The children have been showing a strong interest in using natural materials when playing outdoors.  To build upon this interest natural materials have been provided in the construction area.  The children have enjoyed making pictures using these materials and problem solving when trying to fit them together.  Many of them have also been telling very imaginative stories about the pictures and models they have made.

The use of natural materials is a wonderful opportunity for children to develop their imagination and their problem solving skills.  Transfering a stick or leaf into an aeroplane, horse, slide etc requires the development of higher order thinking skills.

If your child shows an interest in this at home please take photographs for us to display on our ‘Look at me learning at home’ wall.   We would love to have some updated photos, pictures etc for this wall.

The children helped to set up a Chinese restaurant in the role-play area this week.  They shared their ideas of what they thought should go into a restaurant and helped to create some resources.  They are learning to explore different cultures in the lead up to the celebration of Chinese New Year.  They are also developing their skills in sharing resources, communicating their ideas and sharing their experiences.  There has been some fantastic dramatic play – which is clearly evidenced in the superb photographs below.

Next week we will focus further on a mini Chinese New Year topic and you will be able to see evidence of this on the interactive planning wall in nursery.  As always, please feel free to offer your own comments either by replying to this post or by adding a sticky on the interactive planning wall.  Thank you.

The children have been celebrating all things Scottish in the nursery this week.  They enjoyed tasting haggis, neeps and tatties as part of our Burns night celebrations. They also helped to prepare and taste some traditional scotch broth and some Scottish shortbread.  The children have enjoyed dancing to different types of Scottish music. They explored some of the steps used in Scottish country dancing and they also enjoyed creating their own dances.  The children have also been learning some new Scottish words using some favourite stories, rhymes and songs (eg Ally Bally, Three Craws and Katie Bairdie).

The children have been keeping active even though the weather has been bad outdoors. They have been exploring new movements and techniques using the sticky kids warm up CD. The children have been galloping, skipping, tip toeing and marching. They have also explored some new action songs and rhymes.

The children have enjoyed exploring their understanding of numbers up to 10 and beyond! They have been recognising numbers, counting objects and ordering numbers.

Wow!  What a fantastic day the nursery boys and girls had today.  We hope you all enjoyed watching it as much as the children enjoyed performing.

We spent some time at Cults West Church at the lovely Christmas tree festival.  Ewan Gilchrest, the minister, and Peter read us a story and told us a little bit more about Jesus.  We then had some time looking at the different Christmas trees.  We thought the best one was the nursery tree – it is so sparkly!  Please pop along to see our tree if you have not already done so.  It is located inside the front door.

We then walked ‘a very long way,’ according to the children, to get to the hub.  We sang a selection of Christmas songs with a nativity theme.  Some children even had speaking parts!  The nursery staff were all very, very proud of the children for performing with such enthusiasm – this really is a fantastic achievement for three and four-year-olds.  Well done everyone!

Here is a selection of photogrpahs from our very busy day.  You can click here or here to see two different videos.

Parents: please feel free to leave your feedback from the performance on the parent planning board inside nursery or by replying to this post.

Cults Nursery are sponsoring a Christmas tree at Cults West Church this year.  The tree has just been decorated with the fantastic sparkly handmade decorations that the children have been working on recently. The tree looks fantastic!

You will be able to see the tree from Monday when the church opens for it’s annual Christmas tree service. Our tree is in the porch at the front entrance.  The children will see it at our trip on Tuesday.

The nursery children will be performing at the Hub, in Cults Kirk Centre for the second annual Christmas performance on Tuesday 15th December.  All members of the community will be invited along to this.  Parents, siblings and family members are invited along too. The children will not need to come to nursery at all on this day.  Drop off and collections will take place at two different churches – please see the information below.  Children are invited to wear Christmas jumpers, Santa hats or party dresses for their performance.  They should also have a cosy jacket and sensible shoes for walking. Any children that do not usually attend nursery on Tuesdays are invited to attend.

AM

The AM children should be dropped at the church at the bottom of Quarry Road for between 9.15 and 9.30am.  They will visit the Christmas tree festival in this church before walking along to perform at The Hub.  The performance will begin at approximately 10.30am – although you may wish to arrive early to get a seat.   They will then have a Christmas themed snack in the hub.  All children must be collected from the hub at 11.20am.

PM

The PM children should be dropped at the church at the bottom of Quarry Road for between 12.30 and 12.45pm.  They will visit the Christmas tree festival in this church before walking along to perform at The Hub.  The performance will begin at approximately 1.45pm – although you may wish to arrive early to get a seat.   They will then have a Christmas themed snack in the hub.  All children must be collected from the hub at 2.30pm, this will allow parents to return to school in time to collect older children.