Gardens

The children at Incy Wincy's benefit from the lovely walled gardens which wrap around our Grade II listed building; these consist of our activity garden, kitchen garden and decked area.  The gardens provide a safe space for children of all age groups to come together to play, discover and learn, whatever the weather or time of year - we love to see rosy cheeks from lots of fresh air and exercise!

We value the simple pleasures in our gardens, the grass, plants and open space. We have chosen not to include too many structures or set spaces, children are supported to be creative building their own dens and imaginative worlds. The larger wooden play equipment offers additional physical challenges, while the Outlast sand & water tables are endlessly fascinating for our budding engineers and scientists.  

n our kitchen garden, children can discover the delights of growing their own seasonal fruit, vegetables and flowers from seed which, when ready, they can pick and use to cook with, under the supervision of our staff.  Making jams and chutneys is a real favourite!

In the greenhouse we grow different varieties of tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, chillies and courgettes for our 'Yummy Food' menus. The kitchen garden has been awarded the RHS School Gardening level 4 award, which recognises that we provide opportunities for children to enhance their skills and boost their development.

In a corner of the garden we have our outdoor 'mud' kitchen, made from reclaimed and recycled materials, complete with pots, pans and utensils. Mud kitchens are increasingly becoming a feature of outdoor learning in early years settings as they allow children to be creative and inventive, help them develop social skills and teach them to problem solve and co-operate.  They also help build stronger immune systems! 

Physical activity habits learned in early childhood can last a lifetime and in our activity garden, children can climb, scramble, crawl, balance and slide their way around our wooden play equipment, and burn off energy running, jumping and hopping about on the grassed area.

The decked area at the front of the nursery is a versatile play area that can be set up by the staff for free play or specific activities. 

The gardens are a haven for butterflies and bees so the children can learn about the natural world as they play...and it's also home to Victor, our resident tortoise.

Here at Incy Wincy's we value the importance of outdoor play and getting closer to nature, and our gardens, with all their varied resources, colours, shapes and textures, are always full of rich, outdoor learning experiences for all our children.