All posts by Mrs Brown

Sensory Play

The children have been making potions, adding, mixing and pouring a variety of liquids and solids during their sensory play. During their sensory play the children are developing a range of skills and processes such as problem-solving, enquiry, experimentation, researching and investigating.


“The ice is cold. It’s melting when I pour the water on it.”

“I can smell chocolate and coffee.”

“I am squeezing it. It’s frozen. The heart is melting.”

“I’m pouring it. Look! It has bubbles.”

Did you know ?
Sensory play activities naturally encourages children to explore and investigate through their senses: touch, smell, taste, movement, balance, sight and hearing.
Hands on sensory activities can be set up at home using a variety of sensory materials found around the home or garden.

A few ideas to try at home-
Go on a walk and encourage children to explore textures in nature
Close your eyes and listen for sounds in the home or outdoors
Cooking activities or tasting new foods
Messy play using materials such as mud, water, sand or paint.

Some of the benefits of Sensory Play-
Stimulates the senses
Develops muscles in hands and arms
Develops creativity
Awareness of shape, space and measure
Language development
Mark making
Experimenting and sharing ideas
Developing relationships
Can be a calming experience

Loose Parts

Did you know, Loose Parts have no specific function or goal?

They can be moved, arranged, designed, taken apart and more!

Using loose parts the children explored patterns, building, and teamwork. By using the blocks, small cuts of wood, guttering and some cardboard boxes, they were able to build a house with a chimney and talk to each other about the placement of the resources!

There are a variety of resources lying around within your home that can be utilised as loose parts such as:

  • Pots and pans
  • Spoons, sieves and mashers
  • Tin foil
  • Sheets
  • Sticks, leaves
  • Plastic bottles, bottle tops

Check out the poster for more ideas!

When children interact with loose parts, they enter a world of “what if” that promotes the type of thinking that leads to problem solving and theoretical reasoning. Loose parts enhance children’s ability to think imaginatively and see solutions… the use of loose parts is open ended and limitless!

Happy Diwali

We have been exploring the festival of Diwali.

Diwali is the five-day Festival of Lights, celebrated by millions of Hindus, Sikhs and Jains across the world.

The children have been busy creating ‘Rangoli’ pictures, making lanterns and reading books about the festival and why it is celebrated!

“These Patterns are nice, I’m going to make one” CW

“I can copy this one I think. Actually no,  I will do it myself” LW

“Pattern” FM

“My pattern has loads of colours just like the book”. AK

“We are making rangoli pictures and cutting them out” AB

“I like the one in the book with the glitter, that’s what I want to make” LM

 

Volcano Fun!

Over the past few weeks, the children have been investigating dinosaurs and where they lived.

After using different reference books the children decided that the dinosaurs must have lived with a volcano.

We used the internet to investigate what makes volcanos erupt.

We decided to make our own volcano using a plastic bottle and paper mache. We used bicarbonate of soda, washing up liquid and vinegar to make lava.

“Can you make dinosaur land?” Sorley

“Look at the lava, it looks hot and dangerous.” Fraser

“The dinosaurs lived along time ago, they are now extinct.” Zachary

“Will it explode?” Scott “No it will erupt, because the lava gets very hot, you know.” Maria

    

Maths Week Scotland

We celebrated Maths Week Scotland by taking part in many mathematical activities both indoors and out.

We went on a Maths Walk in our local area and spotted numbers, shapes and patterns all around us.

Our Family Fun Bags took maths into our families’ homes as they made playdough and used the playdough for mathematical activities such as measuring, counting and number rhymes.

Welcome back to learning in Glenwood!

We are delighted to have re- opened and to welcome back our children. We are operating slightly differently in two separate playrooms but the fun, friendships and fantastic learning experiences continue!

The Meadow Room

“I’ve built a model of our new nursery.” Lucia

Busy cooking  in our outdoor kitchen.

“Look, there are bees on those flowers.” Cameron

Wow, look how much our chestnut tree has grown!Drawing and writing together.

Modelling with clay. Using the computer to play games.

“Rrrrr, look at the T-Rex!” Benjamin

The Willow Room

” We found a woodlouse!”  Yousuf

 

Exploring the pulleys.

Revisiting my learning journal. and sharing my news-  “I got a new hamster” Flora

Sand play.

Painting a picture.

Sharing stories.

 

Remote Learning- Sunflowers and other plants

Mrs Brown writes-
I have been keeping a close watch on my sunflowers since I planted my seeds and I am delighted with how much they are growing. I had to replant them into bigger plant pots and I have now planted them in a sunny part of my garden near a wall for protection from the wind. Every few weeks I measure their height. In the beginning I  used a ruler to measure their height but now they have grown a bit taller I need to use a measuring tape. I  record their height on a growth chart.
Perhaps you have been measuring the height of your sunflowers. Are they taller than Mrs Brown’s? We would love to see how tall they have grown.
While in my garden I  got a bit annoyed because I spotted some weeds growing. Then I remembered weeds are just wild flowers growing in the wrong place and I recalled the fun I had as a child with wild flowers …..

Buttercups As a child I loved picking buttercups and holding them under the chin of friends and families. If you could see yellow under their chin it meant they liked butter. Why not try it to see if your family like butter.

Daisies Everyone loves making daisy chains. Not only are they very pretty, making daisy chains is great for hand eye co-ordination and fine motor skills.

Dandelions Although dandelions make me a bit cross when they grow on my lawn, they really are fascinating. You can see their life cycle over a short period of time as they change from yellow flowers to dandelion clocks with their fairy-like seeds. As a child  I liked to pick the yellow flowers and flick their heads off, saying, “Mary, Queen of Scots, got her head chopped off!” (although we all know what they say about picking dandelions…) I also recall counting “one o’clock, two o’clock, three o’clock…..“ as I blew the seeds into the air and watched them fly away in the wind, ready to find a new place to grow.

I love this transient art idea ‘borrowed’ from Carlibar nursery, for making a dande lion picture. Why not try making a picture with items you find in your garden.

Remote learning- We’re Going to go to School Soon… week 4

Wow, we have now reached week 4 of our transition to school programme and I know many of you have been taking part in lots of the activities. Very soon you will be invited to come to Glenwood as part of a small group and we will be doing a few of the activities together.  We look forward to seeing you!

Don’t forget to keep a record of the activities you select each week- perhaps photos, drawing and comments in a jotter or scrapbook.

We’re Going to go to School Soon Week 4

Remote Learning- We’re Going to go to School Soon…. week 3

It has been great to see all the learning our pre-schoolers are sharing as they take part in our school transitions programme based on the story,  “We’re Going on a Bear Hunt” by Michael Rosen.

Keep sharing these by tagging us and your primary school on Twitter.

Here are the suggested activities for week 3…. As always, remember you don’t need to do everything suggested or spend a long time on this. Simply pick the activities which suit your child’s interests and a do a little bit when it suits you  throughout the week.

3. We’re Going on a Bear Hunt- week 3

 

Remote Learning- We’re Going to go to School Soon… Week 2

We hope all our pre-schoolers have enjoyed taking part in week one of our Moving on Programme based on the story “We’re Going on a Bear Hunt”by Michael Rosen.

Here are the suggested activities for week 2…. remember you don’t need to do everything suggested or spend a long time on this. Simply pick the activities which suit your child’s interests and a do a little bit when it suits you  throughout the week.

Bear Hunt week 2

Remote Learning- Sunflower seeds

Have you planted your sunflowers seeds yet? Mrs Brown has….. you can see how to do this on Twitter.

https://twitter.com/GlenwoodFC

This song will help you along the way.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=da_LbBewte8

When  your seeds have been planted they will begin to grow. After about 3 days the seeds will germinate. This means that the hard shell softens and splits.  Roots will begin to grow downwards and a shoot will grow upwards. After about a week the shoot will appear above the soil. Then leaves will start to grow.

  I can’t wait to see my seeds begin to grow into little shoots. Over the coming weeks we will find out what happens once the shoots get a bit bigger.

Perhaps you can keep a diary of the progress- take a photo or draw a picture every few days to record the changes.

Please remember to tweet your photos of planting and the progress of your sunflower.

@GlenwoodFC #Glenwoodlearningathome

Remote Learning- daily routines

Although it may be tempting to forget about routines and structures at this time, it can help children to feel safe during periods of uncertainty when there is some structure and routine. Ideas for supporting this include-

  • set times for going to bed and getting up in the morning where possible
  • build in time for fresh air and exercise
  • create a variety of activities such as games, art activities, music, play, garden activities and reading
  • make a daily plan with your child and share this with them the night before
  • limit their time on electronic devices where possible (but don’t cut yourself up if you have to use them to allow you to get things done!) Electronics can be great motivators for some children so if you have a daily plan, put electronics after the thing you want done.
  • respect each others’ privacy and give space when you can
  • take time to review the daily activities to help your child get a sense of accomplishment

In nursery, we use visuals to support children with routines and making choices and these can easily be adapted for the home. Why not draw some different images onto small cards and use to create sequence charts, choice boards, daily schedules or a weekly activity plan. Doing this together with your child will help them to develop an understanding of the choices available and the plans you have in place.

2 or 3 (or more) part sequence boards can help your child understand routines and help them see when they will be doing something.

Choice cards can be used to help your child make decisions and give them control of what they can do. Forced choices are when you present options which you have selected but your child gets the final say. For example, an apple or some grapes….. but not a biscuit! Drawing, hearing a story or playing with lego…. but no option of electronics!

This school timetable can easily be adapted to create your own weekly schedule.

 

Remote Learning- Literacy

If you can only do one thing to benefit your child while they are not in nursery, it is read a story a day. This can be a new story each day or you can revisit the same old favourite every day for a week…it doesn’t matter as long as you spend some time together and share the experience. Books are not just for bedtime- they can be read anywhere and anytime. And you don’t even need a book- why not make up stories together?

You can visit our stoytelling sway to hear stories read by the Glenwood team –

https://sway.office.com/owYdSVGZFjBJJ2qA?ref=Link

Similarly, sharing songs and rhymes also supports literacy development.  Why not visit the Bookbug website for ideas-

https://www.scottishbooktrust.com/songs-and-rhymes

Alternatively, why not try the BBC radio website for nursery rhymes (rather than YouTube)-

https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/school-radio/nursery-rhymes-songs-index/zhwdgwx

 

Remote Learning- Healthy minds and bodies

Health and wellbeing is so important. This includes both physical health and mental wellbeing.

Why not start each day with some physical exercise, suitable for all the family.

https://www.thebodycoach.com/blog/pe-with-joe-1254.html

 

Alternatively, perhaps some Cosmic Yoga may be more for you… we know this is a real favourite with our children in nursery.

https://www.youtube.com/user/CosmicKidsYoga

Gonoodle is another favourite.

https://www.gonoodle.com/

Children may benefit from this Social Story to help them understand the current situation regarding Covid19.

Child-Friendly-Explanation-of-Coronavirus

At a time when we are all experiencing uncertain times, positive mental health has never been so important.

East Renfrewshire Council has developed a guide, Healthier Minds, to promote the mental wellbeing of our children and young people. This resources aims to help you find the information you need to develop children and young people’s talents and abilities in a way that will support them to meet life’s common challenges, develop their resilience, and have healthier minds as a result.

https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/er/healthierminds/

Remote Learning

Following the Scottish Government decision to close schools and nurseries,  we have plans in place to make sure our pupils have every opportunity to continue their education regardless of the circumstances we may face.

We know that these are very challenging times for all of our families  and we would like to begin by sending our care, thoughts and best wishes to all of our families and the wider community.

We understand that many of our families will find themselves in very difficult and worrying circumstances over the coming weeks and months and do not want, in any way, to add to these emotions through creating any anxiety about learning activities that ‘must be done’ each day. With this in mind, the learning activities that we will be facilitating will be shared with an understanding that some of our children/ families will not be in a position to complete these activities each day.  We also acknowledge that spending time with your child in whatever ways are best suited to your family and to meet your child’s interests and stage of development will be most beneficial.

We have developed Home Learning Bags for each child to take home and a Home Learning booklet.

ideas for home booklet March 2020

We will regularly update our website and Twitter with tips, games, challenges and ideas of ways you can support your child at home including links to educational websites.