We begin our day by gathering under the Liquidambar tree, where we each have opportunity to talk about how we are feeling and what we'd like to do today. We check the visual timetable and consider our choices for the day, before heading to our chosen areas.

In the summer, we open up the studio in the mornings for yoga/movement sessions with Hannah. After yoga, the children help to reset the space, laying out snack tables, with individual place names and flowers.

The house is a popular choice at our holiday care, particularly with younger children, or those settling in. Each morning, a few wooden slabs present invitations for non-prescriptive play on the expansive rugs and surrounding child-height cupboards offer further resources that children can independently access. Nearby, children can play the cottage piano, read in the comfy reading area, or help prepare snack in the open-plan kitchen.

The Play Shed is a much-loved zone at our holiday care, with a woodwork bench, a fully-equipped real-world kitchen and shop, large-scale markmaking areas, weighing scales, a pulley and wishing well.  In the mornings, children can free-flow between the play shed and house and an adult supports the play in each.

Mid morning, children are given the choice to help harvest and prepare the morning snack. We love to pick a huge variety of salad leaves and berries in our handmade baskets.

We come together as a whole group for snack time, where we offer a buffet, with portion numbers alongside. This is a great chance to pause and check-in with where we're all at, before returning to our chosen play and projects in the play shed and house, for another session before lunch. 

​We offer a variety of outdoor and indoor lunchtime locations and the can children choose a place to relax and arrange furniture to suit their needs. We love a leisurely lunch and the conversations that evolve are always interesting and memorable. ​For handwashing, children choose their individually coloured hand-towel that they keep for the day.

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We love to spend all afternoon den building at our holiday care. We work in the meadow copse, which provides shade, or rain shelter and allows complete immersion. At the top of the field, up a steep hill, is our 'Bear Cottage' tree cave, where we also have a great view out over the neighbouring villages.

Part-way through the afternoon, we pause our den building to have a light picnic snack. Our snack pots are made up in individual ramekins, comprising of fresh garden fruit, yogurts or a homemade sorbet. We love to add edible flowers to our pots, or enjoy floral or fruity ice cubes.

To end our afternoon, we go on a tour of the children's dens and the children talk to us about what they have created. Time to pack up and head down to the Liquidambar tree cave, where we talk about things we liked and didn't like from the day. To close, we make up a story, often inspired by the day's activities.