Tag Archives: #finemotorskills

Homemade Cart Mill Crumble!

May 10, 2024 Mr Edwards Leave a comment

In the bustling kitchen of Cart Mill, our young chefs have been busy making their very own apple crumble from scratch. Working together they have transformed simple ingredients into a mouth watering dessert. Let’s dive into what they did today.

Ingredients:

Fresh, crisp apples
Gluten-free flour
Butter (Homemade of course)

Cooking Steps:

Peeling and Chopping Apples: With careful guidance and a trusty peeler, the children skilfully removed the apple skins supported by an adult to ensure every apple was perfectly peeled. Once peeled the apples were diced into tiny pieces ready to be cooked till nice and soft.

Making Homemade Butter: The kitchen was full of excitement as the children embarked on a butter-making adventure. Filling a container with double cream, and a few marbles they were ready to begin. Woking together they shook the contents for a very very long time, but their persistence paid off. When we opened the container what did we find….BUTTER!

“It takes a very very long time”

“look its butter”

“Butter comes from cows”

“You make butter with milk”

Creating the Crumbly Crumble: With homemade butter in hand and flour at the ready, the children blended the two ingredients together. Displaying excellent fine motor skills they rubbed until a crumbly concoction emerged. It will be a perfect topping!

Layering and Topping: As the final step, the children layered the cooked apples into a dish. Adding generous sprinkles of the crumble mixture on top they were complete and smelling delicious!

Now, with their apple crumbles assembled they are ready to take home for baking until golden and bubbling. We wrote our names on the lid so we could identify them at home time. Well done team!

At Cart Mill, cooking is all about fun and teamwork! Making apple crumble together not only filled their tummies but also explored new skills. Cheers to their cooking adventure!

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Article 1
Everyone under 18 has all these rights

Article 28
You have the right to education

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
people’s rights and values and to respect the
environment

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Some marvellous Monday fun for our little scientists 😍

April 29, 2024 Miss Mitchell Leave a comment

Today some of the children wanted to do the sticky ice experiment for today’s experiment. We used some ice and then put some thread in the centre of the ice cube. Then we sprinkled salt onto it waited a few minutes and just like magic the thread had stuck to the ice cube enough for us to lift the cube up using the thread. I explained to the children that salt lowers the freezing point of water making the ice easier to melt. After sprinkling the salt around the thread the melted water is affected by the surrounding low temperature and freezes again so the thread and ice are frozen together.

The next experiment the children asked to do was the blow up the balloon without blowing experiment. Firstly we had to measure out 100mls of water into a beaker. We then added two spoons of baking soda and poured the mixture into a bottle. We then carefully used the funnel to fill our balloon with two spoons of citric acid put the balloon on the lip of the bottle and poured the citric acid from the balloon into the bottle.

To the children’s delight the balloon started to slowly inflate. I explained that the reason for this is baking soda is an alkaline substance that reacts with acidic citric acid to produce a large amount carbon dioxide gas the more carbon dioxide produced the more the balloon inflates. The children followed my instructions and measured the ingredients out accurately they quickly realised that the more baking soda and citric acid they used the bigger their balloons got.

Our last experiment of the day was to see if oil and coconut milk which we added food colouring to would mix the children quickly seen that it doesn’t. This is because the molecular structure is very different as is their density so that when the milk is dropped into the oil it forms small droplets.
Well done everyone, you made predictions about what you thought would happen next, studied cause and effect and answered my questions about what actually happened during the experiment. You truly are the best scientists.

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Creative little minds 💡

February 29, 2024 Ms Partridge Leave a comment

This week in the clay area, there have been lots of creative little minds busy at work!

The children have had lots of learning opportunities while exploring the clay, and have shared lots of imaginative ideas with their peers 💡

Some of the children liked using the tools to create little intricate flowers 🌺

some children enjoyed creating shapes and patterns with various equipment…

Other children even designed little small world creations too 👩🏼‍🎨

“it’s a little island for the ninja turtles. I used shells so the water can go through under the island”

“let’s make a little tunnel for the cars “

While clay has many benefits to children’s fine motor skills, it also engages many social skills through sharing ideas, solving problems or even encouraging each other through conversation as they play and learn.

It has been so thought provoking and interesting to see how many fantastic ideas the children have shared, and how each child’s experience of clay has been unique and individual to their little personalities. Keep up the good work everybody 😁👍

Creativity

Being Festive with Loose Parts

December 11, 2023 Mr Edwards Leave a comment

In the discovery room the children have been provided with resources to explore some Christmas themed loose parts play.

Using loose parts such as blocks, fabric, or natural materials encourages open-ended exploration and creativity. This unstructured play fosters problem-solving skills, spatial awareness, and enhances fine motor skills. It promotes imaginative thinking, as children can manipulate these parts in countless ways.

Some children showcased their creativity by crafting unique Christmas tree designs using triangles and an assortment of loose parts.

Using large blocks, some children explored concepts of size, sparking discussions as they navigated the process of filling the Christmas tree design on the floor. This hands-on activity prompted them to problem-solve, choosing which bricks to use and determining what would fit seamlessly into their creation.

Creativity, Expressive Arts, Literacy

Holidays are coming 🌲

December 7, 2023 Miss Brown Leave a comment

Yesterday in the studio the children explored marbling ink. They selected different colours to create their own unique art.

Adding the marbling ink to the water and swirling it around to make cool patterns, the children added their paper to the water and we all counted to 10. After 10 we lifted the paper out and looked at patterns that had transferred onto the paper.

“ Wow! That’s so cool , my colours pink and yellow are on the paper now”

“ Can I make a Christmas card on mine”

“ Me too can I make one?”

We put our pictures over to the drying rack and left them to dry over night.

Today the children collected different things to create their Christmas cards.

Jewels, sequins, pom-poms etc were glued on to create lovely Christmas cards, the children cut out their marbling ink pictures and added to red card.

The children practiced their writing skills as they wrote out their cards. Some for Santa, aunties, uncles, mums,dads, brothers and sisters.

We hope everyone has a lovely Christmas and a Happy New Year🎅 🌲

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

Article 12 – I have the right to be listened to

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Pinecone Christmas Decorations!

December 5, 2023 Miss Mitchell Leave a comment

Today in the Garden, the children have been creating their own Christmas decorations for the outdoor tree!

We had lots of pine cones so we decided to use some glue and some sparkly sand to create our very own Christmas baubles…

First we used the PVA glue and glue spreaders to make our pine cones all sticky!

Then we used some special Christmas sparkle to brighten up our pine cones and make them into our baubles for the tree.

”Shake shake shake so it comes out the top”

”It looks like snow on it”

Then we had to use our concentration and our fine motor skills to tie the ribbon around the tree so that our decorations would hang for everyone to see!

”Look at mine! I did it myself, I have a green ribbon on mine too”

Wouldn’t you agree that the children done a wonderful job of their decorations…have a look at our fabulous tree in our garden!

Throughout this experience, the children have been developing their creativity skills, imagination and their ability to work with different materials to create a piece of artwork.

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

Article 31: I have the right to an education

Expressive Arts

Let’s get creative🎃

November 1, 2023 User deactivated Leave a comment

From all the excitement of halloween last night the children were chatting with one another saying what they dressed up as. They had a brilliant idea and decided to use the junk modelling to create what they had dressed up as.

“I’m going to cover the box all orange.”
“Hedwig needs feathers and glue.”

Here is the children’s fantastic work!

“I dressed up as a pumpkin last night, like this.”
“I made Hedwig because I was Hermione.”
“I dressed up as a train driver, this is my train.”

Through the week the children have also been super busy working together creating “halloween houses”.

“This looks like my house.”
“I’m going to put my handprints on it.”

The children absolutely love spending time in the studio, it is an essential part of every child’s learning, it allows them to think creatively, problem solve, explore, work independently or as a group and develop their fine motor skills as well as many more.

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Spooktacular clay creations!

October 30, 2023 Miss Mitchell Leave a comment

Over the last week in the clay area, the children have been making their own spooky models. Using various techniques such as rolling, pressing and moulding to make their pumpkins and spiders.

The children used their curiosity and imagination skills throughout whilst exploring texture and manipulation.

The children used their hands to roll a ball to make the spiders body and to roll the spiders legs into ”sausage shapes”.

The children then decided they wanted to make their own clay model pumpkins for Halloween! We even created a whole family of pumpkins and some pumpkin lollypops for trick-or-treating!

Clay modelling allows children to develop their fine motor skills in their hands and fingers and hand eye co-ordination. This helps with children colouring, cutting and starts off the skills needed for emergent writing.

I wonder what wonderful techniques & creations our children will come up with next week..

Article 31: I have the right to play

Article 29: I have the right to an education

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Clay creativity

October 11, 2023 User deactivated Leave a comment

Today in the clay area we set up an invitation to play using leaves, sticks, feathers and pine cones to encourage creativity, individualism and independence and the children did not disappoint.

As you can see the children have been very busy…

“I’ve made a pumpkin”

“I made a forest, no it’s a bird flying in the forest, no it’s the same as the picture a forest and the water”

“I done tree” “ me too” “I made a sun”

Playing with clay is a multi-sensory experience as children get the chance to refine their senses as they touch the clay, feel it’s weight and texture, smell and squish it.

When our unique works of art are dried we will decorate them before taking them home.

Maths Week Scotland, Outdoor Learning, Special Event

Maths Week Scotland in the Garden

September 28, 2023 Mr Edwards Leave a comment

Numeracy is all around us, and for our young children at Cartmill, developing our numeracy skills can be an exciting adventure, especially when taken outside into the garden. In Scotland, we celebrate the importance of numeracy and outdoor learning with Math Week Scotland. Take a look at a snapshot of the activities going on this week in the Cartmill garden.

Creating Patterns

Exploring patterns using natural resources in early numeracy involves using items like shells, pebbles, or branches to create and expand patterns. This hands-on approach not only enhances understanding of early numeracy but also encourages an appreciation for the natural world. By taking part in these activities, children develop problem-solving skills, boost their creativity, and gain a deeper understanding of numeracy in the early years. Take a look at some of the pictures below and the patterns that were created.

Measuring

Measuring with our hands and feet is a practical and fun way to introduce children to the concept of measurement. They can use their hands or feet to gauge the size and length of everyday objects. We explored different objets in the garden which you can see in the photos below. This interactive activity not only helps them develop an understanding of measurement but also enhances their fine motor skills and gross motor skills.

One of the children used their hands to measure two separate pieces of wood, and then combined them, exploring addition. He said “this is 11 and 4 together” and then counted out 15 with support.

Measuring using our feet “It’s 10” showing 10 fingers.

Shape Hunt

An outdoor shape hunt is a amazing adventure where our children explored their natural surroundings to discover shapes in the world around them. Together with curiosity the children of Cartmill embarked on a quest to find circles in tree trunks, squares in windows, triangles in buidings, and countless other shapes. Take a look at the shapes we found on our shape hunt.