Monthly Archives: March 2018

March 2018

Staff

We would like to welcome Mrs Stacey Blair who will be joining us on a Wednesday afternoon, Thursday full day and Friday full day. She will be with us on supply until June. Mrs Blair will be with the Cloud group at the end of the week. Miss Tasker will be the key worker for the Rainbow group and Mrs Moore will be with the Star group.

 

Houses and Homes

We have now come to the end of our learning about houses and homes. The children at Menstrie have enjoyed creating models of houses and buildings using junk material. They have been out for walks within our local community looking at different houses, comparing sizes of houses, as well as other building of interest e.g. the castle, church, café. We would like to thank all parents and carers who attended the STEM event at Dumyat centre.

 

Wee Scones Café

As part of our learning at nursery the children have been involved in setting up and running a café within their keygroup.  Each group has visited ‘The Forge Café’ in Menstrie where they have been asking Gordon Pirrie questions about how he runs his own café. They have been incorporating numeracy within the café by counting out pennies using 1-1 correspondance, recognising and forming numbers on the menu and measuring out ingredients for baking activities. The children have been involved in ‘staff meetings’ where they discuss what they would like their group café to look like, what decorations they would like, what food they would like to serve and they have all made their own individual name badges. They have enjoyed having their parents, carers and family members attending the café. We would like to thank everyone for their continued support throughout this experience. We would also like to say a huge thank you to Gordon Pirrie for supporting the children and allowing them to visit the café. We look forward to the Rainbow café and Sun café.

 

 

Health Week

Health week begins on Monday 26th March. We will have a range of activities on offer for the children.

Day Morning Session Afternoon Session
Monday SSPCA Bootcamp
Tuesday Waitrose tasting Dancing
Wednesday Bollywood Gordon Pirrie making pizza
Thursday Krav Maga Krav Maga

 

Achievements

We would love to hear about any achievements your child has at home or at clubs which they attend. Please inform your child’s keyworker of any which you would like to share.

Menstrie Den

Ms Williamson and the children have been busy this term visiting our den in the woods. The children have carried out their own risk assessments and have decided what they would like to have in the den. During the summer term we will be looking for parents/carers who would like to join us on visits to the den. Please keep an eye on the board in the foyer for any dates which we will be looking for parent helpers.

 

Nursery Outing

We will be going on our annual nursery outing to Almond Valley on Friday 22nd June. We are still looking for parent helpers to join us (there is a notice on the board in the foyer.) Please ensure all permission slips and money is returned to nursery by Friday 20th April. Thank you.

 

Dates for the Diary

  • Health Week – Monday 26th March
  • Rainbow café – Tuesday 27th March 1:45pm
  • Rainbow café – Thursday 29th March – 10:30am
  • Easter Holidays begin – Friday 30th March
  • Nursery reopens – Monday 16th April
  • Sun café – Tuesday 8th April – 1:45pm
  • Sun café – Thursday 10th April – 10:30am
  • Tuesday 5th June – Sports day morning session
  • Thursday 8th June – Sports day afternoon session
  • Tuesday 12th June – 3:30pm-4:30pm Transition meeting for new starts in P1
  • Friday 22nd June – Almond Valley
  • Tuesday 26th June – Teddy Bears Picnic
  • Thursday 28th June – Pre school graduation – 1:45pm
  • Friday 29th June – last day of term

 

Experiments

As part of STEM week, we have been learning about science. Here are some experiments can you try at home.

Does it dissolve?

You will need:

  • Clear plastic cups
  • A spoon
  • Warm water
  • Items such as flour, oil, sugar, sand and coffee

What to do:

  • Fill each cup with some warm water
  • Add flour (or other substance) to the cups individually
  • Stir well
  • Check to see if it has dissolved
  • If not, why not? Is it lighter or heavier than water?

 

Make a rain cloud

You will need:

  • A clear plastic cup
  • Water
  • Shaving foam
  • A pipette
  • blue food colouring

What to do:

  • Fill the cup with 3/4 of cold water
  • Add 1/4 of shaving foam
  • Use the pipette to draw up some blue food colouring
  • Carefully drop some blue food colouring onto the shaving foam
  • Watch as the blue ‘rain drops’ fall down into the water

 

Make a rainbow

What you need:

  • A packet of skittles
  • A plate
  • Water

What to do:

  • Place the skittles in a circular shape around the edge of the plate
  • Carefully put some warm water onto the plate (just enough to touch the skittles and cover the plate)
  • Watch as a rainbow forms (you may need to help by swirling the water with your finger) Continue reading