A World of Adventure

Farm School Nursery

Our Farm School Nursery

Nurturing young minds

Calling ourselves a ‘nursery school’ or a ‘forest school’ simply doesn’t do justice to the opportunities our Mini Explorers are given, and so the term ‘Farm School’ was coined.

Our nursery lies at the heart of our own fully-working arable farm, and our children are given the opportunity to immerse themselves in the farming landscape and its inhabitants every day.

We believe passionately in the importance of exposing children to the natural world at every opportunity in order to grow their confidence, further their understanding of the world, assist in their cognitive and physical development, and improve their health and well-being.

From our very smallest hatchlings in our baby room to our Farm School fledglings, all our Mini Explorers are given daily opportunities to explore the farm and the beautiful countryside around us, and learn about the natural world, food production, animal welfare and the farming landscape of Crabtree Hall.

Hands on learning

Where children grow with nature

Animal adventures

We have built up quite a menagerie since Mini Explorers first opened in 2012. At the last roll call we could boast pigs, sheep, goats, alpacas, rabbits, chickens, guinea pigs and ducks. Our Mini Explorers love getting to know all our animals, and thoroughly enjoy helping to feed and care for them. They are always transfixed by new life coming onto the farm. From lambing in spring to egg-hatching in summer!

Out on the farm

Farmer Mark is our resident arable farmer and is a fantastic advocate for all that he does. He can often be found striding out across the fields, closely followed by a gaggle of enthusiastic toddlers. He introduces the children to all aspects of his work, from crop rotation to drilling and harvesting. And then there are the tractors...who doesn’t love a big red tractor?!

Muddy Green Fingers

Our Mini Explorers also grow and nurture their own fruit, vegetables and herbs in the polytunnels and the thriving nursery gardens of The Paddock. This is hugely hands-on (and sometimes very muddy!) experience, and our children love to immerse themselves in every aspect of the growing process from planting, watering and propagating, through to harvesting, cooking, baking and eating. Yum!

Explore the Gallery

Learning the basics of Life

Our Curriculum

Literacy

Opportunities abound for working literacy into our day, from mark-making with sticks in the mud, to drawing up plans for model-making in the sandpit, or going on a letter hunt around the farm. And when we are all in need of some quiet time, we love to sit together and share our favourite story books and songs, or make up some of our own.

Mathematics

We love to work maths into our activities, from filling buckets of apples in the orchard and learning about capacity, to weighing out animal feed and guessing the depth of a puddle. And who knew that lining up peapods in The Paddock to compare length and estimate how many peas were inside was actually a living, breathing maths lesson?

Understanding The World

Watching the life-cycle of our vegetables, crops and animals gives meaning to the concepts of time and development, whilst discovering a tiny natural wonder like a spider’s web, an eggshell, a ladybird or a brightly coloured leaf leads our Mini Explorers to investigate, ask questions and engage in the world around them.

Creative Thinking

From working out how to keep the sheep in the paddock to deciding which animals to feed next, creative and lateral thinking are essential Farm School skills. Resilience and positivity is also ingrained in our children; if your first seeds don’t germinate or your bread doesn’t rise, have another go!

Expressive Arts & Design

Squishing blackberries and painting with the juices; acting out our traditional Nativity play in the Farmer Marks big shed; singing and dancing in the rain; creating musical instruments from old material on the farm...we are never short of artistic inspiration at Mini Explorers!

Communication & Language

Going on a sound walk around the farm offers a fantastic opportunity for our Mini Explorers to interpret and imitate the noises they hear. From birdsong and animal calls, to tractors brumming, cockerels crowing, buckets clattering, wind whistling and leaves whispering, it’s impossible not to be mesmerised by the music of the farm.

Physical Development

From tummy time for our babies as they strain upwards to watch the clouds dance across the sky, to our toddlers and Farm schoolers clambering over fences and tree trunks, Mini Explorers offers endless opportunities for our children to develop their fine and gross motor skills and improve coordination, dexterity, confidence and mobility. On some days, our Mini Explorers can be found racing through fields and throwing and catching leaves, whilst on others, they’ll be carrying buckets of feed and hay, whittling sticks, building towers and planting seeds.

Personal, Social & Emotional Development

Teamwork is an important aspect of all that we do at Mini Explorers, whether we are feeding sheep and taking turns to carry the bucket, or gathering apples to take indoors to bake with. All our Mini Explorers learn to remain calm and quiet around our animals, which is a great skill for any child to master, and also helps them develop self-control, compassion, behavioural awareness and restraint. The benefits of children interacting with animals from an early age are well documented.

A Day of a Mini Explorer

Naturalists in the making

We love to dive headlong into the natural world. Groups of intrepid explorers can often be found perched on tree stumps sawing at sticks (stick whittling is an essential life skill for all our Mini Explorers!), or neck deep in the fields of corn in search of mini beasts and worms.

The benefits of outdoor learning are many. In particular, it has been shown to increase children’s self-esteem, confidence and emotional intelligence. This has a positive impact on a child’s ability to concentrate and learn, which is particularly important for our ‘soon-to-be-at-big-school’ preschoolers.

See What's a Day of a Mini Explorer

Base Camp

Fantastic indoor and outdoor spaces

Do you have any questions about our Farm School?

Get in Touch with us!

Our Mission and Values

Health, safety and hygiene

Farms are living, working environments and the health, safety and hygiene of our Mini Explorers is at the heart of all our practices. All our outdoor activities are overseen by highly-trained Early Years Educators and specialist teachers. We actively encourage unfettered exploration, but please be assured that there will always be a watchful pair of eyes and a ready pair of hands to step in and curb enthusiasm when safety is at risk.

Animal interaction is always very closely supervised, and only the quietest and most docile of characters are allowed to take up residence on the farm. All our Early Years Educators are Millie’s marked in Paediatric First Aid, and hand washing and cleanliness after animal handling and outdoor activity is an immutable part of our daily routine.