Kids Island Nursery

Helping Families Settle in an Expat World

Becoming an expat parent comes with its own set of challenges, none more so emotionally charged than settling family in a new country. Moving abroad typically means leaving behind extended family, friends and close neighbors, who form a web of support on a daily basis. The prospect of relocating and rebuilding close friendships can seem daunting to parents let alone the children involved in the move. The initial transition can prove to be tumultuous, filled with tears and tantrums.

Navigating through parenthood is hard enough, but when relocation is added to the mix there is no telling how children will adjust or adapt to new situations. While children do adapt easily, many parents know that the experience is hard on them especially in the initial transition. Parents may yearn for the stability they left behind, but how can they recreate the network of support again in a new country?

Isabelle Amatoury, founder of Kid’s Island Nursery in Dubai, has dealt with many families transitioning into the region. She prides herself on the fact that the Nursery is known for working closely with families to ensure that a stable foundation is created from which the family can grow. “Our belief at Kids Island Nursery is that children thrive on love, laughter and security. When there is no extended family around, the Nursery takes its place. We provide an inspiring, progressive, nature- themed environment for our children to learn and explore, while helping them settle into their new routine. However, it’s not only the children we are concerned about but the parents as well. Moving is stressful especially when moving abroad. We understand that parents may be feeling overwhelmed and our goal is to give guidance and support where needed. We also offer cuddles on the really rough days because nothing beats a cuddle from someone who cares!”

Isabelle recommends that new families find ways to connect to the city, “Set aside time within the week to explore the beaches, parks and malls around the area. Accept invitations to dinner or play dates. Join local clubs or Facebook groups. The sooner the family feels settled, the sooner they will find that Dubai is filled with many like-minded, caring people, who will start to help rebuild the network of support that has been left behind.”

Kid’s Island Nursery has been in Dubai for 28 years, and has provided a stable network of support to thousands of families over the years. The Nursery is an extension of the family, providing parents support to settle in an expat village, while offering guidance and stability. Their team of caring staff strives to create a loving, nurturing environment from which the families and children can grow. 

About Kids Island Nursery

Kids Island Nursery in Dubai was founded over two decades ago by Isabelle Amatoury. The philosophy of the nursery centers on the fact that each child is unique and should be given the opportunity to explore and learn. The Nursery follows the British Curriculum and caters to children starting preschool and kindergarten. They provide a safe and nurturing environment helping children gain social skills and increase self-awareness.

“Mum, read me a story”

1. Bonding
2. Exploring emotions
3. Boosting language, interest and curiosity
4. Understanding real vs make-believe
5. Improving listening and concentration
6. Learning other languages
7. Social and communication skills

Exploring at my own pace

As parents it’s so easy to rush and push towards the next milestone, and walking is the big one, with mums and dads using it as a benchmark for so-called progress. However, every stage that our children go through is precious and critical, helping them develop in specific ways, and only when your baby’s nervous system is ready and operating at its full potential will they move on to the next activity.

By the time your baby is 12 months old, their brain will be 50% of its adult size, and it will continue to expand, with experiences and movements creating connections between nerve cells. You might not realise it, but the most simple (and fun!) activities can have brain-boosting capabilities.

Floor time and movement on the floor is essential for learning. Your little one must be able to spend up to 20 minutes of ‘tummy time’ per day from around 3 months old.

Why is it so important?

It strengthens your baby’s neck and shoulder muscles - as they will want to look up to see what’s happening around them. This will encourage your child to sit up, roll over and crawl earlier and this can prevent “positional Plagiocephaly”, which is flattening on the back of the head.

Between car seats and strollers, today’s babies spend most of their time on their backs or upright. You might find that your child initially resists floor time and persistence is key, building up from even just a few minutes.
To have the best of Tummy Time, position a favourite toy or child-proof mirror within their gaze and encourage them to reach for it.                            
Avoid tummy time shortly after eating to make sure it’s as enjoyable and comfortable for them as possible.

Building up strength

You might also see your baby push off the floor using their hands, which is the beginning of rolling over and crawling. It will assist in developing their will and determination to take action and complete a task. Their hands will become strengthened, assisting with holding a pencil when a little older.

Floor time also builds spatial awareness

Informing babies of their environment and helping them to build an internal map of their physical position in the world, such as next to a toy, on the rug, in the playpen, which helps with movement and navigation later on in life.

So what happens if your baby doesn’t get enough floor time?

Skipping the crawling stage can have a major impact later on. While this may appear inconsequential from a brain development angle, it can lead to challenges once your child reaches school age. By not crawling, their eye tracking can be compromised, and there might be less integration between left and right sides of the brain, which can inhibit fine motor skills such as tying shoe laces, cutting paper and doing up buttons.

How to get the most from floor time:

  1. Do a little every day, building up the time to around 20 minutes.

  2. To stimulate, regularly change the toys.

  3. When they’re ready, offer a smooth space where your baby can try to move (leave hands and feet uncovered for grip).

  4. Get down to their level. Eye contact and talking will help with bonding and model each other’s movements for fun.

  5. Use this opportunity to safely stretch and massage your baby. Gently try cross-body movements to introduce the brain to patterns for crawling.

  6. Floor time can be continued into childhood, with families interacting on the same level, playing, reading and discussing topics.

Sand Dough Recipe!

Sensory Activity Objective:

What a great way to let the children mix, kneed and explore this special sand dough and at the same time develop their language and fine motor skills in a very creative way!
Engage in a conversation that supports this activity i.e.
What textures do you feel? Is it soft, hard…? 
What happens to the flour when we add water?
Where can we find sand in Dubai?
What can you do with wet sand, and dry sand?

Activity Words: Soft, hard, gritting, rough, squeeze, roll, pull, cut, mold, create…

Items required:

  • Clean play sand – 4 cups

  • Flour – 3 cups

  • Water – 1 cup

  • ¼ cup vegetable oil

Equipment required:

  • Glass mixing bowl

  • Wooden spoon

  • Rolling pin


  1. Combine the flour, salt, water and oil in a mixing bowl.

  2. Knead with your hands until the mixture forms a ball.

  3. If the mixture is too dry, gradually add water until it reaches a nice dough consistency and if the mixture is too watery, gradually add more flour.

  4. Let the child’s “creation” dry on a tray.

Change, one small step at a time

February has just burst through the door! The thought that we are well into the second month of 2016 creates a response of nodding heads and tut-tuts about how quickly time seems to fly. And yet it seems as if it were only yesterday that January arrived in a shower of confetti-shaded hopes, wishes and resolutions for the new year ahead. For many of us, this is the time of the year that we look at the year gone by and assess what we could have done better or achieved more with ourselves, our children or our family. And so during the beginning of the year, we often create grandiose resolutions during which, with steely resolve, we promise ourselves that we are going to do more or change more. By February all those plans have faltered, as we protest at how difficult it has been. Actually, those plans were more than likely to fail because we are trying to change too much, too quickly without enough resources or without enough time.  Perhaps, instinctively, we know that they are going to fail and so we give up before we have even started.

The “One percent Principle” goes a long way in explaining why resolutions or long-term plans often fail. It basically suggests that we often avoid setting major goals because achieving them seems so overwhelming. Sometimes changes we are trying to establish may be too great. Interestingly, the theory continues to support that small, often subtle changes create a momentum that increasingly brings about much larger change. I would say that when it comes to our children this idea makes a lot of sense.

Very often we, working in early years children’s nurseries in Dubai, hear parents saying that they are going to start disciplining their children more, spend more time with them, establish better eating habits or help them achieve better grades. The plans come from a good place but are often too general, broad or too drastic. With children, we cannot start changing established habits all at once. It creates too much insecurity as children do not know what to expect. Yet, if we change small things incrementally and consistently, we stand a better chance of succeeding which in turn will bring about confidence in ourselves and our abilities as parents. If dad arrives at home half an hour earlier to read a story to his child he has basically started and achieved in measure the change planned. Scheduling family dinners together over the weekend and at least once during the week creates the basis for a habit that impacts language, communication and cognitive skills. Half an hour less on the I-pad will mean half an hour more time playing and developing physical skills. Speaking to our children and others using “and “instead of “but” will reinforce that respect and love are not conditional. Small, positive changes that we apply with consistency can have the potential to create a lasting effect.

Easy Clay Ornaments!

Looking for a recipe to make ornaments for the holidays?
We found the best one and you only need everyday kitchen ingredients to do it!

What you will need!

  •  2 cups baking soda
  •  1 cup cornstarch
  •  1.1/4 cup water
  •  Cookie cutters/stamps
  •  Straw for the holes
  •  Ribbons for hanging ornaments

What to do

  • Mix the baking soda and cornstarch in a pan. Add the water and mix. Place on stove (medium heat) and bring to a boil stirring constantly throughout.
  • In few minutes, the watery mixture will thicken and suddenly become almost like mashed potatoes. Straight away remove from the heat and place mixture onto a cookie sheet in one lump. Cover with a damp cloth and leave to cool.
  • Once it is cool enough to work with, lightly dust the surface with cornstarch and roll it out into a snake roll. Divide it into smaller chunks. It will have the smooth consistency of fondant.
  • Stamp it with stamps (with or without ink) and then cut it with the cookie cutter, finishing it off with a hole using the straw.
  • Leave it to air dry overnight.

Ice Cube Painting

Discussion: What happens to the ice when we paint with it? What happens to the water when put in the freezer? How does the ice feel? 

Activity words: wet, melting, cold, freezing, very cold, frozen, hard….
Remember to make the activity fun, and encourage the children in their creativity.

Preparations: Each teacher must make her own ice cubes.    

  1. Fill a jug (1 liter) with water and add half a bottle of food colouring or paint. You may want to do more than one colour.
  2. Fill the ice cube trays and place in the freezer overnight. You may want to add popsicle sticks.            


  1. Place a piece of paper in front of each child and then give them each an ice cube.
  2. They will see how cold it is to hold and then the excitement of what they can create as the ice-cube melts on their pieces of paper.
  3. Encourage the children to move the ice cube around their piece of paper, creating patterns and shapes.
  4. Allow to dry!

Kids Island Nursery and Cocoon Nursery have a new look!

Kids Island and Cocoon Nursery are exited to announce our new website!

With the new year passed and the holidays over we have started the new term with a big announcement! From our new logo and website to our incredible new facade the nursery has worked incredibly hard to bring you a fresh new look.

Thats not the only thing we have done. Just like every new year we get so exited ordering new toys, supplies and brainstorming new fun and inspiring projects to get the creative juices flowing.

This year more than ever we are pushing our Proactively-Eco initiative to recycle even more, reduce waste and encourage healthy living.


We cant wait to hear what you think!

4 minute play dough recipe

If your having trouble finding activities during the summer in Dubai and it is simply too hot to play outside play dough is the perfect thing. Play dough is a fun creative activity for children and a great way to train little muscles in their hands to develop dexterity, build strength and refine fine motor skills! Encouraging your child to use both hands to roll, shape and even pound play dough can improve their bilateral hand coordination!

Play dough can be a great outlet for emotional stress and a wild imagination so simply refrain from distracting them and just let them play freely.

Not many nurseries are willing to share their secrete recipes but we simply couldn't keep this one to ourselves. We at Kids Island and Cocoon Nursery believe in "sharing is caring!" so here is our recipe for play dough we actually use. 


  • 2 cups of plain flour (all purpose)
  • 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
  • 1/2 cup of salt
  • 2 tablespoons of cream of tartar (powder)
  • 1.5 cups of boiling water (add more slowly if needed)
  • Food colouring (optional)
  • Few drops of glycerine (optional - adds more shine)

Recipe method:

  • Add the boiling water
  • Add the food colouring and glycerine (both optional)
  • Stir continuously until it becomes a sticky combined dough

Allow it to cool down then take it out of the bowl and knead it vigorously for a couple of minutes until all of the stickiness has gone.  This is the most important part of the process, so keep at it until it’s the perfect consistency. If it remains a little sticky then add a touch more flour until just right.

Store it in a tupperware box and place it in the fridge to make it last longer.

Hope you enjoy it!


It's not harmful if you eat it but if your child does eat too much it could cause a stomach ache. Refrain from eating it and please keep it away from animals.


Cleaning products and toxicity

I couldn’t help but laugh the other day as I was watching a commercial about a cleaning liquid. A beautiful young mummy, perfectly dressed and coiffed enthusiastically cleans her kitchen. With a mop in her hand, and a bottle of neon green, improved-formula anti-bacterial detergent in the other, she glides her mop on the kitchen floor. A glistening streak of germ free-cleanliness instantly appears transforming her dull kitchen into a wonderland of cascading blooms and rays of sunshine. Her floor is radiant; her smile is radiant and her little ones, observing gleefully, radiate health and good nature. She is a domestic goddess, crowned by her good choice in detergents. She is the champion of her family’s well-being and happiness through her floral-scented wisdom. She is the mother that we all strive to be…We’ve all seen the commercials, time and time again. Yet, what are they really telling us?

The messages are clear: chemical detergents are our allies in keeping our families healthy and successful. We can elevate our status from average mother to wonderful mother by how clean and sterile our homes are. Supermarket shelves are packed with hundreds of bottles of detergents that promise us health. Why then are we seeing an “allergy and autoimmune epidemic” in developed societies? If our homes are so clean, why are we getting so sick? Think of it: by cleaning and sanitising our homes through chemicals we are effectively creating sterile environments where good microbes which stimulate our immune systems are eradicated while also loading our indoor environment with toxic fumes and residues. This is where our children live, eat, sleep and play…every day. We are effectively achieving the opposite of what we set out to do.

The other day, I was reading about the “Hygiene Hypothesis” which in measure explains that the increase in asthma and autoimmune diseases may be due to sterile home environments that do not offer enough diversity in germs needed to stimulate and educate developing immune systems. Studies within certain farming communities in the Unites States reveal some startling results. Living very traditional ways of life, they shun the comforts and products of developed societies. They are daily exposed to animals and live a very natural life that is close to the land. Interestingly, they have dramatically lower incidents of asthma and autoimmune diseases within their communities.

As a nursery in Dubai with so many children present we have to make sure that the environment is clean but not sterile. Kid’s Island and Cocoon nursery are eco-friendly where the importance of cleanliness is obvious. Clean environments, whether school or home, should not mean sterile chemical zones but ones where the environment, children, parents and staff members are respected. The use of ENJO microfibers, “Baby Air” air purifiers, pure soap and essential oils have been our mainstay for years now and part of our core values and ethos. Come see us in the office for more ideas of chemical-free cleaning.