With so many staff off this week, there has not been many opportunities to take photos, but we will get more again another week.

Lots of enjoyment in the outdoors as always though.  Today, we have been looking at the clouds moving quickly across the sky, and looking out for any “water spouts”.

The tape measures have been used for measuring lots of different things like the slide and ourselves, but also as “fishing lines” and “skipping ropes” and “rescue lines”, we even tried them as hula hoops but that maybe didn’t, work as well.  Lots of imagination, collaboration and play from these open ended resources.

The blocks and indoor outdoor area have been well used again.  The children have been sharing, taking turns, problem solving and speaking together to make different structures and play experiences.

We have had no sign a long this week unfortunately, but we are looking forward to seeing the ladies again another week.  Enjoy the long weekend everybody!

We are looking forward to seeing you for parents / carers appointments next week.  Lisa and Meg will be together in the short appointment you have booked.  For those that were asking, just one slot is all that is required.

There is a limited time allocated to each meeting, so please be aware that when the time frame is over, the video call will end.

The instructions for joining are fairly simple, and it is possible to share the link with other people if that is required.

The appointments are on Wednesday 2nd and Thursday 3rd of March. It will be good to catch up with you all.

We hope you all enjoy the long weekend coming up.

The nursery, along with the school, will be closed on Friday 25th February and Monday 28th February 2022.

 

Sign a long

We have been learning some of the signs for clothes this week at Sign a long.  The ladies from the Pre-School Home Visiting Service brought in a clothes line with pegs and clothes items to peg up, as well as a teddy to dress, some lovely books to read about wearing clothes and a great mix and match wooden jigsaw to do and speak about.  We have sung songs and practiced our signs using the resources that are left from the ladies for a week.

We are really enjoying the time in the smaller groups and all the play and communication we get from the sessions.

Den Trial

You may have noticed a new big blue den in nursery this week.  This is something which we have borrowed from another setting to try.  This is a calm area that bairns can go in if they need some quiet time to read a story or to have a rest.  We hope the bairns like it.

Out for a walk – bird spotting

We have been fortunate to be out and about again this week in the community.  This time we spotted some different birds, and wondered what they would be eating for their lunch.

 

Maps and roads

The bairns have again been exploring maps, making roads and thinking about where they might go on their travels this week.  We have been exploring different sizes, colours and forms that our maps that we create might take.

 

Colder weather- exploring ice

The colder weather, light snowfall and ice has provided a super discussion and exploration point this week.  We loved seeing how the properties of water changed with the cold, turning to ice and then back to water again.  The ice allowed us to make marks on the windows, explore the surface of puddles, shapes and patterns in frost, the noises of the crunch below our feet, the slippy surfaces and how our warm breath was seen in the cold air.  Lots of fun, excitement and exploration and learn in nature!

Music outside, bubbles and balloons

We have had a super time in both outside areas this week.  The water ways have been a great success again as the bairns are able to pour and fill containers, then transport the water and watch it move through its path.  The puddles have been a great source of fund and enjoyment as we have watched the water jump up as we jump in.

We have used the coloured transparent shapes to make sun catcher cities.  The coloured shapes cast on the ground have been interesting to change and create.

We have also really enjoyed having the musical instruments available to play with outside, making beats and tunes together.  The giant bubbles and balloons have also been a great hit, as have the space hoppers.  What a lot of energy using, skill development and muscle building has been done this week outside.

Numbers , colours, shapes and fun

We have been speaking a lot about numbers and letters and again this week.  We have been looking at “tens frames” and thinking about if they are full (making 10), or not full yet.

We have also been playing with shapes to make pictures and patterns.  Of course as always our block play has been amazing again this week.  The structures and building are being explored and added to with creativity and planning.  Also, the hollow blocks provides an opportunity for climbing on and challenging ourselves in risky play in a safe space.

 

Long weekend next week

Don’t forget about the long weekend next week.  There will be no nursery on Friday 25th February or Monday 28th February.

We hope you have a lovely weekend and look forward to seeing you next week.

We always have a healthy snack and lunch available for all our bairns, at no extra cost to parents.  This is part of the nursery offer every day.

Please find the snack menu for the week below.

Morning-snack-WB 21st Feb 2022

Sign-a-Long

We have loved seeing Cyndi and Vaila from the Pre-School Home Visiting Service again this week for Sign-a-Long.  The bairns have been looking at some colours in our smaller group sessions.  We have sung songs and played games as well as learn some new signs.

We have loved seeing a little bit of snow in the outdoor environment as well as the sun and a rainbow this week.  There is no better way to think about the seasons and the weather, than to get outside and experience it first hand.

Community Walk

We had a super walk out on Tuesday.  What a beautiful day even if it was a little windy on the way back.  The bairns were delighted to meet Peter when we were out.  He showed us how to “beat da scarf”, to help keep us warm on the cold day.  We stopped and spoke to someone from Ireland, who had a different accent, then the friendly driver of the big “gulley-sucker” truck gave us a toot.  We met the postie and they showed us how to get the letters out of the letterbox, but still there was no sign of the swans that we went off to feed.  Maybe next time!

Taxi rides and picnics

It has been a week for exploring the world and enjoying picnics in Nursery.  We have been trying to be very careful with the china cups and plates, as well as thinking about all the different sandwiches and snacks we can take on our journey.  The children made a few taxi’s out of boxes,  and enjoyed taking passengers abourd.  Then we took our playground taxi on a drive all over the world.  Finally we made a map of all the places we had been to visit.  “Ding Ding, next stop Florida please!”  Thankfully we packed enough for our picnics each time.

Shetland Bannocks

This week we have baked bannocks and enjoyed them for snack.  We used different ingredients and cups for measuring how much we needed.  There was mixing, rolling and cutting, but of course the best bits were the smell and the taste!  Delicious!

Marble Runs

What a lot of fun we have had with the marble run this week.  Very carefully planning the paths, then watching them all tumble quickly or slowly.  We have been able to take turns and share.  Great!

Playpark Visits

Whenever we can take the chance, we really enjoy a good run out in the playpark.  The bairns were able to negotiate obstacles, develop confidence on the swings and the roundabout. Hopefully we can get out a bit more again after all the wind in the last few weeks.

 

School Visits

We have taken the chance to go through to the primary school in very small groups this week, as our transition activities continue.  We have met some of the important people who work in the school and some of our friends from last year.  We also explored some of the spaces in the school.  We will do these small visits more regularly as the next 2 terms goes on.

Playing and Learning

Of course most of the nursery day is spent playing and learning together.  We are learning about numbers, letters, making marks, sharing, caring for others and our resources, and speaking about so many different things.  We are developing skills that will help us understand how things work, how we move, how to solve problems, make things and change things.  We are learning how to be more independent and how to collaborate together.  We have had great fun this week.

We hope that everyone who has not been feeling well recently is starting to feel better, and we look forward to seeing you all again soon.  Have a lovely weekend everyone!

 

 

We always enjoy a healthy snack and lunch at Nursery.  Please find the snack menu for the coming week below.

Snack Menu for 14th Feb 2022

We welcomed staff from the Pre-School Home Visiting Service on Monday morning to introduce Shetland Sign-a-long.  This is a 6 week training block for children and staff, where we all have an opportunity to learn games, signs and songs to help us communicate.  Every Nursery in Shetland has access to the booklet that accompanies the programme.

From next week, the children will be separated up into 2 different groups (pre-school and anti-pre-school), and the sessions will be delivered in the Hall.    This week we were learning the signs for different animals and the children played a fishing game to see if they could remember some of the signs.  We hope to be able to use these signs more in our Nursery day as we develop our communication skills.

 

 

The transition processes has gently started this week.  The pre-school children who were in  Nursery on Thursday had a peerie wander through the school, on their way to the Tingwall Hall for PE. They saw Mrs Anderson, who will be their class teacher after summer when they start P1.  They also had a quick look in the dining hall, so they could see where they would have their school lunches. The canteen staff, who will prepare, cook and serve their lunches, also came out to say hello.

There will be plenty more opportunities to have little visits in, before the longer visits start.  Nursery staff and Mrs Anderson will also work more closely as we near the end of the summer term.

We loved the time in the hall, working on our throwing, catching and balancing skills during our PE lesson.

We have been thinking about Chinese New Year a little bit this week, and had great fun trying to eat with the chop sticks.

We also really enjoyed making a human “Chinese Dragon” outside.  We watched the movement of the cloth, as it looked like a dancing dragon.

Continuing with celebrations, we are still working away on our torches, and managed to get a galley painted this week too.

As always, our block play has been amazing this week.  Such a lot of creativity and skillful planning in some of the creations. This morning a group of children worked so well together making “sculptures” that turned into “The Police Department”.  A full half an hour of engaged play in positioning, and repositioning co-operatively was brilliant to see.

We have been working hard at sharing resources, taking turns and looking after our environment and each other.  What a super week, with lots of stories, pictures, communication, building and fun.

Next week, we will be introducing more visual information within the classroom environment.  This will help with our sign a long sessions and support a positive approach to reinforcing key messages for all children.  We will also continue our work on sharing and taking turns through our table top games.

We hope you all have a lovely weekend!

Thank you for returning your child’s learning story back to the nursery this week.  We have been delighted to read your comments and will look forward to following up with some of the feedback suggestions.  We especially loved reading the children’s comments and can identify them as individuals in what they are saying.

We hope everyone finds their story a helpful document, as we look forward to more opportunities to share progress and find out about how we can work together to support all children in their learning and development.

Please see below this week’s planned snack and lunch menus. There is always a good selection of healthy snacks offered.

This experience is such a great opportunity to learn skills in making healthy choices and being more independent.

Morning-snack-WB 7th February 2022