The seasons and rhythm of the year are wonderful to share with the children: they often bring so many of their own experiences to nursery which add depth to our learning. This week we celebrated Eid-ul-Adha. The children deepened their understanding by exploring Islamic artefacts, looking at the Arabic alphabet, singing songs, sharing stories and talking about their own celebrations. Today we celebrate our Eid party and are sharing cakes to raise money for Macmillan Cancer research. Children have been decorating cakes and biscuits to sell, talking about giving money to others who may need it. Our community are always so generous in their donations of food so watch this space to see how much money we raise for this worthy cause.

As a new academic year begins and staff resettle our current children and welcome our new families to Rachel Keeling, children have led the learning and experiences with their interest: ice cream! Despite the lack of summery weather, it didn't take long for the cry "who wants ice cream?" to ring loud across the garden.

Children were supported in their imaginative play, creating an ice cream parlour and selecting resources they would need for their shop. A group also investigated how to make ice cream: looking at recipes, mark making their shopping lists and visiting the local shops to buy ingredients. Children worked with Maria making ice cream before sharing it with their friends and reflecting on the process. A wonderful shared, meaningful experience for our less and more experienced children to enjoy together.