critters that are commonly seen in gardens, country walks, city parks and anywhere there are flowers, plants, trees or soil. Children can explore, under supervision*, to see how many of the creatures they can discover. To help record this, there are tick boxes that children can use to mark which ones they’ve so far spotted. Why not see how many they can identify over the summer and autumn? The poster is sized at A3 but can also be printed out smaller, e.g. at A4. It can also be viewed large, on screen, for glorious colour and detail.

16 August 2023/by Mark

Babies, Childcare, Childcare Funding, Early Years Education, Learning & Development, Nurseries, Nursery, Pre-schools, Preschool, Preschoolers, SEN, SEND, Special Educational Needs & Disabilities, Special Needs, Streatham, Toddlers, Under-5s

Support for Children with SEND in Early Years Settings

Today, we’re looking at what help is available for children under five with Special Educational Needs & Disabilities (‘SEND’, also sometimes referred to as ‘SEN and disabilities’). Good support for such children, particularly in their formative years, is of critical importance to their longer-term progress, well-being and success. Appropriate support, provided in a timely and tailored manner, can have a real, positive impact on outcomes for children’s lives.

31 July 2023/by Mark

Our Blog.

Little Cedars Nursery – 5-Star Rated by Families

Autumn Treasure Hunt!

Child Benefit: a Complete Guide (2023/24)

The Power of Outdoor Play in Early Childhood

Outdoor Safety for Kids — Top Tips

Free Minibeast-Spotting Activity & Poster for Children

Support for Children with SEND in Early Years Settings

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