The Curious Child is a brand new playgroup for children aged from eight months to five years coming to Batheaston New Village Hall from October and taking place on Monday mornings from 9.30-11am.
The brainchild of Amy Harding, an infant teacher with a specialism in Early Years education and also a proud parent of two young children, The Curious Child will provide play sessions where parents and carers can come together and socialise, whilst their children engage in high-quality, open-ended, and mostly natural resources, as well as vintage objects and curiosities.
Plus there will be cakes and drinks available for the adults!
“Parenting is joyous, but at times it can feel like a wild rollercoaster ride, one that is better navigated with a hot coffee, scrumptious cake and conversation with like-minded people,” said Amy. “I absolutely love socialising with other parents and carers, and I visit toddler groups for this reason, but I’m often questioning the quality of the play, and therefore the quality of the learning opportunities available (as we know children learn through play).
“Resources can be one-dimensional, meaning that children have low levels of engagement as well as limited opportunities to learn through play. This in turn leads to a busy and distracting environment.
“My background in infant education has led to a deep understanding of high-quality play, that it is a drive from within the child (as opposed to adult-directed) and dependent on rich resources. This does not mean expensive toys, but rather resources that are open-ended, so that they can be played with in any number of ways. For example, think of how many different ways you could play with a cardboard tube… it could be a telescope of course, or a tunnel, a slide, a trumpet and so on!
“When you visit The Curious Child, your child will have access to a large number of open-ended play opportunities which will foster enjoyment, curiosity and high-levels of engagement. ‘Grandad’s Kitchen’ is a home corner with real and vintage objects, such as china tea sets, ornaments and lots of curiosities to explore hands-on. We also have a wooden and metallics loose part play area, for children to immerse in open-ended resources.
“Children can create large-scale runways with bamboo chutes, channelling stands and various natural balls. We also have a big building area, a climb-in sandpit, a den, and much more! I look forward to warmly welcoming you in October.”
The Curious Child is also available for party hire, private hire and events hire available. For more details go to
For more details and to book a place, contact Amy on email hidden; JavaScript is required