We are delighted to announce that our Lending Library is back. Please use the QR codes to sign your chosen books in and out. We are still missing quite a few books, if you have any please return them to the front office. Thank you.
Category Archives: parents
Being Me!
In Glenwood, we celebrate what is special and unique about each and every person. We are all loved and included just for being who we are!
We had a special Being Me! celebration and invited all our families. We performed some of our favourite songs using Makaton signs. Our songs included our Rights song as we learn all about the rights of all children.
Together with our families we decorated wooden hearts to celebrate what is special and unique about us and to share some of things that are important to us.
Curriculum Evening November 2023
Thank you to all the parents who were able to attend our recent Curriculum Evening. We showcased how we demonstrate our values in all we do.
We received lots of lovely feedback.
“What a wonderful, educational and welcoming nursery! The staff are friendly and professional. We are so grateful that our children get to come here. Thank you all.”
“Very interesting and informative- I hadn’t realised that there was so much thought and planning going in to the children’s day here.”
Amazing resources. So many fantastic experiences with great variety. Staff are always so helpful and supportive. Thank you for all you do. “
“very interesting to see the spaces and activities. Clear to see how much you consider the children’s views and opinions. Staff very enthusiastic as always. Thank you.”
If you were unable to attend, you can access some information about this here.
Transition to school – Parents information session
Thank you to those who attended our session last night – we hope you found it informative.
Here is the presentation that was shared.
If you have any further questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to ask.
Thank you.
World Book Day 2022
We celebrated World Book Day by coming to nursery in our pyjamas and bringing in our favourite stories (and teddies!).
We had a special snack of Gruffalo Tusks…
We shared lots of stories through the day and a special ‘thank you’ goes to our visitors who read stories outdoors.
There is a World Book Day Token for everyone – we hope you enjoy reading the special £1 books that you can use it to buy.
Chinese New Year
We marked the start of the Chinese New Year and the year of the Tiger with some wonderful celebrations.
It was fantastic to engage with some of our families to help us learn all about the Chinese New Year celebrations; A huge thank you to Gerald’s mum for sharing how this is celebrated in their home using Google Meet and also to Mrs Wilson’s daughter who shared her experiences having lived in Hong Kong for some time.
The children have been learning about some of the ways families may celebrate Chinese New Year and taking part in art experiences, Chinese mark making, dragon dancing and tasting Chinese food to name a few opportunities on offer.
Terrific Triangles
Working with Starcatchers, we developed a creative project on triangles. Children and parents brought lots of lovely triangles from home (thank you).
Child: “The triangles are all different sizes. Oh, Look at them, they are all my favourite. I made some at home, here they are.”
Then …….
…we made more at Glenwood using lots of different materials to decorate.
…we cut slots into our triangles. We tried scissors and then saws.
…we found we could make 3D shapes by connecting them together and we could make lots of different shapes.
…we took some outside and made a traffic jam with lots of cars.
…we were thinking about our community and neighbours and being ‘intergenerational’. So we made some into bunting and delivered it to our friends with a card. We wrote:
“We are thinking of you and hope our triangles make you happy”.
Parent: “I really liked the idea of the triangles and having something to work with my child at home and bring in. It made me feel more connected to the nursery at this time when we can’t come in”.
Sponsored Obstacle Course
We had great fun taking part in our sponsored obstacle course. All money raised will go to support nursery funds.
Thank you to Mrs McGrory for organising and to all parents for any donations.
Maths Week Scotland
We celebrated Maths Week Scotland by taking part in many mathematical activities both indoors and out.
10 … 9 … 8 … 7 … 6 … 5 … 4 … 3 … 2 … 1 … Blast off 🚀🚀🚀🚀@mathsweekscot #GlenwoodMathsWeekScotland #MathsWeekScot pic.twitter.com/IiEgpTCuOr
— GlenwoodFamilyCentre (@GlenwoodFC) October 2, 2020
We went on a Maths Walk in our local area and spotted numbers, shapes and patterns all around us.
Take a look at some of the numbers, shapes and patterns we found on our walks #MathsWeekScot pic.twitter.com/R7kQtalnsg
— GlenwoodFamilyCentre (@GlenwoodFC) October 4, 2020
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.
Remote learning- We are going to go to school soon- week 5
Our transition visits have now started with children invited to meet their classmates in small groups both in nursery and at school. During these visits the children will be invited to take part in some more Bear Hunt activities.
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- 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.
Storytelling
As we approach World Book Day we have developed a Storytelling Sway which features some of our staff team sharing their favourite stories for you and your child to enjoy at home. We hope you enjoy it!
Lucy’s Blue Day
We recently welcomed Chris Duke, the author of Lucy’s Blue Day, to Glenwood. The book is written to help children understand their emotions, and to encourage mental health awareness. Thank you to the parents who were able to join us for the sessions and thank you to Chris for his visit.
ECO…. Unnecessary packaging
We have been learning about the impact of plastic on the environment. We carried out a survey on our lunch packaging and produced a graph to show the types of packaging used in our lunch boxes. Many of us have reusable wraps, tubs and flasks…. can we do more to reduce our waste?
Outdoor Parent Workshops
We recently held a series of Outdoor Parent Workshops. These included outdoor play, den building and fire lighting. Thank you to everyone who came along and to the staff team for hosting these sessions.
Parents gave lovely feedback and we look forward to hosting some more workshops in the New Year.
“It was a lovely adventure for me to attend the Family Centre …for the wonderful Outdoor Education sessions”
“I really enjoyed the hands on play/ learning sessions”
“I had never thought of building a den in the garden using material, pegs etc. I will definitely take this forward.”
STEM curriculum evening
Thank you to all the parents who attended our recent STEM curriculum evening and to the whole staff team for showcasing our learning and making this evening a huge success. Our parents loved trying out some of the experiences on offer and feedback was very positive and encouraging.
Great to see all the stimulating and fun activities and nice to talk with staff and parents.
So lovely to see the amazing resources and have a chance to meet other staff members – really lovely group.
Thank you for all the staff’s knowledge and expertise!
The resources were fantastic, in particular the technology.
Loved the ideas for playing and learning at home and seeing what children do at nursery.
I wish I could provide constructive feedback, but nope! The evening and it’s content was perfect! So much effort made! Such a shame more parents didn’t come along.
If you didn’t manage along, see what you missed here STEM in Glenwood presentation
ECO day
Last Saturday we had a very successful ECO day. Staff, families and friends all mucked in to ensure our garden looks its best. Bark and stones were spread in Toadstool Tales, a bottle top mosaic was produced, the sand pit filled, vegetable plots weeded, cable drums painted, flowers planted, strimming and power washing carried out and many more jobs. A huge thank you to everyone who helped. 
Fairtrade
Our Children’s Committee met recently to discuss what we can do for Fairtrade Fortnight. They created a mind map of ideas.
The children decided to use some Fairtrade ingredients to bake banana cup cakes. We followed a recipe and we had lots of measuring and weighing to do.
The cup cakes tasted yummy! We thought it would be a great idea to sell the ingredients in our Family Fun Bags to allow everyone the chance to make Fairtrade banana cup cakes at home.
