Banana and raisin muffins

This week our little chefs have been baking delicious muffins, following recipes from our ‘Tickle fingers, toddler cookbook’. We have been making Dairy and Gluten free Blueberry Yoghurt muffins but we ran out of blueberry yoghurt (Plant based Alpro- soya) and blueberries so had to improvise this morning.

We followed the same recipe but adapted the ingredients to suit what we had available.  We had a discussion on what ingredients we would use.  “We could use bananas” “and raisins”.

We washed our hands and put our aprons on ready to begin baking.

Working their larger arm muscles, the children began by using a potato masher to mash the banana until it was all mushy. They helped each other as it was so tough.

“It’s so tricky” “ I’m using my big muscles”

Next we added all the liquids to the banana mix including  oil, honey, soya milk and gave it a good mix using the whisk.


They added the raisins then used their measuring skills to weigh out the gluten free self raising flour using the scales, each child took turns to add a scoop to the bowl and watched as the measurements got higher.

”it’s got a 3 and 4”

“Now it’s got two 6’s that number is sixty six”

Next they added the flour to the mix and gave it a good mix till it was the right consistency for our muffins. We filled up our muffin cases and popped them in the oven at 180 degrees for 20 minutes. We discussed how to use the oven safely using oven gloves and letting an adult put them in.


The muffins turned out great and are now ready to go home.

”they smell like banana”

Wild walks

Today we decided to go for a walk and one of the children suggested we go to see if the river has been flooded by the rain. As soon as we crossed over to the wooded area we noticed how much the plants had grown and we had to walk like penguins with our hands by our sides to avoid touching the jaggy nettles and thistles. We found lots of secret paths but some of them were too overgrown to get through. One of the children found a secret path to the river but we decided it would not be a good idea to follow it in case we slipped into the water!

Once we found a safe way to access the river we had a great time watching it flow over the rocks, pretending to be pirates and jumping in muddy puddles.

On the way back to nursery the children noticed an area where some one had set a fire and the ground had hardened. They told me that there is lava and magma under the ground and we decided to make some volcanoes when we got back to nursery.

We had lots of fun watching the fizzing of the  baking soda and vinegar reacting!

Article 13- You have the right to find out things and share what you  think with others.

Safety checks with the children.

Within our Cart Mill Hospital, we have been talking about how to keep ourselves safe.  The boys and girls are able to identify and describe people who can help us in an emergency. We decide to have a look round the nursery to identify things that keep us safe as well as simple ways of avoiding accidents.

When we arrive at nursery our parents and carers ring the buzzer, Janet will let us in and mark on the register that we are in the building.

We sometimes have a fire alarm practice where we have to leave the building. We spotted the exit signs, the fire extinguishers, which can only be used by adults or fire agents and a special trolley to put small children in or children who need help with mobility to safely move them out the nursery.

When the alarm goes off we follow the adults who are wearing safety vests so we can see them clearly. We go through the gate and away from the nursery to keep safe.

There are other ways to stay safe in Cart Mill. At lunch time we wash our hands, front and back, to clean away the germs. In the kitchen we have a safety gate which we cannot go through as the hot ovens are on the other side. We have a fire blanket which our catering staff can use if there is a very small fire 🔥. If we put out our yellow wet floor sign it means we need to be very careful as the floor maybe slippy.

At the front entrance we have sun cream for everyone to use on our sunny days to stop our skin being damaged by the sun. We also have helpful leaflets about how to keep safe. In each of our playrooms we have a first aid box which we sometimes need when we fall or have a bump. We use sterile wipes and plasters and sometimes need a cool pack from the fridge to put on any bumps.

The children also spotted “Santa’s camera” in a lot of the rooms 🤤 or maybe they could be the alarm sensors!
At the end of our nursery day when we leave the nursery we must let the staff or parents press the exit button as we would not like any of our lovely children to get out by accident.

Keep safe and remember to let us know if you see any safety signs when you are out and about.

Article 11 -You have the right to be protected.

Flash Card Fun 🤩👍

Today the children have enjoyed exploring their numeracy and literacy skills in nursery.  They showed excellent shape recognition, which they highlighted through some fun numeracy games…

“Triangles got 3 sides. Look, 1 2 3!”

 

Some  children enjoyed sorting them into groups, finding all the matching shapes and some even noticed a pattern…

“There’s only 3 pentagons. We need to find another one!”

Some of our children had lots of fun exploring the letter flash cards,  and could even identify familiar letters to spell out their names..

Some children used the pictures as context clues if they were unfamiliar with the letters, trying to guess what it said. “I for igloo. That’s in my name!”

The children have enjoyed developing their numeracy and literacy skills through these flash card games, and had lots of fun looking at all the funny pictures on the cards too. Maybe next time we can make our very own flash cards!

Keep up the great work everybody 🤩👍

 

Brilliant Building

Today in the block area, we have been using our curiosity, problem solving skills and imagination to create different models and explore our small world toys within the block area.

”Lets build a rollercoaster”

”it can be a house too”

”we have to build it big”

The children used their imaginations to work out design criteria and take turns to work together to construct their model. The children decided they were building a ”rollercoaster house” which had lots of different features such as lights and speakers! So cool!!

Some of the other children decided to explore our new small world loose part toys in the block area.

We explored role play with the dinosaurs and people figures creating our own small world stories. There was volcanos, mountains and lava!! Block play helps children to take turns and share different materials, develop new friendships and socialisation skills and co-operate with others.

 

Beautiful Butterflies

After releasing our butterflies last week the children developed a keen interest in them so using butterflies for inspiration over the last couple of weeks the children have enjoyed learning about symmetry by looking and noticing that they looked the same on each side.

We enjoyed reading all about The Very Hungry Caterpillar and talking about the colours and pattern in the beautiful butterfly.

We looked at half a picture of a butterfly through the mirror to make a whole butterfly.

The children then created their own butterfly designs using paint and folding the page in half creating a mirror image.

We also had fun using loose parts to create our own designs.

Can you find more things in nature that are symmetrical?

Moving on up!!

It’s a day of mixed emotions today at Cart Mill as our fabulous Class of 2023 head off towards their new adventures in Primary One and some of our younger children prepare to embark on their new journeys at other nurseries.

Looking back over the last year it has been fantastic to see our children grow, develop their confidence and independence, embrace new opportunities and see wonderful new relationships form.   We thought we’d share a few of our favourite adventures with you!

Our Cart Mill children are so talented.  It has been amazing to see them share this with their friends and encourage and support one another through reading stories, riding our balance bikes, leading a gymnastics class and having a go at knitting!

“Teamwork makes the dreamwork” as some of our children like to say!  They’ve certainly achieved this through teaching each other how to make playdough, looking after our babies and each other at Cart Mill A&E, helping each other to climb a tree at forest school, and taking time to chat and share a cheers at snack time.

We’re sure you’ll agree it’s been a such a busy, fun-filled year it has been so far and we’re so excited for the wonderful adventures that lie ahead,

Family really is at the heart of everything we do at Cart Mill and we feel honoured to have made such amazing memories with you and are so proud of our fabulous children.

We don’t like to say goodbye, so it’s a good luck, have fun and please come back and visit us soon!  To our children returning in August, we look forward to new adventures and finally to our children we are lucky enough to hold on to for a little longer, we look forward to seeing you next week for more fun filled adventures!

 

 

 

What have we created so far……🧶🧶🧶

We have been very busy with our knitting, the children choose the wool and needles they’d like to use giving ownership to their creations.

We have made rings, friendship bracelets and squares developing our knitting skills. Some children requiring less support than others. The children are selecting the needles and wool they want to use and are asking for the amount of stitches they like, some children are learning to cast on their stitches independently. Knitting helps develop our fine motor skills,  perseverance and patience 😁

What will we make next???🤔

Article 29 Your education should help you use and develop your talents and abilities.

 

 

 

The very hungry butterfly 🦋

From looking after and caring for our butterflies in nursery to saying goodbye and letting them go in our garden. We had discussions on where they flew away too and wondered if they would come visit us again. So the children decided they wanted to make our very own butterfly feeding table.

“Do you think the butterflies will come back.”

We gathered all materials needed and got started. The children showed brilliant fine manipulative skills when cutting and gluing.

”I’m making my flower all rainbow and the butterfly will see it.”

Once it was all glued down and ready to go we filled up the jam jar lids with sugar and water and looked around the garden for the best place to put it.

“It needs to be super high.”

The children decided it would be best to hang it up high so the butterflies can find it, so with a little help we tied it to a branch.

Now time to wait and see if our butterflies come and visit us 🦋

Delicious summer salads harvested fresh from our garden 😁🍓

Today some of the children noticed that our chard had grown “I wonder what else has grown that we could pick”

“Look the peas have grown big, Let’s pick some, I bet they taste good” “ I know we could make a salad, let’s see what else we could put in it”

“ Look there’s a big red strawberry it looks ready let’s pick it, but there’s only one ready” “ we could cut it into four, and have a piece each”

“Look I think the cauliflower looks ready, it’s to hard to pull it out myself can you help me ? “ Yeah sure” 1,2,3, pull.”


“yeah we did it”

” We could have carrots in our salad” “ My Mum has a sauce on her salad it makes it taste better” “I’m going to make a dressing “ “ I’m using lemon juice and oil”

“Mix,mix,mix”

“I’m cutting up the carrots small for our salad” “they are a bit dirty, I need to wash them”

“I think the dressing tastes lovely “ “My favourite is the cauliflower, I could just eat it all day” “ Peas, peas are my favourite they are sooooo sweet”

Well done children great team work glad you enjoyed your home grown salad🤩 I wonder what we could plant next?