Today in the discovery room we were Little scientist’s 🧑🏼‍🔬

Today the children chose to do two different science experiments. The first one was called The underwater volcano experiment. For the first experience we used water, food colouring oil and an effervescent tablet. The children were able to follow my step by step instructions and used their critical thinking and problem solving skills to guess what was going to happen in the experiment. We measured out the exact amounts off water and oil using our measuring beakers and counted five drops of food colouring into the measuring beaker.

I explained how the effervescent tablet produced a large amount of carbon dioxide when it met the water the carbon dioxide then takes the coloured water out of the oil and water layer and creates an explosion.

”That’s cool, it’s gone bubbly” “ The oil and the water haven’t mixed” “I wonder what will happen when I shake it, oh the bubbles go away”

The second experiment we did was called sugar water rainbows. It didn’t go quite to plan as we didn’t really have a rainbow at the end though the children still enjoyed doing it and we can always try it again.

For this experiment we used sugar, water and food colouring again the children measured out their ingredients, the idea behind this experiment is to learn a little about different densities the colours that have more sugar in them will sink to the bottom of the beaker.


“ I’m measuring 40 ml of sugar into my cup”

” I have only to put 10ml of sugar in mine”

“ I’m squirting in one drop of colouring, I want red, I like using the dropper”

“ I need blue for mine it’s my favourite colour, I have blue in my hoodie”

“look the sugar has sank to the bottom, it’s blue at the top”

Great team work everyone.

I wonder what experiments we will choose to do next maybe colour mixing? If anyone has any other suggestions, we would love to hear them!

Pop a little Pancake

Today we were talking about Pancake Tuesday and decided we could make our own pancakes with the playdough. We got our bowls and measured each ingredient  and used our gross motor skills to stir all the ingredients together. We added some vanilla essence  to make them smell yummy too.

“My mum makes pancakes”

“ I have pancakes in my house”

We then began creating our own pancakes  using the rolling pins and cutters  of our choice.

“ mine is going to be round”

”I am using the circle one”

 

When  we were ready we popped them into the frying pan some of the children like using the cooker  to bake them. The children then flipped their pancakes . While we didt this we sang pop a little pancake into the pan.

We then used a variety of resources sequins, pom poms to decorate our pancakes pretending they were various toppings.

“Nutella”

”Jam”

“Bananas”

“Strawberry”

Look at our delicious pancakes.

Natures Canvas

Today in our gross motor art area, we used the translucent board to paint on.  Before we started we got some powder paint mixed with water. We chose colours that represented nature. Green for the grass and trees, blue for the sky and orange for the sunsets.
We decided to use large pots today to make it a little different learning experience than indoor art. We wanted to extend our gross motor art and take our skills we learned in our studio painting area into a larger creative environment outdoors.

Inside our pots we had a selection of gross motor art utensils to select from. We had mops, rollers and large paint bushes.

When we were making our creations we talked about what we could see in the outdoor environment and what was the inspiration for our art.

We each took a turn of painting and sometimes we worked along side our peers to create collaborative art.

We used our gross motor skills as we had to bend and stretch to dip the large brushes/rollers into the tubs and use our arms/hands  to help us control where we put the paint while using the large brushes.

Once we had got the hang of our gross motor art painting we decided we wanted an even bigger space, so we used the nursery garden as our “natures canvas”. It looked nice and bright with all the colours we used.

This is a great experience for our children to let there creativity take over with a large space and freedom to design. It is a learning experience that can be easily adapted to differentiate the learning between our 2-3 year olds and our 3-5year olds while simultaneously having fun along side each other with our older children role modelling for our younger ones.

I wonder where our creative gross motor art journey will take us tomorrow. Feel free to have a look at our floor book next time you are in to see what we have been learning in our outdoor art area.

Article 29 – “you have the right to education which tries to develop your personality and abilities as much as possible and encourages you to respect other peoples rights and values and to respect the environment.”  (UNCRC)

Gong hei fat choy

This week at Cart Mill, the children have been celebrating the festival of Chinese New Year.

This year it’s the year of the Dragon and the children have been busy exploring different areas of the nursery, creating dragons in different ways such as junk modelling and playdough. We have even been practicing our Chinese writing using paint in the studio.

We have been making Chinese lanterns in the Studio, and I’m sure you’ll notice our new friend that is in our reception area in front of the discovery room door! The children have showed off their creative skills by working together and making the Chinese New Year Dragon!

At Cart Mill we celebrate and recognise different cultures which allows us to learn about what is important to different people. This fosters respect and open mindedness for other cultures. Celebrating our differences, as well as our common interests, helps unite and educate us.

If you are celebrating Chinese New Year this weekend, please feel free to send us your pictures into schoolmail@cartmill.e-renfrew.sch.uk or on Twitter at @cartmillcentre

Article 29 – I have a right to an education which develops my personality, respect for others rights and the environment

Article 30 – I have a right to speak my own language and follow my families way of life

Article 31 – I have a right to play

 

Grow grow let our trees grow 🌳🌳🌳

What a busy day we’ve had today, planting some baby seedling trees with the hope that they will grow and grow into big trees that we all can enjoy for many years…

We were planting a variety of different trees dogwood rose, blackthorns and elders. We could have a look at the seedlings, touch and smell the soil.

We made a hole in the ground for the seeds then the children patted it down to embed the trees into the soil.

We could share the learning that we already had on how the trees grow, they need sun, water, fresh air and love just like us and this will help the trees to grow big and strong just like us.

Isn’t it amazing to think that the children  today could visit these trees as dads and grandads and show them off  and be proud of them, providing a lifelong love of nature.

Article 29 Education must develop every child’s personality, talents and abilities to the full.

Languages Week Scotland!

Last week at Cart Mill, we participated in Languages Week Scotland, a wonderful initiative aimed at celebrating the diverse languages within our centre and around the world.  Take a look at some of the activities:

During our daily group time, we kicked off the day with greetings in different languages – Bonjour, Hola, Merhaba, and Ciao plus many more.  The children had a great time trying out these diverse hellos, turning language time into an engaging experience. 

We infused technology into our story time, exploring stories in Spanish and French. ‘Goldilocks and the Three Bears’ took on a language twist, and the children even grasped counting to three in both Spanish and French – quite impressive!

Wednesday brought a delightful surprise – one of our parents very kindly visited the centre to read a story in Gaelic. The children enjoyed learning animal names in Gaelic, making the session an enriching language journey. 



Thursday saw a visit from Camembear when we sang songs in French and talked about the French words that we already knew. We then asked how to say some of our favourite things in French. Our favourite one was the French for sweets – bonbon – because they are good good!

Finally, on Friday afternoon, we held a grand Book Bug gathering! We sang songs in French and Gaelic, and the children selected different languages to welcome Book Bug. Some even remembered to say hello in French or Spanish, showcasing their newfound language skills. We were then treated to some story telling in Polish.

Languages Week wasn’t just about words, it was a week filled with smiles, curiosity, and a lot of language fun. Here’s to our fantastic little language explorers! 🌟🌍✨

UNCRC ARTICLES

Article 8: Right to an identity

Article 28: Education

 

Intergenerational play 😀

In preparation for our visit to Bonnyton House the children helped to make gift to take…..what should we make??


Bird feeders

Last weekend was our big birdwatch, we had made bird feeders to welcome birds to our nursery garden and we thought it would be a lovely idea to make some bird feeders to share.

After we had delivered our gifts we all enjoyed a little sing, with the children demonstrating ‘Twinkle twinkle chocolate bar’ and our friends teaching us ‘The farmer wants a wife’

The children and staff all had a great time and we think we could all benefit from these visits…we’re all looking forward to the next one 😄

Article 31 Every child has the right to relax, play and take part in a wide range of cultural and artistic activities