The children wanted to share what they love most about Cart Mill.
Working with Nature in the Cartmill Garden 🪴
The last few weeks in the garden have been so busy and very exciting. We had the pleasure of a visit from Carolside Primary 7 pupils who brought some bird houses to paint with our children. They also spent time playing with our boys and girls and were shown round our lovely new garden.
The girls and boys were also busy building a bug 🐛 hotel using their construction and problem solving skills. The best part is looking everyday to see who may have checked in.
Another visitor to the nursery was a teacher from Williamwood High School . She spoke to the children about the bees 🐝 that they keep and spoke about different types of bees , how they gather pollen and make honey. She kindly brought a bee suit and smoker for us to see and we even got to try on a bee suit which keeps you safe when working with the bees 🐝.
In the garden we have been we have been working with our willow sticks. We had some help to cut up the branches then used them for the bug hotel, painting and weaving sticks to hang on our “fairy tree”.
When playing in the garden we are alway looking out for signs of nature. Very exciting was a wasps nest being built in one of our bird house we had a careful look then removed it to a safe space. 
Finally we are continuing to care for our plants 🌱 and vegetables 🥕 and watching them grow.
The girls and boys have really enjoyed the last few weeks in the garden and we are looking forward to celebrating National Bee Day on the 20th May.
Article -Children have a right to be outdoors and explore.
Spend a week with us in the STEAM room
Welcome to our STEAM room!
This week we have been being super creative in the block area, creating our own designs and then having a go at building them with the blocks. Block play nurtures problem-solving and critical thinking.
Children learn through trial and error—figuring out how to make structures stable, how to recreate designs, or how to adapt when something collapses. This process builds resilience and persistence. Socially, when children build together, they practice communication, collaboration, and negotiation, sharing ideas and working towards common goals.
Also, in the science area we have been exploring the magnets. Magnet play supports language development as children describe what they notice, ask questions, and explain their discoveries. Fine motor skills are strengthened as they manipulate objects, while problem-solving skills grow as they figure out how to move items, build with magnetic pieces, or complete challenges.
Article 31 – I have the right to play
Earth Day 2026
Wednesday marked Earth Day 2026 so within the STEAM room we have spent this week learning more about our planet. We started by making the planet in a variety of creative ways- playdough, gloop and collage.
We also created the earth by colouring in the sea on a paper plate then planting cress seeds on the cotton wool to represent the countries. We had lots of chat about the different countries everyone has visited on their holidays.
Then we made something to help look after our planet. We cut the paper from the recycling bin and soaked it in green and blue water for two days before draining the water away. We took a small amount of paper and created a well to place some wild flower seeds inside then we squeezed any excess water away and rolled it into a ball so it looked just like Earth. The boys and girls are very excited to plant the seed bombs in their gardens or plant pots at home.
UNCRC Article 13- You have the right to find out things and say what you think through making art, speaking and writing.
Creative Children at Cart Mill
We have had lots of fun this week at nursery. We have been talking part in creative play.
We have also been exploring gross motor skill challenges in our garden this week. We have been walking like a dinosaur. We used a variety of dinosaur footprints to see the difference in size and shape. Some of our creative children tried to match our toy dinosaurs with the footprints.
Our children used their creative skills to create a pirate ship to set sail on an adventure. We used our building skills to make the ship and find loose parts to add to the inside. We used tyres as the steering wheel and tubes for our telescope.
Our children wanted to draw the sea and lava sharks surrounding the ship.
We loved our ship and used it as a cosy place to read stories together.
We enjoyed our pirate adventure so much we made our own pirate treasure imagination adventure. We made a map and had to follow all the directions, using our magic backpack along the way to help us at each stage of our journey.
One of our children made their own treasure map. Well done I wonder what treasure you will find.
To round off our creative week we had a drawing class. We put a you tube drawing tutorial and got our pens and paper ready to follow along.
We made stitch and Spider-Man aswell as some other favourite characters.
We used our concentration and were very impressed with our drawing.
Marching through the month
In the STEAM room this month we have been very busy.
In the block area we have been planning, building, problem solving which has resulted in some great ideas. We have had dens, castles and even a bowling alley.
At the sensory table the favourite activity has been slime . This is great for developing strength in our hands and finger muscles while promoting language “this is stretchy” or cold ,soft, “ look how long it is”. We also had fun with corn starch and water !
As March was world book day the children chose to recreate the Hungry Caterpillar Story. They painted ,glued , decorated and did some mark making which gave us a beautiful wall display.
At the science table we had magnets . The boys and girls discovered what could be lifted by a magnetic force and some items that you were not able to lift “Why”. We also had a look at “magic water” and how it made the pen ink expand we had some lovely rainbows 🌈.
Our art area is always a popular area and the children experience lots of fun learning skills . Fine motor,sensory, design, imagination they enjoy chatting to each other, sharing resources and producing great art works they are very proud of as are we.
Lets spring into April and see some more wonderful creations.
Article – We have the right to play and create our own ideas.
Home Room Highlights
This week in the Home Room we’ve been very busy! The children enjoyed dancing and dressing up, using their imaginations and having lots of fun together. We also did some muffin making and practised our number skills through different activities. It’s been a wonderful week full of creativity, learning and smiles!
in our baking area, the children have been busy making muffins and developing lots of important skills along the way. They have been practising measuring, counting and carefully following a recipe. It has been lovely to see some of the children confidently taking on the role of the adult, helping to guide their friends and supporting them step by step as the work together to follow the recipe.
In our story corner, the children have been confidently using their technology skills to scan QR codes to listen to and watch some of our favourite stories. They have really enjoyed choosing stories independently and using the technology to bring the books to life. It’s been wonderful to see their confidence grow as they explore stories in this exciting way.
We enjoyed playing ‘Spin the Wheel’, where the children practised their subitising skills by quickly recognising how many spots they could see and matching the quantity to the correct number. The children had lots of fun taking turns and building their confidence with numbers through this game.
The children also loved challenging themselves in our ‘Number Hunt’. They searched carefully to find the numbers before the timer ran out, showing great focus and determination. Some of the children even challenged themselves further by reducing the time with each attempt to see if they could beat their previous record!
Finally, the children have loved exploring the dressing up clothes in our home corner. They enjoyed creating imaginative scenarios, pretending to be different characters and showing off their dance moves in their wonderful outfits. It has been lovely to see their creativity and confidence shine as they play together.
Article 31 Children have the right to relax and play
Sensory Fun In The Pond
Recently in the pond the children had a great time bringing laughter, creativity and a little bit of delightful chaos when painting with their feet.
Watching the children step into bright colours and stamp their tiny footprints onto paper, and popping the bubbles in bubble wrap, is not only adorable- it’s also a wonderful way for them to explore art and sensory play.
“ it’s slippy” “ I like it”
All the children enjoyed the cool feeling of paint between their toes, the squishy texture as they step into it, and the slip sliding as they created the colourful prints they left behind it all helps stimulate their senses, it also supports creativity, coordination and confidence.
It didn’t take long before the children asked for paint brushes and the squeals of laughter filled the room as they felt the tickle of the bristles on their feet.
“ it tickles”
They all like the warmth of the soapy water we used to “clean” their feet
The children extended their interest in footprints by making pictures of dinosaur footprints comparing sizes.
“Stomp, stomp,stomp”
Great messy fun was had by all
The Big Clean Up
Today was the turn of Clarkston to take part in the Big Clean Up and Cart Mill were very keen to take part. We all popped our hi-vis vests on and went out with litter pickers and bin bags to clear up round Cart Mill. We were really sad to see so much litter spoiling our lovely area so we got very busy picking it up. After a morning of litter picking we had filled two bin bags!
Article 24: I have the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment.
SIMOA safe in our garden
We loved watching the diggers and the landscaping team create our new garden space. It’s fabulous having more space to play. We have a big sandpit we can go in and play with and we love it. We can’t wait to plant and grow in our wonderful planters see all the beautiful flowers.
One day we noticed the cold weather had made our garden a bit slippy. We went out to check if our garden was safe to play in.
This sparked an idea. Let’s make our own risk assessment to incorporate our new garden areas. So we went around the garden looking for possible risks.
Our children were very safety conscious and could tell me what is safe and what’s not safe. We took photos of our areas and with a little IT help we made our own safety garden risk assessment.
Before we go out to play our responsible helpers get their clip boards and pens to check our garden. Some of the areas we check are:
our gates,
Our sand,
our tyres,
our stepping logs,
And our doors,
Once we give it all a safety tick, it’s time to come out and play. We have also been learning about risk and staying safe on our obstacle course. How to build it safely aswell as staying safe while completing the course.
We do love risky play, even more now we know how to do it safely.
Some times we do forget, so Emma came up with a catchy wee tune to remind us how to stay “SIMOA Safe”.
We will be learning this song over the next few weeks. (You might recognise the tune from our Christmas concert. ) Watch this space for a video of our children singing it.
Come dine with us at Cart Mill!
This week at Cart Mill we have enjoyed having some of the parents and grandparents in for lunch with the children.
The children were able to show off their independence skills by serving their own lunches and were super helpers clearing up all the plates and dishes for their loved one.
Having lunch with your child at nursery can have lots of benefits:
- Emotional security and confidence – Seeing their parent/carer in the nursery can provide your child with security, value and make them feel safe.
- Stronger relationships – Shared mealtimes strengthen the parent-child bond in a familiar learning environment
- Positive role modelling – Children observe healthy eating habits, table manners and social interaction
UNCRC Article 24 : I have the right to good food and clean water
