Nellie B's

15/09/2026

12/09/2026

I am so excited to share a new collaboration with you all.

Monday 26th October we have Laura from Mini Boffins joining us for 45 minutes worth of hands on fun. The session will involve lots of
Bubbling
Fizzing
Colour changing.

This will then be followed by 45 minutes free play, here at Where The Little Ones Play.

So if you have a child aged 3-5 who is interested in science and experiments, this is perfect for them.

Spaces are limited and available to book online, or message me.
Sibling discount is available for this session.

28/08/2026

26/08/2026

Play isn't the reward for finishing learning.

There's a quiet hierarchy in a lot of classrooms: real work happens at the table, and play happens afterwards, if there's time — a treat for finishing, not a form of learning in its own right. It's an understandable habit to fall into. Play doesn't look like learning in the way we've been trained to recognise it. There's no worksheet, no correct answer to check off, no obvious instructional minute being logged.

But play is where a huge amount of genuine development happens. It's where children test language by using it in context that actually matters to them. It's where they solve problems without being handed the method first — negotiating whose turn it is, working out how to build something that keeps falling over, figuring out the rules of a game that keeps changing. It's where self-regulation gets practised in real time, in the middle of a disagreement, rather than talked about in the abstract. And it's where creativity and social learning happen together, because play rarely happens alone.

None of that is "extra." It's often more cognitively and socially demanding than a structured task with a single right answer, because no adult is holding the framework together — the child has to build and hold it themselves.

Treating play as the thing that happens after the real work is sending a message that isn't true: that the messy, self-directed, unscripted parts of a child's day are less valuable than the structured ones. Often, they're doing more of the developmental heavy lifting, not less.

What have you noticed tamariki learn through play that you don't see come through in structured tasks?

26/08/2026

Read this week's Learning Hive newsletter below 👇

New in The Learning Hive this week: what self-directed learning actually means - and why it's less radical than it sounds.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/what-self-directed-learning-actually-means-laura-bower-iknjc

25/08/2026

Last 2 tickets left??

Tomorrow! It’s not too late to book tickets 🎟️

22/08/2026

Sunshine, garden get-togethers, or just an ordinary day that needed a bit of magic — our bouncy castles turn any occasion into an event! Available to hire on their own, no party required. Perfect for birthdays, or just because. Get in touch to check availability for your date. Prices start from £80.

22/08/2026

Have you seen that we are launching our Mini Boffins sessions in early September? Do you know any parents with pre-schoolers who love anything hands-on? Perfect!

So excited for this one. Working with the little ones is definitely in my top 2 things to do! Who will be joining us for our launch? Perfect location too, lots of space and great playgrounds to visit afterwards! Booking link is in bio 💛💜💛