Bells Brae Nursery

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.”

Interactive Whiteboard

Children enjoy taking part in group activities on the whiteboard such as Freeze Dance or Cosmic Yoga.

A group of children gathered around the whiteboard and participated in Cosmic Yoga. Children practiced their listening and balancing skills.

Den Making

The children collected blankets and discussed different ways to make a den. The children worked together to get chairs and cushions to set up their den.

“This is cosy”.    “Lets get books and toys in”.    “I’ve got big muscles”.    “It’s a camping area”.    “I’m watching tv in the tent”.

Shadows

The children enjoyed playing with their shadows outdoors.

“Look at my shadow”.    “Catch my shadow”.    What makes a shadow?  “Sun”.

Sand Play

We were very kindly donated a large sandpit from a Nursery grandparent recently. This has been a great addition to the indoor/outdoor room.

This week water was added to the sand, the children mixed all the water and sand together and they could recognise the change in texture.

Mud Kitchen

We added some herbs to the mud kitchen recently. This promoted lots of different vocabulary and imaginative play.

“We need to pick some”.    “This is mint, smell it”!    “This is a big leaf”.

Threading

We have lots of different types of threading opportunities at Nursery to support children’s fine motor development.  This week the children threaded cereal hoops onto spaghetti. This also prompted lots of discussions around numbers and size.

“I got lots”.    “1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8”.    “This stick is bigger”.    “Look how many”.

Farmyard

We had a farmyard sensory tray set up in the indoor/outdoor room recently.

“They need straw in the bed”.    “The goat is on the wall”.    “Cows jumping over cows”.

Week Beginning: 30th September 2024

Our story of the week is The Wonky Donkey by Craig Smith.

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

Our song of the week is How Many Fingers?  Click on the link below to sing along to the song.

Week Beginning: 23rd September 2024

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 The Leaves on the Tree.

Click on the link above to sing along to the song.

Chalk Drawings

The children have been exploring early writing skills by engaging in a variety of mark making activities.  They have enjoyed making marks and drawing pictures with their friends outside using chalk.

“It’s a monster!”

“Look at my picture!”

Whiteboard Creations 

Drawing on whiteboards proved to be a very popular activity.  It was great to see that the children’s mark making included letters, numbers, people, animals as well as handwriting patterns.

“The spider has eight legs.”

“This is a picture of me.”

“Lots of numbers.”

“A wavy line and circles.”

Drawing Club

Some of the children have drawn a picture of their face.  We talked about our facial features and the importance of each one.  Different emotions were also discussed and how our faces can show what we feel.

“I smell with my nose.”

“I need my mouth to talk and eat.”

“Ears help me to hear things.”

“We need eyes to see.”

“I smile when I feel happy.”

Library

We have the opportunity to go to the school library each week. Children can look at books individually, with friends or with an adult.   

Junk Modelling

Children have been using a variety of materials whilst junk modelling, such as sticks, feathers, wool and paper.

“It’s like a party in a box”.    “I want to wrap a present for my Mum”.    “I made a robot”.

Outdoors

The boat has had lots of jobs this week, from being a cruise ship to a fishing boat!

“Splosh”.    It’s a big cruise ship, just like the one in town”.    “I catching prawns, just like Dad”.

Outdoors children have been using bikes, trikes, scooters, climbing, jumping and balancing to develop their gross motor skills.

“I was counting numbers”.    “Big foot prints”.     “I did it, see”.

Children used the wheelbarrows to transport bricks and other objects across the garden. The children used great communication skills and teamwork to build a house.

“This is my house, can we build a garage”?

Rainbows

Some of the children decided to use chopped up wool to create rainbow pictures. Children discussed the colours of the rainbow and sang ‘I can sing a rainbow’.

“We should make rainbows”!    “Rain and sun make the rainbow”.    “Clouds are made out of water”.    “This is an arch”.