Last week, the theme in our preschool room at Monkey Puzzle Marleigh, one of Cambridge’s warmest and most welcoming day nurseries, was land vehicles. The highlight of the week was a bus journey to London, planned and enjoyed from start to finish without the children ever leaving the nursery.

The children started by making their own bus tickets and talking about how passengers wait in line to board. Once they were on the bus, they chose where they wanted to sit and shared ideas about what they might spot along the way.

Planning the day gave the children plenty of new vocabulary to try out. Words such as ticket, passenger, fare and destination found their way into conversation as the children worked out where they were going and how they would get there. They also came up with their own reasons for making the trip. One child was travelling to see Buckingham Palace, while another was heading for the London Eye.

Play like this gives your child far more than an enjoyable morning. Working through a familiar routine, queuing, buying a ticket, choosing a seat, helps children make sense of the world beyond the nursery and feel confident when they meet it for real. Building a story around the journey stretches their language, imagination and social skills at the same time, and every new word they use in play is a word they take with them into school. It is one of the many ways our early years team turns a weekly theme into genuine progress for every child in our care.

Curious about life at Monkey Puzzle Marleigh? Book a visit today and see our preschool room and everyday learning in action. Call us on 01223 344419 or enquire at enquiries@monkeypuzzlecambridge.co.uk to arrange your tour.