Early Years Term 3 2022/23 – Week 13

March 31, 2023 Mrs Malcolmson Leave a comment

(3 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

We continued our transition for the preschool bairns with more trips to the school play park for break time. The nursery bairns met up with their P6 buddies again. There were many games of duck duck goose, flying high on the swings, catchy and a kick around in the multi-court.

On a hunt for Easter eggs, the bairns found a set of elastics “what are dese?”. After a demonstration from Mrs Meadows, Mrs Smith and Miss Brannan, the bairns took turns to try their jumps. They added rhymes using Alexa to jump in time with the words.

The bairns asked for some Easter books so we gathered a few from the library to add to our bookcase. One of the bairns took in a goose egg. We talked about where it came from and how it might taste, comparing it to our hen’s egg. We prepared hard boiled eggs ready for decorating and rolling. The bairns used paint pens to add their drawings and writing to the egg shells. We headed out to the playpark and found a good hill for rolling. Ready, Set, Go!

The bairns asked if we could visit the houses next to nursery soon. They made Easter cards to deliver to each resident. At each house with someone home, the bairns gave a loud ‘Happy Easter’. It was break time when we came back to school so we headed into the staff room to give cards to Mrs Dade, Mrs Johnson and Miss Hunter.

We were invited, with the school, to the local kirk for an Easter service. The bairns were asked lots of questions about what Easter means to them and what it means to Christians. Then it was time to see who could balance an Easter egg on their head for the longest. It’s almost as tricky as it sounds! We listened to a song on the big screen called God’s Not Dead. Afterwards one of the bairns asked if the kirk had a magic wall! We ended with a short prayer.

We were delighted to have Miss Irvine in for a visit so that we could meet our latest addition to the nursery family. The bairns were really keen to have a hold too. There were lots of smiles and then it was time for a nap!

Early Years Term 3 2022/23 – Week 12

March 24, 2023 Mrs Malcolmson Leave a comment

(4 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

Transition started this week with visits to the playpark during morning break time. The nursery bairns buddied up with the Primary 6 pupils. This gives them someone else to go to if they have a question or need help. We’ve already seen great collaborative and imaginative play between the nursery bairns and upper primary bairns.

For the last few months, the bairns have been engaged in water play using baby dolls and imaginative play in the home corner caring for the babies. “You look after the baby, I’m going to work.” This led to a special visitor at nursery. We were delighted to welcome one of our parents and their baby to the setting. The bairns helped to bath and dry the baby and then it was time for snack. The bairns also sang nursery rhymes to the baby.

Beads are a great resource for developing fine motor skills and can be used to support the trajectory schema with the pouring of beads from one vessel to another. We’ve also been working on picking up the beads from the floor to keep it safe. One of the bairns made a shaker instrument using a pot with some beads inside, sealed with a piece of paper which they cut to size before adhering with tape.

While our garden is still under renovation, we headed to the school playground one sunny afternoon. The bairns explored all the equipment, trying new things, making up their own games, assessing their own risk and revisiting play from previous trips. It was great to see the bairns helping their friends on the swings.

We are still immersed in Viking play and today it was the school galley burning for SMUHA. We were lucky to have some of the South Mainland Up Helly Aa squad join us for the burning. Earlier in the morning, the bairns had built a galley using the big blocks in the outdoor room. When we returned to the setting, the bairns revisited this imaginative play by building and burning their galley several times. They also added safety cones to keep everyone watching safe. Three cheers for SMUHA!

Risky play encourages resilience and problem solving and gross motor development. The wall of the outdoor room is often used as a climbing area. The bairns are supported to climb within their limits, thinking ahead to assess how they will get down.

Early Years Term 3 2022/23 – Week 11

March 17, 2023 Mrs Malcolmson Leave a comment

(4 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

There was a theme for this week’s music lesson – Easter chicks! The bairns used hula hoops to pretend they were chicks inside an egg, moving their limbs in time with the music to hatch out of their shell. Next, they moved around the hall in time with the music while doing the actions for various Spring animals. There were some epic moves during the Everybody Do This song! We had another opportunity to practice using the beaters, alternating between right and left hands and then beating with both hands together.

We got back on or bikes this week to practice starting and stopping. The bairns also spent time maneuvering between cones. It’s great to see their confidence building with each session.

During play in the sand pit, some of the bairns decided to take off their shoes and socks to feel the sand between their toes. This led to a beach day. Everybody was doing something different – having a picnic, digging, building sandcastles, sunbathing, paddling, looking for beach treasure, burying feet and taking turns to become a mermaid.

There are always opportunities for games and we love to see the bairns imagination, team work and problem solving happening during these fun activities. Games which have small pieces such as counters, are especially helpful for developing fine motor skills.

Week 10 – 10.3.23

March 10, 2023 Mrs Malcolmson Leave a comment

(4 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

Nursery Up Helly Aa! Everyone has contributed to the ideas, plans and what the Nursery UHA would look like over the last few weeks, the excitement has been building and it has finally come…….

It was great to see so many parents and families lining the pavements and cheering the bairns along at our procession and burning. The singing wasn’t as enthusiastic as it has been in the setting, maybe a bit of stage fright with the audiance. The snow made the occasion even more exciting!

It was fantastic to join the school bairns to welcome the Jarl Squad and musicians into the Hall, the bairns joined in with the singing and cheered loudly. We all enjoyed the song the P1/2 class did for the Jarl and his squad and it got all our toes tapping!

Some of the Jarl squad came into nursery so we could have a close up look at the suits, have a go at holding the shield, axe and trying on the helmets and ask any questions to find out more about their day and night ahead.

Three cheers for SMUHA! Have a great weekend.

Early Years 2022/23 Term 3 – Week 9

March 3, 2023 Mrs Malcolmson Leave a comment

(3 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

Preparations for SMUHA have ramped up this week again! The bairns have made lots of decisions about their galley, shields and torches, developing their language and communication skills. They decided to have a vote to choose the shield background colour and blue was the favourite. Rehearsals for the big day are coming along nicely and we are definitely seeing some galley builders and torch makers of the future.

Thank you so much to everyone who came along to our reading breakfast on World Book Day to help us celebrate our love of books, sharing stories and rhymes. We enjoyed a story filled day using books, story CDs, online stories, puppets, props, QR codes and more, the bairns spent time using the story props to recall familiar books and rhymes and of course add a bit of their own imaginations to the stories to give them a bit of va va voom!

Early Years Term 3 2022/23 – Week 8

February 23, 2023 Mrs Malcolmson Leave a comment

(2 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

We started our week with music and the good morning song. Then it was time to get active with the moving song. The bairns demonstrated the moves for the others to copy, taking turns and selecting who had a go next. Mrs Garrick introduced a new song Baby Bumble Bee which included signing and singing. One bairn was the bee and when it came to the stinging part they chose somebody else.

We did some drumming using beaters and different items as drums, boxes, lids, mats, chairs and floor. We practiced first with our hands to learn the beat then the drumsticks. The song was about left and right, this helped us to know which beater we should use as well as both together and crossed over in front. The bairns did great listening so they knew when to stop drumming.

The bairns used their loud singing voices for head shoulders knees and toes. We ended the session with relaxation time, lying down listening to soothing music and then moving quietly to the door. Instead of everyone loudly saying thank you, we all whispered thank you to Mrs Garrick.

The bairns have been engaged in Up Helly Aa play for some time. In extending this interest, they built a galley ready for burning on SMUHA day. The bairns worked together on all parts of the galley. “Let’s do the stripes” They added stripes with their chosen colours, first using pen and then paint. “Now we need to do the head.” After designing the head and tail, the bairns used the saw to cut out their shapes. We noticed great team work, listening and creativity that took place during this project.

We had several helpers for making snack on Pancake Day. They weighed out the ingredients, mixed up the batter and supervised the cooking. Then it was time for taste-testing!

Early Years Term 3 2022-23 – Week 7

February 17, 2023 Mrs Malcolmson Leave a comment

(5 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

The bairns asked to use the balance bikes again. We practiced handling by moving around cones and braking. We held races to focus on control and increasing speed. The bairns also tried out wheelie boards and created their own game using bean bags and relay teams.

Our music lesson this week started with bending in time to the music. This promotes listening and develops gross motor skills. Then we moved onto Ten in the Bed with lots of rolling. A small group were invited to lead the bairns using musical instruments. We split into teams for a Conga challenge an then joined up for a giant line. Lastly it was our favourite finale – Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes.

During our visit from Dynamic Earth, we engaged in an immersive underwater story featuring Charlie’s treasure box. Charlie had lost their favourite silver bracelet. The bairns passed around some smell tubes from the beach. They also put their hands inside the curiosity boxes and found small fish, sea anemones, starfish and shells. Then it was time to go fishing but there was still no sign of the missing bracelet. We also journeyed to the bottom of the sea to help Charlie, where one of the bairns found the missing bracelet right on the sea bed. We saw lots of creatures that light up the dark depths of the midnight zone which helped Charlie to find their way back to the surface. On the way up to the surface, lots of bubbles appeared.

We explored polystyrene and the bairns noticed that it was made from tiny circles. When they used scissors, the particles clung to the scissors and themselves prompting discussion about static. The bairns tried different ways to release the particles. We observed them float in water and made it snow! Then it was time to get out the broom and vacuum. Rich discussion followed regarding the environmental impact of polystyrene and other plastics getting into our seas and oceans. We watched a rhyming story called The Lump: The Lump! A rhyming kids’ story about plastic pollution in the sea – YouTube

Early Years Term 3 2022-23 – Week 6

February 10, 2023 Mrs Malcolmson Leave a comment

(5 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

We were delighted to welcome Bookbug back to nursery this week. The bairns joined in singing songs, listening to rhymes and there was a story called Goldilocks and Just One Bear.

The bairns built a slide in the outdoor room this week and have been up and down the slope in all manner of ways, including sliding, running, jumping and twirling using lots of different body parts.

There are always lots of opportunities for drawing and mark making in the setting. This week we have seen very detailed drawings being created on the smartboard and on dry erase boards which have ranged from family portraits to space missions. Supporting bairns to develop their gross motor skills from their shoulders to their wrists also helps with mark making and emerging literacy development.

Small block play with small world items generated lots of different scenarios this week including Viking galleys, a garage, a castle and a party house! Small block play is often a great tool to unlock schemas (play that involves repeated actions, plans or ideas to figure out how things work).

Outdoor play has many benefits, not only does it help us connect to the world around us but it builds resilience too. We always encourage the bairns to be independent and this extends to getting ready to go outside by putting on our own suit and boots. The bairns also put away their own suit and boots when they return inside.

Early Years Term 3 2022-23 – Week 5

February 3, 2023 Mrs Malcolmson Leave a comment

(4 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

We have been preparing for Up Helly Aa by learning the songs, practicing our marching and holding galley burnings in the quiet room! The bairns have also been creative building their own galleys and making costumes.

The anticipation had been building for Up Helly Aa and finally it was time to get on the bus and head to Lerwick to see the Vikings. We found a clear viewpoint from the balcony at the Great Wall. The Vikings roared past, bringing along their galley, the pipe band and the brass band. Then it was the turn of the Junior Jarl Squad. We headed to the museum where we had snack, a Bookbug session, Viking activities and a Viking hunt. Three cheers for Up Helly Aa!

After discussion at lunch about what Vikings eat, the bairns agreed that they would probably like butter on toast for breakfast. We discussed how they couldn’t go to the supermarket for butter or bread, where food comes from and that Vikings had to make their own food. The bairns poured cream into a jar, screwed the lid on tightly and shook it up until it turned into butter. Next it was time to make Viking bread using the buttermilk from the butter. The bairns weighed out the ingredients, all having a turn to mix the dough. Then it was time to pop the bread into the oven. The bairns had a taste of their baking at snack – “I love it!”

This is the recipe we followed:

Kids in the Kitchen: Viking Bread Recipe | Raising Lifelong Learners

Early Years Term 3 – Week 4 23.01.23

January 27, 2023 Mrs Malcolmson Leave a comment

(4 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

The bairns have been interested in using the computers in the office to type letters and stories. This gave us the idea to create an office in the quiet room using the smartboard. The bairns have typed, changed the colour of their font and have been getting to grips with the mouse control.

The workbench is always a creative space and this week was no exception. In small groups we are introducing a new tool to the workbench area – a Japanese pull saw. This tool is recommended by early years woodwork specialists. The fine teeth enable easy sawing and the Japanese pull type handle means that the bairns can put both hands on the handle for extra control and grip. The bairns listened to the rules for the new tool and built up their confidence, soon mastering it’s technique. The projects that followed included a cupcake and a cat.

Childsmile came back to visit this week to check up on how the staff were getting on with their toothbrushing! The bairns listened to the instructions, picking out their own toothbrush and giving their pearly whites the once over.

Jumpstart January continued this week with a whole setting game of the floor is lava using lots of cushions and rugs. The bairns moved around the setting, listening to the instructions and helping their friends get to a safe place away from the lava. We also joined the minions for a freeze dance session. When we ventured to the multi-court (“look how big it is!”), the bairns kicked balls, played catch and stepped on the white lines like a tightrope. The bairns asked to do yoga again and we found a Cosmic Kids video explaining the Chinese calendar and how the animals were chosen. The bairns listened to the story and tried out the positions. To end the week we had a musical march around the setting and more Just Dance fun. Keep your fingers crossed that we win!

The Glasgow Science Centre visited the school this week, bringing along lots of exciting things to see and do. The bairns were shown each station and then it was their chance to have a go. The favourites were the control centre game, breathing simulator, skin simulator, thermal camera, x-ray machine and organ drop game.