Month: January 2024

Hello everyone,

Every fortnight we will be uploading an activity for you to do at home with your families, this week our activity is an Outdoor Learning activity from Sandra. Please click the link below to access the video instructions for this activity, we hope you enjoy! 🙂

A big Happy New Year and welcome back to Twechar EYC to all of our children and families. We hope you all had a lovely Christmas break and are glad to have all of our little people back for lots of learning and fun! Here is what we’ve been getting up to since returning to nursery…

Literacy Area: In the literacy area, we have been exploring letters using alphabet magnets, we have been matching the alphabet magnets to written letters on the magnetic boards. We developed our problem solving skills, letter recognition and concentration skills whilst doing so. Some of us were even able to sound out some of the letters whilst participating in this experience. We have also been mark making and beginning to write the letters of our names in glitter, copying our name cards. Some of us were able to write and sound out some of the letters in our first names and some of us made some amazing marks!

Numeracy Area: In the Numeracy area, we have been discussing number blocks and the value of numbers. We have been discussing amounts using the number blocks and talked about a number appearing in different forms, such as a tower of 9 or 3×3 blocks equalling 9.

STEM and Block Play: In the STEM area, we have been architects as we have been drawing plans of what we are going to build in the Construction area using the blocks. We have been engineers, technicians and builders as we have built a variety of amazing things including Lenzie train station, castles, bridges, houses and lots more. We have shown an increased interest in trains, train stations and transport so this is something we will be focusing on.

Story Corner: In the Story Corner, we have chosen a new Story of the Month which is ‘The Snail and the Whale’ by Julia Donaldson. We have been listening to the story with Shannon and also watching the film adaptation of the story. We have explored the story through role play and small world experiences, using props to retell the story.

Creative Area: In the Creative area, we have been discussing the Season of Winter and creating crafts that relate to this season. We made some icy pictures using string and cold colours of paint. We also made some sensory decorations using old cd’s, glue and glitter. We will hang these in the nursery playroom so that everyone can appreciate these.

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Snack and Baking Area: In the Snack and Baking area, we have been choosing, preparing and enjoying our own snack. We have been developing our self help skills as we have been cutting, spreading, pouring, mixing and scooping, Using a variety of tools and equipment. We also made our own special toast which we painted using milk and food colouring to create our own amazing designs.

Home Corner:  In the Home Corner, the children have shown an interest in making their own variety of teas. We have been exploring our senses of taste and smell as we have made and tasted a variety of different teas.  We have been risk assessing and keeping safe as we use hot water to stew the tea, we learned not to touch the hot water as this could burn our skin. We are very careful when making our tea.

Outdoors: Outdoors, we have been exploring a story called ‘Stanley’s Stick’ by John Hegley. We started off by reading the story before going out into the Glen to collect sticks, we have then been using our sticks to make a variety of different thing such as magic wands, fishing rods and broomsticks. We have also been exploring the weather whilst outdoors, discussing the effects that the season of Winter has on our environment. We have explored ice, snow and frost. Some of the children have shown an interest in football which we have been exploring with Alison.

Teaching Time with Mrs Smith:  We have chosen a new Talk 4 Writing story which is going to be ‘The Gingerbread Man’  and have begun learning actions to go along with the story. We have also been drawing our favourite parts of the story, including our favourite characters. We have been developing our fine motor skills as we have been participating in a fine motor skills activity involving golf tees and marbles. We have been working on our number recognition and sequencing numbers using a variety of resources.

Outdoor Learning Group: We have been exploring ‘The Snail and the Whale’ story whilst participating in our Outdoor Learning group, we have focused on the sound of ‘S’ and did a scavenger hunt to find objects beginning with this sound. We found a squirrel, stick, snake and snail during our search. We then walked through the Glen looking for other things beginning with the sound ‘S’.