Cardboard Capers!………. Have a look at our ‘teleporter’. We have been using our imaginations to create structures from cardboard boxes, using various materials.
“It’s got holes in it so fresh air can get in.”
“It also has a button you press to get on board.”
“There’s an X there that’s the exit-it tells you not to sit there.”
If you have some cardboard boxes or junk material at home maybe you could create an amazing structure too! Please let us know how you get on! 📦
‘The Teleporter’
Look at our innovative inventors!
“We really need a bed for the children!” Amazing innovation!
We read ‘Meg and Mog’ and ‘I think my Mum is a Witch’, inspiring us to use our imaginations and create our own spooky stories.
Working collaboratively with our peers we successfully made Pumpkin Soup. We carefully deseeded the pumpkin, using our fine motor skills to chop the pumpkin and other vegetables.
We developed our problem solving skills as we measured and weighed the ingredients.
The children then had the opportunity to taste their creation. ‘This soup is amazing’- R
We created our own potions using play dough and a variety of other resources, we retold the spells from the book developing our language skills.
We developed our fine motor, sensory and number recognition skills as we matched and counted spiders 🕷 and snakes 🐍 using tweezers in a variety of different experiences.
As Summer turns to Autumn the children have been learning about what is growing and changing with the seasons. The Yellow and Pink groups have been exploring Autumn through song and role play, making leaf prints, counting conkers and acorns, and chopping apples and plums from the trees to find their seeds. We have been talking about harvesting and where different foods come from: ”Carrots and potatoes grow in the ground.” “Apples and pears on trees.” “That’s wheat… it gets made into Weetabix!”
Autumn role play corner in the Katrine Room.
The children painted an autumn frieze after looking at art by David Hockney, Gustav Klimt and Andy Goldsworthy. They wanted to make bats and fairies to add to the forest and glued on real leaves.
David Hockney’s autumn woods
They later designed Autumn fairies using wooden pegs and leaves.
Chopping apples and plums, using hammer & nails to create squash hedgehogs, and designing leaf people.
Using leaves to copy a repeating pattern and create designs.
This week the children wanted to make a Safari Parkfor wild animals. They were fascinated to read the brochure from Blair Drummond Safari Park and tried drawing their own maps of it.
They also modelled a cave for the bears using Mod Roc with balloons, powder paint and water.
In Numeracywe have been learning about pattern. At Together Time the children identified, described and matched different animal patterns. They practised their aim and number identification with this Beanbag number game. Watch them in action!
If you would like to sing our Autumn Song with your child, here are the words (the tune is The Farmer’s in his Den). Have fun!
Autumn time is here, autumn time is here, It’s getting very chilly now, ‘cos autumn time is here.
The leaves are falling down, the leaves are falling down, Yellow, red and gold and brown, the leaves are falling down.
The animals gather food, the animals gather food, Nuts and seeds and juicy fruits, the animals gather food.
The farmers gather crops, the farmers gather crops,
Peas and beans and broccoli, and we can eat them up.
The Red Grouphave been having plenty of Outdoor Action recently, experimenting with herbs in their Mud Kitchen, and practicing their throwing, catching, balancing and other physical skills.
Using a rope and recycled bottles of water, the Reds investigated forces, weights and volume. They tested their problem-solving skills as they used a pulley to hoist up the water.
“This is the Machine Maker.” Watch the children creating a conveyer belt process with the tubes and bark pieces, using teamwork and imagination.
Indoors the children have been exploring Numeracy using autumnal natural objects, and in Literacy they have been really enjoying the story of The Disgusting Sandwich, using Hanen techniques and exploring the meaning of descriptive words.
Technology We have been exploring technology using the Beebots, sending them in different directions.
We have also used the App pictured below on our iPads to work out how to say words and phrases in different languages.
Nature is fascinating!In Arran Building, the Pink and Yellow group children have been showing great curiosity about sea creatures, so we’ve been learning more about Ocean Worlds in various ways : “Can we read this big book about shells?” “What is this fish called?” We’ve been reading fishy stories & books of facts to discover about different types of fish, like lion fish & deep sea angler.
We made our own Sea World, then designed fish and fishing rods using magnets and paper clips. Watch us trying to catch them!
“We need to make some seaweed for it.” “That’s a whale shark. It’s the biggest fish.” “Look, I’ve caught two anchovies.”
”I caught a number 3.”
The children explored with their senses as they felt the scales of a real mackerel and described what they observed: “It’s cold and slippery…” “…green and blue, shiny, feels soft…” ”Tail helps it swim. That’s the bit that the eggs come out… that’s the fin.”
Rock Pool role play and nature investigations with bladderwrack seaweeds and shells. “It feels slimy” (seaweed) “I’m being a whale shark… This is a baby stingray.” “I can hear something in the shell….I found a limpet!”
Expressive Arts:
The children have also been expanding their creative skills by trying out different art techniques including collage, printing, and paper marbling with inks and oil. They used mashers to print turtles and clay to model starfish and other creatures.
We practiced numeracy skills through some fishy games. “I counted 8 shrimps!” Sink or Float:In Science experiments, we made jellyfish with balloons and string. When filled with air alone they floated too high. One of the children suggested it would sink more if we added water inside, so we did… We also tried adding a little oil and sand.
“I saw jellyfish floating in the water on my holiday.“ ”They’re soft, yellow and red” “They have tentacles“ ”This one’s a baby” “Look what it’s doing. It’s making a current….a whirlpool.”
More Science experiments: trying out salt to melt the frozen icebergs, and making ocean slime.
Outdoor Classroom Day is a global campaign to inspire and celebrate outdoor learning and play. It was born in 2016 with the mission of getting as many children as possible playing and learning outside because:
“Play is not only central to children’s enjoyment of childhood, but teaches critical life skills such as problem-solving, teamwork and creativity.”
Additionally we know that connecting with nature can boost our mental health and well-beingand so can be a great way to try and take care of ourselves in these challenging times.
For the past few years, on Outdoor Classroom Day, schools and nurseries have taken all their learning outside for the day. This year in our different circumstances the campaign’s priorities are “to share ideas about connecting to nature and bring people together to celebrate the outdoors.”
The two links below have great ideas on fun, rewarding things to do on Outdoor Classroom Day, May 21st (or any other day!). They include ideas from the RSPB, Wildlife Trusts & the Natural History Museum, as well as ideas for Indoor Nature Activities, Water Fun, Fitness and Weekend Family Fun. Hope you have lots of Fun!!
In addition below are ideas from your Busby ELCC Team showing some nature experiences the nursery children have enjoyed in the recent past and which you could try at home, including ways to connect with nature both indoors and out:
Watch the birds and feed them if you can. See how many different types you can spot. Look out for their babies!
Take photos of nature you see. You could draw or paint from them and make up your own book of Nature.
Mrs Small met this snail when hanging out her washing today.
Mrs MacLeod spotted a peacock butterfly in her garden and ducklings on a pond near her house.
Make a Hotel (or log pile) for Bugs or paint some Flower Pot people.
Use up old spices, oats, coffee, veg etc & water to set up an Outdoors Kitchen & cook up something new…
Create smelly potions outside using a little water in a jar and adding some wild garlic (which is out in the woods just now), dandelion etc.
Paint a stone for the NHS, or paint number stones or story stones and use them in storytelling and counting games.
Plant some seeds in old yoghurt pots, then watch them grow. You can create a water sprayer from an old spray bottle.
Have outdoor adventures with toys and write their stories (e.g. “The Ape who didn’t like getting wet…”)
Fill different containers with water, freeze, then paint the ice shapes outside, watch them melt and experiment…
Go on a Rainbow colour hunt. Can you find something in nature in every colour of the rainbow ?
Sort foods into fruit, veg, seeds, leaves, roots etc. Have fun dissecting them, examine their parts, plant some of their seeds.
Paint nature indoors or outside.
Press flowers between sheets of kitchen roll, placed inside heavy books. (Leave them a day or two).
Make a Fairy Garden inside an old drawer or seed tray, indoors or out.
Find a quiet spot to sit in peace for a while. Lie on your back outdoors, watch the clouds and listen to the sounds…
Hello everyone,
We hope you are all well and finding some fun things to do. The good weather has meant we are able enjoy the outdoors even more than usual and there has been so much to see at this time of year with all the new life that is growing.
Mrs MacLeod saw this Peacock butterfly in her garden, and Mrs Small has a blue tit that sits right outside her bedroom window.
The Scottish Wildlife Trust is inviting everyone to join in 30 Days Wild, doing one different Wild Thing each day, and this is something the children have enjoyed doing in nursery in the past. You can sign up to join in 30 Days Wild for free, and receive a digital set of cards with simple and easy Wild things to do each day. The children have the fun of choosing a different card each day. Some examples are below:
You can find great ideas for other wild things to do and make at home at this link:
Today Erin and I have been busy using our problem solving skills to make our own jigsaws. I thought with the recycling bins not being able to be emptied at the moment it would be a good way to do our bit to help recycle. We used photos we had lying about, birthday cards people have sent us, leaflets that have come through the door, brochures and magazines. With adult supervision children could try cutting out shapes by themselves to practise their cutting. Why not even try making a collage or transient art from pieces you cut out?
Hi everybody, Mrs Reynolds here, I hope you are all keeping well and staying safe. I was reading Mrs MacLeod’s post about going on a rainbow nature hunt and I knew my little girl Erin would love to do that, so I thought I would share what we did. I made Erin a grid from string and cardboard and placed different colours onto it for her to find on our walk. For older children you could add different numbers to each colour of how many items to collect for a numeracy experience and write the colour names on it to promote literacy. Erin really enjoyed collecting the items and placing them under the string to take them home with her. Maybe some of you could try this on your next walk and send us a photo of what you managed to collect. Keep an eye on the blog to see more of what Erin and I are up to and please keep sharing your ideas with us as well.
Keep up to date with what we're getting up to in nursery!
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