Enrichment & *Extra curricular Activities

*MINDFUL MOMENTS

At The Rugby & Dunchurch Montessori Nursery Schools, we believe in teaching our little ones the importance of mindfulness and wellbeing from an early age.

Starting in Bambinis, our little ones experience some simple yoga with the help of our experienced and qualified Yoga Teacher, Miss Natalie. Who will show your little ones how to stretch, move calmly, and regulate themselves through movement.

Once in Buttercups and Daisies, we begin to have more open discussions around feelings and breathing techniques. We love using movement to help relax our minds, often listening to some calming music as we take some time to stretch our bodies.

In Stepping Stones (our Pre-School room) we take our mindfulness one step further through the use of yoga cards, breathing activities and listening to calm music. We have open discussions around emotions and think of ways to help manage them during our busy days. We use stories like the 'Colour Monster' and 'Ruby's Worry' to help our little ones have a deeper understanding and awareness of their emotions.

*Music & movement

At The Rugby & Dunchurch Montessori Nursery Schools, we love to celebrate music from all around the World and our aim is to help your little ones have exposure to lots of different cultures through music and movement.

Whether its making some noise using various pots and pans in our Bambinis room, teaching them about 'cause and effect' and distinguishing different sound types or in Buttercups & Daisies exploring different percussion instruments during a group time to mirror the music playing. Teaching them about rhythm and beat patterns.

In Stepping Stones, the children enjoy learning about different instruments from around the World and play games to help them learn about how different instruments/materials create different sounds. The children in Stepping Stones also learn songs and actions that they then perform for their families.

Members of our team teach our little ones various dances each week - creating routines and actions to link with the current topic supported by music.

*Pretend & perform

We have partnered with Dramatots' Miss Amy, who visits weekly to both sites for some fun filled themed sessions, taking your little ones from the depths of the sea all the way to up in space! The sessions are a huge favourite of our little ones and we love providing them with opportunities for storytelling, role playing and gross movement.

In Stepping Stones, we encourage all of our children to build their confidence around public performance and speaking - through story bags, costumes and visual props.

Worldly wisdom

At The Rugby & Dunchurch Montessori Nursery Schools, we know the importance of our little ones having an understanding of not just their immediate surroundings but of the big wide World around them.

We begin to explore this in our Bambinis rooms through sensory play, going on walks and exploring real and natural materials - by doing this we aim to ignite an interest in the World around them.

In Buttercups & Daisies, we start to teach the children about the continents, the people and animals that can be found within them. The Cultural Area within Buttercups & Daisies is filled with real life objects and images of real people, places and animals for them to sort through, match and pair and explore. We love to read lots of stories and introduce new vocabulary through our topics.

In Stepping Stones, our little ones continue their desire to learn about the World around them through exploring different types of print, such as magazines, encyclopaedias, newspapers and so on. Providing them with an understanding that information can be retained from many different sources not just a computer... We also love to conduct experiments so that our Stepping Stones children gain an understanding that not every experiment goes to plan and that there can be more than one outcome.

In Stepping Stones, we introduce the children to early science through hands-on experiments that further broadens their cultural capital, outdoor exploration, playful investigation. We help our little ones develop early critical thinking, they learn to observe closely, ask questions, and make predictions, and test their ideas.

Wonder & wander

At The Rugby & Dunchurch Montessori Nursery Schools, we LOVE being outside - as Maria Montessori said herself "the child must have contact with nature to understand and appreciate the order, the harmony and the beauty in nature".

We are an all weather Nursery meaning rain or shine, we are having fun outside. We provide puddle suits and wellies so that our little ones can freely splash around in the rain, and sun hats and suncream in summer so that our little ones can enjoy feeling the warmth in the air.

Our 'Wander & Wonder' sessions are all about challenging our little ones at all ages and stages, whether its through obstacle course making or digging deep into the mud to find buried treasures or doing some gardening. We encourage our little ones to take risks within their play, climbing to the tallest part of the frame or having a go trying a new sensory experience in the outside.

At our Dunchurch site, Miss Millie leads some outdoor learning sessions, in which we will be wandering to our lovely local facilities to enrich our little ones awe & wonder.

At our Rugby site Miss Kelly leads a gardening session on a Friday, teaching the children where foods comes from and how to care and look after our plants and vegetables that are growing.

*Making & BAKING

At The Rugby & Dunchurch Montessori Nursery Schools, we follow the Montessori Method of teaching when it comes to our little ones culinary skills. In that where safe and possible - we let the children take complete control.

We use specialised equipment that allows our little ones to chop, peel, grate, scoop, mix various ingredients to make some yummy creations. This way our little ones can take complete ownership over their cooking and as a result, get not only a great sense of achievement but a delicious outcome too!

From Bambinis, all the way to Stepping Stones our little ones experience a 'making & baking' activity at least once a week. We believe it is enjoyed so much by our little ones because it is relatable for them, in that they can mirror and apply the skills learnt at nursery at home in the kitchen with their loved ones.

In Stepping Stones, we apply all the skills and knowledge we have gained across the Nursery and take it to the next level. Each week creating something special for all of our friends to enjoy at Nursery or take home to share with family. We ensure that the recipes used reflect our topics as much as possible.

As Maria Montessori once said "children reveal to us the most vital need of their development, saying: “Help me to do it alone!”. One of our main beliefs, across both settings, is that the team are there merely to provide your little ones with the tools and skills to become independent with everyday tasks, that they can then use for the rest of their lives.

*ACTIVE & ADVENTUROUS

At The Rugby & Dunchurch Montessori Nursery Schools, we LOVE to be active. Through a variety of games and activities, the children have the opportunities to run, jump, balance, throw, catch, kick and develop their coordination, agility and strength.

Our nurseries recognise that physical activity is vital to our little one's all round development, supporting both healthy bodies and social & emotional wellbeing.

Team games provide our little ones with much more than just physical exercise, they encourage our children to take turns, listen to others, share equipment, follow simple instructions, and celebrate one another's achievements.

We feel that all of these skills reflect the British Values, and helps our children develop confidence, perseverance and form positive relationships.

The Rugby Montessori Nursery