Are you are a parent or carer of a child under five? If so, you could learn a lot about childcare, parenting and early years learning and development by following Little Acorns Nursery on social media. We’re active across multiple social channels including Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram and share high quality content useful to parents of under-fives. That includes parents of children at Little Acorns although, actually, parents anywhere will find the content educational and useful. Our high quality content includes unusually informative ‘early years’ articles and information. For example, a whole range of guides, the findings from various studies, suggested activities for kids and overviews of things like childcare funding schemes with eligibility guidelines. Also, of course, the social media channels include posts relating to the exciting activities happening at the nursery in Clayton-le-Woods, Chorley.
Following is an overview of where you can find — and follow — Little Acorns Nursery and what you can expect to see if you do …
Follow Little Acorns Nursery on Twitter
Follow Little Acorns Nursery on Twitter. There, you’ll see links to some great topics that relate to early years education. You’ll also see regular tweets and posts showing the exciting play and activities that children are taking part in at the nursery.
- Little Acorns Nursery is @LittleAcornsPR6 on Twitter and;
- our Twitter profile can be found here.
Follow Us on Facebook
On Facebook, we share our ‘bigger’ guides and articles from our blog as well as showing interesting content from third parties. Also, of course, we post regular photos and updates for all the goings-on at Little Acorns Nursery in Clayton-le-Woods.
- We’re @LittleAcornsDidYouKnow on Facebook and;
- our Facebook profile can be found here.
Follow our Pinterest Pins & Boards
We love Pinterest! Its simple, pictorial approach makes it easy to just pick out something that interests you and save it to your own Pinterest pin board, so you can simply save it or share with others. We’ve got lots of pin ‘boards’ on our Pinterest profile, where we’ve pinned images and links to articles that interest us as early years practitioners. We think you’ll like them too. Board topics include nature activities, sensory activities for under-5s, early years parenting, Forest School, outdoor play, preschool, nursery school activities and, of course, Little Acorns Nursery itself.
- We’re @LittleAcornsnNurseryPR6 on Pinterest and;
- our Pinterest profile showing all our pin boards can be found here.
Follow Us on Instagram
If you’re on Instagram, check out our photo gallery on our own Instagram profile. It shows images of the children playing and learning at the nursery as well as featured images that link to our highly interesting blog posts.
- We’re @littleacornsnursery on Instagram and;
- our Instagram profile can be seen here.
Our Google Profile
Little Acorns Nursery is @LittleAcornsNurseryChorley on Google and;- you can find our Google profile here.
Little Acorns Nursery is @LittleAcornsNurseryChorley on Google and;See photos of the childcare setting, view a location map, read about us, find links to our blog posts and check out our customer reviews. Speaking of which …
Review Us
If you have used our childcare service and were pleased, please review and rate us on Google, or alternatively rate us on Facebook. Of course, though, if there’s anything at all that you’re not happy with, please contact us so that we can rectify the situation right away. We’re here to help!
Bookmark our Blog
We’re active here on our Little Acorns blog too. Here, you’ll find larger articles that tend to cover the ‘bigger’ topics that parents and carers of children under five will find useful. These are well-researched, detailed and often very educational articles that will keep parents well-informed. For example, we cover topics like childcare funding schemes, help available to children with special educational needs or disabilities, educational food growing activities for under-fives, a myriad of ways parents can super-charge children’s reading and education, wonderful outdoor activity ideas for little ones, and a whole host of guides, how-to articles, activity ideas and useful information relating to parenting or early years learning and development. We’re adding to these great articles and guides regularly each month. So, if you haven’t already done so, bookmark our main blog page and come back regularly — our blog is a real treasure trove of information for parents! Follow the bold links for more information.
Little Acorns Nursery may add more social channels in the future, so watch this space.
An Outstanding Nursery & Pre-School in Clayton-le-Woods, Chorley
It’s official, say Ofsted: Little Acorns is an outstanding nursery and pre-school. We provide exceptional, award-winning childcare in Clayton-le-Woods, Chorley, Central Lancashire (PR6). We are also conveniently located for those in the following towns and villages nearby: Clayton Brook, Clayton Green, Thorpe Green, Pippin Street, Buckshaw Village, Whittle-le-Woods, Farington, Bamber Bridge, Lostock Hall, Euxton, Leyland and Penwortham. If you would like your child to have the very best start in life, Little Acorns Nursery represents the ultimate childcare choice for families in Central Lancashire.
To register your child for a place, ask a question or to see the nursery in action, please click an appropriate button below:
October sees one of the year’s biggest traditions in the form of Halloween, which arrives on the 31st. Halloween, which is short, in effect, for “All Hallows’ Eve”, has it’s historical roots in Christian and, many believe, Celtic, Gaelic and Pagan festivals. Broadly speaking, these festivals were events to remember the dead, including saints (a.k.a. “hallows”). However, for virtually all children these days, it’s simply a traditional time for some themed fun. And what fun it can be! Today we’ll therefore take a look at the activities and opportunities that Halloween has for little ones at this time of year.
Halloween Costumes — Dressing Up Fun!
Edward Scissor Hands is another favourite. Try taping teaspoons or kitchen foil to your little one’s fingers to simulate Edward’s hands — but only if they’re old enough to be able to control movements so they don’t hurt themselves or others.
Halloween Parties
Parents and children can prepare for such parties, or when staying at home for the evening, with a range of Halloween-themed party food. This is also great fun and may even encourage little ones to eat foods they may not normally try (as appropriate for their age, of course). Try baking plain biscuits in Halloween themed shapes. Some can be made to look like pumpkins, bats and ghosts, for example, with suitable icing. Use whichever recipe is your favourite for the actual biscuits. Children will love the theming, which will make the food fun!
Carved pumpkins are, of course, a great tradition for Halloween and one that children will love. For the safety of little ones, though, parents/adults will need to do the carving. Children can get involved in emptying out the pumpkin flesh and perhaps saving seeds, which they can later grow into new pumpkin plants for next year. They can also get involved in decorating outside of the carved pumpkins with paint or Sharpie pens. Red or green food dye can also be used to paint the inside. A good hand wash will be needed after all of this. 
A lit candle (or an LED equivalent) can be placed inside by the adult and this will shine through and illuminate the design or face. Then the finished pumpkin can be placed somewhere safe — where little ones cannot endanger themselves if a real flame is used — for example out in the garden or on the front drive.
Pumpkin Picking Locally
Another pumpkin farm that’s open to families is also in Leyland, again less than 4 miles away from Clayton, at Moss Lane, Farington Moss, Leyland PR26 6QD. To pick your own pumpkin there (weekends only in October), call 07701 082 482 or get 
Trick or treating is the Halloween tradition of knocking on neighbours’ doors, shouting “trick or treat?” and hoping that some sweets or similar will be handed over to children by kindly neighbours. That would be the ‘treat’ element. The ‘trick’ element is more rarely used today, especially with the younger children. However, it still occasionally involves funny tricks being played on those neighbours who didn’t offer sweets. This ‘trick’ element is to be used only with particularly friendly households, though, and perhaps only with those that have been forewarned by the parents involved. If not handled with care, it can backfire and cause terribly bad feeling or even be thought of as antisocial behaviour. For that reason, forewarning neighbourhoods about any group trick or treat sessions is wise, including agreeing a way for them to opt out if they prefer.
1. Bird spotting
ee & Butterfly Spotting
3. Search for Animal Tracks
4. Make a Den
5. Float a Boat
6. Go on a Ramble
7. Get into Photography
8. Obstacle Course
9. Have a Picnic
11. Hunt for Mini Beasts
12. Get Creative with Rocks & Stones
Whether on the beach or in the garden, it’s surprising how creative children can be with stones and rocks! Stones can be painted with lovely patterns or images, perhaps combined with simple words or as part of a ‘stone story’. Bigger rocks can be piled one on top of the other to form sculptures — these look magical. Children will love these and other creative activities that they can take part in outdoors, with simple stones and rocks.
In today’s post, we take a look at the importance of outdoor play for children in their early years. Indeed, there are many benefits, as we’ll see …
Playing outside is also a healthy release from things like TV, electronic screens and, potentially, from an otherwise more sedentary lifestyle. Away from the confines of the indoors, outdoor play allows children the freedom to move about more freely. Outside, they’ll learn to navigate spaces, obstacles and play equipment, all the time improving spatial awareness, coordination, balance and gross motor skills. These include running, jumping, climbing and so on. Their fitness levels will naturally improve too, as they build stamina, muscle and strength. This is all incredibly good for them.
At Little Acorns, we understand the importance of outdoor play. Little ones, from the age of two have access to our outdoor gardens and play areas — all under close supervision, of course. We have invested heavily in a whole range of exciting, stimulating and educational outdoor facilities for the children to explore, play with and learn from. As they do, they will not only learn but they’ll also hone fine and gross motor skills, improve coordination and balance, improve physical fitness, enhance social skills and build friendships. They will also soon become better at recognising and balancing risk, they’ll become more independent as they move around freely. They’ll also learn from mistakes. Their self-confidence and self-esteem will also naturally grow. These are all incredibly important skills that will stand them in good stead as they gradually approach the age where they’ll leave us to move on to school.
Taking outdoor experiences for little ones even further, Little Acorns regularly takes children on outings, including to local parks. More importantly, though, it was one of the first nurseries/pre-schools to introduce Forest School to Central Lancashire. This is the ultimate outdoor experience for under-fives and teaches them so much about the natural world — and also about themselves. As well as learning a huge amount about nature, flora, fauna, the seasons and about playing and learning in the Great Outdoors, Forest School helps them learn additional skills like problem-solving, working in teams, leadership, resilience, empathy, caring for the environment, personal responsibility and so much more. Learn more in 
All these outdoor activities also support the early years curriculum. Outdoor playing and learning covers many of the areas outlined in the Early Years Foundation Stage (‘EYFS’) learning and development framework, which is prescribed for all childcare settings in England. Specifically, outdoor play helps children in at least four of the seven key areas of the EYFS including:
Making bird feeders 
Seeded pine cone bird feeders 
Water bottle bird feeders.
Then, they can be partly filled with bird seed, or perhaps grated Cheddar cheese. Alternatively you can see that some of the designs could be used for drinking water, for example the one shown immediately on the left or at the very top of this article. Another variation even has a plastic spoon pushed into it, forming a convenient perch for the birds to land on and to feed from (see right).
Carton bird feeders
Monkey Nut Bird Feeders
If using peanut butter in your home-made bird feeders, ensure it is fresh, has no salt or sugar added and is not ‘flavoured’. Smooth or crunchy peanut butter is great for bird-feeders, though, and you can even stick extra bird seed to it once it’s been spread on your feeder e.g. pine cone or apple. There are also some peanut butter brands made specifically for wild birds, by the way.
Why Nature is So Important for Children
Providing food for birds is a win-win for everyone — humans and birds alike. Birds obviously get to eat much needed food without huge effort and children get to learn more about nature and perhaps individual bird visitors. (We even name our regulars! “Vern” is a tame blackbird, for example, having been named after a character in the famous movie Rain Man). By encouraging birds to visit, children will soon be able to recognise and name the different species of bird too, particularly if given some help from a parent or bird book. Visitors might include robins, blackbirds, blue tits, great tits, long-tailed tits (our favourite), thrushes, starlings and, if they’re lucky, more unusual, colourful birds like nuthatches, woodpeckers, bull finches and gold finches. As it gets colder, some species will travel to warmer countries to overwinter. For those that stay in the UK, however, food from a friendly young nature-lover will be a real lifeline.
If children do get involved in feeding wild birds, they’ll soon begin to realise how delightful the little beings are. They each have their own character, likes and dislikes. Children will get to appreciate this if they keep up the feeding and the birds will soon realise where to find the food each day. Children will get to understand the importance of nature and learn skills like empathy, understanding and responsibility as they nurture the wellbeing of these beautiful wild visitors. Animals, birds and insects are all individuals and it’s good for children to recognise this. By feeding birds and other animals, they will also be able to continue to appreciate nature and the natural world, just like they do in our 
There are many bird feeders available to purchase in supermarkets and local shops, although we simply buy ours as part of our weekly online supermarket shop. Many are quite inexpensive. From fat balls and filled coconut shells, to seed cakes, hanging dispensers and pre-filled seed feeders, the variety available gives parents and children a huge choice. In our own garden, we have found that 
Grated Cheddar cheese (mild and in moderation) will be very popular. Robins, blackbirds, sparrows, starlings, pigeons and doves adore it! Mouldy or ‘blue’ cheese should be totally avoided, though, as the mould could harm or even kill birds. Meanwhile, bread will fill birds up but it doesn’t hold much nutritional value for them, so only feed bread to birds in moderation. It’s incredibly important not to feed them mouldy bread too, or for it to be left to go mouldy once outside. Mould can greatly harm or even kill birds.
The RSPB provides 
Window recesses, higher windowsills and balconies will usually offer some kind of suitable site for feeding birds. Careful choosing of the site for your bird feeders is an important consideration, however, which could make or break your feeder’s success and the wellbeing of the birds you are trying to help.
A Word About Hygiene for Your Family & the Birds
Today we’ll look at the immense benefits of nature to children. While the long-term benefits of nature are reasonably well-known, it turns out short-term exposure to the natural environment also has1 clear benefits for people of any age. The benefits are even more beneficial, though, for young people during their early years, at school and in higher education.
One of the wonderful things about nature is that immersing oneself in it need not cost a penny. With so many proven benefits, it just goes to show that the old adage that ‘the best things in life are free’ really is true when it comes to nature. Exposure to the natural environment and green surroundings has been shown to have clear benefits …
The benefits of restored attention skills in themselves should not, of course, be overlooked. Interestingly, research6 involving cognitive tests on school children found that children who had undergone the tests after walking in a natural wooded environment were quicker to answer – and significantly more accurate in their answers – than those who had instead practised mindfulness in the classroom or who had spent time in the school playground during the break.
Almost Endless Benefits to Children
Greater empathy e.g. taking more care of other living things, plants, etc.;
Just imagine, then, how much children benefit from nature when attending a Forest School setting such as that available at Little Acorns Nursery, Chorley. At Forest School, little ones will spend significant time in local green and wooded spaces, so these findings show just how important Forest School is for youngsters. Why send your child to an ordinary nursery, then, when you can send them to 
Children living in England are very fortunate to have their early years childcare supported financially by a variety of Government funding schemes. The 3 most important, popular and widely-available schemes are:
Let’s look at each of the schemes …
Taking the above scheme a step further, eligible families are able to top up the standard 15 hours per week with an additional 15 hours of free childcare in specific circumstances. In effect, this can double the child’s free childcare hours from the standard 570 hours to 1140 per annum. These are usually taken as 30 hours per week over 38 weeks although, again, some childcare settings may be able to be flexible and to spread the hours out in a different way.
Under certain circumstances, children aged just two can have some of their childcare funded by the Government too. However, it’s much more restrictive for this age group. If successful, though, the Government will fund up to 570 hours of childcare for a two-year-old over the course of a year — that’s significant and could really help mothers or stay-at-home fathers get back to work sooner. As with the 3 & 4-year-olds, the 570 hours is usually taken as 15 hours per week over the course of 38 weeks, but some parents may wish to ask their childcare provider if it’s possible to spread it out in a different way.
Generally speaking, under-fives should be encouraged to be active. There are many benefits of this including remaining physically fit, getting to know and enhancing physical abilities, honing motor skills (fine and gross) and improving coordination and balance. In addition, it helps the very young to develop visual and sensory skills. Physical activity is also part and parcel of the development of new neurological pathways in the brain. All these skills and benefits will become increasingly important as children grow, develop and become ever-more active and independent.
Once they reach the age of 3 to 4 (preschoolers), 3 hours of physical activity is an ideal daily minimum. Now that they’re older and more confident in their physical skills, they can continue with the toddler activities but add more complex and moderately vigorous options to their play. Dancing, swimming, scooting, climbing, chasing, cycling and energetic outdoor activities are good examples.
