Category Archives: Technologies

Technologies

What is STEM?

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At the start of the new term we revamped our STEM area and have since been learning about the different areas of STEM and how they can connect together. First we started by asking ‘What is STEM?’ and the children had some great ideas;
”It’s magnets.”

”It’s doing the shapes.”

”It’s floating and sinking.”

”It’s science.”

I explained that STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths so they were absolutely right, it is all of those things. We have been having great fun exploring all the different areas…

Science and the magic of magnets…


We have been learning about forces and how magnets can hold and move metal objects. We mixed science and maths by counting how many magnetic toys we could hang from the large magnet before they fell off. We even used science to paint by putting a paper clip in the paint and using the magnets to drag it around from under the paper plate!

Science and engineering in the water tray…

We have explored the different properties of water, finding out how it can change from a solid to a liquid through ice play and have learned why some objects float on water and some will sink. We then used this knowledge to create our own boats. We started by using the foil, but soon found the water came on top and sunk our boats.  Using our problem solving skills, we became engineers and worked together to find a solution. One of us realised that boats have sides to stop the waves crashing inside the boat.  This inspired us to wrap the foil round our hands and voila, our boats could not only float but also carry cargo!

Maths in action…

Numbers, numbers everywhere!

Some of us were able to order the number cards from 0-20 and had a great time hopping along it, shouting the numbers as they went. We have also been reading number stories and practising recognising numbers from 0-10.

Next week we will start exploring technology through coding.  As it is Maths Week Scotland, we will learn about using positional language as well.

Creative movement, Creativity, Digital Technology, Expressive Arts, Outdoor Learning, Snack, Technologies

This weeks summer learning at a Cart Mill!

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This week at Cart Mill, we explored a wide variety of activities across all our rooms. Take a look at what we’ve been up to!

In the discovery room it’s been an exciting week exploring forces. We were highly engaged with an activity using balloons attached to cars. It was lots of fun using our observation skills to identify if the air coming out of the balloon was strong enough to move the car back and forth, enhancing our understanding of motion and forces.

In the garden the weather has been kinder this week, allowing us to enjoy the outdoors more. With Wimbledon underway, we decided to have our own tennis tournament and learn all about this exciting racket game. Exploring our technology skills we watched a game of tennis on the smart board, discussed the rules, and then took turns playing on our makeshift court. This fantastic activity kept our bodies active and helped develop our motor skills and hand-eye co-ordination. No Wimbledon experience is complete without strawberries! Our children in the Home Room were busy chopping them up for us to enjoy. Yum!

Lots of fun was had creating enormous bubbles in our garden! Everyone enjoyed this sensory experience immensely. Using washing-up liquid and water, we mixed our own bubble solution and used our fine and gross motor skills to create fantastic bubbles. We then explored cause and effect by blowing the bubbles and popping them with our fingers.

In the home room at the playdough table, we have been experimenting with our playdough recipe and created some delightful chocolate playdough. By adding vegan drinking chocolate to the playdough mixture, we crafted a fantastic sensory experience to explore. The rich scent and smooth texture of the chocolate playdough added an extra layer of excitement to our play. Using loose parts, we created imaginative models, enhancing our creativity and fine motor skills. We also enjoyed spreading the playdough to see how thin we could get it.

In the studio we engaged in mark-making using a variety of paints and tools, providing a rich and creative environment for us to express ourselves artistically. Lots of fun was had through exploring patterns using rollers, discovering how different pressures and movements could create a wide range of textures and designs. Using sponges, we experimented with shapes, learning how to manipulate the tools to form circles and squares. Paintbrushes allowed us to delve into our own unique styles, mixing colours and creating beautiful creations. This activity not only enhanced our fine motor skills but also encouraged us to think creatively and express our emotions and ideas through art.

We ventured outside the nursery to visit the park and explore the large field behind us. At the park, we enjoyed playing on the swings, developing our balance on the wooden beams, and building our confidence on the large slide. The field provided ample space for running and playing games. We participated in running and crawling races with our peers, promoting physical fitness and teamwork. These outdoor activities were fantastic opportunities for us to develop our motor skills and enhance our social interactions whilst enjoying the fresh air and sunshine.

Come back next Friday to see what fun learning activities we get up to next week!

UNCRC Articles: Our activities this week align with several articles from the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC):

  • Article 13: Freedom of expression
  • Article 31: Leisure, play, and culture
  • Article 28: Right to education
Outdoor Learning, Technologies

Splish Splash 💦

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Today we have been using what nature gives us for our outdoor play, we have been splashing in muddy puddles.

The children wanted to measure how high they could jump so we decided to bring some digital learning into our outdoor play to facilitate this. We used a slow motion video and then watched them back on the big screen so we could measure the size of the splashes.


“My splash is bigger then me!”

We paused the video when the splash was at its highest then the children took turns of standing next to the board to discover if it was bigger or smaller than them. The first one we looked at was bigger than all the children and came all the way up to my shoulders.

Another one was the same height as one of the boys on his top toes.

This experience has allowed us to use lots of comparative language, to measure using non standard units and best of all to have fun in the rain. There’s no such thing as bad weather at Cart Mill 🌧😄

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

Technologies

Snowstorm in a jar ❄️

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This morning we have been chatting about all the snow that fell over the weekend and how much we had fun playing in it…

“I made a snowman, he was giant!”

“I threw snowballs at my Nana.”

“I walked to nursery in the snow, it was crunchy.”

Continuing on our snowy theme we decided to make a snowstorm in a jar in our STEM area. We started by putting oil in a jar then poured in water mixed with white paint and looked at what happened.

We noticed that the painty water fell to the bottom and the oil stayed on top. Then we added some blue food colouring and glitter and mixed it up to see what difference that would make.

Now we had glitter on the bottom , blue water in the middle and oil still on top. One of the boys suggested they weren’t mixing because “they just don’t want to!” I explained that because the oil is less dense it will sit on top of the water, pushing the water down.

Next we added the magic ingredient to create the snowstorm, we put an alka seltzer tablet in the mix!


It fizzed and it bubbled and it swirled the mixture all around!

“It’s going to bubble over!”

“The bubbles are going up and down.”

The alka seltzer when mixed with the water creates carbon dioxide and pushes the water up in the form of a bubble but the less dense oil pushes it back down creating the repetitive motion of the bubbles going up and down. The boys and girls had a great time watching the reaction!

To extend this experiment further we have popped the mixture outside in the snow and we will find out tomorrow if each of the layers will freeze… 🥶

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

Digital Technology, Social Studies, Technologies

Our emotions😀😢🤪😱🫣🥱😡😳

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This week at the malleable area the children have been using their creative imaginations to mould our play dough into different things.

“I made a big worm, I rolled it with my hands”
“look I made my ear in the play dough, I lied down like this”

”I made a smiley face”

The smiley face sparked a conversation about the different faces we could make.

”can I show you my silly face”

The children used the iPad to take a picture of the different faces they could make, they even took a picture of Carly’s silly face but we won’t bore you with that.

Each child made a different face and we discussed what they were and why we might feel these ways. Using facial expressions we can begin to learn and recognise different feelings and emotions that we can feel and find solutions to understanding and dealing with them.

”some of the new boys and girls get sad faces when they just come to nursery, now they have happy faces”

We will continue exploring emotions in different ways at the malleable table, it is a very important way of communication especially for children as they don’t often understand their feelings.

Digital Technology, Technologies

Science- Abstract Liquids and Patterns

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In the nursery we sometimes like to have relaxing background music on , which we noticed today had moving abstract pictures to go with it. We decided to see if we could recreate the patterns in our science area.

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First we gathered up some clear jars so we would be able to see the patterns. We then carefully filled the jars with some water, practising our balancing and pouring skills.

We then put shaving foam on top of the water. This was quite tricky the button was quite hard to press and some of our friends had to help us

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The next part of our experiment was to use food colouring and pipettes to drop the colours into the foam and watch as it seeped through the foam and made patterns when it reached the water it swirled round and made the abstract patterns we were looking for.

We had fun discussing what our patterns looked like “ mine is like a rainbow”  “ I am mixing mine to look like a storm” . We mixed some colours too and discovered if we added more shaving foam the colours became lighter “ I have made a strawberry smoothie “

Some of our two year olds  enjoyed the sensory feeling when using the foam and spent time mixing and pouring it from jar to jar this will help develop their hand and eye co ordination skills and fine motor skills.

The children enjoy recording and taking photos of their own work to keep a record of the great science experiments we have tried out. I think you will agree that this one was a great success.

Article 13 – You have the right to find out things and share what you think with others by talking and experimenting.

Block building, Technologies

Budding architects and construction engineers!

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It’s been a brilliant few weeks in our busy block area! A number of our 4&5 year olds have become expert architects and construction engineers! They are able to describe what they are going to build before they start, draw their own plan, demonstrate excellent problem solving skills when creating their fabulous models and then use our iPads to capture images to create a fabulous display of their work.

”I used lots of blocks. I did it like symmetry, the same on each side. We found a picture that looks like it on the iPad”.

”We made a high chair for the teddy to sit in to eat his lunch, and a bed for the dolly cos she was tired”.

”I builded my house. These are the walls. I made a table and chairs and bunk beds to sleep in”.

Our 2 & 3 year olds have had lots of fun exploring stacking, demonstrating excellent problem solving skills by investigating how the blocks turn, fit on top of each other and different sizes, shapes and weights.

It was so much fun to see how many we could put on top of each other before they fell over!

Through observing and learning from our more experienced children, our 2&3 year olds are at the early stages of creating their own bridges.  Although they much prefer using their friends creations for their cars and trucks!


To add further challenge and depth to their learning, our children were set a challenge to see if they could build a bridge to help our small world people cross the river safely!   This sparked some wonderful conversation, problem solving, creativity and teamwork! Our children designed their own village with a school, park, shops and lots of houses and constructed some wonderful bridges to allow our people to cross the river safely to “go to the shops and the park”.


“I builded a bridge. There’s crocodiles in the water!”
“Look the people can cross the river to get to the park and the shop”.

”This bit doesn’t fit. We need a longer bit. Why don’t we try this bit?”

It has been so much fun watching our children develop their design and creativity talents, we can’t wait to share our future creations with you!

Articles 28 & 29 – children have the right to an education, children have the right to an education which tries to develop your talents and abilities.

 

Technologies

Glorious Gloop

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Today at the malleable table the children chose to make gloop . They each had their own tray and took turns to add the ingredients; cornflour and water. The children used their hands  to mix the ingredients together till the gloop was ready.

“Mine is too thick I need some more water”

“Mine is watery so I need more cornflour”

The children then began to explore the gloop  using their hands  and fingers discussing the different the textures they could feel.

“It’s sticky”

“Mine is all gooey”

“I am going to add more water to make it slime”

“Mines is so soft”

“I like the feeling”

“It looks like milk”

“I made a line and it disappeared”

The  longer the children  explored they became intrigued why it was hard to touch but then when running through their fingers it changes textures and turns into liquid when picking it up. The children continued exploring the gloop and talking about the feeling of it.

“It’s hard and then turns to liquid”

“Water makes it loosen”

“Look it’s running through my hands”

“My handprint has just gone”

“Hard and then it’s just runs”

“It’s melting”

Little did the children know, they had performed a science experiment and had produced a non Newtonian fluid. Impressive!

Expressive Arts, Literacy, Outdoor Learning, Social Studies, Technologies

New and improved wormery

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Following on from our last up-cycling project, we can now say we have finished fixing our broken wormery.

The children have worked so hard over the past couple of weeks using the tools and their problem solving skills to put it back together. They worked as a team to decide what they would use and what tools would work best.

“This small bit is too small”

“ We could use this long piece of wood on the side”

“we need a little nail and a hammer to put it on we don’t want to break the wood in half”

“What does this do? it has a bubble in it”

We learned that the spirit level indicates whether a surface is ‘Level’ or ‘plumb’.

“What does plumb mean?” We researched it and found out that ”Plumb means that the surface is sitting straight, it is vertical” This meant that we could check the sides were running straight up and down. We also used the spirit level to check the wormery was level across the top and bottom. We found out this is horizontal!

Every tinker table experience is different, even if it seems the same. We learn new vocabulary every day and learn skills that we can transfer into our everyday life, especially as we get older.

Using a wormery for compost is an easy and environmentally-friendly way of turning food waste in to nutritious compost to feed your garden.

Now we just need find some worms to come and live in it and make up its bedding! 🐛

Expressive Arts, Outdoor Learning, Technologies

Summer holiday fun 🌞

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This week the children  have had lots of fun building dens and making summer homes in the garden! They have loved talking to each other about their busy summer plans. The children enjoyed sharing stories with their peers about all the fun things they have been getting up to, which sparked lots of creative role playing fun…

”I’ve got a beach house in Italy. We have pasta and clams there, that’s my favourite. I can make you some”

“Who wants gelato? Come and get it!”

We have been experimenting different problem solving techniques as we create our dens, using various resources from the garden and working cooperatively with one another offering suggestions to help implement our designs…

“let’s put it through the wee hole so it doesn’t fall down . Look, it worked!”

The children showed great imagination, exploring the garden to find different cosy spots to decorate …

“cheeeeese!”

After being so busy decorating our little summer homes it was time for a well deserved rest!

The children demonstrated great communication skills throughout as they worked as a team to help each other, and most importantly they had fun! Keep up the great work everybody 🤩👍