(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
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We were delighted to welcome back Mrs Garrick for our music session this week.  We started with the welcome song, including actions.  Then we moved our bodies while listening for the changes in the music – tiptoes, large strides and hopping.  We paired up for A Sailor Went to Sea so that we could clap our hands together.  We carried this on by sitting across the benches in small groups to row our boats.  Heave, Ho! The bairns were keen to volunteer for Everybody Do This with one bairn standing at the front and everybody copying their actions.  The bairns took turns to be up at the front.  We tried out a new song for our graduation concert – it’s under wraps until June!  The bairns asked for Bananas in Pajamas and the Up Helly Aa song to finish up.  They marched around the hall and then lined up at the door while singing.

The play in the outdoor room this week has been varied and has included measure, technology and expressive arts.

The bairns have been engaged in a lot of outdoor play.  This has included cop-operative play, trajectory play and role play.  We also had a fun session at the playpark.

We’ve made another trip to the Salvation Army polycrub to plant more sprouted tatties, neeps and beetroot.  The bairns also potted on seeds including tomato plants.  The bairns had a chat with the goats who were roaming around outside.

We viewed the eggs that we are hatching in the cupboard by shining a torch through the shell to see if there was anything inside.  The bairns could see  movement and noticed an eye going past the side of the shell.

The pre-school bairns are continuing to build their confidence during transition, being supported by their buddies.

We held our bookbug session outside this week, starting off with the hello song.  We moved onto rhyming with Hickory Dickory Dock using puppets and then the bairns listened to a story called The Very Cranky Bear written by Nick Bland.  The bear was trying to get some rest but his friends thought he needed cheering up and offered him what they thought would cheer him up – a lion’s mane, a moose’s antlers and a zebra’s stripes.  Sheep saved the day by using her wool to make a pillow for the bear so that he could have a comfy sleep.

We made the most of our trip to the Folk Festival concert by starting off our adventure rock climbing at Da Sletts.  We also had snack there and then headed off for our next adventure.  We had a quick play at King Harald Street playpark and then made our way to Mareel for the concert.  The bairns waited for the musicians who came through the crowd holding a bunch of bananas!  The musicians interacted with their audience by asking questions about the instruments – highest note, lowest note and longest note.  “I loved dat concert.”

(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
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It’s so lovely to see the bairns coming back from their holidays and building on their friendships.  They work together to create games, look after the nursery and have fun.  The older bairns help support the younger ones to follow the nursery routines.

We had our first delivery of the term from Tesco to stock up our snack cupboard.  The bairns greeted the delivery person and unpacked the boxes, placing the items on the table.  There was lots of discussion about the size, shape and weight of the fruit.  Once everything was unpacked, it was time to put it all away.  The bairns worked together to put the fruit in the fridge and fruit bowl, crackers in the cupboard and wraps in the freezer.

The bairns asked if we could have a play in the big hall.  After a short run around, they used different kinds of balls to play games, bounce and shoot for the hoop.  Afterwards, everyone was so hot, we cooled down with yoga in the quiet room.

We have started our weekly visits to the Salvation Army Polycrub again.  The bairns turned over the raised bed, taking out the weeds and found carrots from last year which they fed to the goats.  They planted peas and our sprouted tatties.  Then they added crushed up egg shells for drainage in the soil.  They potted poppy seedlings and tomato plants.  The bairns also met a brand new lamb.

The bairns in the outdoor room were interested in throwing but it wasn’t always safe so we had a discussion about how to throw safely and redirected them.  The bairns came up with their own game.  They used a cone with a ball balanced on top to see if they could knock the ball off.  They also threw balls into a basket.  The games evolved over the week with the bairns shifting to an interest to throw higher.  They used a section of the wall to create a game of throwing the ball into the basket.  The bairns made signs for each of the four levels 0-4.  The next day they made it harder by adding more skittles to knock down.  They kept track of their progress on the whiteboard close by, ticking off each level as it was achieved.  If any of the bairns found it tricky, they added a cable drum to help them reach the higher levels.

We have revamped our self-serve playdough station by adding measuring cups and a recipe book.  The bairns can choose when to make their playdough.  There has been lots of experimenting this week with the consistency of the playdough.  The bairns have also taken responsibility for cleaning up any spillages.

Last week during snack the bairns were discussing where different fruits come from and there was great surprise that raisins come from grapes.  We watched a time lapse of the transition from grape to raisin and found out it would take 50 days.  The bairns thought that was a long time so they came up with another idea to make their own apple juice from apples.  We sourced a juicer and everyone took their turn to add an apple to make juice.  “It sounded like a rocket!”  We made two jugs of juice which we had for snack with our raisins, grapes, plums and prunes.  The bairns compared the textures, taste and size.  “It’s nummy!”

The bairns have had an interest in pirates, making maps and props.  This has also involved a role play game between the outdoor room and garden.  This evolved to include mark making and expressive arts.  Using loose parts, the bairns made a flag and then created eye patches and hats.

(2 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
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We were delighted to welcome everyone back after our Easter break.  The bairns were full of news from their holidays and we also had some postcards arrive.  Thank you to everyone who sent us a postcard, we shared them with some of the bairns and have looked at where they had been on the map.

Before we visited the Library Van to return our books, the bairns gathered in the kitchen to take a final look.  They discussed the pictures, emotions and which was their favourite.  In small groups we visited the Library Van, where the bairns searched through the books, picking out their choice to take back to nursery.  They used the date stamp to check out the books.  Once we were back at nursery, they spent some time reading their new books.

We had a visit from Bookbug, starting with the Hello song.  The bairns joined in for rhymes – Humpty Dumpty, Sausages Sizzling in a Pan, Jelly on a Plate and Noodles on a Fork.  The story this week, called If You’re Happy and You Know it, was about lots of Australian animals and included actions and songs.  The bairns shared puppet animals for Old Macdonald.  Then it was time to pull out the stretchy blanket for Pea Pod Press.  The bairns also wanted to used the blanket for Grand Old Duke of York.  We finished up with the Goodbye song.

The bairns remembered how tasty the bread was that we made last term and asked to make another batch.  The bairns measured out the ingredients, mixed it to form the dough and then used the push and pull method for kneading. They couldn’t believe how much the dough had grown whilst it was proving!

A parent asked if we would like to hatch some chicks for their farm.  They delivered seven eggs this week and we gathered round the incubator to see them being put inside.  There was lots of discussion about how long it would take and how the incubator worked.  The bairns noticed that the eggs were different colours and sizes.  Later in the day, they would check on the eggs, looking to see if they were turning.

‘If the eggs are different will the chicks be different?’

The bairns were outside, engaging in building, climbing and role play.  It was also time to start planting some bulbs in our planters.  The bairns used trowels to dig small holes and then they placed the bulbs inside and covered them over, adding in some water too.

‘They will need sun and water to grow.’

The bairns have settled back into their routines, helping to set the table for lunch, fill up the water at snack and folding the clean towels and cloths.  We’ve also had lots of helpers for snack to cut up the fruit.

The bairns were keen to try a disappearing trick using a blanket after watching Mrs Meadows disappear.  They took turns with the blanket, encouraging each other and counting down to disappear.

The outdoor room is always a popular place and the bairns have been engaged in lots of activities this week, from the work bench to the water trays.  They also used very sticky tape to patch up the bottom of the sand pit, before working together to bring in wheelbarrows full of sand to top it up.

‘It’s so much faster with lots of people.’

Here is a selection of the rest of our learning from the week.  We have created lots of pictures and investigated symmetry, helped Trevor test the water temperature, met Mrs Dade’s baby and played lots of games.