Bookbug is on tomorrow for Babies and Toddlers at a new time in the morning of 10.30 but at the same time in the afternoon of 3.30. We hope you can make it along. Everyone is welcome!
All posts by Sharon McKenna
March/April Newsletter
Please click on the link below to read our latest newsletter.
Forest School – Week 7
The Tuesday group love the water and they could spend hours playing here if our sessions allowed. They like the sensory experience of treading water and looking into the water to see lots of interesting things.
They also used the magnifying glasses to find mini beasts.
We always enjoy a hot chocolate in the forest and this week we used the Kelly Kettle to boil our water.
On Wednesday it was cold at our usual site as it did not have any sunlight. The group explored the forest and found a new area that we can use to rest our site from experiencing environmental damage through regular use. It was warmer here too.
The Thursday morning group were keen to explore the new site.
They found a fantastic tree to climb, gathered sticks to make a den and identified trees from looking closely at their leaves.
The Thursday afternoon group loved climbing the trees in this new area too.
Forest School – Week 6
The Tuesday group learned about making a fire with safety at the forefront of the learning.
Then they toasted marshmallows on the fire.
Wednesday
Thursday AM
Thursday PM
This group got to wear our new waterproof suits today – don’t they look smart?
We love to stop and take in the sights and smells on our way to the forest. The children noticed that the crocuses had opened since last week and were just lovely.
The mud was very squelchy at the entrance to the park. We nearly lost our wellies in it.
We explored a new part of the forest this week. It was fun to try out new things.
We learned about making a fire square again this week so that we could set up our kelly kettle. The children gathered the sticks and built the fire square. We boiled the water to make our hot chocolate.
New Temporary CDO
This is Helen Boyce, Child Development Officer (Temp).
Helen is covering for a staff absence in the Toddler Room. She is with us indefinitely at the moment.
Forest School Week 5
The Wednesday group are very interested in the insects that live in the woodland. They went looking for them and then decided to make a home for them.
They gathered sticks, leaves and other items from the forest floor to create a home at the bottom of a tree.
The Thursday morning group learned about how to make a safe fire in the forest. There is always a fire surround made from sticks that establishes the fire area and ensures that the fire is a safe distance from the children. Fire safety forms an important part of the Forest School Leader Training.
Once the fire was established the children used their whittled sticks to toast a marshmallow on the fire.
On the way into the forest the children heard a loud sawing noise and noticed people up in the trees cutting branches. We talked about the job of a tree surgeon and why they need to cut branches sometimes.
The Thursday afternoon group made a raft to sail on the river. You can see the launch in this video.
The children in this group also learned about fire and whittled sticks to toast their marshmallows.
The trees at this part of the walkway have been felled to allow a greater view of the river and viaduct. We love to stop and look at this view each week as it changes so much but is always inspiring.
Learning from our centre to home
We carried out a parental engagement survey which closed just before Christmas. We are working through the comments and suggestions that you have told us could improve our centre and we thank you for the positive feedback we also received about what is going well within our centre.
Parents commented that they would like to know more about what their child is learning and how they can support their child at home. We have produced parent information sheets which give an overview of the learning focus in the curriculum areas of literacy, numeracy and health and wellbeing for this term. Please click on the links below to view the information sheets and please let us know what you think about these by sending us an email to schoolmail@cartmill.e-renfrew.sch.uk
Bonnie the Play Talk Read Bus
Bonnie, the new Play, Talk, Read bus is coming to East Renfrewshire at the beginning of February as part of the Scottish Government Campaign to encourage communication between parents/carers and their pre-school children.
Please note this event is aimed at parents/carers and their children aged 0-4 years old.
ERC Education Planning & Standards Report
Please find below a draft copy of the Local Improvement Plan 2019-2022 and the Standards and Quality Report 2017-18.
Local Improvement Plan 2019-2022
ERC Standards Quality Report 2017-18
If you have any comments or feedback on these improvements please e-mail us before the end of March at schoolmail@cartmill.e-renfrew.sch.uk
Stay and Play
Stay and Play is on from tomorrow, Monday 28th January and will last all week. We have planned learning sessions for you to join so that you can experience some of the learning that the children experience daily in our centre. The sessions will take place at 9.15am and 1.15pm and are as follows:
Monday – Cooking on the fire with Val & Jaweria
Tuesday – Literacy & Numeracy with Helen & Yasmin
Wednesday – Bookbug with Zoe – AM Toddlers Playroom & PM Children’s Playroom
Thursday – Baking with Stephanie MacRitchie
Friday – Forest School with Stephanie MacPherson & Sharon McKenna – PM Session for adults 13.15 – 15.15
You are welcome to pop in and play anytime this week from 8am to 6pm.
