Hello everyone!
We hope you are keeping safe and well. We are missing each and everyone of you. đ
Let’s welcome everyone in our usual way to our, ‘Special Sports and Fun Fitness Blog.’
Hello Everyone! Click on the Sound Link and let’s join in together . . .
In this special, âSpecial Sports and Fun Fitness Blog,â we are going to support your wellbeing through exercising our bodies and minds through the following activities;
- a special virtual Sports Day experience
- develop our knowledge of outdoor games and activities
- dance activities
- workout activities
- mindful activities
Virtual Sports Day
As we cannot be together to take part in our usual Sports Day, we thought you’d enjoy taking part in the Newport Nursery Virtual Sports Day.
Have you got a Twitter account? If not, set one up and follow Newport Primary School and Nursery.
You can see our Newport Nursery, Â âSpectacular Sportsâ videos on Twitter (Part 1 and Part 2). Enjoy!
You could also view the Schoolâs virtual Sports Day on Twitter too.
Why not plan your own family sports day using the ideas from our, âSpectacular Sports?â and the Schoolâs videos.
You could send us video clips or photographs of your special day.
Mrs Ross found a lovely sports day poem she wanted to share with everyone . . .
It’s Sports Day Time by Sara Fox
Fasten your laces,
Toes behind the line.
The sun is shining,
It’s Sports Day time!
It’s time to have races,
It’s time to have fun,
On your marks, get set . . .
Jump!
Skip!
Run!
Sporting Facts . . .
Watch this short clip to find out some amazing sporting facts!
How many facts can you remember?
Interested in learning more facts?
Watch this video to find about your body parts.
Why not join Maddie Moate and find out about your bones?
There are lots of WOW facts on this short video clip!
More Sports  Day Fun!
Mrs AC’s family had their own Sports Day with lots of different events from running and jumping to balancing.
‘It was super fun and we even had 1st, 2nd and 3rd positions for the different races. The dogs even joined in. Our hearts were beating so fast and we were rewarded with yummy ice lollies at the end!’
Mrs Kay’s family tried out some gymnastics and racing events too. The girls are awesome!
Outdoor Games and Activities
‘Playing, learning and having fun outdoors helps to improve wellbeing and resilience, as well as physical and mental health and also provides children with the opportunity to develop a life long appreciation of the natural world.’
Obstacle Courses
Press on the link to see part of the video clip.
Obstacle courses  can be created both indoors and outdoors. Mrs Laingâs daughter had fun with a friend, designing their own obstacle course using natural materials around them. A simple and fun activity for all the family!
As well as developing our fitness through learning new games, we can also have fun learning to read, write and develop a huge range of numeracy skills.
Can you create your own special pathways?
Games and Activities
Follow these fun activities from the Play Scotland Website. 
The Penguin Shuffle
Equipment needed â bean bags/soft toy in a ball and hula hoops.
Best done as a relay race. The group  is split into equal teams and each child is given a bean bag or small ball. The bean bag/soft toy  is placed between the childâs knees and they shuffle up to a hula hoop. They must drop their bean bag/soft toy into the hoop and return to their team, allowing the next child to go. The first group with all their bean bags in the hoop wins!
Catch Donât Catch
Equipment needed â ball or small beanbag/soft toy.
Players stand in a circle with their arms crossed. One player in the centre throws the ball to someone in the circle, saying either âCatchâ or âDonât catchâ. If they say âCatchâ, the player should not catch the ball and must not move their arms. If they say âDonât catchâ, the player should catch the ball! If a player
does the wrong thing or misses the ball, theyâre out! Listen very carefully!
Ticking Bomb
Equipment needed â ball or small beanbag/soft toy.
Players stand in a circle. One âspyâ stands with his back to the circle. The bean bag/soft toy (or bomb) is passed quickly round the circle
but cannot be dropped. If it is dropped the person who drops it must hold it for three seconds. The spy shouts âstopâ at any time
during then game. When âstopâ is heard, the person holding the âbombâ is out. Winner is the last person in the circle!
Sleeping Lions
Equipment needed â none!
Everyone lies on the floor except one or two hunters. Everyone else is a âsleeping lionâ, and once theyâve settled theyâre not
allowed to move. The hunters walk around trying to make the sleeping lions move by making them laugh, telling jokes and
so on, but they arenât allowed to touch them. Once a lion has moved, they get up to join the hunters.
Pass the Hoop
Equipment needed â hula hoops.
This game is excellent for building trust and co-operation between players.
⢠Players stand in a circle holding hands.
⢠A hoop is placed between two children.
⢠The hoop must pass round the ring without breaking contact.
Add to the fun by adding more hoops!
Rock, Paper, Scissors, Catch!
Equipment needed â hula hoops.
The group  is split into two equal teams. As a team, they decide if the team is going to play ârockâ, âpaperâ, or âscissorsâ. They meet for a âface
offâ at the centre line of a gym or field and on the count of three they play their rock, paper, or scissors. Remember, paper beats rock, rock
beats scissors, and scissors beats paper.
Whoever wins then chases the other team to the end line  and catches as many people as they can on the way. Those that
are caught then join the other team. The game continues until all the players from one team are caught.
Floating Balls
Equipment: 3 Balls (Beach Balls)
Players scatter over the playing area and a ball is tossed into the air. The players must keep the ball in the air using any part of the body. Once one ball is up, get two or three balls going at
the same time. Keep count of the number of times the ball (or balls) is kept up in the air before it hits the ground. Try to improve the score each time.
Scatterball
Equipment needed â 4 balls and set markers up like rounders.
No teams, everyone plays for themselves! One kicker and everyone else is a fielder. The kicker kicks (or throws) the four balls as far as they can. Once all four have been scattered, the kicker must run around the bases aiming for a home run. The fielders try to collect all four balls to the home base before the kicker
gets there. Swap the kicker each time.
 Bench Ball
Equipment needed â a bench/log/marked standing area for each team,4/6 balls.
Split group into two teams. Each team stands in their half of the space. At the back of their half is a bench/log/marked standing out area. Balls are placed on the centre court line. The game is a bit like dodgeball, but if you are hit (below the hips only) you must stand on the bench/log/marker at the back of the other team. Benched players can re-join the game by catching a ball and hitting someone on the opposing team (below the hips only). The winning team is the one with the most players at the end of the game.
Everyone is It
Equipment needed â none
Set up a playing area. All children start inside the playing area and all are IT. Children run around trying to avoid being tagged by people,
but at the same time trying to tag others. Once tagged, the child is out and steps out of the playing area. If two children tag each other at the same time, they are both out. The aim is to be the last two left.
Numeracy and Mathematics (Technology)
Here are two games which some of us have experienced in nursery.
Have some aiming fun with these ball games!
Remember to think carefully about which challenge is right for you.
https://www.topmarks.co.uk/ordering-and-sequencing/coconut-ordering
https://www.topmarks.co.uk/learning-to-count/place-value-basketball
Developing Dance
When a child dances, they learn about how their body can move. Through dance, children learn to coordinate and control their bodies and the movement helps them develop spatial awareness.
Wonderful Workouts
Within every Blog, we have enjoyed taking part in Sticky Kids Workouts.
Sticky Kids have now produced Season 2 for us all to enjoy!
Which song is your favourite to work out to?
This workout can be enjoyed by adults as well as wee ones. You can exercise in a circle or opposite each other on the spot, sometimes down on the floor or moving around your space.
Track List and Workout Benefits
- Weekly Workout (action, co-ordination, memory skills)
- Standup, Sit Down (actions, stretching)
- Rhyme – Right Hand, Left Hand (right and left)
- Running Shoes (action, balance, imagination)
- Wash your Dirty Hands (motivation and cleanliness)
- Kangaroo Brown (active)
- Tap, Tap, Tap (listening).
Music and Movement
Are you ready to use your brilliant body to make music?
Can you perform your body percussion infront of an audience?
Have fun!
The Breathing Song by Julia Donaldson and Malcolm
Before we explore mindfulness, let’s think about our breathing through a fun song with Julia Donaldson and Malcolm.
Mindful Moments
Mindfulness develops the whole brain and helps children to understand their emotions and feelings, reducing the risk of mental health issues. Practicing mindfulness helps children to notice the positives, and develop a sense of appreciation, gratitude and contentment.
Story Time
Sharing books together brings many benefits, including fostering closeness and conversation and developing empathy and listening skills.
Reading books which discuss wellbeing and mental health together can provide a great way to start conversations about emotions that children may be experiencing or struggling with. Research shows that children who read with someone at home say it helps them to feel calmer and happier.
Reading before bedtime helps children to switch off from the day and prepares them for a good night’s sleep and to wake up refreshed.
Sit back and relax as a hare and a tortoise đ˘ take part in race.
The Tortoise and the Hare is a fable. A fable is a short story with a life lesson at the end. One man, known as Aesop, is famous for the many fables he told in his life. Here are two versions of one of his fables called, ‘The Hare and the Tortoise.’
Which version do you prefer?
The Gingerbread Man
In this story, lots of characters use their running skills to try to catch the Gingerbread Man. Can you remember the characters who run after the main character?
Stick Man by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler
‘One day he wakes early and goes for a jog.’
‘He sets off for home with a hop and a twirl.’
Listen to the illustrator Axel Scheffler reading this special story .
This is dedicated to all our Dad’s…Happy Father’s Day 2020!
Fife Council Psychology Service and Five Ways to Wellbeing during Covid 19Â
We all have a responsibility to look after our own and others’ emotional wellbeing and this becomes even more important during times of uncertainty, when people’s levels of anxiety are increased. Children and young people look to trusted adults to work out ways of dealing with challenging situations.
Fife Council Psychology Services provides a wide range of resources to help everyone support the wellbeing, learning and behaviour of our children (just search Fife Council Psychology Services).
One of the websites they signpost is Young Scot, which explores Five ways to Wellbeing during Covid 19.
Follow the five ways to wellbeing to look after your mental, emotional and physical health and think about how you can support others in your community.
As the Government has just announced that we are entering into Phase 2, you may wish to explore our special visual poster. Remember Government Guidance may change.
We hope you have had fun exploring our, ‘Spectacular Sports and Fun Fitness  Blog.’
Thank you for joining us and we hope to see you very soon.
Remember to add your thoughts and ideas linked to the Blog using the comments feature or why don’t you share some of you experiences through our school website?
Would you like to send a photograph? Click on your photo and send an email to
https://www.fifedirect.org.uk/NewportPS
newportps.enquiries@fife.gov.uk
âď¸Mrs Beat will forward your special photographs.
Keep safe and keep connected.
The Newport Nursery Team
Mrs AC, Mrs Kay, Mrs Laing, Mrs Ross, Miss Crichton, Mrs Cunnigham, Miss Allan, Mrs Beat and Miss Stevenson
Gallery
This week Harris and his family have connected with us.
You have been having lots of fun! We are missing all your investigations and creations, Harris!
Keep connected everyone.
