Child Care at Cottontails

I wanted to share what a typical day at Cottontails looks like through the eyes of your child. I have included an example daily child care timetable for you as a reference.

Daily Child Care Timetable at Cottontails Nursery School

Activities Explained

I guess that many things on the child care rota speak for themselves however I would like to go into detail on some of the less obvious activities.

News Ring

At Cottontails we recognise that your child has a voice and should be heard. News Ring is our update circle where our pupils get a chance to bring anything that may be on their mind. We also use the time to pass on any news for the day and to outline what activities your child will be doing that day. We have found that having a News Ring gives each child an understanding of where the other children are at. We find this empowering and respectful.

Creative Activity

Our daily Creative Activity time focuses on your child’s autonomy to create and explore learning through imagination and crafts. You can expect your child to bring home many masterpiece artworks for you to showcase on your fridge. Creativity is a valuable part of learning and our teachers love watching the little Van Gough’s at work.

Organised Outdoor Activities

Cottontails Child Care Centre has beautiful and plentiful grounds and our teachers love using them for guided learning. Your child will learn vital skills like how to share, take turns, balance, hop, jump and play together with others.

Outdoor Play

We have created an adventure playground that your child will love exploring. Our colourful play equipment has been tried and tested by hundreds of happy children over the years with a firm favourite being the sandpit. Outdoor Play time means toys, swings, seesaws and climbing. Your child gets to socialise and play in a safe environment with teachers on hand to sort out any disagreements over who saw the toy first.

Story Time

Think back to your own early school years and you probably have a faded memory of story time. Story time is so valuable as it teaches your child to sit and listen whilst at the same time it transports him or her away on a fantasy adventure. Our teachers read the story and show the pictures and than ask the children questions about what happened. Your child will be learning to interpret, to pay attention and to recall aspects of the story which are all good foundations for when they enter junior school.

Sleep and Rest

It’s a busy day for a little one with all this playing, exploring and learning and the rest time is a time to grab 40 winks while it all sinks in.

Free Play

Structured child care is a balance between learning and play and during Free Play your child gets to play freely. This is an opportunity for the children to make friends and lose themselves in a world of imagination within the Cottontails playground. Our teachers enjoy the Free Play time just as much as the children as there is no better sound for a nursery school teacher than the laughter of children.

Tidy Up Time

Tidying up is part of life. I guess I don’t have to tell you that, I am sure you do more than your fair share of running around after your child. We believe Tidy Up Time is a shared responsibility and we help our children learn to work together for a single goal. This excersise teaches your child responsibility and teamwork and that tidying up can actually be fun. Sometimes.

Collect Me Time

Your child will have so many stories to tell you of what happened at child care today. You will hear about the story they heard, the games they played and they may even have a masterpiece artwork for you with a story about how they made it. Then its home for supper, bath and bed so we can do it all again tomorrow.