A new nursery, Green Giraffe Organic Day Nursery in Penarth, has opened its doors to 42 children per day. Located conveniently for residents and business owners alike, out nursery is surrounded by beautiful parks within a prestigious residential area. This Victorian building has been fully modernised to the highest standards but still manages to retain its character and charm, and our spaces have an amazing homely, bright, eco-friendly feel. Green Giraffe also offers care through the medium of Welsh! We give out children freedom to flourish and naturally inspire them to the love of learning.

Our Montessori playrooms, environments, and curriculum

Our playrooms are designed to have a comfortable, welcoming atmosphere- one made for babies and children to come and explore without restraint. With colours and furniture chosen from neutral palettes, there is never any need for children to feel intimidated or upset when playing here. Our playrooms all have familiar props that young ones would know, like dustpans and brushes, so that the transition into nursery life is a calm and happy experience, one where children can build their confidence and self-esteem, trying activities they are familiar with.

We promote our babies and children to be autonomous learners and to develop a sense of classroom etiquette, helping out children be kind, respectful, and considerate to others around them. We provide lots of opportunities throughout the day for babies and children to practise basic skills they will need in life. This may include guiding babies to hold their bottle or spoon independently, as well as creating an environment where babies can strengthen their motor skills to move, crawl, and start to find their feet.

The baby rooms have lots of colourful, sensory toys such as treasure baskets, soft toys and stackable blocks that all have a specific place on the shelf so that children’s needs for order is fulfilled and our baby room practitioners help the babies to start to place the objects back in the baskets and back on the shelf.

Our toddlers start to learn practical skills such as washing dishes, simple pouring, and transferring, so that they are able to be independent during snack and meal times. They are encouraged to respect their materials and are encouraged to put their activities and toys away after they have used them. At this age we also provide lots of time and opportunity to practise putting on shoes and coats, and we have dressing frames that support the development of these skills.

In addition to this, the toddler rooms are filled with games and toys that help children develop essential skills for numbers including matching, pairing, comparing, sequencing and sorting.

In our pre-school rooms, we aim to help children become ready for life. These rooms have experienced pre-school teachers that have a passion for the Montessori method of teaching. The classroom has a designated space for each curriculum area with a large selection of activities that can fulfil the needs of each child’s developmental needs.

In order to foster development of fine motor skills, our centre provides numerous opportunities for children to explore through practical activities. Such exercises include pouring liquid from one container to another; carrying items using utensils such as spoons and tongs; latching and locking doors; or dressing frames with buttons, zippers and velcro. We have the Sensorial Area in which we focus on educating the senses- we introduce the children to distinguishing between shapes, colours, dimensions, textures, temperatures, weights and even sound.

We have lovely literacy and numeracy areas where the children can develop literacy and nursery skills using concrete objects. We are proud to promote the Welsh language as much as possible throughout the day and encourage its use in day to day life.

All the children engage in creative activities throughout the day such as arts and crafts, expressive arts and design through small world and construction activities, imaginative role plays as well as performing arts including storytelling, music and movement, dance and yoga.

With the Montessori curriculum, we provide opportunities for children to learn about the world around us, what role we have within our society, and what we can do to protect it. Through activities of everyday living and through outdoor play or forest schools, we help children to develop respect for themselves, others around them, and their environment. Traditions, culture and festivals is something the nursery celebrates and values, teaching our children their role and value in society as well as focusing on the Welsh language and Welsh culture.

If you would like to enquire and book a viewing at our lovely new setting, please call our enquiries team on 029 2022 6806 or email us at info@greengiraffenursery.co.uk. We are looking forward to welcoming more children to our Green Giraffe family!