The children have been really keen to listen to stories and have been choosing which ones to read from the book shelf. We have discussed what our favourite stories are, and what we like and dislike about the stories we have read. Some children had read some of the stories at home before and could recall what happened. The other children were encouraged to discuss the characters and events, and make predictions of what would happen next. 

LBG – “I’ve got Monkey Puzzle at home.”

ED – “I think it might be the snake.”

EL – “I liked all of them.”

AF – I think it’s going to be about a shark because there’s pirates and a shark fin on the back next to the ship.”

AF – “I didn’t like the nasty pirates.”

NMD – “I liked the parrot because he kept saying he done it.”

NMD – “They’re going to steal the treasure.”

IF – “I think these two bad guys are trying to steal that ladybug and that owl and that owl.”

SRC – “I think these baddies are trying to steal.”

SRC – “The blurb tells you about the story.”

AS – “That’s a stranger and he’s going to run away. He’s good, but that’s not a stranger its just a rabbit, he’s got a golden tooth. I like the shadow bit coz the big bad wolf was hiding in the trees.”

AS – “I didn’t like that bit because she looks at strangers.”

OR – “They all hiding, the cats are hiding, they will get that cow. I think they got binoculars.”

ZK – “She’s picking the flowers and he’s going to steal little red riding hoods gran’s jewellery.”

The children have been experimenting with their senses this week in the malleable area. The children have had their senses tricked as they tried to guess the smell of the orange playdough which was salted caramel, lots of suggestions were related to the colour of the playdough while others where closer to the actual origin of the scent. 

In the sewing area the children have been using the sewing machine and learning that it needs to be used safely and respectfully. They were following instructions and learning the importance of keeping their fingers away from the needle, sitting safely while using the foot pedal to control the speed of the needle and learning how to carefully guide the fabric through the machine. This experience encourages patience, perseverance and problem-solving as children discover how the sewing machine works and what happens when they change direction. They are also developing independence and creativity by making choices about fabrics, colours and designs and taking pride in their creations.

This week in the block area, the children have been continuing to build large scale buildings and models. The models include a boat and an animal shop! The children have been working well colaboratively, sharing resources, thoughts and ideas. They have been problem solving too when extending their models. 

Some of the new children have been building new friendships and enjoyed building tall towers using the foam blocks and liked watching them topple over and rebuilding them again. We have introduced comparative language when discussing the height of our towers. 

TOH – “It’s a shop for the animals so they don’t escape. They all escaped, me and H had to catch them. See this fence now.”

AC – “It’s a boat, that’s the spray to get the water out. See if the boat is damaged H!”

HMN – “I’m adding these to stop the boat.”

LA – “My daddy is taller.” 

LS – “It falled down! Let’s build it again!”

AD – “I build that!”

🍂 A Berry-Filled Adventure! 🫐

This week, we headed out on a little adventure to collect some blackberries. As we walked towards the field, we spotted an apple lying on the ground. We looked up and discovered an apple tree above us! This sparked lots of curiosity and gave us the opportunity to talk about the different fruits we might find growing in our local environment.
When we reached the blackberry bushes, we talked about how to pick the berries carefully and how to identify which ones were ready to eat. We noticed that some berries were black, while others were still red. We discussed how the blackberries were ripe and ready to pick, while the red ones needed more time to grow.
We also talked about keeping ourselves safe and making sure we don’t eat anything we find outdoors until it has been properly cleaned. One child explained, “We need to do that as there might be bugs in them!” This showed a great understanding of why we need to wash fruit before eating it.
As the children picked, they made their own observations and shared their ideas. One child noticed that the bigger the blackberry, the juicier it is! The children carefully collected the berries and placed them into their lidded tubs to keep them safe as we made our way back to nursery.
Once we returned, our learning continued. We placed all the tubs on the floor and took turns lifting them to compare their weight. We discussed which tubs felt lightest and heaviest, developing our understanding of weight and encouraging the children to make comparisons.
Now we have our blackberry harvest, we are thinking about what we could make with them. We are going to explore different recipes together and see what we can create. One child already had an idea — “Jam!” 🍓
We can’t wait to see where our blackberry adventure takes us next!

Our children have been enjoying exploring the woodwork area, developing new skills through hands-on, practical experiences. To begin building their confidence, they have been practising hammering golf tees into melons. This simple activity provides lots of opportunities to develop fine and gross motor skills, hand-eye coordination, concentration, control, problem-solving and perseverance. The children are learning how to hold and use tools safely and judge how much force is needed.

As their confidence has grown, the children have also been introduced to the chomp saw, learning how to use this tool safely and responsibly with adult support. They are developing their ability to follow instructions, listen carefully, assess risk, use tools with control and work collaboratively. Woodwork encourages children to become independent thinkers as they make decisions, test ideas and discover what happens when they change their approach.

Our Eco Group has also been busy putting their learning into action by creating a greenhouse for one of our outdoor planters. Using recycled plastic bottles, the children have helped to transform something that might otherwise be thrown away into something useful. This has supported their understanding of sustainability, recycling, caring for our environment and reducing waste.

The greenhouse will help create a warmer environment for our plants, giving the children further opportunities to observe growth, change and the natural world. Most importantly, the project shows children that small actions can make a difference. They are developing practical skills while learning that they can be creative, resourceful and active in caring for our planet.

From Sandpit to Pond!

This week, our sandpit became the starting point for some fantastic child-led learning!
The children worked together to dig a deep hole and decided they wanted to turn it into a pond. Once it was deep enough, they asked to fill it with water. They quickly noticed that although the pond stayed full while the hose was running, the water disappeared as soon as the hose was turned off.

The children began thinking about how they could solve the problem. One child suggested using tin foil, but when we couldn’t find any, another child discovered a large sheet of tarpaulin and suggested trying that instead. Together, we placed it in the hole and filled the pond again. This time, the water stayed!

With their pond complete, the children continued to investigate. They collected different objects from around the garden to find out what would sink and what would float. They discovered that the plastic animals sank, while the plastic sand moulds floated.

Of course, no pond is complete without getting in! The children then enjoyed jumping into their creation, experimenting with different jumps and seeing who could make the biggest splash! 🌊

Through their play, the children were developing skills in problem-solving, prediction, investigation and teamwork, while following their own ideas and curiosity to see where their learning would take them.

In the block and small world areas this week the children’s interests have been focused on building houses. These homes have been for families, dinosaurs and animals alike.

“It’s a house look how big it is. I sleep away up there. That’s the roof” BA

“A house put more there” ZA

“I’m making a house in here they keep falling down” E

“Let’s make a house, you need to make walls like this. I want to be a family” DM

“I want to put dinosaurs in” LD

“No dinosaurs allowed” M

“That’s our house that’s the door you have to wipe your feet” IM

This week in the literacy area the children have been exploring sounds. A key early skill in phonological awareness is being able to identify and differentiate between sounds in the environment. We explored this by playing sound bingo. The children listened carefully and had a go at guessing what the sounds were. They identified animals, vehicles and different household items. We also discussed how many we each needed or had left to win and counted them down as we played. Lots of children asked to play again during the week, and each time they were able to identify more of the sounds.

The children have been enjoying exploring our new woodwork area, developing their confidence as they learn the basic skills of woodwork. They have been hammering nails into wood, using screwdrivers and experimenting with different tools and materials. Through these hands-on experiences, the children are developing important skills such as hand-eye coordination, fine motor control, concentration, problem-solving and perseverance. They are also learning how to use tools safely and responsibly, while beginning to understand how different materials can be joined and transformed. It has been wonderful to see their curiosity, creativity and sense of achievement grow as they explore and learn through practical experiences.

This week in the malleable area the children have been making their own playdough and were exploring measurement and turn taking within this process. The children decided to shape and for their dough into cakes, exploring fractions and touch counting as they made their creations and extended their play by transporting their makes into the home corner for a birthday party and engaged in imaginative and symbolic play.

FS “The cake will take 12 minutes”

“ He needs 10 candles because he’s a 10 bear”

IQ “Do you want some cherries?”

In addition to this the children have also been exploring clay as their malleable material. The children have been experimenting with the clay and exploring cause and effect as it changes in texture and appearance. The children were also introduced to a range of tools and were able to take positive risks as they explored the resources safely and were able to create a range of marks on its surface. Some children began to extend their curiosity and explored making 3D structures with a particular interest in fairy castles which we will continue to explore in the next few weeks.

BH “ I’m making a tall house for the tooth fairies, pretend the bricks are teeth”

RP “I need a roof or they will get wet”

“37 Fairies live there”

SH  “It feels sticky now”

ES “It’s going to be five meters tall and have five floors”

The children have been enjoying exploring the sewing area as they make colourful bracelets to celebrate the Hindu festival of Raksha Bandhan. They have been carefully threading beads and materials, developing their fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination and concentration. As they selected colours and patterns, they also explored creativity, decision-making and early mathematical skills such as counting and sequencing. The activity provided a wonderful opportunity for the children to learn about the cultural significance of Raksha Bandhan while developing patience, perseverance and confidence through hands-on making.

The children have been enjoying exploring the water tray through our tea-making activity. They investigated different ingredients and resources, including teabags, lemon, cucumber and orange slices, using their senses to explore the smells, colours, textures and changes in the water. As they poured, stirred, squeezed and transferred the ingredients, they developed their fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination and understanding of cause and effect. The children also enjoyed using their imaginations and developing their communication and language skills as they talked about their ideas and experiences of making and sharing tea.

In the art area this week we have been exploring contrast, shade and texture. The children used a  variety of resources including glue, paint brushes, materials, toothbrushes, sponges, chalk and charcoal to demonstrate creativity and develop their skills of mark making whilst exploring texture, shade and contrast.

This week in the literacy area we have been exploring early mark making opportunities through a range of sensory experiences. We used a variety of resources to draw in the sand and foam, and some children looked for some of the hidden letters in the sensory bags. We used lots of descriptive language to talk about how the materials felt and smelled.

Some pre-school children have also been choosing to create stories of their own and have been working on writing their names. We have also had lots of lovely drawings from all of the children!

“I found a seven oh no its a Z and a S, S for snake” – DM

“Teacher I see this, look” – LA

“This is something special for your, it’s for your birthday” – IF

“It’s a story about a stolen cat” – AC

“I’m about to find a word. It’s an R, it starts with my name. That’s my mum K’s name” – RG

“I found one”- LP

“See if I can find another one” – HM

“It’s a G” – GM

“I found a Y” – RF

“My name starts with a S” – SL

In our discovery area, children embraced the role of young scientists by exploring the concepts of floating and sinking. They  worked collaboratively, gathering a variety of everyday resources from around the playroom to test in the water tray.

Using their developing observation skills, the children made lots of thoughtful predictions about whether specific items would float or sink. This sparked lots of descriptive language as they handled the objects and debated which felt heaviest or lightest. Some children made the connection that the heavy items sank to the bottom and the lighter ones floated to the top. 

“Look its gone way down down”

“I think it might float and stay at the top”

“I like seeing it sink”

“This one feels heavier”

This week, we have welcomed lots of new children to the family centre. The boys and girls have been participating in early block play and exploring our small world areas and characters. We have been using our bigger blocks and long wooden pieces to build large scale models and obstacle courses, developing problem solving skills, gross motor skills and balance and coordination whilst working with peers.

Some children have taken an interest in the animals in small world area and wanted to build enclosures for them. 

LBG – “Polar bears like the cold weather. Can we make a fence so they don’t escape? There’s a fire now, I need to put it out. My tiger can do it, he’s drinking water from the lake to put the fire out.”

BP – “This will be the zoo. This will be the doors and that’s the roof. That’s for the giraffe to eat, some leaves. If it rains we can just get a wee umbrella. Can you hold this Miss Hughes, it keeps falling over.”

ZK – “Play park, everyone got a space. Play on the swings.”

ZMc – “Superhero machine. It turns everyone into superheroes”

SL – “Animal house. They’re watching TV.”

RF – “I’m building a house.”

LS – “Summerhouse. I’ve got one in my garden.” 

AF – “I’m measuring, it says 47 for the house.”

DF – “It says stop! I’m making a tunnel. That’s me!”

The children have been looking at different kinds of pattern making at the malleable area. Whilst exploring the play dough some of the children used items from the small world area such as people, dinosaurs and animals to make footprints. The children also used different shapes of Lego and bricks to make prints in the play dough. The children also carved patterns in the playdoh using the various playdoh resources. 

The children have been enjoying the mixed weather outside. The rain has made the sand perfect for sandcastles. The children have been creating their own sandcastles. E told us that the castle was ‘missing flags’. As real castles have the flags. This led the children designed their own flags using twigs, leaves, paper straws and paper.

The children have also been experimenting with loose parts in the outdoor area, using resources such as guttering, tyres and tubes to create their own ball run. They worked together to plan, build and test their ideas, making changes when things didn’t work as expected. This experience encouraged teamwork, communication, problem-solving and creativity, while also developing their ability to negotiate, share resources and listen to each other’s ideas. It was wonderful to see the children learning through hands-on exploration and confidently developing their own solutions.

The children have been exploring the vertical and horizontal pulleys in the indoor sand. They have been developing their problem-solving, coordination and teamwork skills and their understanding of forces and movement and cause and effect as they worked cooperatively to successfully make the pulleys move. They helped each other attach their items to the carabiner clip , experimented with different amounts of sand, noticing how the quantity affected the speed and movement of the pulleys.

This week in the water tray we have been exploring different resources. We have been using jugs, funnels and tubes to create different mechanisms for the water to flow through and explore the concept of gravity. 

This week in the art area the children have been making some sea creatures to decorate our water area with. They first made some jellyfish, using tissue paper to create the tails. We had some great scissor skills being demonstrated as most children drew their jellyfishes and then cut them out independently. Later on in the week some children made other animals, including crabs and fish, and chose how to create them using a range of craft and mark making resources. Some children decided to take their artwork home and we are going to hang the rest up with string We can’t wait to see what other underwater creations they might come up with for the water area!

In the literacy area we have been creating our own comics. We used the digital software to share our ideas and create a personalised comic. We showed great creativity and imagination skills. We have collated these our friends to read!!

This afternoon we participated in a community litter pick as part of our Eco accreditation. We would like to thank those families who came along to support with this. We managed to collect lots of litter and the rain didn’t put us off :)!

This week in literacy we have been exploring story books, sharing our likes and dislikes, retelling familiar stories and making predictions with new ones.  A love of books in early childhood develops the ability to make connections and ask questions, giving them a strong foundation in early literacy and critical thinking skills. 

“I like it when he shouts Quaaack when he takes the letter ‘a’” MS

“I like the story, it’s got a rainbow crayon at the end” QCI

“The wolf burns his bottom” LF

“His bottom comes off” AC

“It was funny when she emptied the bucket of water on her” RM

“The wasp was angry because the other animals were laughing at him” FMc

“Why was he sad?” RM

Mr Mcintosh has begun an exciting new project in literacy this week so look out for next weeks blog.

In the art area this week we have been busy making our own crowns. The children have been working on their scissor skills as they cut the paper in to a spiky design. They then decorated their crowns using a variety of craft materials, including paint, crayons, pencils, sequins, pom poms, feathers and glitter. We then measured them against our heads and wore them at nursery!

This week in the baking area we have been baking biscuits. The children have been learning new skills like rolling, cutting and continuing to use the scales to measure ingredients. The children have also been learning about splitting portions into equal parts with the dough. They have been learning about different consistencies and changing properties of ingredients as they come together.

We were invited to visit Crookfur Cottages as they have an afternoon with some robotic displays.The children watched the robot display and were able to control the dog called Martin.There was also a robot in the form of a human head.  It was called a humanoid robot.   It responded to questions from the children and could change the colour of its face, change its expressions and add a beard and mustache and vision.   The robot was able to appear happy and sad.   The robot was created in the Robotarium in the University of Edinburgh. The children had lots of questions for the robot!

Can the robot do a handstand? (MMcL)

Can the robot dance? (AK)

What is the robot’s name? (ML)   

How are you today? (MMcL)

How old are you? (ML)

Why does it turn white? (BH)

Afterwards they visited Fairweather Park!

The children had been looking at digital technology this week, they visited robots, to extend upon this interest we brought the shero cars onto the play room. The children had had different experiences of these cars some never using them before, some more experienced.The children positioned the mat so they could control/ program the car to travel in different directions depending on the chosen coloured mat. The children either worked as individual or as teams to solve this programming problem until they were able to get the car to travel in the direction they wanted. 

This week in the block area the children have been exploring risky play through use of the big blocks. They demonstrated excellent turn taking skills and risk assessed their play to enable positive risks.The children also explored smaller scale builds using the dollhouse, train tracks,and magna tiles which we will extend into next week as we explore a variety of microcosims. 

In baking this week the children have been baking their own apple crumble. They have been exploring new techniques and skills throughout this recipe including measuring using spoons and scales, learning to rub together butter and flour to create breadcrumbs and chopping fruit to put in the crumble. The children also learned about safety whilst using utensils to chop the fruit.

This week we have also been enjoying lots of trips in the local community. We have been having lots of fun visiting Fairweather Park.

In the outdoor classroom we have been exploring water play. We used various jugs to transport the water and discussed capacity when discussing full/empty.

The children explored digital creativity  in the malleable area by using the ChatterBox app on the iPad to bring their playdough creations to life. They discovered that the app can make any picture appear to talk by adding an animated mouth. The children recorded their own voices, choosing different words and phrases for their creations to say. Watching their models come to life was met with lots of excitement, laughter and conversation as they experimented with different recordings. This fun activity encouraged creativity, communication and confidence while introducing the children to digital technology in an engaging and meaningful way.

This week the children have been interested in making pompom jewellery. They have been extending their fine motor skills to wrap the wool around the pom pom maker. The children have been engaged for an extended period of time and had the option to create small pom poms or larger pom poms. They have shown patience while waiting for their turn and have used a waiting list to add their name to so they know who is next to make one. 

The children have been sharing the resources and have played alongside each other to create large scale artwork. They used rollers and brushes of different sizes to make patterns and marks with the paint. They also used the sponges to print various shapes, and some children decided to paint their hands or fingers and pressed these on to the paper also.

This week the children have also been doing lots of baking with Miss Smith.  They followed the recipe and measured the ingredients to make some cakes. They were most excited to take them home and eat them!

We also had lots of fun during a trip to the Avenue to see the Dinosaur Exhibition.

Outdoors in the garden we have been exploring lots of sensory play with the water and sea animals , using the guttering pipes to transport the water.

In the block area, the children have been continuing to explore large scale buildings and adding detail to them. They have been continuing to extend their learning by transporting figures from the small world area to explore role play opportunities. This has developed children’s communication skills as they have been taking on various roles within their play, demonstrating creative and imaginative skills.

The children recently explored early coding and storytelling through the use of Intelino smart train tiles. This hands-on experience allowed them to investigate how different coloured tiles influenced the train’s movement, supporting their understanding of sequencing, cause and effect, and early computational thinking.

Initially, the children spent time experimenting with the tiles to discover what each colour represented. They quickly became engaged in testing ideas, observing how the train responded when different combinations were placed on the track. This open-ended exploration encouraged curiosity, problem-solving, and collaboration.

Building on this learning, the children then used a selection of visual prompts, including images of the nursery, a zoo, and various zoo animals, to create their own narrative journey. The activity developed into a rich storytelling experience as the children collaboratively constructed a “day trip to the zoo” story.

Using the tiles, they programmed the train to follow their story sequence: stopping at the nursery, travelling faster along open sections, slowing down as it passed the crocodile, stopping to feed the elephant, and carefully passing the lion. This helped the children connect physical actions with imaginative storytelling, reinforcing their understanding of sequencing in a meaningful context.

One child naturally emerged as a leader, confidently supporting peers by explaining what each tile sequence did and guiding the group’s decisions. This demonstrated strong communication skills, confidence, and a developing understanding of early coding language.

Overall, the experience provided a rich blend of STEM learning, creativity, and collaborative play, allowing the children to explore technology in a purposeful and engaging way.

The children have also  been mark making with the clay.Some of the children scribed their initials or attempted scribing words. Whilst other children drew pictures on the clay and decorated them with some loose parts!