Our pre-school children (3-5 year olds) are called our Investigators. Their base room consists of a carpeted area and a hard floor area. The carpeted area has a large story cave where children can sit quietly looking at books or small groups of children can use their imagination to act out the stories together. Staff also use this area to lead a ‘Tales Toolkit’ session with a small group of children where the children are encouraged to make up and tell their own story. This is a fantastic scheme that the nursery has been part of for the last few years and we have found that it has not only developed their literacy skills and imagination but also their confidence.
These children also have more access to technology with a light table, story headphones and a computer. On the hard floor area the children have access to sand, water, messy play, malleable activities and creative activities. They also have a woodwork bench where they can learn to use real tools safely. The children in this group are very independent and have full access to all the equipment in the room.