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!”

Jennifer Brown from the Fife Youth Music Initiative will be visiting the nursery on a fortnightly basis to deliver Kodaly music making to the children and support staff with this initiative.

The Singing Games approach is based on the work of Zoltan Kodaly the Hungarian composer and educationalist.

He believed active participation in singing improves a child’s music skills and also enhances the development of the whole child.

This approach will help deliver the Curriculum for Excellence within the nursery. Supporting the children to be Successful Learners  as they develop literacy and communication skills, numeracy and memory skills.

Melissa shared her favourite song.

“Chop off the bottom and chop off the top.

I liked the lollipop drum.”

The children will become Confident Individuals as they increase their spatial awareness, coordination skills and fine motor skills developing their confidence and self esteem.

The information in this post is presented in the “Kodaly in Fife nursery and Primary 1” training folder.

Welcome back! We are resuming Bookbug activities from Tuesday 16th January 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 usual Monday sessions to Tuesdays this term. The afternoon session has a later start changing from 12.50pm to 1.00pm.

Tuesday 16th, 23rd and 30th January

Tuesday 6th, 13th, 20th and 27th February

Tuesday 6th and 13th March 

9.15 am till 9:45am

And

1.00 pm till 1.30 pm

The nursery children were delighted to experience a performance by the Clydebuilt Puppet Theatre. Thank you to all the children and families who supported the nursery fund raising towards this event. In doing so we are supporting The Curriculum of Excellence with the children experiencing the energy and excitement of being part of an audience. They will use the experience as a model developing their own storytelling skills.

There was lots of audience participation as the children followed the story of “Three Billy Goats Gruff” and “Jack and the Beanstalk.”

“Don’t cry!” Connor joined in from the audience as Jack’s mum Mrs Barns realised Jack sold the cow for some beans.

Later Archie warned. “Watch out Jack – it’s the giant!!”

After the performance the children were able to recall their favourite parts in the performance.

“The Billy Goat Gruff chased the Troll. That was funny!”

Laughed Matthew.

“I liked the troll jumping up on the bridge.”

Described Olivia.

“Jack used an axe to cut the beanstalk down.”

Said Melissa (showing the actions.)

The children were delighted to perform their christmas songs and poem to their families. The children helped to plan the informal event choosing the songs and then taking turns to introduce them. Reverend John Duncan attended the morning session. He passed on his compliments about how confident the children were as they shared their learning.

The nursery children were invited to sing for the residents and wider community at the Servite Care Home in Leuchars. This year they had the added excitement of being transported on a coach to perform. They were relaxed and confident  in this new environment and engaged well with the residents staying to enjoy refreshments. This was a new experience for many of the children  representing the nursery in the community and performing in front of an unfamiliar audience  and  they coped very well singing Christmas songs and reciting our Santa poem.

The nursery children appreciated the compliments and the kind gift they received from the residents.

The morning and afternoon nursery sessions came together for a traditional Christmas Party enjoying games, songs and party treats. We had a very special visitor! Santa heard the children had been very good and dropped by the nursery with a sack full of presents. Santa enjoyed listening to ‘Jingle Bells’ and ‘When Santa Got Stuck the Chimney’.

Santa is looking forward to visiting everyone again on Christmas Eve!