The nursery have been welcoming new starts on transition visits to Balmullo Nursery prior to their start in August 2018. The nursery children have been taking on a leadership role sharing their learning and helping the new children to explore the nursery.

The nursery children were using a new puppet set to independently retell the story “Three Billy Goats Gruff” in their own words.

There was lots of discussion as they agreed on the sequence of events.

Connor described the story.

“I didn’t like the Troll. He was really angry. The Three Billy Goats are good, they were trying to eat green grass.”

Later Kaiden recalled his role.

“I was the tiny goat and the big brother goat.”

Jack shared his favourite part.

“The big brother goat pushed the troll off the bridge.”

Recently we have been consulting with the children about possible locations for the summer trip.  The focus is on what they would like to learn about.

Please add you suggestions to the poster display in the nursery corridor.

A nursery focus in the playroom this term has been on block play.

Children learn many things from unit block play. Alongside developing their social interaction as they initially play next to others and then collaborate, they are developing their maths skills: counting, making comparisons of length and width, learning names of shapes and how to combine geometric shapes creatively.

We are encouraging the children to recognise the depth of their learning using a floor book. The children have been making plans,  recording their builds using photographs and adding detailed drawings of their completed work. By the end of the year we will be able to see the progression in their maths learning and confidence in how they express their knowledge. The floor book will move with the children as they transition to primary school.

The children in the afternoon session enjoyed a visit to the Burnside Hall to support the Tea for  fundraiser held by Balmullo SWRI.

The children enjoyed sharing a snack at the event and asked if we can upgrade our snack table back at the nursery with the addition of a tablecloth and flowers.

The children interacted with the SWRI members and shared their learning. The ladies passed on their compliments about how well the children engaged – we were very proud to hear such lovely positive feedback.

 We are resuming Bookbug activities from Monday 23rd April 2018. We would love to see parents, grandparents and carers .  Please encourage members of the community to come along – all are welcome to attend and share the free story, song and rhyme sessions with their babies , toddlers and pre-school children.

Please note the change from our Tuesday sessions to Monday this term. The morning session has an earlier start changing from 9.15 am to 9.05 am.

Monday 23rd and 30th April

Monday 14th, 21st and 28th May

Monday 11th and 18th June

9.05am till 9:35am

And

1.00 pm till 1.30 pm

Please visit our poster area in the nursery corridor.

We are always seeking opportunities to develop and improve our transition and would welcome input from families. Please add any ideas and suggestions to the display poster.

There is a continuous process of transition activities at Balmullo Nursery and Primary School. The children are welcomed into the school community from their entry into the nursery. They regularly use the school facilities –library, gym hall, MUGA and playground. The nursery children take an active part in school life attending assemblies and performances. Through this routine contact with the school they are familiar with the school staff and environment which all helps to ease the children into the next stage in their education.

During the summer term prior to entry into Primary 1 the nursery children and their families take part in a program of events forming relationships with their Primary 6 buddy and spending time in the school.  Their buddy will become a familiar face for the children and support them in the early stages of settling into school –being a role model, helping them in the playground and with school routines in the dinner hall.

Outdoor Fun Day – Buddy, Parent and Nursery Child.

An informal afternoon giving families the opportunity to spend time with their child and their buddy.

Visits to P1/P2 – Stories, songs, soft start and soft finish.

Informal visits to a different environments promotes confidence and self–esteem.

Joining in playtime sessions with buddy and P1/P2 class.

 Children can experience the playground area in a safe manner with older children and staff to support.

Shared learning opportunities through topics.

Shared topics offer opportunities to progress learning across the curriculum. The children enjoy sharing their learning with others.

All the activities can be read about more fully on the Balmullo Nursery Blog entries dated May 2017 and June 2017.

 The Care Inspectorate highlighted the collaboration between the Guide dog Puppy Training and the nursery in their last inspection report of the nursery. They asked to return to see how the training takes place and see first hand this innovative learning opportunity with the children and the puppy learning together . We had a lovely visit with the inspectors – Karen Reid, Chief Executive of the Care Inspectorate commented on the positive  interactions between the dog and children during her visit.

The Inspectors shared the morning in the nursery with the children and staff and observed the children during their child centred learning. They listened to a story, participated in learning in the garden and accompanied the puppy on a walk to the local shop.

The care inspectorate will soon be featuring the nursery and the work we do with Guide dogs on their online hub!  We will let you know when this is available to view.

‘The more practical experiences that a child has to develop their fine and gross motor skill, the more their brain learns how to move and control their body.’

From PEEP Parents Early Education Partnership

In the nursery the children are developing their fine motor skills engaging with our new station. They are manipulating small objects using tweezers requiring a pincer grip,  turning different sized lids to open and close jars, threading activities with beads and pipe cleaners.

          Freya described her favourite activity.

  ” I like making necklaces”

Emily demonstrated her bottle opening skills.

“I like doing perfume.”

The children participated in a our family Burns Celebration.  This was the first nursery event for our January starters and they did well joining in learning Scottish songs and poetry and making up their own dance. The children shared their knowledge of Scots words and enjoyed trying to work out the meaning of new words. Thank you to all the families who were able to attend – the children loved when their families joined in the dancing.

Sharing his thoughts afterwards Luke said.

“I liked ‘When You Shove Your Granny Off a Bus’ ( making a pushing gesture). My mum thought it was a funny one!”

Connor shared his excitement after the event.

. ” I liked marching and singing. My favourite song was ‘Three Craws Sat on a Wall.’  …My family liked it.”

Melissa recalled.

” I liked when we were spinning around. Me and Luke were spinning together!”