Thank you to all the children and their families who came along to the Primary 1 Meet the Teacher transition event. Mrs MacPherson had a lovely time catching up with the children from Balmullo Nursery and meeting the children visiting Balmullo Primary for the first time. Mrs Dunnett and Mrs Duncan loved seeing all your happy faces again and can’t believe how much you have grown!!!
The children and families had an opportunity to relax together (socially distancing!), familiarise themselves with the school grounds during a scavenger hunt, share a picnic snack and chat with Mrs MacPherson about starting school.
Can you match names to the pictures?
We have – Adam, Alan, Azaan, Cora, Ewan, Fenella, Frankie, Gracie, Ivy, Jonah, Layla, Olivia, Roman, Verity and Veronica.
Thank you for the feedback sharing how much the children enjoyed the event.
We look forward to seeing you all in Primary 1 in August!😊
Throughout their nursery experience children at Balmullo Nursery are building towards the transition into school. Regular experiences around the school – borrowing from the school library, using the water cooler, collecting resources, using the gym hall, attending and participating in school events- all help the children become familiar with, and comfortable within, the school environment. Throughout these experiences the children are made to feel welcome and interact with the wider school staff and pupils.
This month the children starting Primary 1 have had the opportunity to engage with a range of activities thinking about the next stage in their learning journey.
The children shared information with Mrs MacPherson who will be their Primary 1 teacher. They shares their likes, dislikes and family life. Thank you for all the drawings and great self portraits. Mrs MacPherson can’t wait to see you all!
The children have also been building relationships their Primary 6 buddies by sending and receiving letters- sharing hobbies, describing pets, favourite foods, characters and colours. Thank you for all the care and thought put into your letters – great work!
The pre-school nursery children and Primary 1/2 class shared a joint transition project- making puppets, storytelling and performing.
Mrs Dunnett, Mrs Duncan and Mrs MacPherson have all been delighted and entertained by the wide variety of resources used to make the puppets and the creative stories performed. Well done everyone – there will be an opportunity to see a collection of the work in the future.
Thank you for continuing to email your drawings, paintings and learning experiences to us at
balmullops.enquiries@fife.gov.uk
Please advise us if you would prefer any pictures not to appear on the blog.
Hello everyone💖 Mrs Dunnett and Mrs Duncan have enjoyed sharing your learning again this week. Thank you for emailing your drawings, paintings, photographs of your outdoor learning and films of you singing and dancing.
Please continue to share with us at
balmullops.enquiries@fife.gov.uk
Please advise us if you would prefer any pictures not to appear on the blog.
We will share a selection each week highlighting the learning through play. We are guided in the early years by Education Scotland.
Going on a nature walk to collect loose parts for the art we plan to create.
Planning , discussing textures, shapes and colours. Expressing my thoughts, feeling and opinions and consider those of others.Providing opportunities to develop gross and fine motor skills.
Exploring the beach creating transient art.
Providing different opportunities to express my thoughts ,feelings and opinions. Connecting with my interests and family life.
Engaging with quality texts, illustrations and other media. Inspired by the story featured on the blog (May22nd) creating a telescope and joining in the retelling of the story.
‘Shark in the Park on a Windy Day’ by Nick Sharratt.
Extending role play- building on my interests and life experiences, encouraging interactions, conversations and new vocabulary.
Retelling a familiar story verbally and non verbally using puppets. Sequencing the events in the story.
Exploring a variety of picture books, fiction and non-fiction texts. Reading in our den by torchlight adding to our experience.
“Literacy learning should encourage children to see themselves as readers and writers, through purposeful experiences which build on the way that children use literacy.” Realising the Ambition – National Practice Guidance for early years in Scotland.
Following her interest in flowers creating art from dried flowers collected on a previous walk. Using a non-fiction book to find out the names of the flowers.
Having fun with everyday experiences. Extending vocabulary and linking our experiences to songs, rhymes and stories we know.
Thank you everyone who has been sharing their learning together at home emails with Mrs Dunnett and Mrs Duncan. It is lovely to see all the different family learning you have been engaged with and to see all your smiling faces WE MISS YOU. 💖
Please continue to share with us at
balmullops.enquiries@fife.gov.uk
Pleaseadvise us if you would prefer any pictures not to appear on the blog.
A reminder for everyone keen to participate in the Balmullo Lockdown Bake Off the closing date for emailing entries is
the end of day on Monday 1st June.
Mrs MacPherson shared a photograph of her helper for the Balmullo Lockdown Bake Off 😁
Thank you for sharing special family celebrations with us. The end of Ramadan was celebrated with the festival of Eid on Sunday 25th May. Last year we were fortunate to have Anila Anwar come into the nursery and share how their family celebrate. Other big celebrations in the family – look who is 5 years old! Happy birthday from Mrs Dunnett and Mrs Duncan 🎂
Another big birthday celebration last week- Bookbug celebrated their 10th birthday. Look at all the detailed work making this thoughtful card with a special message inside. ‘Stay Safe Bookbug’. Welldone! Can you make a card to send to family or friends? It would be a lovely way to remind them how special and loved they are.
We had more great examples of outdoor family learning this week: making perfume, campfires, bug hotels, daisy chains, flying kites, bike riding and den construction. Developing our motor skills, imagination and problem solving.
Finally – who might live in a hole in the forest?Share your ideas with us next week.
Hello everyone – it is a very windy day out there today! It reminds us of the story ‘Shark in the Park on a Windy Day’ read by the author Nick Sharratt. Listen for all the rhyming words!
We had some lovely emails sharing our learning at home.
Please continue to share with us at balmullops.enquiries@fife.gov.uk
Pleaseadvise us if you would prefer any pictures not to appear on the blog.
The caterpillars shown on last weeks post have turned in to beautiful butterflies! Thank you for sharing x
The wings are very fragile. Did you notice the symmetrical pattern on the wings?
We enjoyed noticing and making symmetrical patterns in the nursery. This is a fun game with different levels of challenge.
In my play I can make symmetrical patterns and identify and talk about things that are the same in pictures and patterns.
I can tell if a picture/pattern is symmetrical and make symmetrical patterns using different objects and technology.
Personal Learning Plan Early Level Maths and Numeracy MNU19a.
We had more exciting news from Layla-chicks!
Do eggs from different birds take the same length of time to hatch? Are eggs from different birds all the same size? Maybe you could ask your family, look in a fact book or research on the computer.
Exploring music in the garden.
Great ideas in the garden ! Can you think of other ways to make different sounds? You could make your own musical instruments using loose parts -cereal boxes, juice bottles -lets have some fun!
I have the freedom to use my voice, musical instruments and music technology to discover and enjoy playing with sound and rhythm.
Personal Learning Plan Early Level Expressive Arts -Music EXA17a.
Through play I have explored a variety of ways of making sounds.
Personal Learning Plan Early Level Science- Forces, electricity and waves SCN11a.
Bookbug
Lots of families have been joining in with various Bookbug activities celebrating Bookbug week. We had some lovely feedback from Ewan.
“We have been doing bookbug every day, and sometimes setting up bookbug from Kirkcaldy Galleries on mummy’s phone while we use the tablet to zoom with Granny and Grandad. Ewan says the other bookbug people don’t know the songs as well as Mrs Duncan though! He has really been enjoying the stories that Mrs Duncan has been reading.”
What a great way of using Zoom!
Developing our fine motor skills
Developing our creative skills and fine motor skills using glue sticks, tearing paper, using scissors and picking up small craft items in a pincer grip . What a fabulous picture of Gran!
All your painting and drawing is developing your pencil grip Roman brilliant work!
Learning with our older siblings
We had some great sharing of learning with older siblings reading and also doing ‘school work’. This encouraged some children to join in with worksheets too. Lovely work!. Keep up the great learning have fun writing lists, making books, drawing pictures and making cards.
We hope you are enjoying the brilliant sunshine today!
If anyone is looking for a challenge Mrs Wills has shared two fun scavenger hunts. An outdoors hunt to enjoy the sunshine and an indoors maths hunt if you would like a bit of shade! Let us know how you get on!
Mrs Dunnett and Mrs Duncan received lots of emails about learning together at home this week . We thought it would be easier to split the blog post in to two parts. Please continue to share with us at balmullops.enquiries@fife.gov.uk and advise if you would prefer us not to post on the blog.
Roman, Billy, Macy and Frankie all sent in photos showing that they are developing their fine motor and pencil control as they write their names, draw shapes, paint and design pictures. We can see you are really concentrating great work!
I can explore making shapes, patterns and symbols. I can recognise, copy , continue and create patterns with left to right tracking. Personal Learning Plan Early Level Writing Lit 0.21b
I can make marks and symbols on paper and other surfaces to represent some of my ideas communicate information.Personal Learning Plan Early Level Writing Lit 0.9b,26a,31a.
What a great variety of tools and surfaces being used! We also had models and collage creations (manipulating the small pieces will help develop our fine motor skills too).
Cooking skills
Lots of yummy cooking happening in Balmullo – it is making Mrs Dunnett and Mrs Duncan have rumbling tummies!!!
Look at this junk box kitchen! Mum shared. “She used an egg box as the microwave and cut out paper carrots and peas to cook in the paper pots.”
Delicious pizza! Having fun whilst developing
motor skills
numeracy skills counting, weighing , using a timer, sequencing
literacy skills reading recipes, language to describe actions-rolling, stirring, measuring, describe taste and texture
health and wellbeing discussing where food comes from and healthy eating.
Planting
We had lots of budding gardeners this week. Personal Learning Plan. Science I have helped to grow plants and can begin to name their basic parts. I can talk about how thay grow and what I need to do to look after them. SCN03a.
Has anyone started a height chart for their plants? (Blog post 01/05/20).
VE Day Rememberence
Learning about our past. Personal Learning Plan. People, past events and societies . I am aware that different types of evidence can help me find out about the past. SOCo1a
Celebrating with homemade bunting and a lovely picnic.
Bookbug at home – lovely! Is that Mrs Duncan on the television?
Mrs Dunnett and Mrs Duncan hope you are all safe and well and enjoyed relaxing long weekend last week. We saw a lovely message on the Play Scotland site which shares an understanding about the many pressures on families and encourages families to engage with a play mind set and not feel anxious about the many suggestions for activities that might not fit with your family situation. Encourage your children to lead play and see where it takes you.
The children might like to try some of these fun ideas for outdoor activities shared by a Susan Doogan a Paediatric Occupational Therapist who is publishing a series of free videos to help parents ‘play’ with their children and develop pre-requisite sensory/motor skills in readiness for school. The children could create an obstacle course, play pirates jumping from one area to another to avoid sharks…link to a favourite story … are they a hero? Encourage them to discuss their ideas.
Mrs Dunnett and Mrs Duncan received lots of emails sharing photographs, drawings and short films sharing lots of great family learning at home. Please continue to share with us at balmullops.enquiries@fife.gov.uk
Pleaseadvise us if you would prefer any pictures not to appear on the blog.
Great imaginative play
after seeing the little red door Mrs Duncan saw
on her walk (Blog 24/04/2020).
Olivia thinks fairies live behind the door. Mum shared “Any little holes in the bottom of a tree is a fairy’s home and the tree roots are the steps (and sometimes slides). Here Olivia and her brother Struan are looking for fairies. How would the fairies feel if the wind shakes the tree?
Talking about pretend situations, characters and the experiences and feelings they may have. I am developing my Early Level Listening and Talking Skills. (Personal Learning Plan Lit 0.1c, 0.19a)
Frankie and his family sent in some pictures of the caterpillars they have at home. Frankie and his mummy shared. “We have got some caterpillars and we are watching them turn into butterflies. At the moment they are making their cocoons. ”
How many days will it take before the butterflies come out of the cocoon? Maybe the boys and girls in nursery can sing the days of the week song from last week to help count the days.
Last year in nursery we had a display all about caterpillars and butterflies do you remember? We found lots of interesting information in fiction and non-fiction books and we also used the computer.
I can learn when listening to others and accessing a range of media. I can use the information from others and a wide range of media to learn. Early Level Listening and Talking Skills. (Personal Learning Plan Lit 0.4a)
Mrs Dunnett and Mrs Duncan have loved receiving emails sharing your learning with drawings, videos and photographs.
We will share a selection each week on the blog highlighting the learning and sharing ideas with our friends. Please advise if you would prefer your photographs not to appear on the blog.
Flags
We received a great video showing shape, pattern recognition and memory skills naming flags for different countries. Lots of concentration required developing this skill – well done!
Can you find the flag for any countries that you have visited or countries where any friends and family live?
Design your own flag – for your family, your pets or toys. What shapes and colours would you use?
Use a maps to find places you have visited in Balmullo, Scotland or other countries around the world.
You could draw a map or a plan of your room or garden. You could turn it into a 3d map adding different features!
Plants
Ewan sent in a photograph of plants he is growing in his garden.
Do you know the name of these plants? Could they turn into flowers, fruit or vegetables? Can you remember what the different parts of a plant are called and what a plant needs to grow? How tall will your plants grow ? Make a simple chart to record the height.
‘Jasper’s Beanstalk’ by Nick Butterworth is a nursery favourite. On the last page you will find some questions and activity ideas.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Da6lxY_8jmU
Days of the week feature in this story. We have been singing songs in the nursery as a fun way of remembering them in order. There are lots of different tunes -which one do you prefer? We would love to see a film of you singing along!
‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’ by Eric Carle also features days of the week. You can go back to the blog post on March 26th 2020 for the link to this story.
We can see the focus and care taken as you observed and recorded all the details working on this drawing. Great work!
Outdoor Fun
It has been such lovely weather – did you notice the shadow in the photograph ? Why do you get shadows? A fun activity could be to take turns drawing around each others shadows. Who is bigger?
This looks like a tricky balancing activity – do you remember we did this in the nursery with bean bags? What do you think was most difficult. You could design an obstacle course indoors/outdoors for a challenge – you could send in a plan of your course.
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