Bells Brae Nursery

Children have been modelling staff asking their peers about numbers in their play.

“3”.    “12”.    “4”.

A staff member wrote the numbers 1 to 5 on the chalkboard outdoors. A child copied the numbers then other children joined in writing number 4’s too.

“Look I done a 4”.    “I’m doing a pink 4”.    “Number 4 down here”.    “I’m 4 on my birthday”.    “Making number 4’s”.

Staff provided the items for children to explore matching number and dot patterns outdoors.  The children used felt numbers and matched them to the dot pattern beanbags.  There was only numbers 1 – 10 but the children used the individual numbers to make larger numbers.

Children previously collected leaves during an autumnal walk in our local community.  They then used these in their play in the outdoor mud kitchen, scrunching them up and mixing them with water and sand.

“Crunchy”.    “These are autumn leaves”.

After noticing that children were keen to add vehicles to the sand tray indoors, staff provided a play opportunity outdoors with sand and vehicles.

“I want to play in the sand”.    “I need the excavator”.    “I have the digger”.    “Here you go”.    We need to share”.

Staff set up a table with lots of sensory items for children to explore.  There was lots of engagement and discussion during this activity and children created a large sensory collage which was then used as a landscape for play with the dinosaurs.

“This is sticky”.    “The leaves are crunchy”.    “This is so fun”.

Children moved their vehicles around in the ‘mud’, before moving them to the soapy water to clean them.  They explored different types and textures of brushes and sponges when doing so.  Children used lots of different language during their play.

“Rub a dub dub”.    “This one is fluffy”.    “Clean, clean, so clean”.    “It’s so dirty”.    “Oh no, you’re so muddy.  You need to go in the car wash”.

Week Beginning: 5th October 2026

Our story of the week is Funnybones by Janet and Allan Ahlberg.

Click on the link below to view and listen to the story.

Our song of the week is The Skeleton Dance. Click on the link below to sing along to the song.

Walks in our local community

We love to go for walks and have the opportunity to experience our local community around us.

Recently a group of children went for a walk to look for signs and numbers.  The children excitedly pointed out numbers they spotted during their walk on bins, doors and gates.   Children were also keen to ask questions when they spotted other signs such as hazard signs.

“That’s number 3, I’m 3 too”.    “I can see a 6 and a 3”.    “I hear the sea”.

Children looked for leaves to collect during another walk and this sparked discussions about autumn and the changing seasons.  The children also enjoyed throwing leaves up to watch them fall.

“Green, orange and brown”.     “Look it’s making a crunchy sound”.    “I found a big one”.    “Maybe some caterpillars have been eating the leaves”.    “The wind is making them fall down”.

Staff asked children questions about which senses they were using during their walk and encouraged them to use these to explore the leaves.

“Hands to feel”.    “Nose to smell”.    “Ears to hear”.    “Eyes to look”.

The children practiced their road safety when out in the local community.  “Stop, look and listen”.

We were delighted to welcome Reverend Steve Charman to the nursery recently for a special visit to help us learn more about harvest.

Steve shared the Bible story of Jesus feeding the five thousand and introduced us to a catchy song called Harvest Samba. The children particularly enjoyed talking about their favourite foods. Steve also explained that he is a Christian and talked to the children about giving thanks to God for the food we have. He finished his visit with a short prayer of thanksgiving for our food.

The children listened very well and were keen to share their ideas, questions and experiences both during and after the visit. It was wonderful to see them making connections with their own lives and experiences as they talked about planting and growing food.

We are very grateful to Steve for spending time with us and talking to us about harvest thanksgiving. We look forward to welcoming him back for his next visit in November.

Here are some of the children’s comments:

‘That’s the Earth.’

‘I like strawberries.’

‘Did God make our food?’

‘Food from Tesco.’

‘We planted tatties.’

‘Vegetables grow in the ground.’

‘I liked it when Steve visited us.’

Week Beginning: 28th September 2026

Our story of the week is Sammy Spider’s First Sukkot by Sylvia Rouss.

Click on the link below to view and listen to the story.

Our song of the week is Shake the Sukkah (to the tune of London Bridge is Falling Down).

Shake the sukkah, shake, shake, shake,
Shake, shake, shake,
Shake, shake, shake!
Shake the sukkah, shake, shake, shake,
It’s Sukkot!

Wave the lulav, wave, wave, wave,
Wave, wave, wave,
Wave, wave, wave!
Wave the lulav, wave, wave, wave,
It’s Sukkot!

Eat the fruit, yum, yum, yum,
Yum, yum, yum,
Yum, yum, yum!
Eat the fruit, yum, yum, yum,
It’s Sukkot!

Sit in the sukkah, clap, clap, clap,
Clap, clap, clap,
Clap, clap, clap!
Sit in the sukkah, clap, clap, clap,
It’s Sukkot!

Happy Sukkot, hooray, hooray!
Hooray, hooray!
Hooray, hooray!
Happy Sukkot, hooray, hooray!
We love Sukkot!

Week Beginning: 21st September 2026

Our story of the week is The Leaf Thief by Alice Hemming.

Click on the link below to view and listen to the story.

Our song of the week is All the Leaves are Falling Down.

Welcome to Nursery!

It has been lovely to welcome our returning pupils back to Nursery and also to welcome our new starts into the setting to begin their Nursery journey.

We’ve experienced lots of different weathers this term already!  Children have been busy outdoors reconnecting with friends and making new friends.

“I did digging”.    “Diggers and dumpers”.    “We was outside playing”.

Messy Play Outdoors

Children explored areas of messy play outdoors such as the mud kitchen and water and sand play.  They were very engaged and enjoyed playing in soapy water with trucks and animals whilst discussing where the animals could have been to get messy.

Washing Clothes

The children have shown a keen interest in washing recently so staff introduced a play experience for children to wash baby clothes in soapy water.  The children put the clothes in the water, scrubbed them with soap then used their fine and gross motor skills to hang them on a clothes line using pegs.

“We wash dem in da soaky bubbles”.    “Den squeeze dem”.   “Hanging up da babies washing”.    “I did that, we all did that”.

Making obstacle courses outdoors

Staff demonstrated to the children how they can use the loose parts outdoors to create their own obstacle courses.  The children took turns of climbing, walking and crawling along the obstacles and ended their adventure with a big jump!

“Wobbly”    “Can you help me”?    “It’s tricky to make it to the end”    “I did it”    “I fell down”    “I know how not to fall”    “I made it to the end”.    “An obstacle course”.    “They wanted to have fun”.

Sorting Loose Parts

The children spent time taking part in sorting activities outdoors.  They began by sorting items including plant pots and shells into groups, first by size order of small, medium, large and then sorted into groups by colour.

“This goes here”.    “All the big ones go here”.    “Look at the small ones over here”.  “One is brown on this side and white on this side”.

Building Dens

The children helped to build a new den kit by sorting and passing the small and large poles to staff to build a new den for the indoor outdoor room.  Children then spent time exploring the den with friends.

“It was so fun to make it”.    “We need a blanket”.    “I told my Daddy about the fabric tent”.     “There was a carpet and some fabric”.

After a few days we made adaptions to the den to spark more interest.  Children assisted and observed staff making changes to the den by adding various materials.  Staff then added a basket of books and children began using the den individually and in groups to look at books, which led to further discussion amongst them.

“Get in”.    “Come in”.    “Books with my friends”.    “Read stories”.

Week Beginning: 14th September 2026

Our story of the week is One Lucky Duck by Alison Maloney.

Click on the link below to view and listen to the story.

Our song of the week is Five Little Ducks. Click on the link below to sing along to the song.

Week Beginning: 31st August 2026

Our story of the week is Open Very Carefully by Nick Bromley.

Click on the link below to view and listen to the story.

Our song of the week is I Am a Crocodile. Click on the link below to sing along to the song.