CHILDREN LOVE TO COOK – Broccoli Bites Children love to cook. It’s creative and there’s something tasty to eat at the end of it. As you cook, chat about healthy eating and home-cooked food, and introduce simple mathematics as you weigh and count the ingredients out.  These cheesy broccoli bites are simple to make and…

Who doesn’t love star shaped things? These little cheese stars will go down well on Fireworks Night or can be made for Christmas too. All you need is a sheet of ready made puff pasty (at room temperature), some grated cheese and a little flour to dust the work surface. Encourage your child to wash…

Making Sandwiches The humble sandwich is a very good place to start when introducing little ones to cooking. No special ingredients are needed and there is no heat involved! Encourage your child to wash their hands before you start. Provide a couple of different fillings so that your child can choose – this will give…

Shelling peas is a great thing to do with young children.  There are valuable lessons about where food comes from, it’s great for developing fine motor skills and also it’s a great activity to do while you chat. You may find a reluctant talker opens up a little when doing an easy, repetitive activity like…

Try making these nutritious Breakfast Sundaes with your child for a weekend breakfast treat.  They use ingredients that you probably already have and there is no heat involved. Encourage your child to wash their hands. Gather together your ingredients: your child’s favourite cereal, a pot of yoghurt and some fresh or tinned fruit. Help your…

Gingerbread Reindeer These creative reindeer biscuits are cut out using standard gingerbread man cutters turned upside down!   Preheat your oven to 190oC/Gas mark 5.   Mix 350g of plain flour, 2 tsp ground ginger or mixed spice and 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda. Rub in 100g of butter then stir in 175g of soft…

What is a portion size? You will see us mention “portion sizes” when you receive your end of day report on your child’s day. Maybe they ate a portion at lunchtime, or half at breakfast.  But what is a portion?   Our typical portion sizes in the main nursery are pictured below, and hopefully this…

This Easter holidays, why not try these cute little woolly sheep cakes? Cooking with your child teaches them about where their food comes from and making healthy food choices. Baking is the perfect way to get started – all that weighing and measuring, mixing, stirring, timing and even a bit of science as the cakes…

The children love to meet the Bumpkins hens! The great outdoors is a very important part of life at Bumpkins, and we are lucky to have access to large areas of grassed meadows, fields and an all-weather surfaced garden. We even have Bumpkins hens on site. The children love feeding them and you can even…

Tips on How to Eat Seven-A-Day I’m sure you’ve read that the latest government guidelines for healthy eating state that we should eat seven portions of fruit and vegetables every day. If this seems like a difficult task to incorporate these into your diet, we’ve put together our favourite “secretly good” recipes to help you…