In all our rooms we love exploring our favourite books. We use puppets and props to help us retell traditional tales.
“The troll is scary! He tries to eat the goats. I like the bit when the goat hits him with its horns.”
Taking part in regular Bookbug sessions, we have enjoyed listening to familiar stories and we have been learning some new songs, as well as reciting our favourite nursery rhymes.
Look out for links to our Google meet Bookbug sessions next week for Math Week Scotland and you can join in from home too!
We are excited to be beginning our Woodland Adventures in Eastwood Park again soon!
We have made changes to how we will be running these this session to better accommodate the varying patterns of attendance of our children. Each room will have a block of four weeks, with sessions on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings, and also a Wednesday afternoon.
Our first visits this session will begin during the week beginning 13th September:
Block 1: Meadow Room
Block 2: Orchard Room (from w/b 18th October)
Block 3: Willow Room (from w/b 15th November)
Our Woodland Adventures Handbook will tell you all about them:
All children will need a completed permission form to participate, including children who were at Glenwood before the summer. Please return forms as soon as possible to enable your child to access Woodland Adventures fully.
Information on additional safety measures that have been put in place due to the current Covid19 situation can be found here:
The children participated and enjoyed our Sports Day on the 25th May. Kerry Comerford, our Active Sports Coordinator, set up a number of activities and sports for us to try – inluding bowling, curling and gymnastics. The children were running, hurling, balancing and jumping. After the activities the children enjoyed ice lollies.
The children have been very interested to learn about planting and growing runner bean seeds for our new family centre. By placing a runner bean seed in a zip lock bag with some wet cotton wool and sticking this on to the window, the children were able to observe the seeds germinate as the roots and shoots started to grow.
“I can see the roots going down and the shoots going up.”
“They are going to be so tall.”
“The roots are getting really long now.”
After about 10 days the children filled some small plant pots with soil and carefully planted a seedling in each one and then watered them all.
“I will give them some water. They need water so they can grow.”
The children took responsibility for checking that the soil in the pots was not too dry and made sure each plant had enough water to help it grow.
“The beans need a little drink of water. I touched the soil with my finger and it felt dry.”
To prepare for planting the runner beans outdoors a handheld drill was used to drill drainage holes in planters, the planters were filled with soil and canes were added to provide support.
“I’m turning the handle round and round. I can see little bits of plastic at the bottom.”
To help carefully remove the plant from the pot without damaging it, the children learned about gently rolling and squeezing the pot with their fingers and hands. They were very interested to see how the roots had grown inside the pot.
“Look at all the roots. There are so many.”
When the children had finished planting all the runner bean plants they chose a sunny spot to put them in the garden and gave them a big drink of water.
“The beans are really tall. They have lots of leaves.”
The children in the Orchard Bubble have been having a great time in the nursery with our obstacle course equipment. We have been learning to work together as a team and use everyone’s ideas to create the courses. We have also been learning about how to risk assess for ourselves.
The children decided to add to the obstacle course and make one where they have to use their gross motor skills to hop and jump.
We need to jump over the ropes.We could hop at the end.
Then the children wanted to use the big blocks inside to create a big obstacle course together.
Together we are strong.Look how high I can jump!We could use this as a slide.
When we create and use obstacle courses we are not just developing our gross motor skills but also learning to share, take turns and cooperate with each other.
Many of the children have been enjoying playing with the new dinosaurs. We had lots of questions so we watched some videos on Tig Tag Junior. We learned about how they became extinct.
“When a big space rock made some dust it made the place go dark. Then without sunlight the plants died. Then without plants the plant-eating dinosaurs died. Then all the meat-eaters died. Then they all started to die. Extinct.”
“What size was a T-Rex?”
We used books to research and discovered that a Tyrannosaurus rex was 12 metres long. Would it fit in our playroom? Let’s find out by measuring…
“I need to measure and write it down.”
Our playroom is 10 metres long – “T-rex’s head would be next door!” Which dinosaur is smallest? We researched on the iPad. Compsognathus was 60cm long and 40cm tall.
“How tall are you?”
Let’s put them in order…
“This one is taller.”“Brachiosaurus is the biggest.”“How long is Triceratops?”“The T-rexs are the same size.”
We have had great fun learning how to use a variety of our digital toys.
We have been developing our use of directional language using our Code-a-pillars and Sphero.
“When you put the body bits on it goes left and right.”
“I made it go forwards then turn around.”
“The green one goes forward.”
We use an App on the iPad to make Sphero…
It took great teamwork and problem solving skills to build an obstacle course and pathways for the Wonder Bug. We had to work together to find the best way to help Wonder Bug travel from one end of the room to the other.
“We need a ramp for it to go up.”
“It will need to balance on top.”
“If we add a corner, it will need to turn the corner.”
This year we couldn’t invite parents in to nursery to read stories so we invited them to read to us remotely! Some were able to join us live for a Google Meet and some shared videos of themselves reading with us. A huge “Thank you!” to all our storytellers.
Zachary’s mum read a story about dinosaurs.Sorley’s grandad read a story about pirates.We heard a Supertato story from Sam’s mum.…and a Kipper story with a very bright torch.Luke’s mum told us the story of The Tiger Who Came to Tea – which was written before Mrs Husbands was born!Evie’s mum read another of our favourite stories Whatever NextThere was a tired unicorn in Lacey’s mum’s story.Everyone joined in shouting “There’s a shark in the park!” with Alistair’s dad.Mrs Brown used puppets to tell the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears.
All the children will receive a World Book Day voucher to spend – find out more in this fun song… how many stories to you recognise?
You might like to listen to Lydia Monks read What the Ladybird Heard in a video she recorded for World Book Day.
Sharing books and stories together is a valuable learning experience for your child. This document gives some advice on ways to get the most out of reading together.
We made some chocolate playdough in nursery today. It smelt delicious – but we knew we couldn’t eat it! Here is how we made it…
Our ingredients
First we measured our ingredients and put them in the bowl: 2 cups plain flour, 1 cup salt, half a cup of cocoa powder, 2 tablespoons oil, 4 teaspoons cream of tartar and 2 cups water.
Then we stirred it until it was smooth – “It looks like chocolate icing!”
We cooked ours in the microwave – stir every minute until it is cooked.
Fairtrade Fortnight began on 22nd February and our cocoa powder had a Fairtrade logo on it. Fairtrade means the farmers get paid a ‘fair price’ for the crop. Can you find any logos on anything in your house?
As a nursery community, we are on a continuous journey to empower our children to improve their environmental awareness.
There are lots of wonderful ideas that you can do as a family to learn more about the natural world and care for the environment, which supports STEM and literacy learning, as well as your child’s health and wellbeing.
RECYCLE
Introduce your children to the concept of sorting household rubbish for recycling into categories such as plastic, paper, metal and glass. This is a fantastic opportunity to learn about different types of materials used for packaging, how they are made and how they can be reused.
Instead of throwing things away, encourage your child to think of great ways to reuse items. Egg cartons work really well for growing herbs, glass jars are perfect for storing loose parts for play, and tin cans make really good pen and pencil holders.
COMPOST
Composting helps to teach our children about reducing the waste that heads to landfills by converting it into nutrient-rich soil.
There are lots of free and easy ways for your family to start composting.
Greens – these are things that rot quickly, and provide important nitrogen and moisture
Tea bags
Grass cuttings
Vegetable peelings, salad leaves and fruit scraps
Coffee grounds
Old flowers and nettles
Browns – these are things that rot more slowly. They provide carbon and fibre and also allow air pockets to form
Cardboard
Egg boxes
Paper
Leaves
Twigs and branches
Sawdust
Egg shells
LITTER PICK
Visit a local park and spend some time cleaning up the litter. You will not only be protecting the wildlife and caring for the world around you but you will also be helping your community. It will hopefully inspire others to join in too. Count how many bits of rubbish you find – you will be amazed! Don’t forget to wear protective gloves and take a rubbish bag.
GARDEN SAFARI
You don’t have to go far to encounter some amazing living things. Going on a back garden safari in your own garden or to a local park or woods will be a real voyage of discovery. It is such a fun way to explore and learn about local plants, animals and minibeasts. You can simply sit and watch, take photos or a video, do a scavenger checklist or record what you found by drawing a picture.
Getting your child involved in growing fruit and vegetables is a great way for them to learn where their food comes from and make healthy eating choices. Children can see first hand the growing cycle and develop an awareness of the seasonal nature of food.
Try growing indoors whilst the weather is still cold. Tomatoes, carrots, peppers and beans work well on a nice sunny windowsill using a recycled container that allows drainage.
Spring is coming soon and the perfect time to start growing outdoors if you have the opportunity. You can plant in tubs, make a raised bed or create a garden growing patch.
Fruits and vegetables that are easy to grow and mature quickly are strawberries, lettuce, peas, radishes, and courgettes.
We would love if you could share your learning from home with us so we can use it as part of our action plan, either via Google Classroom or Twitter @GlenwoodFC #Glenwoodlearningfromhome
Healthy Henry likes to eat healthy food but he says it’s OK to have a treat sometimes.
As it’s Shrove Tuesday or Pancake Day, Miss Pearson would like to share her pancake recipe with you.
Miss Pearson’s Pancakes
First of all you will have to wash your hands with soap and water to make sure they are clean and dry them well. If you have an apron you can wear this as well to keep your clothes clean .
You will need:
mixing bowl
wooden spoon
tablespoon
mug
frying pan
spatula
Ingredients:
1 level mug of self raising flour
1 level tablespoon of caster sugar
1 egg
1 cup of milk for mixing
Oil for your pan
Method:
1. Put the flour and sugar into the bowl.2. Add the egg and mix well.3. Then gradually add the milk to make a runny consistency – you might not use all the milk.
Mix until smooth.
Now we can start making our pancakes.
First of all you will need to ask an adult to help you with this part as we are going to use the cooker and we have to be very careful so we don’t get burnt .
We need the frying pan to be hot.
So put a little drop of oil in the pan and wait until it is hot.
Put a spoonful of your mixture into the pan and wait for the bubbles and then turn and cook the other side.
Turn the pancakes over when you see the bubbles.
I made 12 pancakes out of my mixture you could make big pancakes or small pancakes it is up to you.
Here are some ideas for toppings:
Jam
Banana
Butter
Chocolate spread (but just a little)
Miss Pearson hopes you have as much fun making them as she did.
What toppings will you choose?
Cooking together provides us with lots of opportunities to practise our maths skills – measuring out our ingredients, talking about colours, shapes and sizes, using a timer – as well as helping develop fine motor skills – chopping, mixing, spreading – and literacy skills as we read a recipe.
Here are some other ideas for simple cooking activities:
sandwiches
fruit salad or fruit kebabs
pitta bread pizzas
vegetable soup
Let us know what you like to cook together and show us your pancakes on Twitter @GlenwoodFC #Glenwoodlearningathome
Today marks the start of the Chinese New Year. This year is the year of the Ox. The Ox represents strength and confidence in others, something those of us at Glenwood have shown in recent months.
Chinese New Year has been celebrated in China and other Asian cultures for thousands of years. It is also celebrated as part of the Spring festival which allows this holiday to mark the end of the coldest days and allows the people to welcome in the Spring season with planting and new beginnings.
Fireworks are a big tradition to mark the celebrations of Chinese New Year with firecrackers used to scare off bad luck with these being set off at midnight. The following day firecrackers are used again to welcome in the new year with good luck.
Red and gold envelopes which contain money are given during the festival to children from their relatives. The envelopes are a symbolism of good luck and wishes, but it is the red paper which is significant and not the money inside as this represents happiness and blessings to the children receiving them.
There are 12 different Zodiac Signs which the years are named after: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog and pig.
Active Aamir is here to give you some activities to help you stay active indoors.
Star Jumps
See how many star jumps you can do in 30 seconds. Remember to count!
Limbo
Tie a piece of string between 2 objects (or ask someone to hold it) and every time you make it under the string move it lower, how low can you go?
Book balance
Place a book on your head and walk from one side of the room to another, see how many times you can do this without the book falling off. Remember not to touch the book with your hands.
Washing basket
Count how many pairs of socks you can throw into your washing basket. Move the basket further away to make it more difficult.
Balloon volley
All you need is a balloon and you! The aim is to use different parts of your body to keep the balloon in the air and off the ground.
Don’t worry if it goes on the ground, just pick it up and start again. See how long you can keep the balloon in the air…10 seconds, 25 seconds? Count and see.
Can you beat your own personal best? Invite your family to do it too. Who can keep the balloon in the air for the longest time?
Freeze dance
Choose some music you like, get some of your cuddly toys or even your family to join in.
Play the music and everyone has to dance to the music. When the music stops you have to freeze. Just like an icicle!
If you search ‘freeze dance’ on YouTube you will find music that stops automatically. Here is one to try!
A move jar
With some help write down the names of about 5 animals on a small piece of paper. Fold the paper and put them in a jar (or box).
Now pop your hand in and pull out a piece of paper. What does it say? Think about the animal you have chosen. How does this animal move its body?
Does it slither, wiggle, hop, stop, jump or crawl. You decide and try to move your body like this animal from one side of the room to the other.
Be creative and think big – pretend you are in the same environment as the animal you have chosen. It could be the jungle, a farm or the ocean.
We have created a Sway with a selection of websites that might be helpful to you at home.
We have included a selection of sites – some online activities and games for your child, some with ideas of activities for you to try together and also some sites offering support and advice for parents and carers.
Rhyming words are words that have the same ending sound: bat & cat, frog & log, car & star… Learning to recognise rhyme is an important step in learning to read.
Nursery Rhymes – Sharing songs and nursery rhymes with young children is the first step towards this and also helps create a bond with their carers.
The Scottish Book Trust has a Bookbug App for you to share stories, songs and rhymes together. Find out more here.
The CBeebies website also has lots of nursery rhymes to share. Click here.
Once your child understands rhyme you could make up some silly ones together… why not try Humpty Dumpty?
Humpty Dumpty sat in a tree, he fell down and hurt his …
Humpty Dumpty sat on a bed, he fell down and broke his…
Or Twinkle, Twinkle?
Twinkle, Twinkle little mouse, hiding in your little…
Twinkle, Twinkle little moon, I’d like to eat you with a …
Rhyming Stories – Lots of children’s stories are written in rhyme. As you read with your child, try missing out the last word to let them fill it in.
Here are just a few authors who write rhyming stories:
Lynley Dodd – Hairy Maclary from Donaldson’s Dairy
Jez Alborough – Fix It Duck, Some Dogs Do
Kes Gray – Oi Frog, Oi Dog, Oi Cat, How Many Legs?
Nick Sharratt – Chocolate Mousse for Greedy Goose, Don’t Put Your Finger in the Jelly, Nelly!, Octopus Socktopus
Giles Andreae – Commotion in the Ocean, Mad About Minibeasts
Clare Freedman – Aliens Love Underpants
Dr Seuss – The Cat in the Hat, Green Eggs and Ham
One of our favourite authors is Julia Donaldson and some of her rhyming stories have been made into animations. Why not watch some together? Zog and the Flying Doctors
Rhyme Games
Create a rhyming basket – Collect together pairs of rhyming objects – they could be toys or household items. Take out an object… can you find it’s rhyming partner?
Go on a rhyming treasure hunt – Collect together some objects again but this time challenge your child to find a rhyme around your house or garden. You might put in a star (to rhyme with car), a parrot (rhymes with carrot), a bee (to match with knee or tree), a cat (rhymes with mat or hat) or a bear (to rhyme with pear). I’m sure you will think of many more!
Play I-Spy – On a walk or in the house, you could play a rhyming version of I-spy…
I spy with my little eye, something that rhymes with bee.
I spy with my little eye, something that rhymes with bog.
It’s OK if your child makes up nonsense words – that means that they have understood the concept of rhyme.
Children learn about numbers by hearing number sequences over and over and learning the number names. Through play and everyday activities is a natural way that children will learn.
There are lots of things you can do at home with your children to learn number sequence.
When you bring the shopping home can you count how many apples/bananas/blueberries you bought?
If you have stairs. How many do you have?
How many small/big steps is it from your front door to the gate?
A scavenger hunt. Can you find 8 leaves, 5 stones, 4 sticks.
Number songs are another great way to learn number sequences. Here are some Glenwood favourites (click on them to watch a Youtube video):
Playing board and card games is another way to develop number recognition and practise counting.
Snakes and Ladders
Kids Monopoly
Snap (using playing cards)
Bingo
Play Splat! – say a number and ‘splat’ the correct card.
Another favourite game we play in Glenwood is Number Splat. This is a great way to develop number recognition. All you need is numbers 0-10 or 0-20 written on pieces of paper and a spatula or wooden spoon. Ask your child to splat different numbers in a random order. Why not have a competition?
Share with us on Google Classroom or Twitter how you have been practising your counting and number recognition. @GlenwoodFC #Glenwoodlearningathome
Story telling is said to have been dated right back to 30,000 BC where cavemen would draw pictures on the wall of their cave showing a short series of events usually depicting their rituals of hunting. 1,000 BC Greek myths and legends came about, and then in 700 BC the first written story was printed.
Benefits of Storytelling
Helps with understanding of social behaviour – telling right from wrong and teaching empathy.
Develops language and communication.
Improves listening skills.
Encourages creativity and imagination.
Promotes higher order thinking skills.
Can helps understanding of difficult ideas and situations.
Ideas to try at home…
Helicopter Stories
Helicopter Stories is a way of creating stories with your children. As a parent you’re the scribe and write word for word your child’s story down. Then have a go at acting it out…let your child decide who plays which character and what props to use.
Find out more in Miss MacLean’s Helicopter Stories Blog here.
I’m a tree…
What’s in the bag?
All you need is a bag or a box filled with objects (can be anything you find around the house.) You then take turns with your child to take an object out and create a story around the object.
You could make up a station to go with the bag full of cuddly toys or dolls or toys that you could use to be the characters for your story.
This is a game that can have endless results and can be played repeatedly, as so many different stories could be told.
I wonder what story you could tell about the Gruffalo?
Hanen
In Nursery we use Hanen’s Abc and Beyond approach to develop early literacy skills. Find out more about how to turn stories into conversations in this Sway.
Hanen’s ABC and Beyond is a programme that provides strategies that help promote emergent literacy and language skills in your children before they go to school. We have outlined some of th…
Responsible Robbie likes to help look after the environment and wildlife.
Have you tried the recipe for bird cake in your home learning booklet?
Why not try to make your own bird feeder from recycled materials you have in the house. Here are some ideas…
Remember to throw any wire away after the birds have eaten the cereal.
The CBeebies website has some more ideas on how to make bird feeders for your garden. Why not take a look… Make a bird feeder – CBeebies – BBC
Why not join in with the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch which is happening from the 29th to 31st January and you can sign up for free. There are lots of other things to do on their website too, including stories to read and games to play.
I wonder which birds you will have visiting your garden?
Why not let us know on Google Classroom or Twitter?
Respected Rhiya encourages us to think and talk, and to share our ideas and views.
Rhiya has got some sad news, happy news and she wants to give you a challenge.
The sad news is that we can’t all be at nursery together as we have to make sure everyone is safe from the virus. Also when we come back together, our nursery building might have disappeared. Big machines are going to knock it down.
How does that make you feel?
Some people think that will be exciting and they want to see it all smashed. Some people are worried it will be very noisy and messy. For lots of people the building and garden have lots of happy memories. The happy news that we are getting a new nursery with lots of lovely new toys inside. It is much bigger, with large playrooms, lots of windows and a little garden in the middle. Everything is new and clean and there will be lots of new things to try and we will see our friends there.
What do you think?Are you excited, worried or not sure?
The adults are getting things ready in the new nursery – here are a few photos for you to see what it looks like.
The cloakroom where you will hang your jacket.These are some of the toilets.
The book corners are waiting for their rugs.Look at the lovely new cooker and sink in the role play area.One of our new art areas.Some new vehicles to play with in the sand.
This room will be a gym hall and dining room.What a smart mud kitchen!
The sandpit is underneath the white tarpaulin – isn’t it big?
Rhiya’s challenges are:
Can you tell us what you liked best about our old nursery?
What are you looking forward to at our new nursery?
Can you draw us a picture or make us a model or write us a story or make a game?
What should our rules be for our nursery and what is important?
Rhiya hopes you like the challenges and that you will post into Google Classroom.
Completing the challenges will help you use lots of skills – you will be remembering, understanding, applying, analysing, evaluating and creating. These are called higher order thinking skills.
Sorting and matching objects is an important mathematical skill for young children to develop. It helps children to develop their thinking and awareness of number and quantity. Children organise, match and sort items in different ways, by colour, shape, design, size, and sometimes using their own criteria. They may sort by using simple categories such as colour, size or shape, or by using categories such as, type of transport (cars, trains, boats) or types of animals (farm, zoo, sea). Matching encourages children to look for similarities and differences.
Here are just a few ideas…
Sorting toys You could start by asking your child to gather some of their favourite toys (maybe suggest small toys like Lego or animals) then ask them to sort them using different criteria, shape, colour or size.
Loose parts are things like bottle tops, buttons, beads or natural objects – there are many wonderful possibilities.
You might choose stones or shells of different colours, shapes, sizes and textures.
Loose parts can provide good opportunities to challenge children’s thinking because of variations – Will all the different shades of blue go in one set? How will you decide if an item is ‘big’ or ‘small’? Encourage your child to explain why they have chosen to put an object in a particular set.
Household sorting jobs
Putting away the shopping – sorting the fruit, vegetables, tins, frozen food into the correct places.
You could talk to your child about what you are doing as you sort and separate clothes for washing (whites, colours, and darks) or get them to help you sort and match socks.
At lunchtime or dinner time encourage children to set the table by matching knives and forks or plates with cups, you could talk about the different sizes of spoons you might use. How many will you need?
Involve them in recycling waste (paper, plastic, cans and food waste).
Will you read a story (fiction) book together or will you choose non-fiction? Are they all muddled up on the book shelf?
Putting toys away into the right place!
Putting in order of size
Challenge your child to put a selection of items into size order – coins, sticks, shoes or lego bricks perhaps. This encourages measuring skills as well.
Play Odd One Out
Show your child 3 objects, start simple perhaps 2 red and 1 blue – can they spot the odd one out? As they get the idea, increase the challenge – perhaps a red car, a blue car and a green train.
Let your child have a turn at choosing the items for you to say which is the odd one out.
Mrs Russell wonders who can spot the odd one out in the picture below… remember to say why!
Show us what you have been sorting and matching on Google Classroom or Twitter @Glenwood FC #Glenwoodlearningathome
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