At Happy Days Nurseries & Pre-Schools, we believe that some of the most exciting learning starts with a simple question: “I wonder why?”

From building towers and testing what floats and sinks, to counting, creating, investigating and finding out how things work, STEM – Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics – is all around us in the Early Years.

STEM learning gives children opportunities to explore their natural curiosity, solve problems, test ideas and discover how the world around them works. Through hands-on experiences and play, children can develop skills including critical thinking, creativity, problem-solving, communication and collaboration.

STEM and Where Children Shine

Our Where Children Shine curriculum encourages children to learn through exploration, discovery and meaningful experiences. We give children the time and space to follow their interests, ask questions, experiment and discover things for themselves.

Our SHINE values – Support, Honest, Inspire, Nurture and Empower – are at the heart of this approach. Whether children are designing and building, exploring nature, investigating numbers or creating their own imaginative inventions, we’re here to support them to be curious, confident and excited to learn.

And this autumn, we’re taking that curiosity out of this world!

🚀 Join Us for an Out of This World Open Day! 🚀

Across September and October, Happy Days nurseries will be hosting a series of Out of This World Open Days, giving families the opportunity to visit their local nursery, meet our teams and discover more about life at Happy Days.

With space-themed activities and STEM-inspired experiences, our Open Days will be a chance for children and families to explore, discover and have some out-of-this-world fun together.

The celebrations will culminate during World Space Week, 4 -10 October, when we’ll be joining children and families around the world in celebrating space, science and exploration.

Can You Find Our Lost Astronaut?

There’s just one problem…We’ve lost our astronaut!

Our astronaut is hiding somewhere across our Happy Days Group websites, and we need your help to find them.

There are five websites to explore, so get searching and see if you can spot one of our hidden astronauts:

• Happy Days Nurseries & Pre-Schools
• Toddletown Nursery
• Edward Bears
• Snowdrop House Montessori Group
• Boys & Girls Nursery

How to take part…

1. SEARCH
Head to one of our websites and see if you can find a hidden astronaut.

2. SCREENSHOT
Once you’ve spotted one, take a screenshot as proof of your discovery.

3. VISIT
Come along to one of our Out of This World Open Days taking place across the Happy Days Group during September and October.

4. ENTER
Show your screenshot to the team at your local Open Day and you’ll be entered into our FREE STEM-themed prize draw!

An Out of This World Prize!

One lucky winner will receive a STEM themed hamper packed with goodies for under 5s, perfect for encouraging curiosity, creativity and exploration at home.

So, whether you’re fascinated by rockets, curious about planets or simply love a good treasure hunt, there’s plenty to discover this autumn.

Find your local Out of This World Open Day, start your astronaut search and get ready for an adventure that’s truly out of this world! 🚀

The astronaut hunt runs from 7 September to 26 October. Screenshots must be presented at an eligible Happy Days Out of This World Open Day during the competition period. Full terms and conditions apply.

Last weekend was an exciting one at Happy Days Exeter, as we hosted Happy Days Fest, our summer open day! 

Our amazing team at Exeter organised the day with an animal theme, setting the rooms up with engaging activities so children could explore the space through play. In our younger rooms there was cave baby painting, jungles of Brazil Boogie Mites song, animal themed play dough tuff trays and water play outside in the garden. 

In our older rooms, the children had an exciting visitor from Simon from “Animal Activities”, who brought all of his animal friends along with him. The children loved holding, the rabbits and chinchillas, whilst having enriching conversations with the staff and other children around them, about what the animals feel like and look like. 

This was a great day filled with lots of fun and gave our new families the opportunity to see our nursery, meet our lovely team and ask any questions at all. 

A big thank you to all the families that came along. 

This week, our Eco Club at Happy Days Falmouth had a fun and fascinating session all about seals and how we can help protect our planet. The session was inspired by the work of the Cornish Seal Sanctuary, which rescues and cares for seals in need. 🦭

The children sat together in a circle and took turns looking at bright, colourful pictures of beautiful seals. They talked about where seals live, what they look like, what they might enjoy doing, and even how they might feel. The children shared some lovely ideas, showing curiosity and care for the animals.

They also explored why some seals need help and how the Cornish Seal Sanctuary looks after them. This sparked a discussion about the impact of plastic pollution and how rubbish can end up in the oceans, affecting seals and other marine life. The children learned about different types of plastic and thought about how we can all make a difference.

One of the children suggested a simple but important idea: always put our rubbish in the bin or recycling. Everyone agreed that this is an easy way we can help protect animals and the environment every day.

The session was full of questions, ideas, and lots of discussion, showing how much the children care about the world around them. Our Eco Club continues to inspire curiosity, teamwork, and responsibility in all our children.

Our Eco Club’s mission is: “To increase our knowledge, skills and experiences to understand the importance of looking after our planet. Eco Club is a team effort to make our nursery a greener and more sustainable place.” ♻️