Extra Curricular & Outings
At Garden House Nursery Schools we think it’s important to support our curriculum by offering a variety of extra activities, now delivered by trained team. Some of our favourite activities that we do every week include: Yoga, Nature Folk, Food Sensory Education and Language Club. These all help build important parts of a childs development and are delivered in a holistic and experiential learning style for all children.
Have a look below to see how each activity is delivered and why we think it is so important.
Children's Yoga
We have trained and certified practitioners in the ‘Yoginis’ programme that specialises in Yoga for children. Every morning to ease the children into the day, our Yoga and Early Years Teachers delivers a gentle yoga session to the children in our beautiful large garden. Our vision is that yoga for health, mental and emotional wellbeing is available to all children regardless of ability or socio-economic background.
The programmes which were created by Yoginis Yoga, combine the ancient art of yoga with the latest research in neuroscience and bio-mechanics to offer techniques, which contribute to reducing the physical and mental health issues increasingly faced by our children today.
Yoga sessions are based around the unique ‘grab and go’ pack, a visual timetable which directs the yoga session. Using images to represent postures, children as young as two are able to join in the sessions, learning to recognise the images and associated actions. Learning is embedded and children take the practice home and replicate with family and friends. This is supported by take home resources to build strong home school links and extended family well-being benefits.
Sessions can range from 5 – 45 minutes, however postures can be woven into the day to calm, focus and concentrate, ready for learning or play. No planning or experience is required
Cooking & Food Sensory Education
Cooking Club is for our aspiring little chefs! Encouraging children to be involved in the cooking process incorporates many aspects of the EYFS by allowing children to develop their communication and understanding, self esteem and understanding of mathematics along with creating new recipes and experimenting through science and developing valuable life skills. Younger children are encouraged to explore different foods and textures and tastes through their senses. Babies explore new objects by using their hands and mouth to textures and tastes which they find interesting. The older children have the opportunity to engage in more structured cooking activities. They can develop an understanding of capacity, weight, counting and scientific changes in foods when heat or cold is added to the equation. Recipes will be planned alongside children’s interest where they can participate in rich first hand experiences.
The children are encouraged to taste new foods and develop their independent skills as well as having the opportunity to use child safe tools during the activity. Some of the food used will come from the children’s vegetable patches which are being built into every garden, teaching the children that food doesn’t just come from a fridge, but grows from or on the ground.
Nature Folk
Within the Reggio Emilia approach, we passionately believe that children should be outdoors and exploring nature at every opportunity. With the incredibly fortunate location of our nursery, we have a large natural garden for the children to spend their time in. The children can embrace nature and the outside with open arms and engage in multiple first hand experiences. Nature Folk allows children to see the natural world as an endless resource for their play, where they can use their imagination at all times. Introducing children to the natural world come rain no shine and allowing them to engage in a number of activities such as mini beast hunts, making mud pies, searching for fossils or collecting a number of rocks, sticks and leaves to bring back to nursery. The children are also involved in planting flowers, fruits and vegetables to care for and watch grow, allowing them to develop an understanding of the world around them and a sense of wonder and curiosity for the natural world.
Language Club
Lots of our children come from multi-lingual homes as well as often travel to and from many different countries around the world. We want to celebrate these languages and teach others about these amazing places and give them an opportunity to learn new languages too. Children are able to learn simple words, phrases, greetings and even numbers and colours from lots of different languages. Sessions will be planned alongside World celebrations and National days. This also links in with our Cooking Club program. Practitioners who speak different languages support the planning of the sessions and deliver sessions within the nurseries.