Bells Brae Nursery

Halloween Party

Everyone had lots of fun at our Nursery Halloween party! Some children enjoyed dressing up in costumes from home or tried various dressing up costumes available to use at Nursery. They demonstrated team work and developed their turn taking and listening skills whilst playing various group games including corners, musical statues and pass the pumpkin.

Week Beginning: 18th November 2024

Our story of the week is Ziggy and the Lollipop by Lynda Kennedy.

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

Our rhyme of the week is Stop, Look and Listen (to the tune of Ten Green Bottles).

Stop, look and listen before you cross the road,

Stop, look and listen before you cross the road,

Use your eyes and your ears before you use your toes,

Stop, look and listen before you cross the road.

The children have engaged in a variety of activities relating to World Nursery Rhyme Week. They really enjoyed listening to our story of the week, Dear Mother Goose written by Michael Rosen. In the book, several well-known nursery rhyme characters write to Mother Goose asking for help with their problems. Mother Goose writes back with humorous advice for each character which is revealed by lifting the flaps on each page.

Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star

The children consolidated their understanding of positional language when placing a star finger puppet in different locations throughout the nursery.

‘In the basket.’

‘On the shelf.’

‘Behind the bin.’

‘Under the table.’

‘Between the tables.’

Old MacDonald Had a Farm

The children enjoyed using instruments when signing Old MacDonald Had a Farm. A different instrument was chosen for each animal sound and a clapping rhythm was used when singing E I E I O.

‘Making music is fun!’

‘Can we sing it faster?’

The Big Ship Sails

The children engaged in imaginative role-play while using the boat’s oars to go on seafaring adventures.

‘We are pirates looking for treasure.’

‘A shark is coming!’

‘The waves are getting bigger.’

The children also worked together to build boats of different shapes and sizes using the wooden blocks.

Incy Wincy Spider

The children had great fun playing with Incy Wincy Spider in the water tray. They washed a plastic spider out of a pipe while singing the nursery rhyme.

‘Incy is stuck in the pipe.’

‘Fill the bottle with more water.’

Five Currant Buns

The children practised number recognition and counting when placing currants into numbered baking cases. They also enjoyed making buns and rolling currants using playdough.

‘I made a big bun.’

‘1, 2 , 3 currants on my bun.’

Week Beginning: 11th November 2024

Our story of the week is Dear Mother Goose by Michael Rosen.

Click on the link below to listen to the story.

World Nursery Rhyme Week was launched in 2013 and is taking place this year from the 11th to 15th November. It promotes the importance of nursery rhymes in early childhood development and education. Nursery rhymes are excellent teaching tools and can help to develop skills in literacy and numeracy in addition to contributing to social, physical and emotional wellbeing.

This year’s ‘Rhyme a Day’ challenge will focus on each of the rhymes below:

• Twinkle Twinkle
• Old Macdonald
• The Big Ship Sails
• Incy Wincy Spider
• Five Currant Buns

Week Beginning: 4th November 2024

Our story of the week is Aliens Love Underpants by Claire Freedman.

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

Our rhyme of the week is Five Little Aliens Are Sitting on the Stars.

Five little aliens are sitting on the stars.
The first one said, “Let’s go to Mars.”
The second one said, “There are rockets in the air.”
The third one said, “But we don’t care.”
The fourth one said, “Let’s go up in the sky.”
The fifth one said, “Let’s fly, fly, fly.
Then swish went the ship into the night
And the five little aliens flew out of sight!

Week Beginning: 28th October 2024

Our Story of the week is Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson.

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

Our song of the week is Halloween Zoom, Zoom, Zoom.  Click on the link below to sing along to the song.

Free school meal holiday payments for the October holidays will be paid in your bank account on Fri 11th Oct.

If you have a child attending an ELC setting, and you are in receipt of the Housing element of Universal credit or council tax reduction and have not already applied for your Free School Meals, please visit our website online.

EMA, Bursaries and Financial Support – Shetland Islands Council

Week Beginning: 7th October 2024

Our story of the week is I Am Bat by Morag Hood.

Click on the link below to view and listen to the story being read by the author.

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

We made the most of the lovely weather that we have enjoyed recently by taking a group of children on a walk to the Gilbertson Park.  The children knew that they had to wear a Hi-Viz vest before leaving the nursery.

“Cars need to see us crossing the road.”

“People will see our bright vests.”

We spoke about the Green Cross Code and practised the important rules of Stop, Look and Listen while crossing the road safely.

“It’s safe to cross.”

“No cars are coming.”

The children stopped to watch birds eating seeds from a feeder hanging from a tree.

“I can see four birds.”

“That bird is bigger than the rest.”

When asked to look for words in the park, the children were quick to point out the letters on the litter bin and the ‘No Dogs Allowed’ sign.

Shadows were visible in the bright sunshine which the children were keen to explore by making different shapes using their bodies.

The children were encouraged to listen carefully for sounds in the environment during our walk.  On returning to the nursery, the children were asked to recall what they had heard:

• Town Hall clock chiming
• Autumn leaves crunching under our feet
• Birds cheeping
• Traffic noise
• Electric saw
• Rock breakers

We enjoyed our walk and are fortunate that there are so many interesting places to explore in our local community.

“That was good fun!”

“Can we go for more walks?”

“I liked stomping on the leaves the best.”