This year we will not be dressing up within the ECC and unfortunately the children can not bring in their favourite book due to current restrictions.
We will however be celebrating our love of books in the ECC with lots of activities planned for the children.
Getting our children interested in books and reading is vitally important to support their early literacy skills. This leads to many benefits including; improved concentration, their vocabulary expands and understanding, improves social and interactions skills, their creativity and gain a better understanding of the world.
Remember to check out your child’s learning journals for any updates.
If you have any problems logging on then let me know.
After the first minister’s announcement this week we are delighted to be welcoming back all the children to the ECC from Monday 22nd February.
Our safety restrictions will still be in place, here is a reminder of these;
Children and staff will be in two separate bubbles.
Group drop off and pick up times will be staggered to ensure the ECC playground is not too busy.
Children will be collected from adult in ECC playground – you MUST wait with your child until a staff member takes them from you. Please be patient as staff from different bubbles are not able to take your child.
When collected children will be brought out to adult in ECC playground.
Face coverings must be worn when dropping off or picking child up.
Can we ask that only one adult enter playground to pick child up.
All children will wash their hands when entering and exiting ECC.
Due to transitional benefits we have had a change in the group bubbles – this allows the children to mix with others and for the children entering Primary 1 this year it is good for them to get to know some of the other pre-schoolers. Our new drop off and pick up times for the groups are as follows;
Groups
Drop off
Pick up
Red & Green
8:40
2:40
Yellow & Blue
8:50
2:50
Purple
8:55
2:55
We are very grateful for all our families continued support and understanding during these times.
As we end another week of home learning I would like to take this opportunity to thank all our families for their patience and understanding during this time. I have no doubts of the struggles that many of you will be facing having to work from home and may be home schooling as well.Ā You are all doing such an amazing job!! All the staff are here to support as best as we can so if it’s some advice, or just to have someone listen to you then we are here! Give us an email or request a phone call and you will hear from one of us.
This week we explored the importance of our children’s mental health…this goes without saying that our own mental health is vitally important also. So please always remember to find the time for some enjoyment in the house, whether this be something the full family loves or if you can find some ‘me’ time.Ā Settling down to watch a movie, with popcorn and snacks, an outdoor walk to park for a runabout whatever your family enjoys.
The announcements this week from the Scottish Government is hopeful for a return of Early Years from the 22nd February, this will be verified on the 16th February so please keep a watch out for that announcement. Any clarification of detail will follow on GLOW after this date.Ā We hope to have you all back with us soon and the journey to coming out of this pandemic will be on the move again.
I hope you all have a lovely weekend and are able to get out for some fresh air no matter the weather.
Just a little note to say that as we enter into another week of national lockdown, it is understandable that we may be feeling a little low. Having the children at home juggling work and home learning this can cause amounts of stress and anxiety. It is imperative now more than ever that we take care of not just our own mental health but that of our children, as these changes will be affecting them also.
This week we will be exploring different ways in which if we can just take 5-10 minutes out daily and do these activities with our children this will hopefully encourage more positive outcomes.
During this week we will be exploring ways in which we can ensure that we are taking care of our child’s metal health. This can be through mindfulness activities and the theme of this week ā¦
Our home learning activity for today is a number hunt. For this activity you will need;
Written numbers 0-10 on separate bits of paper.
10 objects – this can be Lego, pens, crayons, stones etc
Numbers again written on a piece of paper.
Now put the numbers 0-10 in different places in the house.
With your 10 objects set aside an amount, have your child count how many is there and then go and find the number.
Use the second set of written numbers and they have to find the matching one.
For more difficult – make an addition for your child. Set aside two groups with the objects, can you child add the two together? Now go find the answer.
You could upload how well your child does on the āAchievements at homeā tab in their Learning Journals for childrenās key worker.
Throughout today all the parents/carers that completed the online form with their email addresses will receive an email from Learning Journals. This email will contain a link for you to set up a password and login pin. Once you have completed this you will have access to your child’s profile only.Ā The children still have their learning folders within the ECC that the staff have completed up to date, so there will be no backdated information on Learning Journals. We have put up a few observations and stories for parents/carers to look at and going forward we are trialling this out as our platform for evidence of your child’s learning.
Once the children return to the ECC you can expect to get frequent updates on your child’s learning and development.
In the mean time there is a section ‘Achievements at Home’ on your child’s profile and this is for you to upload any pictures or stories of home learning you would like us to see.
If you are having any issues or would like any information then please send me an email.
As the home learning is set to continue until Mid-February we completely understand that staying at home as well as tackling home learning with your children can be extremely difficult. As always we here at Hurlford ECC are here to support as best we can during this time.
If you are needing any additional support or advice this may be something that our community practitioner Michelle Colquhoun can help with.
Here are contact details for Michelle along with some topics that Michelle can help with.
