Welcome to July! June has been a fantastic month here at Monkey Puzzle Hartley Wintney and we’ve summarised what we’ve been up to.

Those who saw last month’s post will know that we had been nurturing some little ‘pets’ over the last couple of months and this month we had to say goodbye. One of the little chicks that hatched lived with us for a couple of weeks, and the children got to see little Monkey (as we affectionately called it) hatch and begin its life in the big wide world. We eventually had to say goodbye to our little chick as it went back home, but in its short time with us Monkey gave our littlies great joy.

Over the course of 3 weeks, we followed the lifecycle of 5 caterpillars, from tiny black furry things to chrysalides to beautiful Painted Lady butterflies!

The 11th of June saw the Hartley Wintney Village Festival, at which we had a stall to help spread the word of Monkey Puzzle Hartley Wintney. We had such fantastic day, and were inundated with people wanting to talk to us. We had a table for the littlies to create I-Spy Bottles which were a massive hit, and you couldn’t miss our bright yellow balloons as you walked across the green. The festival itself was a huge success with so many stalls and attractions for the family.  We hope to see you all there again next year.

June’s nursery topic was Dinosaurs and the children fully engrossed themselves in the prehistoric theme. They dug for bones, made dinosaur skeletons, painted dinosaur fossils, made chewy marshmallow dinosaur eggs, painted with dinosaur feet….phew! The list is endless!

In May we gave the children (and parents) some homework and our families did not disappoint! They were given a single piece of felt which they could decorate however they wanted, on the subject of The Royal Family. The only rule was that the felt could not be cut. The results were absolutely amazing, and the creativity and resourcefulness was so impressive. The felts are currently on display in Reception but will eventually be stitched together to create a fun tapestry for everyone to enjoy.

The nursery is getting busier and busier as we have welcomed new children to our family, and look forward to welcoming many more in the coming months.

And a final word – June saw the Summer Solstice which means the days get shorter hereonin. Make the most of whatever sun we get and go out and play!