All posts by Ms Ledwidge

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Nurturing Nature Family Forest School Week 2 & 3

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We’re going on a bear hunt , we’re going to catch a big one ………………, the families enjoyed some storytelling within the forest as we joined a bear hunt , bringing the story to life, recreating the key parts and to our surprise we found the bear in a homemade den  !!!!

The children  transformed themselves into Nature Detectives as they explored and investigated the forest looking for mini-beasts using a variety of resources from torches to magnifiers to find slugs, worm’s, beetles and spiders.

The use of the natural resources from  the forest were used to create some amazing forest friends and tree people on week 3 as both the children and adults allowed their creativity and imagination to take over the session , the results were very impressive and I am not quite sure who enjoyed it more the children or the adults ??  The next time you are visiting the Nature Park remember to look out for them within the trees at the learning circle.

Next week will be the last session for this group of families where we will be celebrating by building a fire, cooking and marshmallows and perhaps having a swing in the hammocks.

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Nurturing Nature Forest School family engagement

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The first session took place on Thursday and what a successful session it was, both morning and afternoon families braved the cold and rain and participated in some pond dipping and fishing where water snails, pond skaters and frog spawn were collected unfortunately we did not catch any sharks !!!  The session included introducing the rules  and boundaries, exploring the forest  and creating our own Forest School names.

Having a picnic in the forest was enjoyed by all , cant wait until next week now where we will be visiting the Learning Circle and doing a bit of bug hunting and storytelling, perhaps looking for a Gruffalo or participating in a bear hunt ????

Rainbow Room

Learning together in Rainbow Room

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The children in the Rainbow Room have been learning  outdoors with lots of water play where they have been experimenting with  pouring and filling and creating muddy puddles.

Their curiosity has led them to explore a variety of mediums indoors as they investigate how jelly and gloop changes when its in their hands.

Books have become a  favourite amongst the children where they are enjoying sharing stories with an adult, building vocabulary and anticipation what’s going to happen next when the page is turned.

The children confidence on the  balance bikes is improving . A few of the children with support from the adult are able to control the bikes up, down, over and around obstacles.

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Birth to Three

The Rainbow Room

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The new children have all settled well within the Rainbow Room and are beginning to build positive relationships with their peers. They have been having lots of fun both indoors and outdoors learning how to wait their turn as they explore the changes in weather. Lots of water play, splashing in puddles, jumping in the snow, and listening to the many sounds within the natural environment.

 

 

Birth to Three

Curiosity in the Rainbow Room

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The Children in the Rainbow Room have been exploring the wonders of the world, looking up at the sky watching the clouds float by, seeking out spiders in their webs, they have been enjoying collecting stones and leaves and building with the natural resources that are in the outdoor environment.

They children have been exploring lots of sensory experiences where they have been observant and curious of the different textures that have been on offer.

 

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2-3 Years

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A huge welcome back to all our families both returning and new. The new children within the Rainbow room have been playing alongside their peers and building relationships along the way. They have been having lots of fun exploring both the indoor and outdoor environment, and all the experiences available to them.

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Early Level

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The children in the Early Level have been building relationships through their play as they get to know each other by name. They have been learning how to work together, share and cooperate, while included in a variety of play situations. Practitioners are encouraging these newly developing friendships by role modelling emotional literacy.

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Early Level

Our Learning Environment

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In consultation with the children we decided that we were ready to introduce tools to the woodwork bench.  We had a thorough chat about potential risks and dangers and together came up with a few simple rules to keep ourselves and each other safe whilst using them. The children are now demonstrating an awareness of these safety rules and can often be heard reminding each other of them.  

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By exploring their local environment, the children have been talking about how to be safe when crossing the road. On a recent visit to the Co op, the children had to use their eyes and ears to look and listen, making judgements on whether or not it was safe to cross the road. This was also a great opportunity for discussion about people who help us to cross the road such as mums, dads and the local lollipop lady. The children also had the chance to use the pedestrian crossing waiting for the red man to turn green and the cars to stop., before safely crossing the road.

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Children have been thinking about safety around their home environment and recreating this within the role play area while using a range of equipment and resources including knives, tin openers and graters etc.  They have participated in lots of discussions about risks present to them in their everyday lives and demonstrated this during their play.  A number of children have chosen some hands on experience within the real kitchen while making porridge, pasta and sandwiches. 

 

Within the outdoor learning environment the children have had many opportunites to manage and access risk, from using the climbing frame and resources appropriately to preparing themselves to use the balance and pedal bikes. Children are becoming more aware of the importance of keeping themselves and their friends safe. The outdoor café, mud kitchen and water zone have been very popular with children experimenting with more natural resources to count, compare sizes and measure their ingredient’s, using stones, water, mud , mint leafs and flowers. Some very delicious foods were created !!

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Whole Nursery

What’s on week beginning the 18th May 2015

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 The children will be invited to participate in a number of opportunities throughout this week to celebrate Scottish Bookbug week. Please remember to record which bedtime book you and your child have read during this week and return it on Tuesday 26th May 2015.

Monday 18th May

Heather Strefford will be supporting in the early level playroom today.

Jennifer and Liz will be supporting in the early level playroom today.

4th year pupils and Mr Scott, Principal Teacher from Calderhead High School  will be visiting the nursery this morning to read with the children.

A few of the children will be visiting Getting Better Together to join a Bookbug with a twist session.

Geraldine McCann, Pre Five Learning Support Teacher will be in the early level playroom today.

Infant Massage with Siobhan in the Sunshine Room at 10 am.

Bikeability Birth to Three Family Learning Session at 1 pm.

Forest School, parent and child session with Nicola.

Tuesday 19th May

Heather Strefford will be supporting in the early level playroom today.

Jennifer and Liz will be supporting in the early level playroom today.

A few of the children will be visiting Shotts Library today.

4th year pupils and Mr Scott, Principal Teacher from Calderhead High School  will be visiting the nursery this morning to read with the children.

St Patricks Primary School Early Level Transition Visit at 9.15 am, the focus of this session will be early literacy.

Lynn will be attending a Heads of Establishment meeting in Coatbridge.

Mary Ann Williams, Visual Impairment Teacher will be in the early level playroom this morning and in the Sunshine Room this afternoon

Louise Carson, Speech and Language Therapist will be in the Rainbow Room this afternoon.

Remember to pop into the Parent Room with your child to have a look at the books on sale.

Wednesday 20th May

Jennifer and Liz will be supporting in the early level playroom today.

Louise Carson, speech and language therapist will be in the Rainbow Room and then the early level playroom this morning.

Lynn will be out of the nursery today delivering Solihull Refresher training to colleagues.

A few of the children will be heading off to the Nature Park this morning with their favourite stories.

A few of the children this afternoon will be taking their favourite stories to read with the residents at Rosehall Manor Care Home.

4th year pupils and Mr Scott, Principal Teacher from Calderhead High School  will be visiting the nursery this afternoon to read with the children.

Forest School parent and child session with Nicola.

Thursday 21st May

Jennifer and Liz will be supporting in the early level playroom today.

Parent and child transition visit to Stane Primary School.

A few of the children will be visiting the local café  this morning in search of the characters from the Tiger Who Came to Tea.

A few of the children will be heading off to the Nature Park this afternoon with their favourite stories.

Rhyme Time session this afternoon for parents and children in the Rainbow and Sunshine Room, where Bookbug will be dressed in his pj’s.

Amanda will be attending a Sleep Scotland Seminar this afternoon.

Remember to pop into the Parent Room with your child to have a look at the books on sale.

Friday 22nd and Monday 25th

There will be no nursery sessions on these dates due to the public holidays.