Hedgehogs Room Garden Transformation Project
The children in Hedgehogs Room at Hartcliffe Nursery School have been deeply engaged in an impressive garden transformation project throughout April 2025. This child-led initiative has created a rich learning environment supporting multiple areas of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework.
The garden now features several distinct areas carefully designed to promote different aspects of development. A new mud kitchen area encourages imaginative play as children experiment with sand and water – mixing, pouring, and tipping materials. These activities support both Communication and Language development through collaborative play and Mathematics through exploration of capacity, measurement, and properties of materials.
A thoughtfully designed quiet zone provides a calm retreat where children can engage with books and mark-making materials, supporting Literacy development and fostering concentration skills. Nearby, an expanded construction area enables collaborative building projects with varied resources, enhancing Physical Development and Personal, Social and Emotional Development as children work together to solve problems.
The warm April weather has inspired extensive water play with animals, funnels, and containers, creating opportunities for scientific learning about flow, volume, and properties of water – directly supporting Understanding the World. Children have enthusiastically embraced chalk mark-making on the ground, creating games like hopscotch that combine creativity with physical activity.
Perhaps most impressive has been the children’s response to new climbing equipment. Beyond developing their physical skills and confidence, the equipment has become a space where children actively support and encourage one another, demonstrating remarkable empathy and teamwork – core elements of Personal, Social and Emotional Development in the EYFS.
This garden transformation demonstrates how outdoor environments can be powerful learning spaces where children develop across all EYFS areas while following their natural curiosity and interests. The Hedgehogs Room team at Hartcliffe Nursery School looks forward to extending the garden with new ideas suggested by the children in the coming weeks.
Visit their website for more photos from their garden transformation project. This is one of many innovative learning projects at Hartcliffe Nursery School. Visit their website to discover more about their holistic approach to early years education.