Sound School Nursery

Wow! The end of a term already….time flies when we are having fun!

This term we have been settling into the routines of the nursery and learning the rules. Routines such as hand washing, snack and lunch times and toothbrushing all teach us how to listen, how to follow instructions and how we look after our bodies. Bookbug, story time and drumming with Joy have been fantastic at developing our literacy skills such as syllable awareness, love of stories and songs and understanding patterns and sounds of language.

Rules such as gentle hands with friends and toys and quiet voices in the quiet area are great at teaching us awareness of others and develops our understanding of our feelings and other people’s feelings.

Through our play, both indoors and out, we have developed our literacy, numeracy and health and wellbeing knowledge.

Numeracy – Weight, Measure, Volume, comparison of quantity, shape. Using words like “heavy”, “more”, “less”, “empty”, “full” and developing skills of Focus, Initiative and Critical Thinking.

Literacy – Using mark making materials, playing listening and memory games, cutting skills, listening to environmental sounds when on walks or playing outdoors, talking and listening as we play and sharing our thoughts and ideas, beating syllables and making music to learn about patterns and sounds of language. Developing our Communication, Collaboration and Creativity skills.

Health and Wellbeing – Oh so much! From learning about our bodies and how to move them through play, becoming aware of our feelings and the feelings of others to keeping safe when on trips. Through health and wellbeing learning we develop skills of Integrity, Adapting and Feeling

We wish you all a lovely October break and look forward to seeing you all on Wednesday 30th of October 🙂

We are so lucky to have Joy Duncan join us for a few weeks of drumming. We have really enjoyed our first couple of sessions and we are learning so much.

Drumming requires us to learn about our bodies and how to move them fast and slow and how to play the drums quietly and loudly using different parts of our hands.

We are developing confidence in playing the drums independently and saying our names out loud. We are also learning new moves as we copy Joy.

Drumming builds our listening skills which are so important for literacy. We listen to Joy’s instructions and stop when we hear her magic whistle. We take turns and listen to our friends play the drums and we listen for the beats and different sounds that we can make on the drums.

At the end of the session we get to dance and then to rest when the drum stops and we listen to lullabies sung in various different languages by Joy. Hearing all of those lovely sounds develops our listening skills even more. Some of us are becoming more confident in sharing our own songs with the group too.

We will share more photos of our drumming soon!

Wow it’s time for a new term and new school year already! Time to meet up with old friends and make new ones too.

We have spent the first full week at nursery settling into and learning/remembering, the nursery rules and routines as well as developing our skills and learning through our play.

Routines help us learn rules and help us listen for and follow instructions.

Each morning we hang up our coats and bags and find our water bottle tray. Throughout the day we learn about other rules of nursery, such as how to co-operate and communicate with our peers and teachers, mainly through play. Here are some ways we have been developing these skills this week.

Each day before lunch time we have a short tidy up session. It is important for us to learn how to tidy up and how to care for our nursery toys.

Our snack and lunch routine starts with washing our hands, waiting our turn, making choices and sharing space around the table. Hand washing routines are very important. At nursery we are encouraged and supported to wash our hands after outdoor play and after using the toilet, when we transition from messy activities and before we eat. We also develop our independence as we try to use cutlery and tidy away our dishes.

Our lunches follow guidelines provided by the Care Inspectorate. For children who eat packed lunches there is useful advice from the Care Inspectorate and Childsmile below.

Snack ideas for children (nhs.scot)

Setting the table (healthscotland.com) Please look at page 64.

Each day we listen to a story before lunch and on Thursdays attend BookBug in the library. These are wonderful opportunities for us to engage with stories, develop our listening skills and our imaginations. After story time we choose songs from a song board and all sing together. Singing and acting out nursery rhymes are important literacy skills.

At the end of the day we are encouraged to check that we have all our belongings, collect our water bottles and get our jackets and bags for home. Learning to think about what we need to bring home with us helps us to develop our working memory.

The nursery trip took place on Tuesday 18th June. We began our day at the King Harald Street play park where the children enjoyed the opportunity to run around and play on the equipment.  The drizzle did not dampen the children’s enthusiasm.

After being at the play park, we went to Islesburgh Community Centre where the children had snack. The bouncy castle was very popular and while each key group waited for their turn, there was the option to use the soft play equipment or to complete some colouring in. We then had a tasty pack lunch which was prepared by the canteen staff.

After lunch, we walked to the Lerwick Library and went upstairs to the children’s section where Mrs Sutherland led an interesting Bookbug session. The children listened very well while the story was being read and were keen to join in with the nursery rhymes.

Aimee Budge from Bigton Farm visited the nursery with two caddy lambs.  The children were excited to see the lambs who were very friendly.  Aimee brought bottles of milk and some of the children got the chance to feed the lambs.  This was a great learning opportunity for the children and we appreciated that Aimee gave up her time to come and visit us.

The children visited the Sands of Sound Beach recently in two groups.  They enjoyed the outdoor learning experience and were keen to explore the beach while engaging in a variety of activities such as mark making in the sand, collecting shells and pebbles, building dams across the burn, looking in rockpools and digging in the sand.  The children also enjoyed having their snack on the beach.  We had a great day out and the children had the opportunity to develop the meta-skills of curiosity, creativity, communicating, collaborating and focusing.

Here are some of the literacy activities that the children have enjoyed recently. They have been developing their mark making skills and letter recognition as well as exploring books.

The children have also been busy developing their numeracy skills by taking part in a variety of activities involving measurement, 2D shapes, patterns, number recognition and sequencing.

The children had a great day outdoors planting seeds to grow herbs (chives) and flowers (nasturtiums). They listened very well and followed the instructions they were given when putting compost and seeds into pots. The herbs and flowers were then transferred to the polytunnel.  The children are watering the seeds regularly and checking their growth.

The children have also planted carrots and tatties are they are keeping a close eye to see how they are growing.

The meta-skills of focusing, communicating, collaborating and curiosity were developed by the children while planting the seeds.

The pre-school children went to see a concert at the Mareel auditorium. They enjoyed listening to the performing act and were actively involved by dancing and clapping along to the music. Through their live audience participation the children were developing the meta-skills of communicating and feeling.

Bookbug sessions with parents during reading week.

Having fun completing obstacle courses in the gym hall.

Making Easter crafts.

Setting up a party in the quiet room.