Bells Brae Nursery

We have been asked to share the following poster and information for children returning to nursery after the Summer.

ELC Change of Pattern Guidance – Poster

Any parents and carers who wish to request a change to their child’s nursery pattern, with a commencement date in August 2024, should do so no later than Friday 21^st June 2024. This will give us time to confirm changes with settings before the end of term.

Any requests received after this time will not be processed until settings reopen in August 2024.

The children have shown an interest in ‘Da Trow’ story book which is written in Shetland dialect. “I like the book because it was in Shetland”.

The children have the opportunity to visit the school library twice each week. They choose to look at books themselves, with friends or ask an adult to read them a book. Children are then encouraged to be responsible and show care and respect for books by placing their book back in the correct colour-coded section ready for other children to use.

The children enjoyed having together time outside.

“I liked it being in the garden”. “I liked it, I was cool outside”.

Recently one of the stories of the week was ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar”. The children have been practicing using signs for some of the words and learning about the lifecycle of a caterpillar to a butterfly. We have our very own caterpillars which has created a lot of interest and discussion, the caterpillars have now gone into their chrysalises. We check them each day to observe their changes. We have also had craft opportunities linked to this area of interest.

“I’m making lots of legs”.  “I need a red one”. “It has lots of legs”. “It’s the hungry caterpillar”. “It turns into a butterfly”.

“My caterpillar is growing by eating all the food”.

The children have been mark making in various areas of the nursery, using different signs and pictures for inspiration.

The children have been learning about sequence and arranged the pictures in the sequence in which a flower grows.

We have had a variety of water play opportunities outdoors with sea creatures, shells and different boats which created discussions around the concept of floating and sinking.

The children really engaged with the farm toys which have been used both outdoors and in the indoor/outdoor room. They could quickly tell the difference between the animals that belonged in the farms set and those that belonged in the wild or in a zoo.

“This cheetah shouldn’t be here in the farm, it might eat the cows!

They enjoyed reading stories linked to animals in this area such as Dear Zoo.

“I’m going to take it back to the zoo”. “This cheetah is too fierce, I sent him back”.

Children have been developing their gross motor and risk assessing skills by using the climbing frames to practice their jumping and climbing.

“I like to climb high”. “I am going to jump really high”.

The children worked together to make a den and decided to take in some story books.

“We made a den”. “We hid the climbing frame”.

We planted some Livingston Daisy seeds in our playground. The children helped to prepare the soil ready for planting and they sprinkled the seeds very carefully. They then collected water in the watering can and took turns to water the seeds.

We created a shaded rest area on a sunny day. The children looked at books with friends and role played families. “I’m the Mammy”. “It’s bedtime”.

Story of the week was:

Oliver’s Vegetables by Vivian French

Song/Rhyme of the week was:

Old Macdonald had a farm

It’s great to see our ‘Borrowing Library’ being so well used. Please feel free to borrow a book or if you have any books which you no longer use that you would be happy to donate to our Borrowing Library for others to enjoy, please pass these onto a member of staff.

We were delighted to welcome Eleanor Hutcheon the Shetland UHI STEM Outreach Co-ordinator to the nursery recently.

Eleanor’s focus was Early Engineering and we spoke about what an Engineer would do and things they might design.  Eleanor built some small towers and challenged the children to see if they were secure, would they fall down if the children tried knocking them down?

It was then the children’s turn to build something and see if they could make it strong and secure then test it by trying to knock it over.

The children really enjoyed the sessions and were keen to try building new creations with different blocks later in the week.

We had to measure our constructions to see how long they were.

We have been learning about how to care for our plants and what they need to help them to grow. In the polycrub we have been planting lettuce seeds and tomato plants and then watering them. We’ll continue to care for these and watch them grow.

“Visiting the polytunnel to plant tomato plants”.

Indoors we have planted sunflower seeds, French Marigold seeds and cress seeds. The children decorated their pot with lots of colourful designs and added their cress seeds.

“The seeds need water to grow”.

The children have had the opportunity to plant their own French Marigold seeds in individual plant pots.

“The seeds need sun”     “They need water”

The children have been busy in the mud kitchen, often transporting with the wheelbarrow.

The children harvested some of the herbs we have been growing to play with in the mud kitchen. They’ve been discovering the different smells from each herb.

“They smell like perfume”. “It smells like cauliflower”.

During snack we have been focusing on encouraging the children to be independent and spread margarine on their own bagels and toast.

This term the children have been developing their scissor skills including correct scissor hold and developing their scissor action. The children have been learning how to cut straight and curvy lines and some children have challenged themselves by cutting out more tricky shapes.

Our role play area was changed to introduce a hairdressers. The children have had great fun being the hairdresser, customers and the receptionist. This has provided opportunities for lots of dialogue and linking their role play to their real experiences.

“How are you doing today”?        “This is my assistant”     “This is my boss”.

“Would you like tea or coffee”?      “Do you want to watch tv”?

Our story of the week was:

The Three Billy Goats Gruff Ladybird Story

The children have taken their knowledge of the story outdoors and used loose parts to recreate the bridge. They worked together as a team to set up the bridge and used their problem solving skills to ensure it was stable enough to walk over.

The children walked across the bridge like ‘The Billy Goats Gruff’.

Our rhyme/song of the week was:

The Goats Came Marching

The children have had a great time outdoors so far this term. With plenty cold and wet weather days at the start of term we have been very appreciative of the additional warm and waterproof outdoors suits purchased recently. We continue to encourage independence when putting on outdoor coats and suits. There was lots of puddle jumping, pouring, filling and creating water ways with pipes and buckets. Our helpful janitors have been creating a new storage area for our outdoors loose parts. This gives children access to a variety of materials to use in their play, often working together with their friends to build dens and obstacle courses. Using teamwork, their imaginations and problem solving skills they create a variety of challenging play opportunities using ladders, crates, tyres and planks of wood.

“I can go really fast”.         “You can only go when the sign is green”.     “This says stop”

We have a range of balance bikes, pedal bikes, scooters and trikes for the children to use outdoors. Children know the importance of wearing helmets to keep them safe on the wheeled vehicles and are learning to be aware of their surroundings to ensure they keep themselves and their friends safe.

Using real resources such as vegetables and fruits in the mud kitchen gives children opportunities to explore real life experiences and to find ways to use cutting tools safely. Through the children’s conversations they have been exploring early measure language as part of their role play scenarios.

“I’ve got a small carrot”.       “No, a medium one”.        “It’s a big one, we need to cut it”.

Children have been helping to plant seeds recently. They have planted strawberry plants in the school polycrub and carrot seeds outdoors. They will continue to plant more seeds this week and help care for these as they grow. We also have a variety of storybooks about growth, seeds and life cycle in the story corner at the moment.

Enjoying snack outdoors in the sunshine!

The children were very keen to help staff and use their own initiative in constructing a play table for the Duplo using real tools.

The children enjoyed having a ‘bug hunt’ and exploring the playpark on a walk around the local community.

Story of the week so far this term:

Week 1: I Did See a Mammoth! By Alex Willmore

Week 2: Michael Recycle by Ellie Bethel

Week 3: Pete the Cat and his Magic Sunglasses by Kimberly & James Dean

Week 4: The Enormous Turnip Ladybird Story

We have been asked to share the following training opportunity:

Being Outdoors Community Training Opportunity – Kate Hookham

Please find below a link to this years ELC Registration Week video.

Registration Week 2024

Registration Week this year is from 8th to 15th March 2024.

What a busy and exciting 2 weeks we’ve had in the nursery with the build up to the Lerwick Up Helly Aa.

We were very lucky to get a visit to the Galley Shed the week before Up Helly Aa but we couldn’t tell anyone what the galley looked like.  Here are some pictures of us looking at the torches, exploring in the galley and taking charge in the committee room.

Then on Up Helly Aa day we visited the morning procession and were very lucky to get to see the Vikings up close when then visited our nursery.  The Vikings were very good at sharing and we got to hold their axes and shields.

We had an amazing time and we’re still singing the Up Helly Aa song every day.