All posts by Mrs MacLeod

Eco Learning, Learning at home, Mark Making, Natural World, Outdoor Learning, Science, Videos with ELCC Staff

Bird of the Day: Starling

January 27, 2021 Mrs MacLeod Leave a comment

Wednesday’s Bird is the amazing Starling:

– Starlings are bold noisy birds who like to hang around together, chatting.
– They are mainly black with white speckles, but if you look closely you can see flashes of shiny metallic green and purple in their feathers.
– They have quite big feet and so walk about a lot.
– They are omnivorous, which mean they eat all kinds of things, including seeds, fruit and insects.
(I always see them in the car park at Silverburn shopping centre. I think maybe they wait there to pick up scraps of food dropped by shoppers….)

– At night just before they go to bed, Starlings gather together in huge flocks and do something REALLY AMAZING!
Click on the green link and watch this video to see what they do:
https://youtu.be/M1Q-EbX6dso

Flying around in groups of thousands, the starlings move together like a giant swirly black cloud, making wonderful patterns in the sky! It is one of the great sights of Nature! It is called a Murmuration – a great word. Can you say “Murmuration”…?

Mark Making Challenge:

If you have any black paint and some cotton buds, you could try dipping a cotton bud in paint and dabbing it on paper to make a picture of this amazing sight. Or just use a pen, pencil or crayon to make dots and create a murmuration of starlings or any other pattern you like.

Eco Learning, Family, Learning at home, Natural World, Numeracy & Mathematics, Outdoor Learning, Science

Bird of the Day: Blue Tit

January 26, 2021 Mrs MacLeod Leave a comment

Tuesday’s bird is the Blue Tit.

– It is a very small colourful bird.
– It likes to eat seeds, berries, caterpillars and insects.
– In Winter blue tits join up and fly round looking for food together. (If you want to feed them they like fat balls, peanuts and sunflower seeds. They are so light they can hang easily on bird feeders or fat balls and peck away.)

-There are many other types of tit in the Tit family. Here are two other members of the family. Can you spot their differences?

This video below shows all 3 types feeding in Pollok Park just last Saturday. Can you spot them all?

Who is the biggest and who is the lightest? Here are some little Maths challenges for you about the three birds:

(Clue: it’s the littlest one…)

Creative Arts, Eco Learning, Family, Learning at home, Music, Natural World, Numeracy & Mathematics, Outdoor Learning, Videos with ELCC Staff

Bird of the Day: Clever Crow

January 25, 2021 Mrs MacLeod Leave a comment

Hello everyone, we hope you have been enjoying some of the sunny weather outdoors! Maybe you spotted a few birds. Mrs Toman was birdwatching in her garden this Saturday. Take a look…

Each day this week we are giving you a few titbits and challenges linked to a different bird, in the run up to the RSPB Big Garden Watch:

Monday’s Bird is Clever Crow:

– Crow is black all over and quite big – about 50cm long.
– Crows are one of the cleverest birds in the world. Did you know that they can recognise shapes and colours? They can also recognise human faces and they have a good memory.
– Crows are also cool with tools: they can use simple tools like a stick to poke around for food.

At Busby School & Nursery, we often see Crows in our playground and on the rooftops. They like to fly down for crumbs the children drop at playtime… Crows are not fussy eaters.
There are other types of bird in the Crow Family. Some of the ones we see most often in Scotland are Crow, Raven and Magpie. (The hooded crow usually lives in the Highlands.)

In Scottish, we sometimes call crows “craws”. We often sing the song “Three Craws” in nursery, especially today, which is Burns Day. Why not sing along today with the Singing Kettle, and don’t forget the actions… Click on this link to join in:
https://youtu.be/Io6ZXgSbyW8

You could even make some Craw puppets to use whilst you sing, perhaps using cardboard from an old cereal box. Just cut a big circle, draw on some eyes and a beak and stick on some wings made from black paper. Here are some other ideas for crow crafts:
Have fun, and look out for Clever Crow outside!

Creative Arts, Family, Learning at home, Mark Making, Outdoor Learning, Science

Shadow Art ☀️

January 22, 2021 Mrs MacLeod Leave a comment

Here is a great Sunny Day idea from Miss Baikie: ☀️
She has a little activity to inspire you to explore the rays of sun and the wonder of Science outside – Shadow Drawing.

You’ll need some paper, pens or pencils. Can you find an interesting object, maybe your favourite toy like a dinosaur, or you could use your hands to be creative and make different shapes – or even your whole body. You can try it at different times of the day as the sun moves across the sky and see what different patterns it creates.
– Do the shadows stay the same?
– How do they change with the time of day?
– Do your objects’ shadows change size?
This link will give you a bit more information:
https://kidsactivitiesblog.com/137133/how-to-make-shadow-art-with-kids/

You could also try taking some shadow pictures with a camera:

We look forward to seeing how your investigations turn out.
Maybe you could also use some sticks to make a frame for your artwork. All you need is 4 interesting sticks tied with string, and then decorate your frame with any natural materials you can find outside, like leaves or loose flower petals etc.
Have a great fun in the sunshine!

Community, Eco Learning, Family, Health & Wellbeing, Learning at home, Natural World, Outdoor Learning, Science

Birds Spotted today (Friday Jan 22nd)

January 22, 2021 Mrs MacLeod Leave a comment

Hi everyone, has anyone seen any birds out on this lovely sunny Friday? Miss Lawson spotted some Mallard Ducks and a Coot at the pond at Queen’s Park today. Here they are:

And in the woods by Greenbank Gardens Mrs Macleod noticed something very unusual – five green parrots in the trees!! Can you believe it?
They are a small kind of parrot, known as parakeets. Normally they live in the jungle and hot countries like Africa and Asia, but they might be pets that have escaped here and are now living happily in the wild. I hope they don’t mind the cold Scottish winter…
Here are the Greenbank Parakeets on video:

Have a Good Weekend and Happy Bird Watching!

Eco Learning, Learning at home, Literacy, Outdoor Learning, Science

A Bird a Day: Thrush 🎵

January 22, 2021 Mrs MacLeod Leave a comment

In the run up to the RSPB Big Garden Bird Watch, we will give you a titbit about a different bird each day to help you spot them and learn a little more about them.

Today’s bird is the Thrush:
Thrush has a brown body and a smart white tummy with brown spots.
Thrush is about 20cm long. If you have a ruler you could look for the number 20 on it to find the Thrush’s size.
Thrush has a lovely song and likes to sing from the very tops of the trees! 🎵🎶

Thrushes are quite shy but you can often see them hopping about in grassy areas as they like to pull up worms there. Snails are another favourite food.
In Winter it can hard for Thrushes to find any worms if the ground is hard and frozen, so you will sometimes see them in the trees eating up all the red berries…

Here is a little rhyme for you about Thrush:

Mrs Thrush is in a rush,
To find some food for tea,
Because she knows that when it snows,
The ground is going to freeze,
There won’t be any worms to pull,
And so to keep her belly full,
She gobbles up the berries
On the bushes and the trees.

You could ask an adult or a big brother/sister to read this rhyme to you, then try saying it back to them, a line at a time.
Can you think of another word that rhymes with “Thrush”? Maybe you could make up your own rhyme or a story about Mrs Thrush.
Or you could try drawing her lovely speckled tummy.

And let us know if you see one!

Eco Learning, Family, Fun, Learning at home, Natural World, Numeracy & Mathematics, Science, Videos with ELCC Staff

The Big Garden Bird Watch 🐦

January 20, 2021 Mrs MacLeod Leave a comment

Hi everyone! At the end of January there is a special event taking place. You can watch this video for a little introduction:

I wonder if you have seen any birds from your window or when out on a walk recently. In Winter it can be easier to spot them because there are less leaves on the trees to hide them, and they are often out searching for food in the cold. If you are able to feed them then that is even better. Perhaps like me you noticed some bird footprints in the snow recently:

Every January, the RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) holds a Big Garden Bird Watch. It has been doing this for 42 years.
It asks us to watch the birds outside our window for one hour and record the number of different birds we see on a chart like this:

The results are counted and they help to work out which birds in our country are doing well and which ones might need a bit of help.
If you would like to take part, you can find out more at this link:
https://www.rspb.org.uk/get-involved/activities/birdwatch/

It’s a great way of practising your counting skills, as well as learning about Science & Nature!

Even if you don’t do the Bird Watch, you can still have loads of fun watching birds and working out what they all are. This video I took in Pollok Park this week shows how close you can sometimes get to them…

In the run up to the Big Garden Bird Watch we will be posting some fun facts about different birds and how you can spot them, as well as activities linked to our feathered friends.
Keep your eye on the blog and Google Classrooms!

Family, Learning at home

Welcome Back!

January 20, 2021 Mrs MacLeod Leave a comment

Hello again and Happy New Year to all the children and families at Busby Nursery
We hope you had a good holiday and have enjoyed some of the snowy days we had. We have been missing seeing you, but whilst we continue to stay safe at home, we are trying to help by offering some ideas of things to do at home if wanted:

Each day our teacher, Miss Lawson, is posting a few learning ideas linked to Literacy, Numeracy and Health & Wellbeing, which you are welcome to try out if you wish. These are available in Google Classrooms, which also allows you to share photos & comments with your group’s Key Workers and receive feedback and messages.
There will also be regular opportunities to chat in person with your group’s Keyworkers & teachers online via Google Meet.
Additionally we will post a theme of the week with related ideas, which you can check either in the blog or on Google Classrooms.

How to Use Google Classrooms:
To log into google classroom visit the Glow sign in page, using the link below:

Glow Sign In Page

Sign in with your child’s glow username and password. If you have forgotten any of the glow details, please complete this form and a member of staff will be in touch to help.

Digital Assistance Form

Once you have signed in, click on the google classroom tile on the launchpad page and that should take you to your child’s google classroom.

Some ideas, videos and fun activities will also still be posted here on our blog for you to access anytime as you choose.

Our brand new building is finally just about finished and some of our staff have been busy preparing it for when we go back – you can view a virtual walkaround with Mrs Toman in the Google Classrooms.

Until we meet again, let’s keep in touch. Please feel free to use the online learning facilities offered as much or little as you choose, depending on your preference and individual circumstances.
Have fun exploring, playing and learning!

Here is a taster of Miss Lawson’s Daily Home Learning Ideas
from this week:

Literacy – Watch the video of Axel Scheffler reading the book ‘Stick Man’. He is the illustrator of this book! If you have this book at home, you could read along with him.
https://youtu.be/OFhJrLVu3T0

Using any resources you have, (maybe lolly sticks/wooden pegs/pipe cleaners/tinsel/leaves) create a family of stick characters. Give each of your characters a name. Think about what makes each family member different? For example, Granny Stick could be very bossy and Baby Stick might love to sing.

Numeracy – Collect some sticks from outside. Compare their length and line them up in order from shortest to longest. Which one is the shortest? Which one is the longest? Are any the same length? If you can’t find any sticks you could try this activity with pencils, pens and crayons or pieces of string.

Creative Arts, Culture & Traditions, Fine motor skills, Fun, Gardening, Group Pink, Group Red, Group Yellow, Imaginary Play, Literacy, Mark Making, Natural World, Outdoor Learning, Science

⭐️ Shining Stars ⭐️

December 14, 2020 Mrs MacLeod Leave a comment

In Arran the children have been getting into the Christmas spirit – role-playing and hammering in the elves’ workshop, potting their hyacinths in silver pots, creating seasonal artwork, using clay to design decorations of their choice, counting penguins, making cards, calendars, lanterns and much more…
What a busy bunch!
Outdoors we have been exploring the properties of ice and enjoying frosty walks to Busby church gardens.
Role Play: “It’s a polar landscape.”

Literacy: In the Story Box, The Gruffalo’s Child has been very popular, with the children keen to act out the story and make up their own versions using the props for character and setting.
Stick Man has been another seasonal favourite story to explore.

We also read Little Owl and the Christmas Star and looked at different types of stars, before the children designed their own.

Rolling, moulding, cutting, imprinting: the Red, Yellow & Pink groups experimented with clay and water to create stars, snowmen and other decorations, using beads and various implements to make patterns, then metallic paints with varnish to finish them off.

“I’m going to make mine so pretty!”

The children were very proud of their different shining stars. We hope you enjoy hanging them on your tree or around the house!

Science: Planting & Growing: We have been watching the hyacinth bulbs that we planted start to grow. The children repotted them in silver pots for you and hope you enjoy the flowers later at home.

Science: Watch us mixing up fake snow using baking soda and hair conditioner…

Science: Ice Experiments: nature has kindly provided us with lots of thick ice shapes to investigate and experiment with.

Outdoors the children had great fun rolling down hills and investigating bugs found under logs

“I want to hold the wood louse… we have to be gentle. I’m going to put him back.” “Look, black beetles!” “A centipede!”

We have been gradually adding to our Kindness/ Christmas Tree with snowflake decorations, sunshine sticks and kind deeds.

“Share my lego with friends.” “I helped with lunch.”

Making lanterns to light up Busby

Numeracy: Christmas counting games

The children have also been offering ideas for a new nursery logo and then voting for their favourites to create a simple pictogram.

We’ve seen some fabulous Christmas outfits!

We wish a Merry Christmas to all our star children and their families!
We hope you have a very happy time together during the break.

Wednesday’s Bird is the amazing Starling:

Mark Making Challenge:

Tuesday’s bird is the Blue Tit.

This video below shows all 3 types feeding in Pollok Park just last Saturday. Can you spot them all?

Today is Burns Day which is a day when we celebrate a famous Scottish poet, Robert Burns. For dinner tonight I will be having veggie haggis, neeps and tatties which is a traditional Scottish meal. Will you be having the same tonight? Enjoy the day!

Literacy – Have you ever read The Gruffalo in Scots? Listen to the story linked and see if you can translate the Scots words into English words. Did you already know some of these words? Have you read any other stories in Scots? https://youtu.be/Kk9Gq62-de0

Here is a great Sunny Day idea from Miss Baikie: ☀️ She has a little activity to inspire you to explore the rays of sun and the wonder of Science outside – Shadow Drawing.

You could also try taking some shadow pictures with a camera:

Mrs Thrush is in a rush, To find some food for tea, Because she knows that when it snows, The ground is going to freeze, There won’t be any worms to pull, And so to keep her belly full, She gobbles up the berries On the bushes and the trees.

How to Use Google Classrooms: To log into google classroom visit the Glow sign in page, using the link below:

Keep up to date with what we're getting up to in nursery!

Literacy – Have you ever read The Gruffalo in Scots? Listen to the story linked and see if you can translate the Scots words into English words. Did you already know some of these words? Have you read any other stories in Scots?

https://youtu.be/Kk9Gq62-de0

Here is a great Sunny Day idea from Miss Baikie: ☀️
She has a little activity to inspire you to explore the rays of sun and the wonder of Science outside – Shadow Drawing.

Mrs Thrush is in a rush,
To find some food for tea,
Because she knows that when it snows,
The ground is going to freeze,
There won’t be any worms to pull,
And so to keep her belly full,
She gobbles up the berries
On the bushes and the trees.

How to Use Google Classrooms:
To log into google classroom visit the Glow sign in page, using the link below: