Happy Days Nursery, Exeter, celebrate as their Nursery Chef is a NMT Nursery Awards Finalist!

Happy Days Nursery, Exeter are delighted that Phil, their Nursery Chef, has been shortlisted for the NMT Nursery Chef Award, with the winner being announced at the Awards Ceremony on 30^th November.

Phil demonstrated his exceptional ability in providing well-balanced, nutritious and delicious food that takes into account individual needs of children along with how he helped develop menus for the nursery, giving special attention to the nutritional needs of under-fives in order to be chosen as a finalist for this prestigious award.

Sophie Stedman, Nursery Manager, stated, “Phil is our chef extraordinaire who has previously cooked in care homes, garden centres and hotels. He is extremely diligent and gives 110% every day to make sure the children are fuelled with nutritious meals that they enjoy and cater to their individual needs. We are extremely proud of him and regardless of the result at the award ceremony, he will always be a winner in our eyes!”

Sam Richardson, Early Years Operations Manager, added, “We are over the moon that Phil has been shortlisted for this award, he truly deserves this recognition. The children and parents adore Phil, not only for his delicious meals and recipes, but for his commitment and dedication to ensure every child’s individual needs are met and enjoys his nutritious and tasty food!”

Along with demonstrating his skills and menus, Phil also received some amazing testimonials from staff, parents and the children – well done Phil!

Last week the pre-schoolers found a bee in the garden who had got wet in our water tray, the children were so excited to see the bee and showed care and concern to rescue it from the water tray and learn how to look after it.

This week following our interest in this the children in preschool have been learning all about Bees this week, we have busy learning about their different body parts and talking about why bees are SO important.

We have also been getting crafty and creative using our fine motor skills and imagination to draw, paint and explore making our own bee pictures, models and creations. We also used threading needles to make our own bee pictures by threading.

We made yellow playdough with different black items such as buttons to construct our own bees, we played the honey bear circle game to practice turn taking and explored a sand tray with other mini beasts!

Some of us have even worn yellow and bee themed clothes to nursery!

Fun Bee Facts:

Honey was found in the tombs in Egypt and it was still edible!

It only takes about 1 ounce of honey to fuel a bee to fly around the world!

Every 3rd mouthful of food is produced by bees pollinating crops

Bees depend on flowers spring, summer and Autumn, be sure to include nectar sources for all seasons in your garden!

#BEEEEEHAPPY

When: 5 October 2024 between 10:00 – 13:00
Where: Click here to find your nearest Happy Days Nursery

Discover the magic of nature at our Autumn Open Day. Explore our indoor and outdoor play areas and experience our engaging camping-themed activities.

What to Expect:

• Let’s Grow: Get messy and explore the wonders of nature with autumn-themed planting and sensory activities.
• Wanderlust: Embark on a mini-adventure filled with autumn leaves, scavenger hunts, and outdoor exploration.
• Yoga : Stretch, breathe, and move your body like playful autumn animals in our fun yoga session.
• Sing and Sign: Sing along to catchy songs with autumn signs, perfect for early communication and development.
• Let’s Move: Get active with our autumn obstacle course and playful movement activities.

Benefits of Our Curriculum:

• Engages young minds and bodies through interactive, hands-on learning.
• Promotes social interaction and teamwork in a fun, autumnal setting.
• Sparks creativity and imagination with stimulating activities.
• Nurtures a love for learning through play and exploration.

This Open House is perfect for families who:

• Want to see our curriculum brought to life with an autumn theme.
• Seek a stimulating and active learning environment for their child.
• Value the importance of play-based learning for early development.

Our ‘Come Camping with Us’ event will allow families to enjoy some camping activities in the comfort of the nursery environment and go on an adventure, using their maps to navigate to different activities. We hope everyone enjoys the day.

The Autumn Open Day is being held across all sites on Saturday 5 October between 10:00 – 13:00 and the whole community is invited to attend. There is no need to book, just turn up! There will be indoor and outdoor activities, so it won’t be affected by the weather!

No need to book, please drop in! 

Where: Find your nearest Happy Days Nursery
Call: 0800 783 3431
Email: enquiries@happydaysnurseries.com