The Scottish Book Trust has  a fantastic collection  of songs, rhymes and instrumental music to enjoy.

They say:

Songs and rhymes are a great way to have fun with your child – and they’re also one of the best things you can do to support their development. You can find songs and rhymes to suit different moods or times of day. Try a range of songs and rhymes and discover your child’s favourites!

Copy and paste the link into your browser:

https://www.scottishbooktrust.com/songs-and-rhymes/

But why share songs and rhymes?

The Scottish Book Trust tell us!

Rhythm and Rhyme

Research has shown that babies respond well to beat and rhythm of language even before they are born. They are in tune with their mother’s heartbeat from an early stage, so a steady beat and the rhythm of songs and rhymes can be very soothing for them.

Songs and rhymes generally have a higher pitch that catches a baby’s attention better than regular speech. We also tend to use a slower pace and lots of repetition in songs and rhymes. This makes it easier for children to hear the individual sounds that make up words.

Learning Language

Learning sounds, and how they work together to form words, is key to language development. It’s also the first step on the journey to being able to read. Sounds are the building blocks of spoken language, and making the connection between words that are spoken and words that are written is key to learning to read.

Songs and rhymes for babies and children may also include actions – clapping hands, pointing, marching or jumping, for example. These actions reinforce the words, which helps children to remember them and grasp their meaning more easily. Actions also help to develop gross motor skills (e.g. co-ordination and balance) and fine motor skills (e.g. control over a pencil) as well as being great fun for little ones!

Building a Bond

Finally, singing and rhyming is a wonderful way for mums, dads and carers to bond with their children. Music is proven to help reduce stress levels and spending just a few minutes a day sharing a song or rhyme together can have a positive impact on everyone’s mental health. Many songs and rhymes involve tickles, cuddles and lots of eye contact – what better way to have fun and feel close to little ones!

Story of the Month

Guess How Much I Love You in Spring.

Week 3- action words

hop   grow  cross (the road)  search   change  find  turn  think

Rhyme Time

Ten Little Fingers

Scroll down to find links to the story and the rhyme on YouTube

Week beginning 15.3.21

Rhyme Time

Our rhyme for the next two weeks is:

Ten Little Fingers

I’ve got ten little fingers and they all belong to me

I can make them do things, would you like to see?

I can close them up tight, open them up wide,

Fold them together or make them all hide.

I can make them jump high,

I can make them jump low,

I can fold them quietly and hold them so.

Story of the Month

Guess How Much I Love You in Spring

Week 2- describing words

little   big   tiny   mighty    wriggly    hairy   green    brown   nutbrown       lovely    grown-up

https://youtu.be/LQA13XfCrgg

Looking at clocks and telling the “o’clock” time

Our rhyme at the moment is Hickory Dickory Dock and some children have been looking at clock faces and making their own. Here is a little song about the “o’clock” time. (It does get a bit complicated in the middle but don’t worry about that!)

Just notice that there are numbers that go round in order and hands that point to the numbers.

Starting with the “o’clock” times is the perfect place to start !

Rhyme Time

 Hickory Dickory Dock

Hickory dickory dock,

The mouse ran up the clock,

The clock struck one,

The mouse ran down,

Hickory dickory dock.

Story of the Month

Guess How Much I love you in the Spring

Week 1-naming words

hare  spring  acorn   tree   tadpole   frog   caterpillar   butterfly  wings  nest   egg   bird

https://youtu.be/LQA13XfCrgg

World Book Day is in March each Year.

We have  chosen and are sharing four books with each cohort of children this week. The books have been chosen to reflect the childrens interests and to explore new titles from familiar authors.

The stories will be read several times to children either individually or as part of a small group, both indoors and out.

Next week the children will vote on their favourite. We will share the results with you.

There will be a sway coming your way soon with links to all the stories on line but here are the titles in case you have any of them at home or would like to find them on line yourselves. Most are on YouTube.

IEYC-cohort 1

The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson

Hairy McLary from Donaldson’s Dairy by Lynley Dodds

There Was a Wee Lassie Who Swallowed a Midgie by Rebecca Colby and Kate McLelland

It’s The Bear by Jez Alborough

IEYC-Cohort 2

Oliver’s Wood by Sue Hendra

A Squash and a Squeeze by Julia Donaldson

The New Puppy by Catherine and Laurence Anholt

Fidgety Fish by Ruth Galloway

LNS-Twos and All day cohort

Monkey Puzzle by Julia Donaldson

Number One, Tickle Your Tum by John Prater

The Jungle Run by Tony Mitton

Pirates In The Supermarket by Timothy Knapman

LNS-Morning and Afternoon cohorts

Goodnight Tractor by Michelle Robinson

Ness the Nurse/Ouch , I need a plaster by Nick Sharratt

Chocolate Mousse for Greedy Goose by Julia Donaldson

My Friend Bear by Jez Alborough

We hope you enjoy this range of stories. We chose stories this time rather than factual books but rest assured there are always a wide range of books available in the nursery for children to dip into whether they be  interested fiction, non fiction, lift the flap, touch and feel , look and find, numbers, letters, poems…etc!

It has been an absolute pleasure to welcome the children back to Nursery, there have been happy faces all around

This week in IEYC we have been talking about pets.  Our own pets, our favourite pets and how to look after them.   We have also set up a vets in the Nursery and there is lots of co-operation and negotiating going on during role play.

Please upload any pictures you may have of your beloved animals to your child’s learning journal.  We can print these off and use them in our floorbook.

The children have been finding environmental print in the Nursery on junk models and logos printed off from the internet.

Environmental print can include the print from digital technology, posters, controls on household appliances, logos and designs on clothing, road signs, food labels and shop signs.

Children typically read print from their environment before reading print in books (Clay, 1993; Goodman & Altwerger, 1981).

Children recognise famous logos at home, at nursery, at their friend’s house and while travelling it is an important step in learning to read print.

At home children can identify their favourite box of cereal, tv show or game. While in the car (or walking) they can see and learn to identify restaurants and shops by their signs and logos.  If you are out an about it would be great if you could take pictures of the print you and your child discover and upload it to their learning journal.

Environmental print can stimulate talk about literacy as children ask questions.

It can prompt children to identify letters in signs that also occur in other words that are important to them such as their own name.

Rhyme Time-week starting 1.3.21

Hickory Dickory Dock

Hickory dickory dock,

The mouse ran up the clock.

The clock struck one,

The mouse ran down.

Hickory dickory dock.

Why did the mouse want to get to the top of the clock?

How did the mouse get down when the clock struck two?

World Book Day activities -week starting 1.3.21-more details to follow

Story of the Month-week starting 8.1.21 

Guess How Much I love You in the Springtime by Sam McBratney and Anita Jeram

Week one-naming words

hare  spring  acorn   tree   tadpole   frog   caterpillar   butterfly  wings  nest   egg   bird

https://youtu.be/LQA13XfCrgg

Look and listen for signs of spring outside, you might see some snowdrops or hear the birds singing in the morning.

Growing Together is a fantastic community project based in Craigshill. Thanks to funding secured through the Scottish Government’s Investing in Communities Fund, the project team are offering a range of community based ‘plot to plate’ activities which are great fun and free to take part in. Below you will find  information about some of the online gardening and cooking sessions that are available. (These will also be displayed at the main door of both IEYC and LNS.)

Priority will be given to residents from the Craigshill area however as these are online sessions, numbers are not restricted so can be attended by anyone living in the local area who is interested. Please note you do not need to be an Almond HA tenant!

Whether you want to book onto one session, or all of the sessions the choice is yours. Please email me directly or email enquiries@almondha.org.uk to book the sessions.

*If you know of someone who may be interested in attending these sessions but does not have access to a digital device please get in touch, along with community partners, we may be able to help.

Best wishes

Ready, Set, Garden
with Castlebank Horticultural Centre
Take part in a range of online gardening workshops with
an Educational Gardener from Royal Horticultural Society.
09/03/21 at 1.30pm: Introduction to gardening
16/03/21 at 1.30pm: Grow your own fruit, veg and herbs
23/03/21 at 1.30pm: Gardening in small spaces
30/03/21 at 1.30pm: Colour in nature
06/04/21 at 1.30pm: Especially interesting insects
13/04/21 at 1.30pm: Plant groups and growth forms
25/05/21 at 6.30pm: Grow your own fruit, veg and herbs
29/06/21 at 1.30pm: Live gardening Q&A
27/07/21 at 6.30pm: Gardening in small spaces
31/08/21 at 1.30pm: Autumn and winter gardening

Meat-free Cooking
with V For Life
Take part in a range of online cooking workshops with a
top chef from V For Life Cookery School.
03/03/21 at 2pm: Chilli and simple flatbreads
10/03/21 at 2pm: Mushroom stroganoff
17/03/21 at 2pm: Sweet and sour

The final three cooking sessions will be based on what the
group want to make. Simply let the chef know what you
have in your cupboard and together we will agree recipes
for the following weeks!

24/03/21 at 2pm: Group choice
31/03/21 at 2pm: Group choice

07/04/21 at 2pm: Group choice

Love Food Hate Waste
Learn how to save money through menu planning, smart
shopping and using up leftovers.
These fun and interactive sessions will describe how to cut
your food waste, save up to £437 a year and enter a prize
draw to win £100 worth of vouchers.
There are two sessions to choose from, running on:
Thursday 18th March 2021, 10.30am
Tuesday 23rd March 2021, 6pm

Story of the Month

We’re Going On a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen

Week 4- Sequencing and Storytelling

Who was in the story?   Where were they?   What were they doing?

How did the story start?

And then/next?

What happened at the end?

I wonder what happened next?

Which part of the story did you like best?

Rhyme Time

Hey Diddle Diddle

Now. a dance about rhyming words!