✨ Tinsel-Powered Learning at Fun Box Nursery — It’s Beginning to Look Like Christmas ✨

With the start of December, Christmas has officially arrived at Fun Box — and the children have embraced the festive season with excitement, creativity and curiosity.

🎨 Crafty Christmas Creations

The week began with decorating our Christmas tree, which the children approached with great enthusiasm. They proudly hung baubles… and then happily took them off again, discovering that de-decorating can be just as enjoyable as decorating! 😄🎄

Festive crafts filled the room as small pinecones were transformed into tiny Christmas trees 🌲, each one decorated with care and personality.

The children also helped colour in our large Christmas tree picture, adding their own marks and ideas.

Later, a simple cardboard box became a cheerful homemade gingerbread house 🏠✨ that brought smiles to everyone.

A lovely stamping station was set up where the children decorated their Christmas folders using seasonal stamps, choosing patterns and colours to make each one truly their own.

🌟 Sensory Christmas Play - Tinsel-powered learning in action

A warm, festive scent filled the room as the children helped make cinnamon-scented playdough. Rolling, shaping and squashing it became a favourite part of the day. ✨

Our littlest ones explored a tinsel-powered learning through our Christmas themed treasure basket 🎁, discovering sparkles, textures and gentle sounds through sensory play — simple materials that created moments of wonder.

🎅 Role-Play & Imaginative Play 🚂

At the beginning of the week, the Polar Express tray captured the children’s imagination. Santa and the trains travelled around a snowy track ❄️🚂, inspiring stories, sound effects and plenty of collaborative play.

In the second half of the week, the role-play corner transformed into a busy Christmas shop 🛒🎁. The children took turns as cashiers and customers, scanning items, chatting at the checkout and organising the shelves. It became a lively space full of language, confidence and festive teamwork.

💪 Physical & Fine Motor Development 🤲

Throughout the week, the children strengthened their fine motor skills by using tweezers to place pompoms onto a sticky Christmas tree 🎄 — a simple but highly engaging activity that encouraged precision, concentration and steady hand movements.

They also enjoyed festive gross motor challenges. Christmas-themed targets encouraged throwing beanbags and balls 🎯, helping them to practise coordination, balance and controlled movement in a fun, active way.

🦷 Learning About Health This Christmas

With Christmas treats approaching, we also took a moment to focus on oral health. The children practised the “dry brushing” technique — brushing with toothpaste but no water for two minutes — and enjoyed learning how to keep their teeth healthy during the festive season and beyond.

📚 How This Supports the EYFS

All these festive experiences supported the children’s development across the EYFS. Crafting, decorating and using tweezers encouraged fine motor development and early mark-making ✍️. The Polar Express and Christmas shop offered rich opportunities for communication, language and social interaction 🗣️🤝. Cinnamon playdough, tinsel baskets and snowy tracks supported sensory exploration and understanding of the world 🌍. Beanbag-throwing and movement games built gross motor confidence 🚀, while our tooth-brushing activity helped develop early self-care and health awareness.

Through creativity, movement and festive curiosity, the children made a joyful and meaningful start to December. 🎄✨