August-September

Scroll through here to see a selection of the children's learning from August - September 2021.

September 2021

There has been much creativity and curiosity on display this month. The children have tried out many different types of painting and mark-making, built their own designs in Construction Corner and carried out a range of scientific experiments, showing great interest and imagination.

Have a flick through our splendid September Art Gallery!

Autumn is coming! So why not join in our autumn song at home (to the tune of The Farmer's in his Den):

Autumn time is here, autumn time is here,
It's getting very chilly now, 'cos autumn time is here!

The leaves are falling down, the leaves are falling down,
Red and yellow and gold and brown, the leaves are falling down.

The animals gather food, the animals gather food,
Nuts and seeds and juicy fruit, the animals gather food.

Autumn Treasure Box

We have been looking at signs that Autumn is coming and the children have been identifying different types of seeds - like acorns, conkers, pine cones. "They fall off the trees." "Squirrels eat acorns...."

But what about the acorns that Squirrel buried and forgot...?
We looked at a small oak sapling that had grown from an acorn, and then we dug a hole and planted it in the Eco garden. Maybe one day it will grow into a big oak...

Autumn Sensory Adventures

Home Learning suggestion!

We are sending home some autumn treasure bags. If you find any signs of autumn when out and about, please pop them inside your bag and bring them in to share with us.

Imagination Stations - different ways to stimulate the imagination, helping to promote language and literacy skills:

Sensory Small World

Textures, colours, smells...
"The giant lives in a sunflower and this stone is the door. I'm making snow with this chalk."
"This feels squelchy... a chocolate bog!"

Sea Creature Puppets

Exploring characters and setting:
Inspired by tales from the sea, the children drew ocean scenes and made puppets of the characters..

Commotion in The Ocean

Retelling the story with puppet participation:
Inviting the children to take part in a story increases their engagement and creativity.

A Tiger's Tea Party

In interactive storytelling, the children joined in the action and role played with their props, as they listened to The Tiger Who Came to Tea.

Busy "Bakers"

Yum! The children made their own special cakes for the tea party.

Who lives in the Tepee?

Tepee adventures sparked the imagination:
"We're making a garden for it."
"This can be a fence."

Digital Storytelling

The children have been enjoying listening to the 1950s classic "Harold and the Purple Crayon", whilst at the same time following Harold's journey and helping to draw it on the interactive whiteboard...

...They have been eager to participate by drawing different parts of the story on the board, and inventing their own ideas & scenarios for Harold: "I'll draw the apples on the tree."
"I'm drawing all the pies..."
"He needs a bouncy castle when he falls off the mountain!"
"Can I draw all the windows?" "This is his bed!"

Home Learning suggestion!

After reading or watching this story at home, you could offer your child use of a simple drawing App on a screen to draw their own adventure with purple lines. Or simply give them a purple crayon and paper and see where their imagination takes them...

Alternatively you could give them a blank notebook and encourage them to create their own journey story, with themselves as the main character holding the crayon.
You can watch the story at this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLdHJgpeu2I

In Numeracy this month we've been focusing on different ways to sort, match and categorise, according to different criteria. Below, the children have been trying out various methods.

Sorting Superheroes into groups

Matching Lengths

Sorting by Texture - soft, hard...

Sorting by Colour

Matching 3D shapes to their 2D outlines

Matching dots to numerals

Home Learning suggestion!

Now why not try asking your child to help sort a few things around the house - like the cutlery, or their sock drawer...

Follow the Thread: Threading & Sequencing numbers

Bonkers for Conkers:
Counting and sorting nature's treasures

Other uses for Conkers... Transient Art: "Look, I made Stick Man. These are for his two legs!"

Opening Doors: (Play Provocations)

The children began by placing the wooden doors in number sequence. Then they guessed who lives there and placed keys and characters at the doors. We also talked about what number we all live at:
"Look, this is my number. I live at Number 8."
"I live in a flat. It's Number 7."

This led to the children wanting to design their own characters, using lollipop sticks and pens and showing great imaginative ideas. Some of them also chose to design their own doors:
"This is Mr NoFace. He lives at No. 7. His second name is Mr NoFeet."
"This is my lollipop person. Her name is Violet."
"This is Mum. She lives at No.7."
"This is Bluey the dog. I'm making a Rainbow Door for Bluey."

Art Attack
Many different kinds of art - large scale, small scale, collaborative and individual - have been tried out this month, using a variety of materials and techniques. Our enthusiastic artists have been exploring shape, line, pattern and form as they experiment with contrasting tools and canvases.

Making our Mark

Some recycled packaging offered us a great giant floor canvas for mark-making.

More ways to Mark Make

Painting on clingfilm outdoors. The children tried scraping patterns with different tools too

Brushes on Sticks

The children used their whole bodies and their co-ordination skills to paint with brushes on long sticks.

Shaping up as Artists: Painting in the circular patterned style of Kandinsky

Finger Painting: Still life finger painting and developing fine motor skills

Printing with pine cones, fish slices, potato mashers and other interesting utensils.

Exploring Pattern & Shape

Shaving foam Mark-making
Who needs pens?
Shaving foam and sticks help to develop early drawing and writing skills.

Movement & Musicality

Movement to Music :
developing co-ordination, balance & fitness skills

Listening Skills, Music & Rhythm with Miss Cairnie

Exploring Sounds
Trying, testing and comparing different percussion instruments

Feel the Beat
Copying a rhythm helps develop listening skills. We beat our names on the drum...
How many beats are in your name?

Making Sweet Music
Time to chill in the tepee and make music together.

Construction Corner

"It's a bouncy castle..."

Grand Designs

Great independent ideas and designs in the making

Busy with Bricks

Trying out techniques with different textures and materials

Castle Construction

Designing and inventing structures and stories.
"The dinosaurs live here..."

Literacy: Name Posting

The children have enjoyed picking out their names (also identifying some of their friends' names) and posting them.
"That's my C in my name."

Bookbug

Singing, reading and playing games with Bookbug to promote literacy skills.

Cool with Tools: Woodwork

Using great concentration and fine motor skills to create wooden hedgehogs.

Tools of the trade put to imaginative use

The children also used wood to practice their names, by painting then putting together their own wooden name signs.

Science Experiments

The Big Freeze

The children wanted to make ice. So they filled up balloons and put them in the freezer.
"It's so shiny."
"It's going to hatch!"
"It looks like a diamond inside."

Melting Point

The ice wasn't melting indoors, so they tried it in the sunshine and by adding warm water.

Attracted to Magnets

An interest in the book Magnets led to a few science experiments.

Experimenting with gradients and forces

Trying new channels

Problem-solving and teamwork with water channels in the gazebo

Slimy Sensory Science...
Making slime... How does it feel?
How far can it stretch?

Having a Ball

The children were queuing up for a chance to practice their ball skills and hand-to-eye co-ordination with this fun hoop game.

Planting and Growing

We've been planting cress seeds and watching them grow!

Mindful Moments

"Giving our bodies a treat..."
One of the children's regular Mindfulness sessions with Meddy Teddy

August 2021

A very warm welcome to everyone joining us or returning to Busby Nursery this August. The children have been excitedly exploring new areas and connecting with friends, old and new. Their learning adventures have included developing their physical skills outdoors, finding out about where and how foods grow, and being creative with clay, paint, rice and modelling.

Friendships

Learning together

Reconnecting

Building relationships

Loving the Outdoors

The bikes are always a popular choice!

Potato Picking - One Potato, Two Potato...

Things have been growing in the Nursery Garden over the summer! Our tomatoes are still green, so not ready to eat yet... but we found that the potatoes we planted were ready to pick! So we collected, washed, cooked and ate some for Snack. Yum!

Plum Picking:
We also spotted some juicy plums growing on a tree outside.

The children suggested shaking the tree to get the ones at the top... It worked!

Exploring other Fruit & Vegetables

Curious hands and minds enjoyed handling and describing other types of fruit and veg, and talking about where they grow and what they are used to make.
"Apples.... grow on trees."
"Carrots... in the ground!"
"That's a sweet potato! It's orange inside."
Afterwards we dissected them to smell them and look for their seeds.

Making Models: The children created some great vegetable people & creatures, using old potatoes & apples with cocktail sticks, pens, buttons etc. They gave some of them names:
"He's called Stumpy. I'm going to take him home." "This is Lemon Shark."
"Look, I made a spider."