Bells Brae Nursery

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.

Week Beginning: 24th August 2026

Our story of the week is The Tiger Who Came to Tea by Judith Kerr.

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

Our rhyme of the week is Tiger Tiger.

Tiger Tiger,

Sit with me.

Tiger Tiger,

Sip your tea.

Tiger Tiger,

Don’t you roar!

Tiger Tiger,

On the floor.

Tiger Tiger,

No more play.

Tiger Tiger,

Learn today.

The pre-school children enjoyed a visit to the Shetland Museum last week. While walking to the museum, we spotted six Scottish flags along the way, which sparked an interesting discussion about the World Cup and Scotland’s match against Brazil.

The children are familiar with walks in the local community and understand the importance of walking safely with a partner and following road safety rules. They confidently shared reminders such as:

‘Wait for the green man.’     

‘It’s safe to cross.’

‘Stop, look and listen before you cross the road.’      

Mari welcomed us to the museum and gave us a tour, where we explored a variety of interesting objects and artefacts while learning about Shetland’s rich heritage and past. The children listened very carefully and were eager to answer questions, as well as ask thoughtful questions of their own.

The museum was very busy with visitors and one lady took the time to comment on the children’s excellent behaviour, which was lovely to hear.

Some of the children’s comments included:

‘It’s a map with lots of blue sea.’

‘I’ve been to the Clickimin Broch.’

‘The pot is cracked, so it must be old.’

‘Lots of shiny treasure!’

‘We saw Vikings at Up-Helly-Aa.’

‘It’s a very old house.’

‘What’s a trow?’

After the tour, we enjoyed a snack in the learning room before Mari showed us how to card fleece belonging to sheep. It was a little tricky at first but the children quickly developed the skill and soon got the hang of it. They then coloured in a picture of a sheep before gluing on the yarn they had carded.

Some of their comments during the activity included:

‘Look, I’m brushing the wool.’

‘It’s a bit tricky.’

‘It feels so soft.’

We had a wonderful visit and would like to thank Mari for helping us learn about Shetland’s past and for making our experience at the museum so engaging and enjoyable.

Week Beginning: 29th June 2026

Our story of the week is Commotion in the Ocean by Giles Andreae.

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

Our song of the week is Down in the Deep Blue Sea. Click on the link below to sing along to the song.

Week Beginning: 22nd June 2026

Our story of the week is Not Like the Others by Jana Broecker.

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

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

Children have had the opportunity this week to plant seeds to grow their own flowers.  The children listened to instructions and had to use their concentration skills to follow each step including scooping the soil, creating a small hole for their seed and planting the seed.  The children discussed the importance of why seeds and plants need sunlight and water in order to grow.  Staff discussed with children and made comparisons between the nutrients in the soil and in the food we eat in order for us to grow, some children then found it easier to understand this information and the concept of needing nutrients to grow.

“We water them”.    “I planted seeds with my Granny”.    “I was planting, and I can take it home”.    “We need to do seeds to grow some flowers”.    “I holding da shovel”.    “Holding da seeds”.

Some children also helped to harvest some vegetables they had planted seeds for recently.  They were keen to take some radishes to try at snack time.

“We grew this from seeds”.    “We needed to water them”.

Children have been busy playing board games with their peers recently.  They particularly enjoyed playing ‘eels and ladders’ and took turns with their friends.  Some groups chose to play using the coloured side while others chose to use the side with numbers and had to recognise and count the spots on the dice to move.

“Red, pink, yellow”.    “I got 3”.    “1, 2, 3”. “1, 2, 3, 4, 5”.    “I got the crab”.    “A ladder”.    “My turn next”.    “Can we play this game now”?

Groups of children have been showing a keen interest in completing jigsaw puzzles, at times completing the larger jigsaws with their friends.  Some of the jigsaws were too big for the table so the children took them to the story corner to complete so they had more space.

“I need help”.    “Can you help”?    “This one’s too tricky”.    “This one goes here”.    “This is an excavator”.    “I did it”.    “I want to do the princess one”.

Children have been busy in the block play area working both individually and in groups with their peers.  Children displayed teamwork and co-operation skills whilst learning to share with their friends.  They used their imagination to use the blocks in a variety of ways, including using the blocks like dominoes and creating a spiral design.

“I’m going to start it”.    “Not yet”.    “Is it ready now”?    “No”.    “Now it is ready, can you take a photo”?    “We were making a circle to fall”.     “My friends help me”.

Children have been practicing their scissor skills by cutting out items in magazines and sticking them onto paper to make their own scrapbook of things they like.

“Cutting some papers”.   “I put in my picture”.    “I love this”.    “We’ve got this at our house”.    “I would like a slush maker for my birthday”.    “16 pounds”.

The Nursery received a special delivery of tiny caterpillars recently and the children are very keen to observe the changes each day.  We have been discussing lifecycle and each stage the caterpillars would go through to turn into a butterfly.

“It was caterpillars”.   “They were small, now they’re big hairy caterpillars”.

Week Beginning: 15th June 2026

Our story of the week is The Eyebrows of Doom by Steve Smallman.

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

Our song of the week is The Alphabet Song. Click on the link below to sing along to the song.