The children enjoyed climbing on the ladder that we made together, developing their confidence, balance and coordination while encouraging one another to take safe risks.

This week our children buzzed with the rhythm of dancing bees, travelling from flower to flower as they explored the wider park. Their curiosity set the pace, and what a wonderful pace it was.

Children tested their abilities in all kinds of physical challenges: running, ball play, climbing, and navigating their way under and around trees. There was a real sense of stepping out of comfort zones and challenging themselves to do a little more. 

Our week we have been focused on our little ones' literacy development. We have had a variety of fabulous activities which our adventurers have done an amazing job with. 

This week our forest has been filled with exciting pirate adventures, creative activities, music and lots of imaginative sea-themed play. The children arrived each day full of enthusiasm and positive energy, ready to explore all the exciting experiences prepared for them.

To mark International Museum Day, we turned the forest into a child-led “museum” experience. Our little explorers explored water in many different ways, experimenting with movement and flow using a range of containers and equipment. They tested floating objects they had constructed themselves and carefully watched how they travelled through the water. Water play has continued throughout the week, with the children thoughtfully gathering items to embed in water ready for a freezing experiment next week.

Back at base camp, some of the children continued their recent fascination with making fishing hooks, practising their knot-tying skills with great concentration and perseverance. Later in the day, we identified some of the insects we had spotted amongst the forget-me-nots and ground ivy.

We created a big map on the tuff tray, adding trees and all the things we find in the forest after it was drawn. We had a great time ageing it with mud leaves and tea bags.

The children also challenged themselves on our obstacle course using planks, tyres and loose parts, developing balance, coordination and confidence. 

The children also worked together to help make a climbing ladder using strong sticks. They showed fantastic teamwork and determination while learning how to climb safely and challenging themselves by climbing up high. It has been lovely to see their confidence continue to grow.

This week we stepped into Fairyland! With sparkling imaginations, magic wands and curious minds. We embraced a magical theme whilst developing literacy skills. We practised phonological awareness, such as spotting rhymes and identifying the same initial sounds.

The current education system is too focussed on qualifications at the expense of broader aims. 94% of respondents favour urgent complete or partial reform of GCSEs. (HMC report)

This week our management team at Little Forest Folk attended a lecture by Simon Sinek called ‘The Infinite Game’. Simon Sinek is an organisational consultant who gives inspiring and motivational talks on a subject dear to our hearts – leadership. 

It’s a challenging thing in today’s society to trust your children to develop when they are ready. Amidst NCT groups there is always much talk about when a baby starts walking, when they are potty trained, with some families feeling the pressure to achieve a goal by a certain age or time, rather than when the child is developmentally ready.

Today is my son’s last day at Little Forest Folk. He will be returning for holiday camps but today is his last official day as a daily member of the nursery community. 

You may have seen that Little Forest Folk Chiswick recently had an Ofsted inspection, grading us as Outstanding, in which the inspector commented ‘Children thrive in this nursery. They gain a superb understanding of early literacy and mathematical skills’.

We are so fortunate in our forest nurseries to have a high adult to child ratio that allows us to fully embrace ‘in the moment’ planning.

Today is a bitter sweet day for me. It’s my last baby’s first day in the forest. It’s a good reminder of how difficult settling in can be. Not for the children but for the parents.

There’s a saying that a goldfish will only grow to the size of the bowl it is confined to, whereas a fish in the ocean surrounded by space, freedom and the wonders of the natural world can grow to its full capacity.

As part of a recent parent survey, we asked parents if they could change one thing about Little Forest Folk, what would it be? The vast majority responded ‘nothing’, which is always lovely to hear.

There were however a small group of parents who responded with ‘do some learning’.

Following the announcement of our Queen’s award in April, we are delighted to share an article written about Little Forest Folk by a journalist who visited us in May.

Following our being selected by Tatler as being one of the finest nurseries in the nation last month, we are now delighted to share with you an article written about Little Forest Folk by a journalist who visited us in our Wimbledon setting a few weeks ago.

Well, this weekend was the long awaited Nursery World Awards! It was a fabulous event and we were delighted to be recognised in such a large industry such as the early years to be one of the industry leaders.

‘Wouldn’t we all secretly like to be Little Forest Folk?' We are incredibly excited and proud to be included once again in the prestigious annual Tatler Nurseries Guide.

We have some exciting news to share with you. It’s been difficult to keep quiet about this achievement as we were inspected just over 10 days ago at Little Forest Folk Fulham…

We are delighted to have won the Nursery World Awards 2016 award for Online and Social Media. We see our website and social media as more than an opportunity to tell parents about our setting...

We are delighted to announce details of our third Little Forest Folk site....

From October our fantastic team will be bringing our magical experience to Fulham. Our children will spend all day playing in the beauty and wonder that is Fulham Palace Gardens. 

We are delighted to have been recognised by Tatler as one of the 'finest nurseries in the nation' in 'The Tatler Nurseries Guide 2016'