Milngavie Early Years Centre

When the ladies came in to work today, they were amazed to find biscuits and water bottles lying on the staff room floor, along with lots of glittery powder.  What could have happened – who had made this mess!  They decided not to clean up before the children had a chance to investigate the strange goings on!  We decided to check the nursery cameras and you will never guess what we found – some very naughty elves- fighting over biscuits AND dancing to music in our staffroom!  The children found the middle elf very funny – we think he either had eaten too many brussel sprouts of maybe too many of the ladies’ biscuits!  Whatever next?

If you are clearing out and have any wee boys trousers and tops or girls trousers and leggings, we would be very grateful if you would donate them to nursery.  Our stock of spare clothes has dwindled recently and we are running out of everything!!  All donations will be gratefully accepted!!

Every year, around this time, we have a visit from some of Santa’s cheekiest elves.  They arrived today and it wasn’t long before the mischief started!  We spotted the first one on our Christmas Tree, he was peeking out to see if we were being good.

All our children know that you never play in the nursery toilets- unfortunately elves don’t know the rules of our nursery and have been up to all sorts of nonsense!!  We are not sure how they got here, though a mysterious wee door has appeared under the Christmas tree

https://www.facebook.com/banter4bairns/videos/306490936615331/

Many thanks to Laura Henderson for sharing this great resource.  It gives great ideas for encouraging your child’s language development in a fun, seasonal way!!  We love it!!!!

Laura shared it on the Milngavie ELCC parents group facebook page – if you haven’t received an invite to join this closed group, please search and request to join, or speak to Kate in nursery who will sign you up.  I thought I had sent invitations to all parents but am aware that quite a few have not yet received them.

Happy Monday!  We have a very busy week in nursery this week with lots of Christmas preparations and song practice for our Nursery Concert next Tuesday.  It’s a beautiful, cold day today, so we will be wrapping up really warmly for our outdoor play.  A plea from staff to check that everything is labelled including hats, scarves and gloves.  The cloakroom is so full with winter clothes, it is tricky to keep track of everything.  (A good tip for keeping gloves safe is to attach them to a bit of elastic and put it through the arms of your wee one’s coat so the gloves dangle at the cuffs.) Thanks for your help with this!  We can provide indelible markers to write names on labels – if you need one, just ask!

Tomorrow – Tuesday – we are having a visit from our toothbrush monitoring lady, to make sure we are helping children clean teeth effectively.

We are also having an OPEN AFTERNOON BETWEEN 1.15 pm- 2.45pm on Tuesday.  If you know anyone who is thinking of sending their children to either the school or the nursery, please let them know they will be very welcome to have a guided tour of the school and nursery.  We are very proud of our wonderful children and staff at Milngavie ELCC and would be delighted to show prospective parents and children our amazing outdoor areas and playrooms and tell them about the learning that goes on here.

Wednesday is gym day – Red and Orange Groups will be going to gym in the morning.

On Friday we have the last session of Forest Kindergarten for the term and Susan will be coming in for another fabulous Snappy Sounds Music Workshop!!

Next week is even busier – On Tuesday 11th we have our Christmas concert, for all our children.  This will be held in the infant gym and doors open at 11am.  If your wee one doesn’t come on a Tuesday morning and would like to take part, please bring them to the nursery for 10.45am so we can all go over together.

On Thursday 13th, the children who normally attend on a Thursday morning are going by bus to Douglas Academy for some special Christmas fun.

On Friday 14th we are having our Xmas parties.  If your child doesn’t normally attend on a Friday they will receive an invitation to come along – it is rumored that a man in a red suit may be bringing presents!!

Once again, the weekend passed in a flash and here we are back for another fun packed week in nursery! It’ll be Christmas before we know it!  We are getting ready – singing our Christmas songs and, at group time,  learning good old fashioned Nursery Rhymes.  This week we are looking at the words that rhyme and trying some rhymes of our own.

We have had some great news-some 6th year pupils from Douglas and Bearsden Academies, who are taking part in The Mark Scott Leadership for Life Award, have taken on our boat, in the school garden, as their project.  They are going to develop it for us into a specially designed play area, making it safer and even more exciting for our wee ones.  We are really happy about this as our children love the boat, and she really encourages lots of outdoor role play- as they sail off together on exciting adventures.  She does, however need some TLC as some of her wood has suffered in the wet weather and needs sanding and repair.  We are very grateful to Jack Weir- an ex -Milngavie Nursery boy himself, and his friends on the Mark Scott Leadership for Life Award team for taking on our old lady of the sea!!!  We can’t wait to see what they have planned for her!

Angela is our outdoor play area person just now and, with help from Lynn, has cleared out the very messy mud kitchen and organised the area between the orchard and the garden.  They have really done a fantastic job and the area is so much more appealing, as a space for imaginative play. Looking forward to sampling the fabulous new menu of mud cuisine that is bound to result from this!!!  Yum!!

Gym is on Wednesday – Yellow and Green morning groups, this week.

Forest Kindergarten again on Friday – In our PAThS session this week we will be talking about feelings- looking at the range of feelings we have and explaining that it is ok to experience all sorts of feelings, it is how we manage them, and cope with them that matters.

Friday is also our BIG DRESS UP DAY- We are collecting items for Christmas Hampers- we would be really grateful for items people like to receive as a treat – biscuits, jams, crisps, chutneys, chocolates, special teas or coffees, bottles of wine, candles etc.  These will be put into Christmas Hampers which will be raffled at the Christmas Fayre on Friday 7th December to raise money for the school and nursery.  Children are welcome to wear anything they like – we will also be acknowledging our cultural heritage and St Andrew’s Day too, by eating a piece of shortbread with snack!!!!  We might even try a wee bit of Scottish Dancing!

SPECIAL SONGS FOR

Milngavie Primary ELCC

CHRISTMAS SONGTIME

11^TH DECEMBER 2018

Starring the Children of

Milngavie Early Learning Centre

• Little Jackie Jackfrost

Little Jackie Jackfrost nips my nose,

Little Jackie Jackfrost bites my toes,

Little Jackie Jackfrost climbs the trees,

Little Jackie Jackfrost paints the leaves.

Little Jackie Jackfrost thinks its fun,

Knocking all the leaves down, one by one,

When the Winter winds begin to blow

Little Jackie Jackfrost laughs, HO HO!

• Come Build a Jolly Snowman

Come build a jolly snowman with some snow,

For his head a bucket, eyes of coal

For his nose a carrot, mouth a hole

Come build a jolly snowman with some snow

Come build a jolly snowman with some snow,

In his hand a snowball – hold it so!

Come on everybody and we’ll try

Just to throw a snowball in the sky!

• When Santa Got Stuck up the Chimney

When Santa got stuck up the chimney, he began to shout-

“You girls and boys won’t get any toys, if you don’t pull me out!

My beard is black, there’s soot on my sack, my nose is tickly too!”

When Santa got stuck up the chimney – atchoo, atchoo, atchoo!

• Must be Santa

Who comes along on Christmas Night? Santa comes along on Christmas Night

Who’s got a beard of snowy white? Santa’s got a beard of snowy white,

Christmas Night, Snowy White-

Must be Santa, Must be Santa, Must be Santa – Santa Claus!

Who’s got a great big cherry nose? Santa’s got great big cherry nose,

Who’s got a laugh like HO HO HO?  Santa’s got a laugh like HO HO HO?

Cherry Nose, HO HO HO! –

Must be Santa, Must be Santa, Must be Santa – Santa Claus!

Who’s got a great big sack of toys? Santa’s got a great big sack of toys!

Who’s got a toy for the girls and boys?  Santa’s got a toy for the girls and boys!

Sack of Toys, Girls and Boys –

Must be Santa, Must be Santa, Must be Santa – Santa Claus!

5 Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer

Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer, had a very shiny nose,

And if you ever saw it, you would even say it glows (like a light bulb!)

All of the other reindeer, used to laugh and call him names (like Pinnochio!)

They wouldn’t let poor Rudolf join in any reindeer games (like Monopoly)

Then one foggy Christmas Eve, Santa came to say-

“Rudolf with your nose so bright, won’t you join my sleigh tonight!”

Then all the reindeers loved him and they shouted out with glee –

“Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer- you’ll go down in history!!!!”

7  I can hear the Sleighbells

I can hear the sleighbells, jingle, jingle,

I can hear the sleighbells jingling!

Listen, listen, listen, listen

Listen, listen, listen to the sleighbells jingling

8  Twinkle Twinkle Christmas Star

Twinkle, twinkle Christmas Star,

How I wonder what you are?

Up above etc etc

• Away in a Manger

Away in a manger, no crib for a bed,

The little lord Jesus lay down his sweet head

The stars in the bright sky looked down where he lay,

The little lord Jesus asleep on the hay.

• Star, Shepherd, Baby Jesus      (Hokey Cokey Tune)

The shepherds heard the angels sing,

They hurried to the stable to see the newborn king,

At Christmas we discover that’s why god loves us all,

That’s what it’s all about!

Star, shepherd, Baby Jesus,

Star, shepherd, Baby Jesus,

Star, shepherd, Baby Jesus,

That’s what it’s all about!

• Jingle Bells

Christmas Eve is here, its time to go to bed,

As we climb the stairs, nod our sleepy heads,

Take our stockings off and hang them in a row,

Then jump quickly into bed and off to sleep we go.

Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way,

Oh what fun it is to ride in a one horse open sleigh,

Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way,

Hoorah for dear Old Santa Claus, Hoorah for Christmas Day!

• Decorate The Christmas Tree  (Tune for Deck the Halls)

Decorate the Christmas Tree

Tra la la la la, la la la la!

Candy Canes for you and me!

Tra la la la la, la la la la!

Hang the stockings 1,2,3

Tra la la, tra la la, la la la

Wrap the presents happily,

Tra, la, la, la,la,la,la, la, la,la

On a sleigh ride, go, go, go

Tra la la la la, la la la la!

Make a snowball, throw, throw, throw

Tra la la la la, la la la la!

Kiss beneath the mistletoe

Tra la la, tra la la, la la la

Santa’s laughing, ho, ho,ho

Tra, la, la, la, la, la, la la!

13  We Wish You a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Our Christmas Concert will be in the Infant Gym Hall on Tuesday 11th December at 11.00am.  All our nursery children are invited to attend and bring mummies, daddies, grannies and grandpas to enjoy the show, if they like.  We are practising our songs every day now, and the singing is really beginning to sound great.  I’ll put the songsheet on the blog too in case you would like to practise at home too!!!

Our Christmas Parties will be  held in Nursery on Friday 14th December, during both morning and afternoon sessions.  Our all day children are going out for a wee trip in the local area in the morning so they will attend the afternoon party.  If your child does not normally attend on a Friday, do not worry – they will be invited to come along too!  Invitations will be out next week.  We traditionally have a visit from a man in a red suit at both parties.  If you would like to see your wee one getting their present, you can come back for this.  It is usually around 11.00pm and 3.10pm – we will confirm this when we have spoken to the man at the North Pole.

This week in nursery, our focus has been on traditional nursery rhymes.  In this digital age of Baby Shark, Crazy Frog etc, traditional nursery rhymes are not being learned by as many children.  The importance of learning rhymes has been widely researched  and rhymes are considered important for language acquisition and help with speech development. They help children develop auditory skills such as discriminating between sounds and developing the ear for the music of words.  We tend to speak more slowly when reciting rhymes and our speech is clearer, and easier for children to copy.  Children who have a good knowledge of rhymes find learning to read easier too.

We have been having fun with rhymes this week – we have had great discussions about the subjects of the rhymes – often talking about what happened in the “olden days”.  The old woman who lived in the shoe and 3 blind mice are no longer particularly “pc” but raised issues of fairness and cruelty, which our children were quick to recognise.  We had a fun Nursery Rhyme Quiz too, which showed us that lots of our children don’t know many of the most popular old rhymes.  For this reason,  and because we are enjoying our learning, we are going to extend our focus for another week.

Mrs Stilwell sent us this link to a really nice wee apple rhyme which we are going learn in nursery- its got suggestions for use with babies and toddlers for development of language, and it’s great for counting skills too!

http://www.scottishbooktrust.com/bookbug/bookbug-song-and-rhyme-library/ten-red-apples

We hope you enjoy it!!

Happy Monday everyone – its the start of World Nursery Rhyme Week today and to celebrate this we will be looking at traditional rhyme all week.  There are opportunities to build Humpty’s wall, run up and tumble down hills and plant silver bells and cockle shells in the garden, with lots of other rhyme based activities during the week.  Children’s knowledge of traditional rhyme has decreased over the last few years.  Research has found that children with a solid knowledge of rhymes find building their reading skills much easier, when they get to school.  The pattern and flow of the language in the rhymes is good for understanding what rhyming words are, and we will be identifying, and having fun with the rhyming words over the course of the week.

We are playing in the garden today, for the first time this year, due to the amazing amount of work put in by all the kind people who came to help yesterday!!!!  There has been a huge amount of work done replacing old wood- a job requiring real skill and hard graft.  Many thanks to Anne, Marco, Shaun, Eric, Paul and all the other fabulous woodworkers.  The willow tunnel has been tamed again – another huge job, and mountains of compost, earth and gravel moved by an army of helpers – many of whom were children!!!!  There was an amazing turnout of people and Katie and Pete put on a wonderful barbeque at the end for all the families who came to help.  It was a real community effort and we are so grateful to have use of our garden again.

At the Parents Focus group we talked about setting up a Parents Facebook Group.  We have now created a closed Facebook group to share information and ideas with parents, and for parents to be able to contact each other. We are very aware that the nursery hall is not the easiest place to meet people- too busy and too many things to do! We hope that this will help parents who would like to contact the parents of children their child talks about at nursery. We are also hoping that you can give us some feedback on things we are doing in nursery and share your ideas with us. We really hope you find it a useful addition to the Nursery Blog and our Learning Journals.  I thought I had managed to invite everyone to sign up to it by emailing everyone, but Giselle didn’t get any notification and has alerted me to the possibility that not everyone received an invite.  If you search for Milngavie ELCC Parents Group and ask to join I’ll make sure you are included in the group.  Apologies – sometimes the technology just gets a bit beyond me.

Many thanks for all the Children in Need Donations – our school raised an utterly fantastic £1,241 including £70 raised in the nursery.  This was well above our expectations – many, many thanks.  We had a lovely pyjama day in Nursery – the children enjoyed making spotty iced biscuits and Pudsey puppets and we did a lot of dancing!  We also had a Pudsey number treasure hunt in the orchard and played “Pin the bandana on the bear!”

On Friday we are off to the forest with our Forest Kindergarten children.  Susan will be visiting us with Snappy Sounds for lots of musical fun.