Chicks (Monday-Tuesday)

We had a very exciting arrival on Monday morning.  It started out with a small crack in one of the eggshells, until eventually a beak popped out.  The bairns were checking to see how the chick managed to escape from the eggshell.  Then, after a while, the shell broke apart and a chick emerged.  “It was pecking all night.”  Later in the week, we had a visit from more chicks.  The bairns listened to the instructions about holding the chicks with one hand underneath and one hand on top.  Some of the bairns were a little unsure about holding them but were happy to feel their fluffy backs.  We put all the bairns’ name suggestions into a tub and pulled out three.  The chosen names are Latey, Koopa Troopa and Sports.  Certainly a variety!

Cardboard House (Monday-Friday)

Our cardboard house has been many different things over the week – a troll’s kitchen, a fairy house, Elsa’s castle and a fishing boat.

Buddies (Wednesday)

Our preschoolers were out again in the playground this week with their buddies.  Their confidence is growing each week and they are happy to play and chase the older bairns.

Outdoor Play and Bugs (Monday-Friday)

Our outdoor play this week has focused on loose parts play in the sand pit, painting and exploring the jungle (formerly known as the hen house).  The bairns are also getting more adventurous with the slide and many like crashing into the large padded seat that bottom.  Mrs Smith served snack from the Ice Cream shop.

We have been growing chrysalis in a small tub.  This week it was time to transfer to their larger net enclosure so that they can turn into butterflies and emerge.  Trevor removed one of our wooden cable drums and the bairns were keen to find out what was lurking underneath.  They brought out magnifying glasses and binoculars to get a better look.  They spoke about the different bugs they found, their texture and where they might like to live now that the cable drum had been removed.

Play and Learning

Here is a snippet of the reminder of our play and learning from the week.  The bairns have been busy mixing their own colours for painting, testing if apples float or sink and finding shapes inside kaleidoscopes.

P1 Transition Visit (Tuesday)

As part of transition this week Mrs Johnson took the group of pupils who will be moving up to P1 through to the Primary 1/2 classroom for a visit. While we were there, Mrs Johnson gathered the group to sit on the mat for a peerie chat to share some news. She asked the boys and girls what they thought she would like them to do if they wanted to ask a question or answer. ‘I pit up my hand.’ Mrs Johnson then read the story of Rumpelstiltskin before asking everyone to join her at the table to write their names on their piece of paper, before drawing a character from the story. The bairns then had time to explore the classroom and resources.

Pattern (Monday-Friday)

The bairns have been exploring patterns and sequencing this week.  They have created their own patterns using loose parts, completed sequences on the smart board and used fruit to relate to everyday experiences.  Being able to identify, repeat, create and extend patterns supports numeracy, literacy and logical thinking development.

Batty! (Thursday)

To say thanks to Mrs Smith for inviting the bairns to collaborate with her and her student colleagues at the UHI on their bat project, we presented her with a bat necklace. The necklace was made by a talented school pupil who has been selling their cast items at craft fairs around Shetland. Mrs Smith got her necklace on straight away to show it off to everyone and popped out to the playground to show the creator.

Salvation Army Polycrub Visit (Thursday)

On our trip to the Salvation Army polycrub this week, the bairns decorated polystyrene cups with faces so that their cress seeds could grow to become hair.  They planted the seeds into cotton wool and made sure they had plenty of moisture using a spray bottle filled with water.  Then, the bairns planted a variety of flowers including poppies.  Before we left, there was just time to feed the goats and the hens.

Happy Birthday Sir David Attenborough (Friday)

We celebrated Sir David Attenborough’s 100th birthday today by watching an animated documentary showcasing his life’s work.  The bairns learned that he is a real life superhero (although he doesn’t have wings!) protecting the Earth through conservation of natural habitats, plants and wildlife.  Afterwards, the bairns created a collaborative drawing featuring the animals they had seen in the documentary, along with a Sir David Attenborough portrait.

Play, Talk, Read Pathways (Monday)

We were delighted to welcome the Play Talk Read initiative back to Cunningsburgh.  The bairns listened to a story called Balloon’s Big Adventure and then engaged in balloon activities and more.  Thank you to all the families that were able to make it along.  The bairns love sharing experiences with their favourite people.

Library Van (Tuesday)

The bairns visited the library van and chose 11 books, one more than last time.  They had an interesting discussion with Johnny about being the library van driver and what he does if nobody visits his van.

Transition (Tuesday and Wednesday)

Mrs Johnson (2026-27 P1 teacher) began her bi-weekly visits for the pre-schoolers.  The bairns listened to a story, Shark in the Park, joined in for a movement break and then had another story.

Salvation Army Polycrub Visit (Thursday)

We have started a session of visits to the Salvation Army polycrub.  This week the bairns decorated sunflower pots to plant their own seeds.  The dug trenches and planted peas and radishes.  To plant tatties, the bairns broke up the soil, dug trenches, planted seeds, covered them and made ridges.  The bairns also fed the hens and took some eggs back to nursery for the Honesty Cupboard.

Lerwick Play Park Trip (Friday)

The bairns confidently explored the apparatus in the big play park in Lerwick.  They also made sure Mr Bain had some exercise with a big chasing game and then settled into a quick snack before moving to the other end of play park.  They engaged in risky play, assessing their own level of comfort on the high bars.  “I did it!”

Folk Festival Concert (Friday)

After a short walk through Lerwick, we made it to Mareel and meet up with some more nursery friends.  We found a good spot near the stage and waited for the band.  It wasn’t long before Canadian band Jake Vaadeland and the Sturgeon River Boys took to the stage.  They were very lively and played folk festival versions of Old Macdonald and The Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly.  The bairns were up dancing from the first song.  The adults taking the photos were dancing too so they might be a little blurry!  “It was so fun.  My legs are tired.”

After the concert, we headed to the Viking Bus Station to catch the Number 6 back to nursery.  There were some sleepyheads on the bus!

 

Fluoride Varnish (Monday)

Childsmile applied fluoride varnish to the bairns’ teeth which helps to provide protection against decay and reduces sensitivity.  There was lots of discussion about tastebuds.  The bairns noticed that their mouths were producing more saliva and wondered why.  We spoke about the flavour of the fluoride varnish and how the brain thinks that it’s food so it produces more saliva to help break down the food for digestion.  “It’s yellow.”

Buddies for Breaktime (Wednesday)

The bairns met up with their P6 buddies in nursery and headed out to the playpark.  There was plenty of chasing, exploring and group play.  “It was so much fun!”

Erupting Volcano (Thursday)

The bairns continued their STEM experiment and erupted their volcano using a chemical reaction between vinegar and bicarbonate of soda.  There was rich discussion about the types of molten rock – magma inside the volcano and lava after an eruption.  The bairns spoke about the eruption of Mount Etna in Italy last year and how volcanoes can be active, dormant or extinct.  They also learned that many people who live near Mount Etna had to be moved to a safe place.  Our volcano was on a slant and the bairns correctly identified that the lava would flow down the mountain which wasn’t safe.

The Batman (Thursday)

We were delighted to welcome Peter Gulliver, a bat expert, to share more information about bats in Shetland.  This followed on from Mrs Smith’s collaborative project through UHI Shetland.  The bairns listened to a presentation about bats and found out many facts.  Bats mostly eat insects and have sharp teeth.  There was also an opportunity for them to ask questions.  “Do they like to be hot or cold?”  “Do bats eat spiders?”

There are bats in Mid Yell, Nesting, Kergord and Quarff.  Mr Gulliver explained how he cares for poorly bats and how they are tracked with a numbered ring on their arm.  The bairns had a look at some of the equipment used to care for the bats.  Mr Gulliver measured their fingers with calipers and described how these are used to measure the length of a bat’s arm.  Mrs Smith showed them a large mealworm – a bat’s favourite snack!

Outdoor Play (Monday-Friday)

The bairns have been engaged for extended periods of outdoor play this week.  They have been creative with chalk and paint, travelled very fast down the slide, chased each other during role play, had a tea party, practiced using hula hoops and dug in the topped-up sand pit.  They share ideas and the play evolves over time.  There has been a lot of fishing boat construction using the large hollow blocks in the outdoor room.  This week, the bairns used the outdoor climbing wall as the side of a boat, saving people who had fallen into the ocean.

Breakfast Club (Friday)

The bairns were invited to breakfast club in the school hall.  They enjoyed a breakfast of toast, weetabix, banana and a pot of mixed fruit.  The bairns gathered at the end of the hall to sing happy birthday to our birthday boy turning five!  The food was provided by the Spar (Sandwick Bake Shop) and their mission was shared through three posters.

Welcome back to term 4!

It was lovely to welcome everyone back to nursery, hear all their news and reconnect with friends. This term is sure to be a busy one!

Buddies at breaktime. – Wednesday

This will continue on Wednesdays throughout the term. The nursery bairns moving up to P1 are more confident teaming up with their P6 buddy before heading out and remembering their names.

 

Volcano – all week

Working together on the volcano offers STEM learning, social development, and sensory exploration in one engaging project. Problem solving, to decide on the shape. ‘It needs to be pointy at da top.’ ‘And da bottom is bigger.’ ‘Dats lik a triangle, isn it.’ The volcano will hopefully be erupting next week.

Special fluffy visitors! – Wednesday

One of our families brought in their chicks from home, we heard about what they eat, drink, that they have to stay warm and we got to look at their new feathers growing on their wings. Those who wanted had a little cuddle with the chicks, being careful not to squeeze them. To help the chicks feel safe we used both hands to held them, one under their feet and one over their backs. We then all washed our hands afterwards. ‘They are sooo fluffy.’ ‘The feet tickles on my hand.’ ‘He might poop on me.’

 

Rhyme – all week

This week has been full of rhyme! We have been recognising and
playing with sounds in spoken language. This is an easy activity to do at home. Having fun with silly words in rhyme has certainly been a hit when generating rhyming words!

Rhyme Detection: Helping children recognise when two words sound the same at the end (e.g., “cat” and “hat”).                                Rhyme Completion: Pausing during a familiar nursery rhyme to let children “fill in the blank” (e.g., “Twinkle, twinkle, little star, how I wonder what you… are!”).                                                                                Rhyme Generation: The bairns have been creating  their own rhyming words, including “nonsense” words like “shmancake” for “pancake”

Gym Hall Time – Friday

Mrs Garrick is away just now so there was no music this week. We used our hall time for group games, to work on listening skills, coordination and team building. the games included, Duch Duck Goose, Cleaning and Messies, Beanbag balancing, Sorting games and Animal hoop homes.