On behalf of the children and staff at Carolside Nursery, we would like to thank the wonderful PFA for their hard work to fundraise for our new outdoor play equipment. The children are thoroughly enjoying exploring the train, bridge and balance beam. Thank you!

As part of our learning about Chinese New Year, the children thoroughly enjoyed watching a performance by Primary 6d pupils. The performance included a dragon dance, drama, musical input, singing and children speaking in Mandarin.

The children worked hard to order the numbers on the fish. They started by ordering numbers 0-5 and progressed to numbers 0-10. Some children then asked to be challenged further and not only sequenced the numbers 0-20, they were able to identify which numbers Miss Rutherford had hidden!

When playing shape dominoes, the children enjoyed demonstarting their ability to identify and match a range of 2D shapes and colours.

During Together Time, the children worked in pairs to identify the number of spots each ladybird needed. They then assessed other children’s work to ensure they had counted out the correct amount of spots.

The children thoroughly enjoyed printing number lines using sponges and paint.

As part of our learning about Scotland and Robert Burns, the children created interest tables and enjoyed exploring the range of items displayed. Over the course of the week, the children participated in a variety of activities. Some of these included:

• Listening and responding to Scottish songs and music.
• Learning about Robert Burns and what happens during a Burns Supper.
• Baking and food tasting.
• Creating tartan artwork.
• Learning about Scots dialect.
• Reading children’s stories written in Scots, e.g. The Gruffalo in Scots.

The children have been taking great pride in demonstrating their ability to recognise and write their first and, where appropriate, their surname. They have been using a range of fun materials to develop their skills, e.g. using magnetic letters, chalk, paint, play dough, alphabet beads, pens and pencils. When creating artwork or models, the children are enjoying offering to write their own names on their masterpieces.

As part of our literacy focus next week, the children will be focusing on rhyming words with Miss Rutherford. They are already showing their excitement for one of the games that we will be playing, ‘What Rhymes?’.

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Book Week Scotland was an enjoyable and literacy rich experience at Carolside Nursery. Throughout the week, we focused on the books within the Bookbug Bags and the children participated in a range of activities relating to the individual stories. Some of these activities included:

• Retelling the story using picture prompts
• Creating pirate themed props
• Researching various animals
• Identifying the qualities of a ‘good friend’
• Discussing adventures
• Creating masks

The children were excited to welcome Primary 6 pupils into the nursery. During their visits, the children shared stories and discussed the different characters and settings with each other. Reading in our outdoor area was particularly popular!

Last week we had a particularly eventful and enjoyable time at Carolside Nursery. Mike Brady, the Countryside Ranger Team Leader from Chatelherault, visited the nursery on Wednesday and Friday. He worked with the children placing emphasis on teamwork and problem solving in the outdoor environment. The children thoroughly enjoyed the range of materials available and they worked extremely well together to create kites, a shelter, a pulley system for baskets, a sit on trolley and much more!

As part of Remembrance Day, the children used a range of media to create poppies and participated in a two minute silence.

On Thursday, we took part in a Dress As You Please Day to help raise money for Children in Need. The total amount raised by the nursery was £112! We would like to take this opportunity to thank all parents/carers for their support and co-operation with this event.

The children thoroughly enjoyed our visit from Zoo Tots on Friday and were very brave when introduced to a variety of mammals, reptiles, amphibians and insects. The trained handler, Tommy, ensured the children (and staff!) were entertained throughout the session. We would like to thank the Parent Fundraising Association for organising this wonderful event!

As part of our current focus, the children are learning about the seasons of the year and are working collaboratively to create autumn investigation stations in each of the playrooms.

After a few hiccups with technology, the photos are now showing in the nursery playrooms. Thank you for your patience!