The arrival of the fairy folk has certainly inspired the children to develop their creativity skills as they planned and designed their fairy house, smurf and army barracks “as the fairies needed soldiers to protect them.”
Two of the parents who recently completed the Nurturing Nature Forest School sessions have planned to enhance the outdoor learning by designing some pieces of furniture. Watch this space or pop into the garden to see how the areas are developing.
Over the course of the week the children have celebrated Bookbug Big Giggle week by taking part in various reading opportunities in and around their local community. Parents also took the opportunity to join in the children’s 3 Read to Nurturing Early Readers group, before setting of with their child to the local library.
The story which gave the some of the children the biggest giggle was The Dinosaur that pooped a planet by Tom Fletcher and Dougie Pointer.
We welcomed senior pupils from Calderhead High School and pupils from Dykehead Primary School who spent time reading with the children in the nursery. It was lovely to see the Primary 6 pupils most of whom had attended the nursery in the past and were able to confidently share their experience of being a nursery child. The pupils were a credit to the school, who will all make excellent buddies to our children leaving in June.
Residents from Rosehall Care Home enjoyed their visit from Bookbug too, where the children shared a few of their favourite stories.
We hope that Bookbug Big Giggle has demonstrated that books can be enjoyed anywhere at anytime.
The second group of our Nurturing Nature family sessions has commenced, we have begun by exploring variety of different areas within the Nature Park, participated in some pond dipping and fishing with many a tadpole and fish being caught.
This week we discovered the Fairy woods and the Learning Circle where we went on a Bear Hunt, bug hunt , and butterfly hunt !!!
Next week the families will have the opportunity to explore creativity and use their imagination to create some Forest friends or possibly some bug hotels or fairy houses ??? .
It all began when a little green clay glitter mushroom arrived in the nursery garden, no one knew how it got there as it certainly hadn’t grown like a flower. Each day the children visited the spot to see if anything else changed. Soon there were chimes on the trees, ribbons billowing in the wind. The children decided to make some small houses from recycled junk and coloured shape jewels. They left them under the trees to find out if they would attract fairy folk or indeed smurfs. Then a letter arrived and so the fairy garden began to be created, as each day something mystical attracted a new fairy to the garden. Why not have a look in the garden yourself.
Elsewhere in the nursery the children have been learning about the different times within their day and what they liked about those times. They haven spoke about the activities they attended on certain days and whether those were attended in the morning, afternoon or after dinner. Some of the children set themselves a challenge to see how quickly it took them to complete the shape sorter game and recorded this in a chart. A few of the children decided that they would create their own clocks, can you see how well their number formation is? Have a look at the times within our day display in the playroom.
The Ladybird Group Play on Pedals family learning session was extremely well attended, with children proudly demonstrating their growing balancing and pedaling skills. There was even some younger siblings confidently joining in.
Monday 15th May 2017
Siobhan is on annual leave today
Tuesday 18th May 2017
Afternoon children visiting Rosehall Care Home, to share a few favourite traditional stories.
Wednesday 19th May 2017
Siobhan attending Calderhead Cluster Numeracy Group 3.15 pm
Thursday 20th May 2017
Nurturing Nature Forest School with Nicola 8.45 am and 1 pm
Solihull Understanding your Child programme with Jen and Debbie 1.30 pm
Susan attending Boardmaker Training in the afternoon
Friday 21st May 2017
Isabel attending Boardmaker training in the morning
Dykehead Primary Transition Visit 1.15 pm for all the children
Lynn & Lorraine attending official opening of Allanton Primary Garden
After a very successful fully attended four week programme, a celebration was had within the forest. Both the children and adults had the opportunity to revisit and consolidate their learning within this session and learn the new skill of making a safe fire , using the kettle kelly some sticks and plenty of marshmallows !!! After some tea , coffee , hot chocolate and tasty treats it was definitely time for a well deserved rest on the hammocks. Each family was then presented with a certificate of participation which I am sure you are all very proud of.
I would like to say a big thank you to everyone who participated each week, come rain or shine, for an enjoyable and successful Nurturing Nature Forst School programme and I hope that you all continue to use the Nature Park for many more adventures !!
We are continuing to investigate the properties of 2D shapes in our play. You may of heard some of the new songs or joined in with your child as they check for familiar shapes at home.
The children eagerly joined Mary from ABC music for a fun filled and motivating session where they were introduced to a variety of new instruments.
Monday 8th May 2017
Lynn will be in the early level playroom today
Amanda occupational therapist will be in the centre this morning
Tuesday 9th May 2017
Lynn will be in the Rainbow Room today
Wednesday 10th May 2017
Lynn will be in the Rainbow Room today
Gemma speech and language therapist will be in the nursery today
Yvonne, ELCAT will be in the nursery this afternoon
Thursday 11th May 2017
Lynn will be in the early level playroom today
Nurturing Nature Forest School session with Nicola and Taylor this afternoon
Solihull Understanding your Child parent/carer session with Jen and Debbie this afternoon
Friday 12th May 2017
Lynn will be in the early level playroom today
8.50 am and 1 .10 pm Ladybird Play on Pedals Family Learning session with Susan and Siobhan
Dykehead Primary Transition Event 11 am
Natalie Oral Health Educator from Childsmile will be in the nursery this afternoon
This week we have observed six children who are now confidently riding a two wheeler bicycle.
The children have been learning how to safely carry out their M checks before choosing either a balance or pedal bike. With safety in mind they then ensure that their helmets are on before practicing their skills.
With the rate of progress the children are making we will soon have to turn the car park into a challenging cycle track.
If you can assist with any of the bike maintenance, i.e repairing punctures, raising handle bars and seats then please speak with Susan.
I am sure you will agree that the Play on Pedals programme is a fantastic opportunity for you to share in your child’s learning. Friday 12th May 2017 will be the Ladybird Group family learning play on pedals session.
The stories of Michael Recycle and Litterbug Doug have captured the children’s learning as they organised themselves into the Recycling Garden Gang. Initially their job was to clear away the litter in the garden, they then learnt that they could recycle their left over fruit as food for the birds, that the rain water in the water butt could be used to feed the plants and that the junk could be turned into something creative……..watch out for some exciting news about the development of a Fairy Garden.
On sorting out the recycled junk, the children were asked if they could sort them into items that had four sides, those that had no sides that went all the way round. They then took their learning indoors and have began to learn about the properties of 2D shapes. Why not at home ask your child can describe the different shapes they find in the house or perhaps ask them to teach you a few of the shape or days of the week songs they have been learning.
The children have began to think of the different types of daily ECO tasks that they can be actively involved in whilst at nursery. Here you can observe the important task of emptying and rinsing the milk cartons before they are recycled outdoors into the blue bin. I wonder how the children share in these tasks at home?
If you would like a copy of any of the songs the children have been learning, please speak to your child’s key worker.
Can we remind you to ensure that your child has a spare set of clothes in their bag and a sun hat in the event that the sun begins to shine.
