Bells Brae Nursery

Week Beginning: 13th January 2025

Our story of the week is Barbara Throws a Wobbler by Nadia Shireen.

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

Our rhyme of the week is I Have Feelings (to the tune of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star).

I have feelings, so do you,

Let’s all sing about a few.

I am happy, I am sad,

I am scared, I am mad.

I am proud of being me,

That’s a feeling, too, you see!

Week Beginning: 6th January 2025

Our story of the week is There was an old lady who swallowed a fly by Kate Toms.

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

Our song of the week is Little Peter Rabbit. Click on the link below to sing along to the song.

Christmas Songs

During December the children have been very busy practicing singing their Christmas songs ready for their very own Christmas performance. Lots of the children had been requesting to do extra practicing so that they knew the words and actions before their families visited to watch them perform at the recent Christmas stay and play.

Christmas Stay & Play

Thank you to everyone for coming along to our recent Christmas Stay & Play.  It was lovely to welcome so many families into the setting to watch the children perform the songs they’ve been practicing, the children all did brilliantly! Children then had the opportunity to show their families around Nursery, taking part in Christmas crafts, Christmas snack, Christmas activities and showing their family members their favourite places to spend time at Nursery. Thank you to everyone who left donations, these will be used to enhance learners experiences in Nursery.

Reindeer Food

Recently children helped staff to make reindeer food for Rudolph and his reindeer friends on Christmas Eve.  Thank you to everyone who left donations for Reindeer food.

Christmas Party

Everyone had a great time at our Nursery Christmas party! We had a lovely Christmas snack together with our friends, we played games including musical statues, corners and did lots of dancing to Christmas music!

Santa came to visit!

Santa very kindly came to visit us all during our Christmas Party. Santa was very impressed with the children singing Jingle Bells, he said it was his favourite Christmas song! Children did so well collecting their gift from Santa and everyone kept their gift safe until all their friends had collected theirs and then popped it into their trays for taking home to unwrap with their families.

Photos from Santa’s visit will be added once term starts!

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! We look forward to seeing you all in the new year when we reopen on Tuesday 7th January 2025.

School Performances

We were kindly invited to attend rehearsals for both the P1 Nativity and the P7 Pantomime recently, these were great opportunities for the children to take part in different festive activities. The Nursery children did so well and really enjoyed the performances. They even got their very own round of applause for being such a fabulous audience!

Christmas Crafts

The children have had the opportunity to create various Christmas crafts recently. They made Snow globe Christmas cards, glitter baubles, Christmas Trees and Santa faces.

“I love gold”.    “The paint is shiny”.    “Silver is the lights”.

The children used triangle shapes to make Christmas trees and added coloured paints using cotton buds to create baubles on their tree.

“I’m making a Christmas tree”.    “I’m going to do a rainbow”.    “Mine is gonna look so good”.

The children practiced mark making inside their own card to personalise them.

“I done my name”.    “This is for my Mum”.

Children also used their creativity to make their very own Christmas crowns to wear whilst eating their delicious Christmas lunch!

Week Beginning: 16th December 2024

Our story of the week is I’ve Seen Santa! by David Bedford.

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

Our song of the week is Santa is His Name O. Click on the link below to sing along to the song.

We visited the gym hall where children practiced gross motor skills and coordination. The children were practicing running, jumping, tiptoe and heel walking, throwing and catching balls and kicking with accuracy.

The children have been interested in using the internet to research and explore different flags from around the world. The children used the whiteboard to look at flags of all different shapes, colours and patterns while learning about the wider world around them. Some children commented on the different designs, shapes and colours.

“I’m going on holiday to Thailand”.   “I like this flag the best”.   “I know Scotland’s flag”.   “That’s a funny shape”.

The children used a great deal of creativity and imagination by making various treasure maps together, involving creating islands, pathways, traps and finding treasure.

“Let’s make maps”!    “We start with an ‘s’ for the start and an ‘x’ at the end”.  “x marks the spot”.

A group of children went on a walk to donate some toys and clothes to the charity shop. Whilst on our walk the children remembered their road safety to keep themselves and their friends safe. On our way back we found a painted rock, it told us to hide it if we found it. The children all helped to decide where to put the rock.

“Stop, look, listen”.

The children have been making good use of the new water wall outdoors. Children have been developing their pouring skills, mathematical language and working together to count how many jugs it took to fill a different jug.

“I love this”!    “I’m going to squeeze it out”!    “Number 2 + 61”.

Lots of children were keen to get suits and boots on to splash in the huge puddles!  The children noticed that our pots and shovels were floating along the water, this led to discussion surrounding what floats and what sinks.  Children liked to make the water move by splashing or kicking the water and creating ripples.

Children have been using loose parts outdoors to make obstacle courses, focusing on their balance. They used loose parts to create a rocket which then developed into a climbing course. They worked together showing great teamwork and turn taking.

“5, 4, 3, 2, 1”!

Week Beginning: 9th December 2024

Our story of the week is Little Owl and the Star – A Christmas Story by Mary Murphy.

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

Our rhyme of the week is Twinkle, Twinkle Christmas Star. Click on the link below to sing along to the song.

The children have enjoyed listening to our story of the week, Puffin Peter by Petr Horacek. The book was part of a resource pack which was borrowed from the UHI STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) outreach programme. The resources were used to explore mathematical concepts and language while applying skills. The children used toy animals which represented the characters from the book by comparing and ordering their weight and length. We used a two-pan balance to investigate weight and a ruler to measure length. The children were very engaged in the activity and it was great to see their enthusiasm for learning while having fun. We will build on this interest by developing further opportunities for the children to explore measurement across the nursery setting and when using the outdoor environment.

‘The whale is heavier because it went down.’

‘The parrot is up because it is lighter.’

‘It’s like a see-saw.’

‘Look, both sides are the same.’

‘The whale is the longest.’

‘The puffin is 6 on the ruler.’

‘The ruler goes up to 30.’

‘I’m going to measure the domino now.’

We are looking forward to a visit from Eleanor Hutcheon next term who will be running STEM workshops for the children using Kapla (construction resource) and Botley (programmable coding robot).