Little Owls Nursery City & Holbeck

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Out and about on a glorious sunny weekend......lots of lovely things to see and to listen to.

These flowers reminded Jane of a song she used to sing when she was at school....

🎵🎶🎵🎶Daisy's are our silver.....buttercups are gold.....this is all the treasure we can have or hold🎵🎶🎵🎶

I wonder what other treasures we will spot over the bank holiday and next week's half term holiday?

The weather continues to be extremely warm, please take care everyone ☀️☀️☀️

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Come join us tomorrow 11-2pm ☀️🌳💚

Eid ul-Adha ('Festival of Sacrifice') is one of the most important festivals in the Muslim calendar and will be observed by some of our staff, children, families and the local wider community.

The festival remembers the prophet Ibrahim's willingness to sacrifice his son when God ordered him to.

When is Eid ul-Adha celebrated?

Eid ul-Adha is a public holiday in Muslim countries. In 2026, Eid ul-Adha will begin on the evening of Tuesday 26th May and end on the evening of the 30th May.

What is the story of Eid ul-Adha?

Eid ul-Adha celebrates the time when Ibrahim had a dream which he believed was a message from Allah asking him to sacrifice his son Isma'il as an act of obedience to God.

The devil tempted Ibrahim by saying he should disobey Allah and spare his son. As Ibrahim was about to kill his son, Allah stopped him and gave him a lamb to sacrifice instead.



How is Eid celebrated?

In some countries, Muslims sacrifice a sheep or goat (in Britain the animal is killed at a slaughter house). The meat is shared equally between family, friends and the poor.

Eid usually starts with Muslims going to the Mosque for prayers. They dress in their best clothes and thank Allah for all the blessings they have received. It is a time when they visit family and friends. Muslims will also give money to charity so that poor people can celebrate too.


Every year around 2 million Muslims from all over the world visit Makkah for Hajj.

Muslims celebrate Eid ul-Adha on the last day of the Hajj. The Hajj is pilgrimage to Makkah in Saudi Arabia. It occurs every year and is the Fifth Pillar of Islam (and therefore very important).

All Muslims who are fit and able to travel should make the visit to Makkah at least once in their lives.

During the Hajj the pilgrims perform acts of worship and renew their faith and sense of purpose in the world. They stand before the Ka'bah, a shrine built by Ibrahim, and praise Allah together.

We wish everyone who is celebrating a blessed and peaceful Eid Mubarak. If you are celebrating we would love it if you could share pictures of your celebrations on your child's FAMLY page.

Bluey fans unite 🤩 She’s heading to Leeds for some free half term fun!

Yep, you read that right 🙌 The now iconic children’s cartoon pup is making a real-life official appearance at the Merrion Centre next Wednesday (27th May) 🐶

It’s free to attend, with storytelling sessions happening between 11am and 3pm - and there’s no booking required!

Families will enjoy engaging 30-minute performances led by a professional storyteller 📖 and are encouraged to arrive early as space for each session is limited.

🌈 The “Hundred Languages of Children” – What it means for your child at nursery 🌈

"The Hundred Languages of Children" is a poem written by Loris Malaguzzi, the founder of the Reggio Emilia approach to early childhood education. It tells us that children have many ways to express themselves—not just through words, but through:

🎨 drawing
🎵 music
🧱 building
💃 movement
🎭 role play
💡 and so much more

✨ What this looks like in our nursery
We recognise that every child is unique and learns in their own way.

That’s why you will often see children:

• Exploring materials creatively (paint, clay, loose parts)
• Acting out stories and ideas through play
• Expressing feelings through movement, music, or mark-making
• Asking questions and leading their own learning and exploring play

Rather than focusing only on speaking or writing, we encourage children to use many different “languages” to share their thoughts and ideas.

💛 Why this is important

The poem reminds us that children are naturally curious, capable, and full of ideas.

Our role as educators is to:

• Listen carefully to how they express themselves
• Value all forms of communication
• Provide opportunities for creativity and exploration

By doing this, we support children to grow in confidence, independence, and develop a love of learning.

🌱 How you can support at home

You might notice your child expressing themselves in different ways—through drawing, storytelling, or imaginative play. You can support this by:
• Asking open-ended questions (“Tell me about your picture”)
• Providing simple materials for creativity
• Celebrating their ideas, rather than focusing on “right” answers

Together we can support our children to become confident, curious and creative thinkers!

The children in the baby room have been exploring paint whilst in the garden............they used chunky brushes to dip into the paint pots then proceeded to paint on the reflective mirror using a series of up, down and circular marks.

They persevered and concentrated at this activity for a period of time, enjoying seeing the paint on the mirror as well as their reflections.

What a lovely activity.......well done everyone.

🌻 Half Term Activity Pack – Grow Your Own Sunflower! 🌻

The children will be bringing home a special half term activity pack to keep them (and you!) busy over the holidays.

As we have been focusing on growing this half term, we thought the children would love the opportunity to grow their very own sunflower 🌱

Your pack includes:

· A bag with growing tips and a poem

The tips will help you get the most success (and learning!) from the activity. The poem is a lovely verse to share together once your seeds have been planted.

A pot, saucer and compost - The compost is inside a plastic bag for transport. Please empty the compost into the pot as soon as possible and dispose of the bag safely. The saucer will catch any remnants of water.

Sunflower seeds - We’ve included a few seeds. You can plant them all in the pot, or plant one or two and use the others elsewhere in the garden. They will need to be watered every few days so that the soil is moist but not waterlogged.

Plant marker - Encourage your child to write their name or the word sunflower on the marker. It doesn’t need to be perfect—praise any marks they make!

Reward sticker - Feel free to reward your child for their planting efforts with a sticker.

We hope you enjoy growing your sunflowers together. We would love to see how they get on—feel free to share photos with us via the Famly app! 🌼