Making mealtime count in the Nursery

At the Eureka! Nursery, a child’s whole day is about learning through play. Meal times are no exception, where the pre-school children really develop with the positive approach we take to include them in meal times.  We have done some really exciting mealtimes for the children, to introduce them to new foods or experiences. An example of this was with the World Cup, where every day they had a new food from a different country. There was everything from South African ‘bobotie’, to Brazilian ‘feijoada’ and of course good old bangers and mash when England played!

Eating for England during the World Cup!

However, learning isn’t just about new and novel experiences, although they’re really fun for all of us. We learn a lot through every day experiences, and at the Nursery we work hard to make sure that there are plenty of opportunities, from assisting setting places for dinner to learning to eat with a knife and fork—however messy that might be.

Each day in the Nursery, children take turns being the day’s superstar. With their ‘key person’ (a member of staff who has responsibility for monitoring the child’s development and providing them with in-depth personal support), they help to assemble the meals delivered from the Eureka! Café, lay tables and serve both meals and snacks. Today, it was Freya’s turn. She told me ‘I’m helping to give dinner out today, I’m the superstar’.

The other children are still involved too. Sam was waiting patiently for his dinner, but he still let Freya know ‘We need two more dinners over here please!’ Through these activities, they’re continually developing their personal, social and emotional skills and it’s a great confidence booster as children are so excited about having a role to play. Sam did a great job of demonstrating how these activities help children take ownership: not only was he applying knowledge by calculating how many dinners were left to serve, but he also had the confidence and self-esteem to articulate this to Freya and her key person.

Tea on this particular day was sandwiches. Another positive of having all of our children eat together and get involved in the mealtime process is they’re able to become more aware of each other, through speaking and sharing, and by learning to identify differences. Understanding dietary differences, due to allergies or cultural and religious beliefs is another key outcome for our children. Sam and Kai were putting together their sandwiches, and as Sam put a slice of ham on his bread he looked at Kai and said: ‘You have to have cheese Kai, cause you’re vegetarian, aren’t you?’

Having your child involved in food preparation gives them ownership and encourages independence

They’re also aware of healthy eating practices—something very important these days! Oliver was quick to point this out, telling Molly: ‘You have to eat your carrots Molly, because you want to get big and strong, like my daddy! And my daddy goes to the gym too’. What was really lovely was that it was Oliver and his friend Molly having a conversation. He wasn’t ‘telling’ her, he was sharing the knowledge he’s gained at home and in the nursery.

There’s so much to learn from a simple meal time, as we know very well here at the Nursery. For us though, one of the most important reasons for getting the children involved with dinner is that they’re having the chance to take pleasure in who they are and what they can do. They’re learning about their identity and abilities, and that in turn helps them in how they share and learn with others.

Meal times are a great way to get involved with your child’s learning. Here are a few easy things you can do at home!

• Learn more about different cultures through your meals. Even something as simple as having a Chinese takeaway and eating with chopsticks can introduce new ways of eating. 
• Let your child help with meal preparation, and eat with cutlery just like the grown ups. Not only do they have ownership in what they’re eating, but any opportunities to develop complex physical skills (like those used for grating, chopping and peeling). 
• The table settings might not be perfect, but setting out the dishes and spoons develops understanding of maths, and helps with spatial awareness.Ask questions and encourage a discussion at dinner. 
• When you’ve just learned something, you want to share it… and a child is no different! Linking experiences helps children to develop a positive sense of community and expand their vocabulary.

Do you have any ways that you get your child learning at mealtimes? What works well for you?

Clare Dean is an Early Years Professional in the Eureka! Nursery.

Hello Halicat!

At the Eureka! Nursery last week there were lots of excited children in our pre-school waiting for a very special visitor: Halicat!

A little background, since the mascot from the Halifax Rugby League Football Club doesn’t stop by Eureka! every day. Following the lead from the children’s interest in colours the nursery’s preschoolers have been choosing a colour a week. We have been encouraging the children to bring in objects from home for their show and tell sessions. Last week was blue, and one of the children, Alex, decided he wanted to bring Halicat, who wears a blue and white striped shirt. Alex’s mum works at the Halifax RLFC, and between her office and our nursery we knew there was no question: how could we not make it happen?

Alex brought many Halifax RL artifacts during the week, leading up to the main event and on the Friday morning it was announced that Halicat was coming. We discussed it with the children to prepare them for the visitor. The children were excited, but also concerned about how Halicat would be able to come into the nursery and be safe. Together we all carried out a risk assessment for Halicat. The questions included:

• How will he know where he’s going?
• Will he get wet in the rain?
• If he is so big, what if he doesn’t fit through the door?

We went through all of their questions and assured them that everything would be just right for Halicat’s visit. Just in case, one of the children, Oliver, decided to make sure that a big umbrella was ready at the door for Sandra, our Head of Nursery, to carry out to Halicat if it started raining.

Although the children knew Halicat would come after their dinners they were continuously checking my watch to see if the little hand was at one and the big hand at six. Sam asked me if they could use key worker group time to make presents for Halicat. I thought this was a fantastic idea because it would help them develop colour awareness and give the children ownership of the project. The children wanted to make blue and white scarves, headbands and bracelets, using their colour awareness effectively as they made links between their artworks and the Halifax rugby team’s colours. Everyone had a different way of making their decorations; some made white and blue stripes with rollers, some did finger printing, hand printing, there were so many excellent techniques to try that before we knew it, their dinner was ready.

The dinner period turned into a conversation about what Halicat might eat. Lucas thought chips and Sam thought cat food. After lunch, we sat down on the carpet. The children had put on their scarves and garments; at this point they were so proud of what they had made, they were no longer presents for Halicat, but something for them to show to him what they had achieved. When the security buzzer rang at the Nursery’s front door, Oliver made sure I carried out the safety checks, and all of the children were jumping with excitement.

Children playing with Halicat

It was funny how quiet and nervous the room become when Halicat walked in, but the shy silence was quickly broken by Lucas, who asked ‘Are you Halicat?’, and Halicat nodded.

The questions came on strong after that, and from Alex’s mum they learned that Halicat lives in Shay Stadium, and comes out when the rugby team are playing. This was a good cue for us to encourage the children to communicate about their experiences and family members. Thea said her dad plays rugby, Oliver said his dad was ‘really strong’ and Sam told us he had been downloading photos of Halicat to his dad’s mobile phone!
Halicat prompted another positive learning experience for Ruby. She asked if she could bring out her cat, a very special toy who goes everywhere with her. Ruby came back with her cat and explained confidently to Halicat and the entire group why her cat is different and the same. She told us about the differences in colour; hers is pink, but they both have black whiskers. She identified the size difference, and that Halicat had on big boots and her cat did not.

After a lot of discussion and cuddles, Halicat gave hi-fives to everyone and they all posed for a photo. He even did a little dance before returning home to Shay Stadium.

Posing for the camera.

 The fun, holistic learning experience is still ongoing. The children have regularly revisited their photos of Halicat, and dress up with the different accessories they made. I often hear interesting conversation too as they play together, ‘put your scarf on, it’s rugby today’. What used to be a Chinese dragon has now been made into a ‘Hali-dragon’ by wrapping blue and white material around its head, on suggestion from the preschoolers.

Some children are now saying they will visit Halicat regularly on match days, which is exciting because it could be a new experience for the whole family. For those who aren’t going their not missing out, as Alex will give a regular update for us all. As he said: ‘I see him on Sundays, he’s my best friend!’

Clare Dean is an Early Years Professional at the Eureka! Nursery

From start to finish on the new Nursery play area

Part of my role here at Eureka! as the Exhibition Manager is to manage projects around the museum. Over the past few months I have been working on the new outdoor play area for the Eureka! Nursery. It replaces the old play area in front of the 1855 Building, on the grass of the Eureka! Park.

While my role calls for me to design exhibits inside the gallery, for this project, we have been fortunate enough to be able to employ the skills of a landscape designer, who was able to help bring our concept for the Nursery play area, as a natural play area to life.

As my background is in design, I was able to work closely with the designer to ensure we got a design that fulfilled all of our requirements. In order to get to the stage of issuing a brief, there were several stages we needed to go through first of all!

Before we were even able to hire our landscape designer, we had to apply for planning permission. This is because the proposed site was adjacent to our 1855 grade three listed building. As project manager, I was responsible for submitting this application. It can take several months for a decision to be reached, but thankfully our application was successful and we were able to proceed.

Once our application had been granted  I held internal meetings with the rest of the Eureka! team which included our Director of Play and Learning, and the Nursery Manager and communicated the project requirements to the designer. Before writing a brief for what we wanted to see in the play area, I went on research trips to visit other successful nursery play areas .

The brief had to include examples, to give the designer guidance on what we wanted to see. I produced some design sheets based on my findings, and other research I had done. It was also important that the brief recognised the practical considerations, such as fencing, entrance and exit gates to the play area and making sure it was sizeable enough to hold an entire group from the Nursery.

Based on our content, we gave a brief to the designer, who was then able to present several design concepts to us. We chose a final design picking bits that we liked from each design, which has resulted in the creation of a natural play area that we set out to achieve. The new play area will is very natural, using timber, sand and stone, in all sorts of colours, sizes and textures. A unique mosaic water feature encourages interaction, with children able to affect the water flow. A mini nature trail runs along one edge of the site, and come the Spring will be filled with different wild flowers, herbs and interesting shrubs like bamboo, and will encourage children to use all of their senses to explore their new outdoor habitat.

The design plan submitted for the Nursery play area

My favourite feature is the large, permanent timber story chair, which will be used for story time outside. I really like the idea of the new area having different uses, whether it is for play, exploration or story time.

Our designer then worked the concept drawings up into detailed plans, and, delivered them to a firm of contractors to start work on the play area. While I wasn’t laying sod or installing the tunnel, as project manager part of my job was to co ordinate deliveries and make sure things turned up on time! One of my main responsibilities was also to make sure that the site remained safe, as we want to ensure that even during construction, our visitors have a great experience at Eureka!.

It is always exciting seeing a project progress from start to completion. Project management is a challenging role, and at times quite stressful – especially when faced with adverse weather conditions. Despite this, I really enjoy my varied role here, as I get to meet and work with lots of different people, and no day is ever the same!

Amanda Phillips is the Exhibition Manager at Eureka! The National Children’s Museum