Braidbar Nursery Blog

Marhaba!

If you haven’t been onto Teams recently you may wish to log on to see a familiar face reading a story. Maybe you could share one of your favourite stories with us…

Today’s ideas are all simple tabletop games to develop turn taking, concentration, memory and the understanding that your child won’t always win.

1. Put around ten items on a tray or table top. Take time to look at them and ensure your child can name each one. Ask your child to close their eyes then remove an item. When they open their eyes they should try to identify what’s missing. Take turns. Make it trickier by having a larger collection or by removing more than one item at a time. Change the game by closing your eyes and trying to recall the names of as many items as possible.

2. Use playing cards/matching pairs cards to play a game of pelmanism where the cards are turned upside down and each player turns two at a time, aiming to find a pair. Encourage your child to return cards to the place they were taken from to help players identify them later.

3. Play a fast paced snap game with playing cards/matching pairs cards.

4. Play a ‘collecting’ game such as Shopping List that requires looking, matching and patience.

 

5. Practise number skills and turn taking with a board game that involves the roll of a dice and counting spaces or moves. Snakes and ladders or ludo are examples.

 

6. Complete a jigsaw. Encourage your child to match colours and lines. Are there any straight edges? Where do they belong? Talk to your child about how they might solve the problem. Which strategy will they use?

7. Make your own jigsaw by creating a picture then cutting it up into a few pieces. Can another family member successfully complete it?

8. Play any kind of dominoes. The traditional game will allow your child to practice the skill of ‘subitising’; knowing how many are in a group without counting each item individually.

9. Sort out and tidy up jigsaws and board/card games. Are there missing pieces? Can you make new ones to replace them so you can still enjoy the game? Is the box damaged? Can you repair it with some tape?

10. If you think your child is able, why not take a pencil and paper and teach them how to play noughts and crosses? I’m sure lots of the children would thoroughly enjoy that!

Bonjour!

Lots of you have been photos of wildlife you have seen in your gardens and on your walks but have you thought about the animals you can hear? I’ve seen and heard lots of bees buzzing around the flowers in my garden and they inspire today’s post.

1. Look closely at the picture above. Describe what you see. What is the same/different about these bees and the wasp? Have you seen any of them in your garden?

2. Here are bees I saw in my garden yesterday. What do you think they were doing? Do you think they are honey bees or bumble bees?

 

3. Sometimes we say someone is a ‘busy bee’. Do you know what bees to that makes them so busy and active? Why not watch one for a while to see what it does? Maybe you could look online or in a book for facts. Listen to and watch these videos for more information and interesting words. Tell your adult at least two interesting things abut bees.

 

4. Did you notice the shapes and repeating patterns in the beehives? Can you make your own repeating pattern beehive by drawing, cutting and sticking or printing? Are there any coins or blocks you could lay out side by side to make a pattern like a beehive then take a photo?

 

5. How could you create some bees using different materials in the house or garden?

6. Stripes on bees are also in a repeating pattern – black, yellow, black, yellow… Can you find any other repeating patterns around the house (maybe on clothes or other textiles) or outdoors (paving or road markings)?

Why don’t you create your own repeating patterns by drawing, building with Lego, or using everyday items? Can you make it trickier by using three or four elements in your pattern rather than just two?

 

7. Find a story about a bee or other insect and read it together.

8. Listen to this piece of music called ‘Flight of the Bumblebee’. Did you like it? What instruments did you hear? Do you think it sounds like a bumblebee? Dance and move any way you like as you listen. Think about if the music is fast or slow, loud or quiet and how you might move.

9.  Here are some more ideas on dancing like a bee

https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/watch/tortoise-hare-bee-dance

 

10. We know that bees make honey in their hive. Why don’t you eat some honey this week? Here are some ideas:

http://allrecipes.co.uk/recipe/11252/honey-cookies.aspx

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/collection/honey

Goedendag!

Today is the first day in a new month and a new season. In Scotland we usually say that June, July and August are summer months so we are now in early summer.

Refresh your knowledge of the months of the year with this song. Maybe you could play a game with your adults where you say the month before/after/in between.

 

I recently saw the photo above and it reminded me of all the wonderful friendships that are created and strengthened at nursery so today’s post is all about friends. Here are some ideas:

1. Make a video call to a friend or cousin to ask how they are. Show them some of the things you have been doing and make a plan for something you would like to do together soon.

2. Draw a picture of a friend. Tell an adult all the things that make them special and what you like to do together. Ask the adult to write this down then you could give your drawing and writing to your friend whenever safe to make them smile. You might decide to keep it for yourself as a reminder that bad times don’t last and that you will play with your friends again soon.

3. What do you usually like to do with your friends? Can you do some of these things by yourself and ask a parent to take photos/videos and send to your friends or put on our Team? Maybe someone will send something back.

4. Friends are special people who we can play and laugh with and who try to help us when we have a problem or feel sad. Even when we can’t be close we can show friends that they are special to us in different ways.

 

5. Do you know this song about friends? Can you join in?

 

6. Do you have any books where someone is a good friend? Maybe they are kind or helpful or they cheer someone up. Have a look through your books and read a story or two about friendship. What kinds of things do you do to be a good friend?

 

7. I always try to be kind; I think it makes the world a brighter place. Do you agree?

 

8. Look at the pictures below. Talk about them with an adult and decide if the behaviours are friendly or unfriendly. How do you think the children feel? How would you feel? What good choices could they make?

If you are starting school soon, what different things do you see that you might be doing soon too?

9. Some of you will soon have a wonderful opportunity to make new friends that you are going to be starting school with. Although being in Primary 1 will be very exciting it will also be new and a little strange. Sometimes when we meet new people we can be unsure and shy. It’s okay to feel like that; other children and the teachers will probably feel the same way too. Here are some ideas for you and your adult to talk about that might help you when you are feeling shy.

10. Make something for a friend today! A picture, model, pasta jewellery, a card, a badge… anything at all that you think they would like. You can then keep it in a safe place and give it to them the next time you meet.

 

Ahoj!

Today is Friday and the last day in May for our blog. May has 31 days and then we have a new month. Can you remember which month comes next..? So when you check the blog next week it will be the first of June!

Today’s suggestions are inspired by Brody who recently had his birthday and who shares a love of dinosaurs with many of you.

 

1. Find a story where one or more of the characters is a dinosaur and read it together. Look in detail at the pictures and play a game of ‘I spy’ focusing on the starting sounds (not the letter names) of things you see. If you don’t have a dino book do this with a different story with interesting illustrations.

2. Listen to and watch these dinosaur stories. Can you hear the rhyming words in these stories? Can you play a rhyming game where your adult gives you a word and you say back one that rhymes? It could be a real word or a nonsense word, as long as you hear it rhyme at the end.

3. Can you draw your own dinosaur using a felt-tip pen? It could be a real or imaginary one – you decide. Think about the lines (jaggy, straight, wavy) and shapes (fat, thin, triangles, circles) that make up your dinosaur. Try to add as much detail as you can.

 

4.  Can you choose a name for your dinosaur? Why don’t you try to write it/the first letter? Maybe you can draw some other dinosaurs and create your own story that you could tell and make a video or your adult could write down.

 

5. What do you know about real dinosaurs? Where could you find out? Take time to look in a book or online to find out facts and information. There are some factual programmes here:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/search?q=dinosaur&page=1

 

6. Follow Jaime and Tiny the T-Rex in some yoga:

 

7. Where would dinosaurs have lived? Can you use materials in your garden to create a habitat for them?

8. Practise the skill of printing either with your hands (or feet!) or dinosaur toys.

 

9. Make a dinosaur using Lego, recycling or other interesting materials.

 

10. It can sometimes be hard to imagine just how big dinosaurs were. Talk together and use everyday objects and comparative language to share your ideas. e.g. “I think a T-Rex was taller than our house” or “I think a Diplodocus was longer than a swimming pool but shorter than the field at Huntly.” Use a large piece of paper card to draw a dino footprint then estimate how many of your feet would fit inside. Check with foot printing or by placing in shoes. Do the same number of adult feet fit inside? Why is that?

Good morning!

We hope you enjoy the warm weather to come in the next few days. Please listen to your parents to stay safe in the sunshine 🌞😎

Today’s post doesn’t follow a theme but instead pulls together some great resources from across the country.

Home Learning

Here are further ideas for playful learning in different areas. We recommend you focus on Early Level though you may like some of the other ideas too.

 

Welcome back everyone!

We hope you enjoyed the long weekend albeit wet and windy. We send especially warm wishes to those of you who have been celebrating Eid and we hope that you found ways to connect with families and friends despite the current circumstances. We would love it if you shared some of your Eid celebrations with us on our Team.

Today’s blog  ideas are inspired by something I think you will all recognise…Potatoes!

1. Have you got any potatoes at home? Take a look at them and try to describe their shape, size, colour and texture. Are they all identical or is each one a little different? Why do you think that is? Are any of them a funny shape that makes you think of something that isn’t a potato?

2. Do you know where potatoes come from? How are they grown? Watch this video to find out how potatoes are grown on large farms. What facts did you learn?

 

3. Do you know that you don’t need a farm to grow potatoes? You can grow them by yourself even in a pot or bag. Here are some growing in my garden at the moment:

I didn’t buy special seed potatoes but just used some that were leftover and past their best to eat. They looked a bit like this before I planted them. Have you ever seen potatoes sprouting like this before?

Why don’t you find a pot or bag and some soil and try to grow your own potatoes. We can share our progress on our Team!

 

4. Potatoes can be used as printing blocks with ready mixed paint. Decide which patterns/shapes you would like and kindly ask your adult to carefully cut them out for you. Then you can make pictures, wrapping paper or maybe even wallpaper for a den! Can you try to make some repeating patterns?

 

5. Do you know Mr Potato Head? With an adult’s help could you make your own one with a real potato and some other items? Try to add as much detail as possible as you think about the features of you potato’s face and body.

 

6. Watch, listen and join in with this song. It stops at 7 potatoes but I wonder what number would come next… How far can you count?

Can you play some number games? Maybe you and your adult count, saying alternate numbers – how far can you get? Or perhaps you could say two or three numbers in a row each e.g. ADULT 1,2,3   CHILD 4,5,6  ADULT  7,8,…

Can you do the same activities as above but counting backwards? That’s tricky!

 

7. Read a story about everyone’s favourite veggie hero – Supertato. If you don’t have any of the books at home you can follow the stories here. This is the link to the first book but more are available.

8. Develop fine motor skills by filling a tray with peas and other small objects. Have your child remove specific objects by using tongs, small spoons, scoops etc. Turn it into a game by challenging each other.

 

9. Explore how water changes state, specifically through freezing and melting. Use small quantities of frozen vegetables and let your child hypothesise about how best to defrost them. Set up a simple experiment, following your child’s lead (they may suggest leaving in the sun, on a radiator, place on the hob, leave in the fridge…) even if you the adult know the outcome. You can then check on the frozen items in their various spots and make observations. You can then help your child to draw some conclusions about freezing/melting. You could then create your own scientific investigations, led by your child’s curiosity.

 

10. Do you like to eat potatoes? What is your favourite potato dish? Does someone in your family make a special dish with potatoes?

I sometimes enjoy eating Polish potato dishes…Boiled new potatoes with butter and dill, potato pancakes or pierogi dumplings filled with mashed potato, soft cheese and onion.

Why don’t you try a new potato recipe with your family this week? Maybe potato scones or pizza potatoes!

Maybe you have a recipe you could share on our Team.

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/collection/kids-potato-recipes

 

 

 

Hello everyone!

This will be our last post of the week. There will be new ideas and suggestions from Wednesday 27th May, following holidays and an in-service day. We wish you a safe and happy long weekend and a particulary special time if you are celebrating Eid.

Here are today’s suggestions:

1. Do you know what these interesting things are? Do you think they are made by humans or grown in nature? Can you describe the colours and shapes? Can you imagine how they would feel? Smell? Have you guessed what they are yet? …. They are cocoa pods!

Here’s what they look like inside. Do the little things inside look familiar? They are called cocoa seeds.

2. They come from the cacao plant. Watch and learn some facts here:

Were you surprised to learn that the pods, seeds and beans are used to make chocolate?! Can you tell your adult two interesting things you heard or saw in the video. Did you hear any unusual words?

3. Here is a tasty chocolate bar I bought. What shape is the bar? What shape are the smaller pieces?

They are rectangles! Two long straight sides and two short straight sides.

 

4. Can you find other rectangles around the house? How many can you find in two minutes? Maybe you could make a collage picture only using rectangles.

 

 

5. How many little pieces are there altogether? How many did I eat? How many were left? Why don’t you use blocks, dried pasta other items to play a similar game to practise more/less/altogether?

 

6. I like to eat chocolate or drink hot chocolate as a treat. Do you? Will you be celebrating Eid this weekend? Do you think there might be chocolate and other sweet treats to celebrate these special days? It would be wonderful if you shared photos of your celebrations on our Team next week.

Even if you are not celebrating Eid, why don’t you make something chocolate-y as a weekend treat?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/makes/i-can-cook-stickychocolatecake

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b09vdn26/my-world-kitchen-series-1-9-lewiss-israeli-chocolate-challah-bread

https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/watch/my-world-kitchen-israeli-chocolate-challah-bread-recipe

https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/makes/pink-and-white-muffins

 

8. Focus on your child’s sense of taste and develop their descriptive vocabulary. Have small pieces of chocolate/fruit/other foods prepared on a plate. Ask your child to close their eyes and hand them something. Have them try to describe the feel and smell, guessing what it  is before they taste it. Encourage them not to gobble it too quickly and have them describe the taste and texture, again guessing what it is. You can then show them and chat a little more. Maybe they can set the same challenge for you with another adult’s help!

 

9. One of the best stories told by one of the funniest storytellers! Michael Rosen’s ‘Chocolate Cake’

Poems and Stories About my Family

 

10. Join the Go jetters as they visit the chocolate hills!      Have you visited somewhere like that before? Can you find out if there are hills a bit like that in Scotland? What hills and mountains are near us? Do people or animals live there? What plants grow there?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0bhr7jz/go-jetters-series-2-48-chocolate-hills-philippines

 

11. As tasty as chocolate can be, it contains quite a lot of sugar. To keep our teeth and the rest of our body healthy we shouldn’t eat too much sugar. We should also look after our teeth in other ways. Do you have some ideas about that? What do we usually do in nursery?

18th May-18th June is National Smile Month. Follow the link here for some ideas: http://www.nationalsmilemonth.org/

 

12. Even a little piece of chocolate has a lot of energy in it so if we are enjoying a treat we also need to be active to use that energy so please keep moving!

 

 

 

Bonjour!

Today is to be warmer and sunny. I wonder what all the ducklings, cygnets, snails and lambs we have recently spotted will make of the brighter weather…

Here are today’s ideas:

1. Think about all the different types of weather you know. How many interesting words can you use? Can you draw some pictures to show them? Maybe you will add extra detail to a picture of your favourite weather.

 

2. “There is no such thing as bad weather, just inappropriate clothing.”

You know that we play outdoors in all weathers at nursery and we make sure we are dressed correctly. Play this game to choose the best clothes to match the weather. Tell your adult why you have chosen what you have.

Click here: http://www.crickweb.co.uk/Early-Years.html           then scroll down to ‘Dressing Lecky’. You might enjoy the other games too.

 

3. Listen and move like the weather! https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/radio/musical-maddie-weather-and-mood

 

4. Do you think ducklings and cygnets have a favourite kind of weather? What about other animals? Think about what they have on their bodies to keep them warm/cool/dry etc.

Rocco wondered why the ducklings and cygnets are so fuzzy. I wonder if we can find out here in these videos with facts.  How else could we find out information about ducks and swans?

 

5. Listen to this song about swans. Is the music fast or slow? What instruments can you hear?

 

6. Listen again and learn some ballet movements. Can you use them to make your own dance?

 

7. Do you know the story of the ugly duckling? Find it in a book or listen and watch here:

This story reminds us that we are all different and ALL special. What can the people in your family do really well? What can they do that noone else can? What are you good at? What are you learning and getting better at? What makes you special?

 

8. Practise your listening skills here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/radio/robin-meets-mallard

 

9. Do you have any rubber ducks or other toys you can enjoy some water play with? How can you change the colour of the water? Make it bubbly? Make it warmer or cooler? Maybe you could experiment with floating and sinking.

 

10. Could you make some duck/swan/other bird picture or model using drawing materials, Lego, junk…?

 

11. When you are out walking try to take photos of any interesting animals you see. Maybe an adult can then show you how to use a phone or tablet to put them altogether in a collage that you could share on our Team.

 

12. Practise your numbers and counting back with this song. Can you sing it on your own and count back from a number greater than five? What about ten?

Here is a slightly different (US) version:

 

 

Good morning!

Did you enjoy the scribble stories yesterday? I hope they encouraged lots of discussion and mark-making.

Here are today’s suggestions: 

I have recently noticed lots of dandelions around. Have you? Sometimes I’m not so keen to see them pop up among all the white flowers I have planted in my front garden then other times their cheery yellow heads make me smile as I remember they are a good source of food for bees and other creatures. They inspire today’s post.

1. Try to spot some dandelions in your garden or when out on a walk. Can you recognise them at different stages of their life cycle? Try to look closely and describe what you see.

2. Watch this short animation of a dandelion’s life cycle or the time lapse video. You will notice that there are no words. After chatting with your adult can you watch the videos again and use your own words to describe what is happening?

 

 

3.  Why don’t you collect some dandelions or other natural finds and get creative? Here are some ideas:

 

4.  Follow the link to read this book. Why does the author call dandelions ‘stars in the grass’? What interesting words did you hear? Was there anything that surprised you? Can you draw a picture to show something you have learned about dandelions?

 

5. Why don’t you find an interesting stick like the one below and use natural objects like dandelions or some string or ribbon to make a fancy wand?

6. If you are hunting for dandelions, why not look for other flowers too? Maybe you could learn some new flower names. You could record what you find by taking photos, drawing a picture or writing a list with simple pre-tally marks. Here are yellow poppies and violas from my garden.

 

7.  Practise your listening skills with this story, Hector and the Dandelion.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/radio/tilly-and-friends-hector-and-the-dandelion

8. Make an interesting sensory bottle.

 

9. Listen to more songs, stories and poems inspired by the colour yellow here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/search?q=yellow

 

10. Can you name some things that are yellow before you watch this short video? How many yellow things can you find around your home? Lewis did this recently and had a really interesting collection which he then organised. Could you make your own collection and order by size or sort into groups such as toys/not toys/food etc?

 

11. Can you prepare a snack with some yellow foods?

 

12. Fun fact. Did you know that our name for dandelions comes from the French words ‘dents de lion’ meaning ‘lion’s teeth’. Where do you think this name came from..?

CLUE

 

13. Bees enjoy visiting dandelion flowers for food. Try this bee yoga with Jaime.

 

14. Watch Bing and friends here:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b05sxyhp/bing-series-1-64-dandelion

 

Blow a dandelion seed head and make your own wish!

Miremengjes!

We hope you enjoyed a weekend of fun and relaxation.

It has now been 8 whole weeks since we were last together in nursery and I’m sure you are all missing special friends and adults just as we are you. Lochlan’s family shared this lovely video which reminds us that we can still feel close to one another even when we are apart.

 

Here are some ideas for today that I hope you enjoy:

1. Watch and listen to “I’m Not Just a Scribble”

 

2. Can you create your own scribble character using pens, pencils or crayons? Make more than one – tall, short, fat, thin, different colours, multi-coloured….

 

3. Near the end of the story the clouds said ‘sorry’ to Scribble. Why were they apologising? Had they made a good choice at first? How do you think scribble felt? Have you ever had a time when you wanted to join in but didn’t feel welcome? Maybe you said ‘no’ to someone when they asked to play. How did you feel? What if it happens again? What good choice could you make?

 

4. Now that you have some scribbles of your own, why not give them names? Maybe you could give them a name with the same starting sound as your name. Or perhaps you could give them a double, alliterative name like Tall Trixie or Little Leo.

There are some examples in this song. Can you hear the same starting sounds close to one another?

 

5. Can you create a story about your scribbles? Ask your adult to write it with you and read it together. You could draw some extra pictures to accompany the story or highlight the main people and places in your story and act it out, just as we do our Helicopter Stories in nursery.

 

6. If you have a whiteboard/dry wipe pen you can creating dancing people by drawing on a self-coloured plate then slowly pouring on some water. What other creatures could you draw and move?

 

7.  Not a scribble but more of a splat! Why not have a go at some messy painting inspired by Jackson Pollock?

You might try flicking paint out in the garden or other large space. Dropping  runny paints onto paper or blowing them gently with a straw can also create some interesting effects.

8. Here is another scribble story by the same author. Watch and listen. What was the same/different about the stories? Which one did you like best? Why?

9. Follow the story again and this time try to join in with the rhyming words (they have the same ending) as the person reads the story. For example:

But sadly, it was always the same. That’s how he got his “Invisible” name.

10. Can you think of any food that looks a bit like a scribble when its on a plate or in a bowl…? I think spaghetti and other noodles look a bit scribbly. Why don’t you find a recipe with spaghetti or noodles and help your adult to prepare it this week? Here are some ideas:

https://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/recipe-collections-favorites/quick-easy/spaghetti-recipes

Finally, this week is BookBug week, celebrating 10 years. You may find interesting materials by following this link: https://www.scottishbooktrust.com/reading-and-stories/bookbug/bookbug-is-10