Autumn is here, bringing cooler days, colourful leaves and plenty of new things for little ones to explore. As the seasons change, everyday moments — watching leaves fall, spotting conkers, feeling the wind or noticing the changing colours around us — become opportunities to ask questions and discover something new. Books are a lovely way to introduce these seasonal changes and give little ones a chance to talk about what they see around them. We've gathered 9 autumn books for babies,...

There’s a lot more to baking with toddlers than making something tasty to eat. A bowl of ingredients, a wooden spoon and a little bit of flour can give little one’s opportunities to count, measure, mix, talk, experiment and make choices for themselves. At our nurseries, baking is one of the many everyday experiences we use to help children learn through doing. It might look like we're simply making biscuits or preparing a cake, but there is plenty of learning happening along the way. So, what...

Paint-covered hands. Muddy trousers. Water everywhere. Messy play can sometimes look, well… messy. But behind the splashes, squashes and spills, children are busy learning. For young children, messy play is a chance to explore materials, test ideas, use their senses and discover what happens when they experiment. There doesn't need to be a finished picture, a perfect model or a right answer. The learning comes from the process of exploring. What is messy play? Messy play is open-ended play...