Tag Archives: local community

Early Years 2022-23 Term 4 – Week 5

May 18, 2023 Mrs Malcolmson Leave a comment

(6 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

We had an amazing trip to Sumburgh Airport this week!

The airport staff showed us parts or the airport including the offshore terminal part of the building where the helicopter passengers have their safety briefing and get suited up for the journey. The bairns were able to try on and explore the suits they wear and also the life jackets, the oxygen button was very popular!

We had time for snack in the newly refurbished cafe area and the bairns were presented with an activity book from the staff to keep them busy until the next part of the visit.

The highlight of the morning was the unexpected surprise of getting to go aboard a real plane and sitting in the pilot’s seat! We all got our boarding passes and headed through to departures, just as if we were heading away somewhere. We all had a think about where we could go, Orkney, Aberdeen or Lanzarote? The buttons on the plane were a bit of a temptation and I half expected us to start trundling down the runway…… Thankfully we stayed put!

The Airport fire alarm went off so we all had to head out of the building and walk up to the upper carpark for safety until we got the go ahead to return to the building. Unfortunately because of this the last group that was due to go aboard the plane didn’t have time before our bus departed but we are hoping to organise a visit so they too can have the experience also.

Transition this week has included morning break with buddies and a visit to see the P1/2 classroom and say hello to Miss Hunter. The bairns explored the room and it’s resources, seeming quite at home.

Fun and games with Claire and Bookbug on Wednesday included rhymes, songs and stories.

A mysterious delivery arrived at nursery this morning and the bairns were all very curious to see what was in the big red bucket!

A brown crab, green crabs, spider crabs, a big dogwhelk, sun stars, star fish, scabby mans heads, lobster and a squat lobster were all there ready for the bairns to explore.

Hard, soft, rough, smooth, squishy, slimy, spiky, sharp, nippy and scary were all words used to describe the sea creatures. Some of the bairns held some of them on and others stood well back but lots of questions were asked and they wanted to know about them all. They were most fascinated with the star fish and sun stars as their mouth is underneath and their eyes are at the end of each leg.

And finally a bit of a round up of what else has taken place over the week. They are a busy bunch!

Early Years 2022-23 Term 4 – Week 2

April 28, 2023 Mrs Malcolmson Leave a comment

(3 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

During a hail storm, one of the bairns shouted “We will go n shelter til it’s finished” and everyone headed to the garden den. The bairns listened to the noise of the hail on the outdoor room roof and noticed that the hail was stuck in their hair. Once the hail had stopped, the bairns decided it was time to go back out and play. The bairns have also been sieving and raking the soil in the polycrub getting ready for more planting. They found a couple of slaters (woodlouse) to feed to the tadpoles.

We took the service bus to Lerwick to attend a concert at the Shetland Folk Festival. The bairns chatted with the other passengers and noticed the moving scenery outside. After a short walk from the Viking Bus Station to Mareel, we were ready to sing and dance. The first band started with a farm song incorporating animal noises and actions. Then it was the turn of a band from Canada who showed us their double bass and some very fast square dancing. On the bus back, we discussed staying safe while traveling, meeting different people and our favourite moments from the concert.

Childsmile visited this week to apply fluoride varnish. The bairns listened to what would happen – the glasses they would wear and the brush that would be used to apply the varnish. Everybody went through to the library which had been turned into a dentist’s surgery.

The water trays were transformed into a jelly bath this week. This unfamiliar texture provided a new sensory experience. “It’s so squishy!” There was lots of transporting and the bairns watched toy animals sink into the jelly and disappear.

We spent our winnings from Jumpstart January on ropes, jumbo noughts and crosses, climbing wall handles and a large foam rugby ball. The bairns have been making good use of them out in the garden. Our janitor installed the new climbing wall handles and added holes to the top for attaching ropes. The jumbo noughts and crosses has been used in lots of ways. The parachute play book gave us new ideas, especially with the space in the playpark.

Early Years 2022-23 Term 4 – Week 1

April 21, 2023 Mrs Malcolmson Leave a comment

(3 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

We were delighted to be back in our garden this week after the renovation works. The new path has brought opportunities for extending imaginative play, using different kinds of resources in new ways, trajectory play makes for some fast movement around the garden. We also enjoyed an outdoor visit from Bookbug. The bairns received their Jumpstart January prize equipment including large noughts and crosses, ropes, foam rugby ball, sensory timers and a parachute book and put them to use in all kinds of play. We discovered different ways to make bubbles using loose parts.

We started our planting in the polycrub for this year’s produce including garlic, spring onions, leeks, onions, beetroot, carrots, radishes, peerie neeps, and flowers . The bairns made the beds ready, sorted out the seeds, planted the vegetables and watered all the plants. There was even time for a quick selfie! The bairns noticed that the apple tree had lots of flowers and we are hoping for lots of apples this year. Our strawberries have also started flowering.

We had a couple of exciting wooly visitors to nursery this week. One of our families brought in their two caddy lambs. The bairns showed the lambs the outdoor room and noticed they were already good climbers. The bairns also fed the lambs using bottles of milk.

We have been given a raised bed at the Salvation Army Community Allotment. The bairns headed down to see the allotment and plant tatties.

The bairns noticed a police car in the car park. We went to investigate! They identified the numbers and letters on the car and spoke about what number you could call to reach the police. The bairns discussed different kinds of emergency services – police, ambulance, coastguard and fire & rescue service. The bairns also sat in the car and sounded the horn.