Hello everyone, here is a look at what we have been up to this week…

We had a very cute visitor at our door Monday morning. The blue bird babies from our nest box have flown the nest but one needed a little extra hand as he got trapped at the door. We lifted him up and he flew off into the trees, but not before posing for some photos first 🥰

We had a wonderful time at forest this week as we…

• Used charcoal for mark making
• searched for bugs
• used technology to explore
• created a stage to perform dance routines for peers
• used gross motor skills to climb trees
• worked together, communicating our ideas

 

 

Children requested to make slime after being inspired by another peer. We looked up a recipe together online, gathered the ingredients and made lots of different colours.

Children are continuing to use the dressing up area to explore the school uniforms in preparation for transitioning into Primary 1.

This mornings session on the bikes focused on steering and control of the bike whilst moving at speed around a course. They needed to be aware of others moving in the other direction and needed to stop until it was clear to go. This will begin their awareness of using the roads safely when at roundabouts and junctions. The second activity focused on mounting and dismounting a bike safely and to show respect towards handling a bike. They needed to show listening skills, recall rules of the game and to celebrate others and their own achievements too. Well done to the bikers today. Afterwards they had fun racing around the schools grounds which we timed them, 31 seconds it took them .

 

Children were being creative and made their own mazes out of jenga blocks on a table top, being careful as they placed each piece.

Reminders:

• It’s sports week next Friday 12th June which means it’s sports week, we have lots of fun things planned, any questions please just ask!
• Forest is on Wednesday please meet at Waterstone crook sports centre from 9:00am
• there will be no more Bookbug or Peep this term, thank you all who attended sessions this year!
• for sports week, children are invited to wear white, blue, tartan or a Scotland football top to celebrate
• please apply suncream to your child before attending nursery so they are ready for the day, can we also ask they always have a jacket even on slightly warmer days as the weather can change at any time!

 

Have a great weekend and see you next week!
Miss McKenzie 😄

Hello everyone, we hope you all have had a great holiday! Here is a quick look at what we have been up to in nursery…..

This week learning is… creativity, motor skills, team work, communication, balancing skills, hand/eye coordination, numeracy, literacy, self confidence, exploring, predicting, being curious, sharing, self-esteem, technology, outdoor learning and problem solving.

Monday 25th May

Today outside a group of children have been busy using leaves, mud and loose parts to create a little home for the mini-beasts in a bowl. 🐜

Today in the block area a group of children worked together using lots of blocks to make a massive castle. They shared their ideas and confidently worked together to put their vision together. They used the dolls house characters to role play castles and said the castle was for them. 🏰

Today outside a group of children were enjoying rays of sun in the rocket they had created.  🚀

Today in the block area a child independently created a bench. They used lots of different blocks of different sizes and concentrated for a long time to build it. They were so proud of their work that they got the ladies to go and check it out. 🛋️

Tuesday 26th May

Today inside a group of children were taking time indoors to explore a dinosaur book together and are applying their scanning skills to find T-Rex dinosaur images. 🦖

Today our balance bike session focused on steering, braking and balance. The first activity was called the snake slalom it encouraged skills to steer around obstacles whilst controlling the bike. The children needed to follow the blue arrows to steer through the cones. Next they had fun developing their skills to brake. They used the game of what’s the time Mr Wolf moving to the required place, then returned quickly back to the start. The next activity focused on balancing whilst gliding with both feet off the ground at speed. This is called sea of sharks. They were challenged further to see who could go the furtherest. They all had lots of fun. 🚲

Today, a group of children were exploring our story cards and developed their own skills and interests to either mark make, share their story ideas, negotiate space and resources, describe pictures, identify and share favourite characters, describe places and much more.. 📖

Wednesday 27th May

Today at the forest a group of children helped Mrs Wilson calculate how many people wanted bananas and how many people wanted strawberries with their pancakes. They used the forest book and pen to tally mark how many children would like fruit in different sections. 🍌 🍓

Today at forest a group of children have been exploring mark making with different materials. They have been mark making on trees with charcoal as well as charcoal, paint and pencils on paper. ✍️

Today at forest a group of children have been exploring the rope swing. They helped each other onto the swing and celebrated each other’s successes when they were swinging independently. 🌳

Thursday 28th May

Today inside some children have demonstrated good mouse control when playing a numeracy game on top marks. They independently explored a subtraction game exploring numbers 1-10. They confidently managed to get majority of these correct with using a number line for a little bit of support. ➖

Today our pedal bike session focused on steering, braking and balance. The first activity was called the snake slalom it encouraged skills to steer around obstacles whilst controlling the bike. The children needed to follow the blue arrows to steer through the cones. Next they had fun developing their skills to brake. They used the game of what’s the time Mr Wolf moving to the required place, then returned quickly back to the start. The next activity focused on balancing whilst gliding with both feet off the ground at speed. This is called sea of sharks. They were challenged further to see who could go the furtherest. They all had lots of fun. 🚲

Today inside some of the children asked for Danny go. This led to all of the children dancing expressively and playfully along to Danny go. They used their bodies in different ways to copy the moves. 🕺

Friday 29th May

Today inside a group of children have been exploring the school uniform in the dressing up box. They have been pretending their primary ones and are enjoying transitions with the buddies coming in. 🏫

Today inside a group of children have been helping make play dough they have worked together with the ladies to find the right consistency. They have the. Explored the tools and used a variety of them to roll and cut the play dough. 🍴

Today Miss McKenzie and Mrs Laing invited all parents to a PEEP session. Today the families focused on writing. The children explored Dear Zoo to get an idea of stories before they worked together to create their own stories through the use of story cards and spoons. 📕

Our Cosy Time Library 📚 This will be available to families at drop off and pick up time every day for you and your child to choose a book to take home to read 🏡There is no time limit on our library books we would just ask that you ask a members of the team to help sign the book with your child’s name, the title of the book they have taken, the date it was taken and when it was returned ✍️There will be pens available for you to sign the books in and out. If your child has any special requests for a certain book please ask a member of staff or send a message on seesaw and we can help you 😃There will be a folder with your child’s name for them to put the book in for its journey to home and back 📁A tray will be available for you to put in your returned books so we can quarantine and clean them before putting them on display again, if you have any questions, any member of staff would be happy to help ☺️

Loose Parts.

We are always in need of replenishing our loose parts in nursery. If you are out and about on walks, or are planning to recycle items, can we ask that you think of us first please 😃

Here is some of the items we are looking for:

Conkers, stones, shells, tea cups, sticks, picture frames, plates, wood, drainpipes any old garden furniture such as chairs, tables or parasols, etc,  anything you think might be of used in nursery.

 

Reminders

• Can all parents label items of your child’s clothing.
• Can all parents put in at least one full change of clothing for water play and accidents.
• Can all parents if your child has a packed lunch can we please ensure grapes and big fruits are cut to minimise the risk of choking.🍇
• Can we remind all parents\carers to park in a white space only as the yellow spaces are for staff only.
• If your child is going to be picked up by someone else, please let the ladies know or the office so we are aware.
• Can we ensure that your child is dressed appropriately for all the weather conditions that may arise.
• Can we ensure when you are leaving the nursery that the gate is locked.
• Can all parents ensure your child has a set of waterproofs and wellies to enable play outside when it’s wet.
• Our nursery blog is sent out every week on a Friday afternoon.
• If you have a sun hat at home for your child that you can send in for them to wear please do and have their initials or name on the inside.
• on sunny days can you please apply suncream before your child attends nursery and we will top them up through the day with our own suncream which is Cien kids sensitive 50+. We have all permission slips back which let us know that your child can use this, if anything has changed please let us know.

 

We hope you have a lovely weekend .

Miss Nelson and the rest of the Nursery team. x

 

Hello Everyone! We hope you have all had a great week. Here are some of the lovely things we have been up to…

This week is Bookbug Week so we have taken part in a range of different activities. To start the week of we done a lovely Bookbug session in the garden. We sang Teddy Bear is up , Five Fat Pees, Baa Baa Black Sheep, Hickory Dickory Dock, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and Two Little Dicky Birds.

A group have been interested in visiting the nail salon so they created their own with a booking station, nail bar, hair dressing area and a makeup counter. They used a till which had counters which represented money so payments can be made.

The children have also took part in a colouring in competition. They were given templates of Bookbug and  used our teddy as a reference to use similar colours. Once these were completed they were sent along to the Primary 6 class who then judged these and chose their favourite 3 and gave positive feedback on these.

Also this week, the children worked very hard together to use the small puppets and create their own pupping show. They worked well in teams to make up a story line with a beginning, middle and end. Once they had felt they had rehearsed enough they were offered a chance to perform for the class.

Groups of children took part in Play on peddles this week. The children brought in their own bikes and helmets to take part. The children were learning safety rules, naming parts and functions of the bikes, learn about helmet safety and bike saddles are at the correct height and the golden rules of play on peddles. They should greatbkistening and following instructions.

 

REMINDERS FOR NEXT WEEK.

• Please send your child to nursery with sunhats and sun cream, if required
• Please label children’s belongings to prevent loosing things
• Forest on Wednesday 27th May. Please meet between 9am-9:15am at Waterstone Crook Carpark.
• Last peep sessions for this term will be on Friday 29th May
• Parent chats are beginning next week so please check with you child’s key worker if you need a reminder of your selected time

Hope everyone has a lovely weekend!☺️

 

 

 

Hello everyone, here is a peek to see what we have been up to in nursery this week….

We have been watching our caterpillars grow and go into their chrysalis’. Two of our butterflies have now hatched two are still in their chrysalis’ and we have chosen their names out of a bowl. They are now called Snugbear, Italy, Bella and Cláudio Braga.

We released two of the hatched butterflies in the garden and watched them fly away 🦋

We have been keeping a close eye on the blue birds nesting in our bird box and have recently seen that they have laid a number of eggs! We have watched them come and go from the box, taking in material for bedding and food to eat. We look forward to seeing the babies🐦

The children had a great week at forest as they explored the area. We used our bird app which told us there was a long eared owl nearby! We helped with snack by grating the cheese and helped to fill up the water for drinking. We also explored the bugs and shared our skills like balancing.

Children have been exploring weighing in the garden. They use the scales to weight weights and other items. They used comparative language to discuss if the weight got heavier or lighter.

Children have been exploring The Gingerbread House as they share stories together, discussing the pictures and what’s happening on the pages.

Children worked together to make playdough by following the sequence of instructions from in front of them. They worked well as a team and showed good communication skills.

 

A child brought in some crochet birds that their auntie had made to share with the children. We took it in turns to find them hidden around the room and read their fact cards together.

 

Happy Birthday to Jude today! Hope you have a great day!🥳🎂

 

Reminders:

• Forest continues on Wednesday where we will meet for 9:00am and then head up for 9:15am
• Please remember to still pack a sun hat and apply sun cream when its coming into warmer weather
• Bookbug is on Friday just after 9:00am

 

Have a great weekend! 😊 Miss McKenzie

Hello everyone, we hope you all have had a great holiday! Here is a quick look at what we have been up to in nursery…..

This week learning is… creativity, motor skills, team work, communication, balancing skills, hand/eye coordination, numeracy, literacy, self confidence, exploring, predicting, being curious, sharing, self-esteem, technology, outdoor learning and problem solving.

Monday 4th May

Bank Holiday Monday

Tuesday 5th May

Today inside a group of children asked for a new house. Taking on ideas from them we rearranged the house to help develop their learning. After moving it around they engaged in some cooperative role play experiences pretending they were cooking, watching T.V and enjoyed listened to the tonie box in “their bedroom.” 🏡

Today inside a group of children enjoyed investigating the block area. They confidently shared their ideas and solutions to create different models using lots of different sized and shaped blocks as well as loose parts to enhance their models. 🧱

We just want to say a massive thank you to Alec who is a GP he kindly came into nursery today to speak about his job.☺️ The children listened carefully to the information given by Alec and resited back what they had learnt.

Below are some of the comments given by the children that they learned through Alec’s visit about being a doctor:

“When you do things slower it makes your heart go slower and if you do things fast your heart goes faster.” 💓

“You need to eat healthy food.” 🍲

“You have to stay fit or you won’t be healthy.” 🏃

“Eat healthy food strawberries.”🍓

“Juice has too much sugar.” 🧃

“You need medicine.” 💊

“Your heart beats 100,000 times in a day.” ❤️

“Eat healthy be big and strong.”💪

“The veins help pump the blood.” 🩸

“Your heart is on the left hand side” 👈

“They use stethoscope, special scissors, a light and thermometer.” 🌡️

Reminder that our new learning wall is all about “Our Bodies, Their Bodies” 🫁 To continue to help the children learn more, we would love to hear from any more parents/carers who work with bodies such as – doctors, dentists, opticians, nurses or physiotherapists! 👨‍⚕️ If you would be happy to come in we’d love to have you.​ 🙏

Wednesday 6th May

Today at the forest a group of children have been using their gross motor skills to climb trees and role play with them. “It’s a boat I’m not sure where we are going yet.” “We’re sailing to the South Pole to feed the penguins.” 🐧

Today at the forest a group of children have been enjoying the rope swing. They risk assessing to ensure there is no one around before swinging and confidently been turn taking. 👥

Today at the forest a group of children enjoyed watching the cosy fire. They described the fire as very hot and used their senses to describe how it looks “it looks like flames that are orange, red and yellow.” 🔥

Today at the forest a group of children enjoyed investigating all parts of the forest. They said they were discovering new things as they travelled round. 🔍

Thursday 7th May

School Inservice Day

Friday 8th May

Today outside a group of children participated in different games. To make it fair they all put their foot in and said the ickle ockle rhyme to indicate who was going to be the tigger. They ensured it was someone different every time. 🏃

Today inside a group of children worked together to create a maze with Jenga blocks. They shared their ideas and solutions to create their own design using trial and error. They then used objects to move around the maze individually. 🧱

Today outside some of the children are recognising when they need a wee rest and have independently been using the bench, cushions and blankets to get comfy and have a lie down in the sun. ☀️

We just want to say a massive thank you to Frasers mum Caroline who kindly came into nursery today to speak about her job.☺️ The children listened carefully to the information given by Caroline and resited back what they had learnt. Below are some of the comments given by the children that they learned through Caroline’s visit:

“You need the trolley things. (Zimmer frame)” 🦽

“You need one of the things that don’t have wheels (crutches)” 🩼

“Your muscles help you move.” 💪

“The yellow and grey things make you walk (crutches).” 🚶

“If you have a broken leg you could get some crutches.” 🦵

“A cast would go on are arm if it’s broken.” 🦴

“You can get a spoon on your arm to help you eat.” 🥄

Reminder that our new learning wall is all about “Our Bodies, Their Bodies” 🫁 To continue to help the children learn more, we would love to hear from any more parents/carers who work with bodies such as – doctors, dentists, opticians, nurses or physiotherapists! 👨‍⚕️ If you would be happy to come in we’d love to have you.​ 🙏

Our Cosy Time Library 📚 This will be available to families at drop off and pick up time every day for you and your child to choose a book to take home to read 🏡There is no time limit on our library books we would just ask that you ask a members of the team to help sign the book with your child’s name, the title of the book they have taken, the date it was taken and when it was returned ✍️There will be pens available for you to sign the books in and out. If your child has any special requests for a certain book please ask a member of staff or send a message on seesaw and we can help you 😃There will be a folder with your child’s name for them to put the book in for its journey to home and back 📁A tray will be available for you to put in your returned books so we can quarantine and clean them before putting them on display again, if you have any questions, any member of staff would be happy to help ☺️

Loose Parts.

We are always in need of replenishing our loose parts in nursery. If you are out and about on walks, or are planning to recycle items, can we ask that you think of us first please 😃

Here is some of the items we are looking for:

Conkers, stones, shells, tea cups, sticks, picture frames, plates, wood, drainpipes any old garden furniture such as chairs, tables or parasols, etc,  anything you think might be of used in nursery.

 

Reminders

• Can all parents label items of your child’s clothing.
• Can all parents put in at least one full change of clothing for water play and accidents.
• Can all parents if your child has a packed lunch can we please ensure grapes and big fruits are cut to minimise the risk of choking.🍇
• Can we remind all parents\carers to park in a white space only as the yellow spaces are for staff only.
• If your child is going to be picked up by someone else, please let the ladies know or the office so we are aware.
• Can we ensure that your child is dressed appropriately for all the weather conditions that may arise.
• Can we ensure when you are leaving the nursery that the gate is locked.
• Can all parents ensure your child has a set of waterproofs and wellies to enable play outside when it’s wet.
• Our nursery blog is sent out every week on a Friday afternoon.
• If you have a sun hat at home for your child that you can send in for them to wear please do and have their initials or name on the inside.
• on sunny days can you please apply suncream before your child attends nursery and we will top them up through the day with our own suncream which is Cien kids sensitive 50+. We have all permission slips back which let us know that your child can use this, if anything has changed please let us know.

 

We hope you have a lovely weekend .

Miss Nelson and the rest of the Nursery team. x

 

Hello everyone, Here is a quick look at what we have been up to in nursery this week…..

This week learning is… creativity, motor skills, team work, communication, balancing skills, hand/eye coordination, numeracy, literacy, self confidence, exploring, predicting, being curious, sharing, self-esteem, technology, outdoor learning and problem solving.

On Monday morning a group of children  participated in some  yoga activities that supports their  mental and physical well-being.. They listened and watch carefully to the instructions to move their bodies in a range of balance and  stretch  type movements, whilst supporting their developing awareness of space and others around them.

Throughout the week some children have been busy creating a range of models using the blocks either has a  group or independently. They used  a range of blocks to create a models of  houses. They incorporated the dolls from the dollhouse to role play families,  sharing personal experiences through their play.

We had some children build an amazing castle. A discussion started about who might live  in there, such as queens, kings etc.. They celebrated their achievement  to create the castle  sharing how it had different rooms. and to point  these out to the adults.

Throughout the week  groups of children have been out for a walk  to collect a range of natural items such as flowers, leaves and sticks for the mud kitchen. When they came back they put them in the mud kitchen where George joined them and used the recipe’s to created different concoctions.

We just want to say a massive thank you to Findlay’s dad Ben who kindly came into nursery today to speak about his job.☺️ The children listened carefully to the information given by Ben, recalling what they had learnt. Below are some of the comments given by the children what they had.

: “You’re whole body can get X-rays” 🩻

“TB makes you poorly” 😷

“If you get a bad cough you go to the doctors” 🥼

“Calpol makes you feel better”❤️‍🩹

“X-rays can see your bones” 🦴

“If you have a bad cough you get medicine”💊

“You can see the bugs in a X-ray” 🐛

“You can hear through a stethoscope” 🩺

“When you breathe in and out it’s like a balloon” 🎈

Bones are white” ⚪️

The children got to explore some resources such as a stethoscope, listening to each others hearts. They investigated how lungs fill up through the use of a balloon and pump, and they looked at some x-rays X-rays and  a teddy sized version of a bug from the inside of the body.

​Just a quick reminder that our  learning wall is all about “Our Bodies, Their Bodies” 🫁 To continue to support their learning, we would love to hear from any more parents/carers who work with bodies such as  doctors, dentists, opticians, nurses or physiotherapists! 👨‍⚕️ If you would be happy to come in… we’d love to have you.​ 🙏

At the forest this week some children choose to participate in a bug hunt, promoting skills to find the images hidden around the area. Then use skills to find and match  the bug image on the sheet, then mark a circle around the image ready to find another. They teamed up in pairs working together sharing thoughts on where to find more. Another group also worked with the adult to source out a range of natural loose parts such as pine cones to add to out mud kitchen. They used a range of mathematical language such as comparing in making sets of cones  The children enjoyed a pesto pizza cooked on the campfire for their mid morning snack.

We enjoyed a visit from George’s dad Sam ,who took time out to  kindly came into nursery today to speak about his job.☺️ The children listened carefully to the information given by Sam and  confidently shared back what they had learnt. Once again a very big Thank you to Sam for doing this for the children.  Below are some of the comments given by the children that they learned through Sam’s visit:

“I learnt about skulls.” 💀 “Screwing stuff in heads.” 🤕

“You put metal on the bones.” 🦴

“If a rugby player bashes his head they go to hospital.” 🏉

“If you put your finger there (on wrist) you feel your heart beat” ❤️

“The bones inside your head are pretty strong.”💪

“You need glasses to see the bones.” 👓 “The glasses have a light and microscope to see better.” 🔬

“The special medicine puts you to sleep.” 😴

“Your eyes can go down into a hole”🕳️

 

A massive thank you to Jeff Layton from Kettle Produce who kindly came into nursery today to speak about his job.☺️ The children listened carefully to the information recalling any new learning that they had learnt. Jeff kindly brought in some lettuce plants,  sharing that they need nitrogen, calcium, magnesium, potassium and different elements to help them grow. 🌱 Below are some of the comments given by the children by asking questions to further extend their knowledge on plants.

“The soil has to be like a chocolate sponge cake.” 🎂

“When they grow the bees catch the honey.” 🍯

“They need food to grow.” 🌱

“The shape the soil needs to be.” ⭕️

“Plants need water to grow.” 💦

“They need water once a week.” 1️⃣

“The lettuce has to be 6 inches apart.” 🥬

“You need to water them.” 💧

And  our final visit this week was from Childsmile. We just want to say a massive thank you to Louise,  who kindly came into nursery today to speak about her job.☺️ The children listened  to the information given by Louise, recalling what they had learnt. Louise kindly donated Buddy the dog to keep at the  Nursery for the children to look after Buddy’s teeth . 🐶 Below are some of the comments given by the children.

“The pink bit is called the gum.” 👄

“You have to have an adult to brush your back teeth.”🦷

“You have to brush your teeth three times a day.” 🕰️ “If you don’t brush your teeth your teeth might fall out.” 🪥

“Don’t have many sweets.” 🍬

“You have 28 teeth when you’re big.” 2️⃣8️⃣ “If you’re children you have 20 teeth.” 2️⃣0️⃣

“If you put water on your toothbrush the magic will go away.” ✨

“Don’t eat sweet stuff after you’ve brushed your teeth.” 🍫

On Friday the PEEP session focused on Support and encouragement down in the bottom garden having fun making an obstacle course, a target practice area and having lots of fun. The dates for all the PEEP and Bookbug sessions you can find on the seesaw app.

 

 

Dates for next week.

Monday 4th May 2026 – Bank holiday….. no nursery today.

Tuesday 5th May 2026 – GP talk with the children by Roddy’s dad.

Wednesday 6th May 2026 – Forest day. Meet at 9.00 am at Waterstone Crook.

Thursday 7th May 2026 – IN- SERVICE DAY.  No nursery today.

Friday 8th May 2026 – Physiotherapist talk with Fraser’s mum and colleague.

– Book Bug session with Miss Nelson at 9. 15 am in the huts. The       focus is on  rhyming.

Reminders

Can all parents remember sun cream to be applied before coming to nursery, and that your child has a sun hat too in their bag.

• Can all parents if your child has a packed lunch can we please ensure grapes and big fruits are cut to minimise the risk of choking.🍇  
• Can we remind all parents\carers to park in a white space only as the yellow spaces are for staff only. 
•  If your child is going to be picked up by someone else, please let the ladies know or the office so we are aware. 

• Can we ensure that your child is dressed appropriately for all the weather  conditions that may arise.
• Can we ensure when you are leaving the nursery that the gate is locked.
• Can all parents ensure your child has a set of waterproofs and wellies to enable play outside when it’s wet and that they also have a sun hat too.

Our nursery blog is sent out every week on a Friday afternoon.

Our Cosy Time Library and Story Sacks 📚

• This will be available to families at drop off and pick up time every day for you and your child to choose a book to take home to read 🏡There is no time limit on our library books we would just ask that you sign the book with your child’s name, the title of the book they have taken, the date it was taken and when it was returned ✍️f your child has any special requests for a certain book, please  ask a member of staff or send a message on seesaw and we can help you 😃There will be a folder with your child’s name for them to put the book in for its journey to home and back 📁if you have any questions, any member of staff would be happy to help.

• Loose Parts.

We are always in need of replenishing our loose parts in nursery. If you are out and about on walks, or are planning to recycle items, can we ask that you think of us first please 😃Here is some of the items we are looking for:

Conkers, stones, shells, tea cups, sticks, picture frames, plates, wood, drainpipes any old garden furniture such as chairs, tables or parasols, planks of wood, cable drums etc,  anything you think might be of used in nursery.

We hope you have a lovely extended weekend and we will see you all on Monday.

From  Mrs Wilson and all the Nursery team. x

Hello everyone, we hope you had a lovely time off for Easter. Here is a look at what we have been up to on our first week back…

 

A group of children set up an obstacle course to play a group game of lava. They needed to complete the course without their feet touching the floor. Some found it difficult to begin with but confidence grew has they worked around the loose parts. Next the actually lava game to play after lunch.

This morning we introduced Draughts outside to the children. Some shared that they recognised the game, but still listened to the instructions before they began playing. They used a range of movements to capture their friends coloured discs, then used skills to estimate how many counters they had won without counting first.

Some children explored their creative sides as they made maps and watches very independently using familiar skills. Children also made use of the writing table outside to draw pictures and share with an adult what they had drawn afterwards.

We had a visit from the lovely Mhairi Shields, a local historian who came to share her knowledge all about Newport and the houses around the town. Children then shared their personal experiences with her as they spoke about their own houses and places they know. “My house used to be the doctors”.

Children used loose parts to create a shelter outside with very little support. They shared the space well and spoke about the layout of their structure.

The children made the most of the lovely weather outside as they all had their snack in the sun. They made use of the new teepee structure in the garden that we will be developing in the next few weeks.

The children played in the garden all day yesterday as they took part in dance experiences with music, made a comfy relaxing space to lay and created their own chasing games.

Children explore the garden space by using their senses as they used the binoculars to spy birds and planes in the sky and discussed how the sand felt as they adds more water to it to cause it to stick together.

Reminders:

 

• please remember to apply sun cream to your child before coming into nursery, we can top this up during the day with our own nursery suncream.
• can you please also supply a sun hat for your child to use at nursery as we have only a limited number of hats.
• forest will continue on Wednesday where we will meet at Waterstone Crook from 9am
• Peep will continue this term on Friday 1st May where the theme will be The Importance of Support and Encouragement. This term, the Peep topics will mainly be focussed on transitions but will still be relevant to children who are staying at nursery.

 

We hope you have a great weekend

Miss McKenzie ☺️

Hello everyone, we hope you all have had a great holiday! Here is a quick look at what we have been up to in nursery…..

This week learning is… creativity, motor skills, team work, communication, balancing skills, hand/eye coordination, numeracy, literacy, self confidence, exploring, predicting, being curious, sharing, self-esteem, technology, outdoor learning and problem solving.

Monday 30th March

Today outside a group of children have been working together to create their own sock puppets! With a bit of trial and error they attached items to the socks to “make them oh so beautiful” in the words of the children. ☺️

Today inside a group of children enjoyed role playing in the home corner. They pretended it was Easter Day and that there was an Easter bunny to deliver Easter eggs. 🐣

Today inside a group of children have been exploring stories in different ways. Some children have been exploring stories through digital technology and have demonstrated how they do that by picking characters to place on the tonie box. An individual also brought a story from home in linking to our learning wall and enjoyed sharing it with the ladies and peers. 📖

Today inside a group of children have been mark making using pens and paper and digital technology responsibly. They knew it was one person on the smart board at a time. They confidently mark maked different pictures before they handed the pen on to their peers. They have explored size by zooming in and zooming out to make their picture bigger. ✍️

Tuesday 31st March

Today in the block area a group of children worked together and communicated their ideas to create a “blast of thing for the rocket.” They used loose parts, panels and blocks to create a tower like model for the rocket to go on top of. “Ready 3….2….1….blast off.” 🚀

Today inside a couple of children independently made use of the writing materials as they confidently drew a picture of a map and was successfully able to describe what they had made. Child A said ”These are stairs to relax and look at the sky. It also has a mountain to walk up and look at the view.” “There’s also sunbathing.” “This is my monster it’s trying to break it with its claw, because it’s claw is really sharp, so sharp it could crunch everything.” Child B said “this is my map to find the treasure chest.”🪎

After making a mask with a little adult support with cutting the eyeholes, An individual inspired and supported their friend to make a similar mask through talking through the sequence of instructions and showing practically. ‘You had to make a shape like this.’’You need to make eye holes then add sellotape.’ With support the children were able to create their own mask. ☺️

Today the children were enjoying the sunshine outside. They took it in turns to create pictures in the sand using their finger and different tools such a a paintbrush and stick. 🖼️

Wednesday 1st April

Today in the forest a group of children were exploring the fallen down tree. They engaged in good quality conversation with each other and discussed what they were doing. “We’re trying to find treasure.” “We’re breaking the mud with sticks and we can find rocks.” “We’re looking for lots of different rocks.” “They’re the treasure” “look I found a big one.” “I found a big one maybe it’s a fossil, because dinosaurs use to live here.” 🪨

Today at the forest an individual found a stick on the ground. They described the stick and said it looked like a bird. “It has a pointy beak and two wings.” 🦅

Today at the forest an individual demonstrated good gross motor skills by climbing up the tree independently. They said their tummy was feeling fine and could see “all the boys and girls.” 🌳

Today on the way up to the forest a group of children identified daffodils in someone’s garden. Then at the forest they spotted some more daffodils and compared colours and size “look there’s a white one and a yellow one.” “This one is bigger than this one.” 🌼

Today at the forest a group of children showed good turn taking as they all confidently waited their turn for the rope swing. They then independently took turn demonstrating good gross motor skills by keeping theirselves up. 🪾

Thursday 2nd April

Today outside a group of children participated in a sewing activity. They have been developing their fine motor skills, simple textures techniques and hand/eye coordination. They confidently chose different colours and shapes to create lovely patterns. 🪡

Today all children participated in an Easter egg hunt they used their observation skills, resilience and team work to hunt for plastic egg shells that had a hidden surprise. All children found them with a little bit of support and have a yummy snack to take home to enjoy for Easter. 🐣

Today as seen on seesaw you will see a promotion 50 Things to Do before you are five. Our first 50 things seesaw activities are number 15 dressing up. Use clothes and objects you have at home to pretend to be someone or something else. 👗

And number 47 baking. Children love to cook and bake. Cooking together means you get to spend lots of quality time together. We can’t wait to see what you bake together. 🎂 Don’t forgot the share photos with us on seesaw to get a certificate at the end of every challenge. 📷  Happy Holidays, hope you have fun!☺️

Friday 3rd April the nursery will be closed for 2 weeks and will resume on the Monday 20th April. We hope you have an amazing Easter holiday and we can’t wait to hear all about it. 🐰🐣

 

Our Cosy Time Library 📚 This will be available to families at drop off and pick up time every day for you and your child to choose a book to take home to read 🏡There is no time limit on our library books we would just ask that you ask a members of the team to help sign the book with your child’s name, the title of the book they have taken, the date it was taken and when it was returned ✍️There will be pens available for you to sign the books in and out. If your child has any special requests for a certain book please ask a member of staff or send a message on seesaw and we can help you 😃There will be a folder with your child’s name for them to put the book in for its journey to home and back 📁A tray will be available for you to put in your returned books so we can quarantine and clean them before putting them on display again, if you have any questions, any member of staff would be happy to help ☺️

Loose Parts.

We are always in need of replenishing our loose parts in nursery. If you are out and about on walks, or are planning to recycle items, can we ask that you think of us first please 😃

Here is some of the items we are looking for:

Conkers, stones, shells, tea cups, sticks, picture frames, plates, wood, drainpipes any old garden furniture such as chairs, tables or parasols, etc,  anything you think might be of used in nursery.

 

Reminders

• Can all parents label items of  your child’s clothing.
• Can all parents put in at least one full change of clothing for water play and accidents.
• Can all parents if your child has a packed lunch can we please ensure grapes and big fruits are cut to minimise the risk of choking.🍇
• Can we remind all parents\carers to park in a white space only as the yellow spaces are for staff only.
• If your child is going to be picked up by someone else, please let the ladies know or the office so we are aware.
• Can we ensure that your child is dressed appropriately for all the weather conditions that may arise.
• Can we ensure when you are leaving the nursery that the gate is locked.
• Can all parents ensure your child has a set of waterproofs and wellies to enable play outside when it’s wet.
• Our nursery blog is sent out every week on a Friday afternoon.
• If you have a sun hat at home for your child that you can send in for them to wear please do and have their initials or name on the inside.
• on sunny days can you please apply suncream before your child attends nursery and we will top them up through the day with our own suncream which is Cien kids sensitive 50+. We have all permission slips back which let us know that your child can use this, if anything has changed please let us know.

 

We hope you have a lovely holiday .

Miss Nelson and the rest of the Nursery team. x

 

Hello Everyone! We hope you have all had a great week. Here are some of the lovely things we have been up to…

At the beginning of the week the children and staff wore bright, colourful, bold and mismatched socks to represent uniqueness, inclusion and diversity of people that are born with an extra chromosome 21. This sparked a conversation about what the chromosome 21 looks like under a microscope which resembles small socks.

The children have been risk assessing the garden and setting up to play rugby together. They discussed the rules and ensured how to not bump into each other while playing which shows great spatial awareness. They carried out this game and had lots of fun.

While at the forest, the children took part in:

• Flower hunt
• Fire safety
• Road safety
• Weather conditions
• Searching for mini beast
• Climbing trees

 

 

To continue their learning and exploring from forest the children used their pictures of the variety of flowers and recreated these using water colours and paper. They took turns to speak about the similarities and differences between each of the flowers and created beautiful paintings using a range of colours, shapes and sizes to represent each of them.

A group created a castle by using a range of different sized blocks. They used a range of different skills such as spacial awareness, creative thinking and working together with peers to build a structure which shows teamwork, cooperation, negotiation, and sharing. Once finished they asked to use the technology to capture their work and share with parents as they were very proud of their work.

REMINDERS FOR NEXT WEEK.

• Please send your child to nursery with sunhats and sun cream, if required
• Please label children’s belongings to prevent loosing things
• Forest on Wednesday 1st April. Please meet between 9am-9:15am at Waterstone Crook Carpark.
• There will be no peep session this week due to being off Friday.
• The spring service is on Thursday however the nursery are not taking part.
• SCHOOL HOLIDAYS BEGIN ON FRIDAY 3RD APRIL (Next week is only a 4 day week) RETURNING ON MONDAY 20TH APRIL.

 

 

Hello everyone, we hope you have had a great week, here is a look at what we have been up to…

 

Children have been creating potions in the mud kitchen as they use a range of items such as flowers, leaves, mud and water.

children have been using the jenga blocks to explore playing the game or creating their own symmetrical towers.

We had an amazing trip to the Science Centre Dundee where the children explored a range of areas to cover different science topics. We had compliments from the public on how well we were behaving when out and about which made us all very proud. 😊

The day after the trip, we created a mind map to discuss all of the things we learned and our favourite parts of the trip which everyone took part in.

Children found a bee lying on the ground and recognised he needed some help. We gave it space and some sugar water and when it had enough we found a safe place in the planter to put him 🐝

We have been exploring other ways to mark make and explore letters, numbers and patterns outside as we use tools in the sand outside and get creative.

Reminders:

 

• we are starting back our forest sessions on 25th March where we will meet at Waterstone crook car park between 9:00-9:15 then head up to the forest space
• parent chats will continue next week for those who have of haven’t arranged a time yet
• if you have a sun hat at home for your child that you can send in for them to wear please do and have their initials or name on the inside.
• on sunny days can you please apply suncream before your child attends nursery and we will top them up through the day with our own suncream which is Cien kids sensitive 50+. We have all permission slips back which let us know that your child can use this, if anything has changed please let us know.
• Bookbug will be next Friday which is Friday 27th March which will be the last session before the holidays
• on Monday we are celebrating World Down Syndrome Day so please come in and wear your odd socks to celebrate!