Category Archives: Special Event

Bye bye babies

Today we said goodbye to two of our colleagues as they finish for their well earned maternity leave. Sarah-Jane, our senior child development officer and Lorraine, our early years playworker both finished today to have a few restful weeks before their new bundles of joy arrive! The children made beautiful cards and even suggested names for the new arrivals.

These included Spiderman, Baby Spiderman, Rainbow, Kelsie, Forever Baby and Teddy Bear. I wonder which of these fabulous names Sarah-Jane and Lorraine will pick!

After giving over lots of lovely gifts, we sang songs and said goodbye but thankfully it is not forever. We cannot wait for the babies (and their mummy’s) to visit us at Cart Mill.

World Book Day 2024 πŸ“š

Happy World Book Day everyone!

The boys and girls have loved showing off the costumes of their favourite book character.

I’m very jealous of all the children wearing their super cosy jammies! They look so comfy!

We have all enjoyed lots of stories throughout the day and have taken part in lots of role play, making up our own stories as well. We even had Paddington selling ice cream in the garden!

We also enjoyed a story altogether for group time called Ruby’s Worry.

What’s your favourite story?

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

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. Β 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. Β The children had a great time trying out these diverse hellos, turning language time into an engaging experience.Β 

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.Β 



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 πŸ˜€

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 β€˜Twinkle twinkle chocolate bar’ and our friends teaching us β€˜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 πŸ˜„

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

Today we were Celebrating Burns day at Cart Mill family centre 😁

Here are some of our Burns day activities. We enjoyed Vegetarian haggis neeps and tatties for our snack and asked the children what they thought of it thumbs up or thumbs down I’m pleased to say the majority of the children liked it.

” The haggis is a bit spicy, but I like it”

β€œ can I have some more , it’s so good”

β€œI don’t like it, it’s to bitty”

” The turnip is my favourite it’s a nice yellow colour β€œ

We also enjoyed painting using a big box and cars to move the paint around to look like tartan. Β  The box was quite heavy and the children had to get it into the correct angle to move the cars. β€œ My car is super fast” β€œ Im making the green tartan”

After lunch the children decided they would like to try some highland dancing. They were twirling jumping and dancing in time to the Scottish music.

The Big Bird Watch

Throughout the week in Cart Mill, the children eagerly engaged in preparations for the upcoming RSPB Big Bird Garden Watch. A small group of children enthusiastically participated in a hands-on activity, crafting bird feeders. Using provided materials, they mixed bird seed with natural fat, carefully scooping the mixture into cases to let it harden. The process not only provided a fun activity but also served as a perfect opportunity to explore cause and effect, observing the fascinating transformation of the fat from a liquid to a solid state.



Despite the challenging weather conditions this week, preventing the children from venturing into the garden for bird watching, a collaborative decision was made. The children decided to set up a bird feeding station just outside the window, offering them the chance to enjoy bird watching from the warmth and comfort of the indoors. Positioning themselves strategically and armed with signs, they eagerly awaited the little visitors to the Cart Mill garden.

For those interested in joining the excitement of the Big Garden Birdwatch scheduled for the upcoming weekend, a link is provided for more information.Β RSPB Link Β This initiative encourages participants to connect with nature and contribute to bird conservation.

UNCRC ARTICLES

Article 28: Education

Who will live in my nest πŸͺΉ?

This week in the garden the children have noticed how cold it is. We spotted some birds flying into the garden β€œmaybe they are looking for food and somewhere to keep warm”.

We found a book that showed us lots of different types of nests for garden birds and other animals. β€œLet’s make nests”

Our children had a look round the nursery to find materials that would help our animals stay warm. We used little pots to make our nests in to keep our birds and animals dry. β€œ A mouse will live in mine” Β β€œ I want a bunny rabbit to stay in my nest” and β€œan eagle πŸ¦… will stay in my nest.

We also learnt that it is very important that these small animals have access to clean water for drinking and bathing so we filled a dish with water and left it outside . We shall need to check this each day to make sure it’s not frozen. We had a little look in our bird box to check it was safe and clean for the birds to visit.
Our animal and bird houses are looking great. Nice and cosy. The children have chosen to take their own nests home to see what birds or animals might use them. Good luck and let’s us know if you have any visitors !

We are also looking forward to taking part In the Big Garden Birdwatch between 26th and 28th January. We shall encourage the children to take notice of the types of birds that visit their garden and look forward to making some bird feeders to encourage any visitors.

 

Countdown to Christmas!

It’s been another busy day as we continue our Cart Mill countdown to Christmas!

After a busy couple of weeks, it was lovely to relax in our cozy Christmas pyjamas and watch some of our favourite Christmas and winter cartoons with our friends. Β And of course you can’t have a movie day without snacks!

We had so much energy left after our movie, what better way to burn it off than a few games of musical statues and musical bumps! Of course in true Cart Mill style we included a wee impromptu singalong to our favourite Frozen songs! (A good wee warm up before our Christmas Concert tomorrow!).

All of a sudden we heard a sound! We thought it sounded like bells! It was a surprise visit from Santa!!

It was very exciting to meet Santa who had a big sack full of gifts! Β (Santa was very kind and left gifts for all our children not at nursery today).


What better way to round off our day than Β with a fabulous dance session with our friend Colette from Blizzard Dancing. Β We really are marvellous movers at Cart Mill.

Only 6 more sleeps to go!

 

Christmas Music and Dancing πŸ’ƒ

As this is the last week before the Christmas holidays the children are full of excitement and energy. To help with the energy levels we decided to do some Christmas πŸŽ„ dancing.

The children requested β€œDanny Go” as he has a lot of great Christmas moves

We enjoyed a dance with the Gingerbread man and the children were able to listen and follow the actions. This helps the children understand how their bodies can move and that Β exercise is a good way to help keep their bodies healthy.

Our next dance was a penguin March we stood up tall and were able to waddle like penguins 🐧 making sure we could keep our balance when hopping on one leg.

After all the dancing it was time to help our bodies relax . We all enjoyed some rainbow relaxation.
The children followed the instructions to make a rainbow using their arms. Some of the children could name the colours and even knew that the rainbow 🌈 has indigo and violet .

We hope you all enjoy celebrating Christmas with us on Wednesday and you have happy and healthy holiday .

 

Article 29 Β  You have the right to learn new things to the best of your abilities.

 

Christmas at Cart Mill

As we said yesterday, this week at Cart Mill is full on festive. Today we enjoyed a special Christmas lunch with turkey and all the trimmings, followed by ice cream. We have also been busy writing letters to Santa and this afternoon we baked gingerbread biscuits.

When writing their letters, the children talked about all the gifts they were hoping for. We hope you know what they are hoping for too!

‘ I Would like a unicorn’ ‘Its quite hard to cut out the stamps because they are so small’

‘I’m posting my letter i have written lots in it’ ‘ I would like a diplodocus for for Christmas and a big T-Rex also a giraffe’

There has also been requests for a coffee machine for the bath, bubble machines, dolls and Spiderman. Let’s hope Santa is listening!

We then made our gingerbread men or angels. After seeing the play, we thought it would be so good to make our very own gingerbread! The centre was full of festive smells as the biscuits baked.


‘I measured out three table spoons of sugar’ ‘I think these will be tasty’ ‘I’m rolling it out flat’


Every day seems so busy at Cart Mill, it will be Christmas before we know it!