May-June

June 2022

All Together Again!

It felt very special to welcome our families into the nursery for our 2022 leavers' Tie Ceremony, especially after the two years of social restrictions. Our visitors were able to watch some video highlights from the nursery year over a drink and biscuit, then joined us for tie & certificate presentations and some great singing from the children, including "We're All Together Again", joined in by everyone. Afterwards each child took home a gingerbread star, baked and iced by some of them earlier this week, and they left the building in a celebratory stream of bubbles.

Good luck! We have loved having you at Busby Nursery and we wish all our fabulous leavers a wonderful future.

Look at all our Wonderful Woodwork Models
The children have shown increased skill, creativity and confidence as they design then build their individual models, using their choice of different tools and materials, and telling their story as they work.

"This is my space baby."

"I've made a unicorn. This is the horn."

"If you press a button it will go to sleep."

"My robot looks like my brother."

"My robot can run away and I'm going to take him for a walk."

A Wild Time!
The children have had great fun exploring in our Eco Garden, and letting their legs and imaginations run wild.

"I'm a tiger, looking for food!"

"We found buttercups!"

Test of strength: the pulley

"Look over here! This plant is a spiky one."

We've been practising climbing skills

Bee Curious 🐝

"Look, there are bees on the grass over there!

In the wild grass around our nursery, the children have noticed many bees, buzzing all over the clover. So we have been investigating more about them. The children studied a real (deceased) bee in a magnifier with great interest, and have been reading books about honey bees and how they operate.

Lucky for us, Miss Baikie knows a bee keeper so she has been able to source and bring in some real honeycomb for the children to examine, as well as some honey to taste and some "bee bombs", which we can throw in our nursery garden, and which in time we hope will grow into bee-friendly plants.

"I love honey! Yummy!"

"Can I hold the bee? ... It's so soft."
"There's something on it... It's nectar!"

What shape is the honeycomb?

Examining the bee bomb

A Taste of Honey

"Mmmm!"

"It's like raspberries."

Creating our own model bees

Copying the bee's pattern

Creating Salt Dough Keyrings

The children enjoyed the opportunity to make salt dough keyrings.

They carefully measured out all the ingredients.

They poured and mixed!

They chose a design and pressed their dough into a mould.

They cooked them in the oven to harden them.

Once they were out of the oven and cooled, it was time to paint and decorate!

Look at our finished salt dough keyrings. They look amazing!

More Brilliant Block Play

Two children worked as a team to build props for their own role play - "a desk and chairs"- what a brilliant idea! They carefully used their problem solving skills to work out which blocks to use to make it sturdy and as realistic as possible!

"We are at school. I'm in primary 5 and she is in primary 1!"
“We are sisters and we are doing our homework!”
“I have my school bag on”

Measuring

"It is taller than me!"

"They are the same!"

Teamwork

Money, Money, Money

The children have been learning about money.

They have been matching coins and recognising numbers.

What do we need money for?

"To buy bananas!"

"To buy food!"

"To buy ice cream!"

"So we can get toys."

Where do we get money from?

"The shops!" "The bank!"

The children also learned that people get money by working/having a job. They learned that their families go to work so they can get money to buy food & clothes, pay for haircuts, pay for the house, go on day trips/holidays etc.

Building With Different Pots & Cups

" I am stacking them"

"It's a wobbly hat!"

Transient Art: Loose Parts

We have been having lots of fun using loose parts to create a variety of designs. We shared our ideas together.

Imagination

Creativity

Fine motor skills

"It is a plane - it's going to Wales!"

"A monkey!"

"A Bunny!"

"A stick person!"

"I am making a flower. The pegs are the leaves!"

"The sun"

"An aeroplane - it has lights on it so it doesn't fall!"

"I am going to make a butterfly. The green lids are the grass and the blue lids are the sky!"

"2 people"

Creativity with Hair Rollers

We have been busy using hair rollers to build a many inventions. Look at what we created!

"Look I made a rocket!"

"It is binoculars!"

"I made a face - it has eyes, a nose and a hat on it!"

Look at this model - the hair rollers are balancing so well!

"I put pom poms on it for the eyes!"

"Number 10"

Discovery:
We discovered that the hair rollers are "Sticky!"

"Look it's stuck to me!"

The children found out that the hair rollers are made out of velcro.

"My shoes have velcro on them too! They are sticking together!"

We have been using hair rollers inventively in other ways!

"My nails are so long!” “1,2,3,4,5!”

Showing off our Skills at Sunny Sports Day!
The children demonstrated their physical skills for their parents and carers, including jumping and balancing, negotiating obstacles, relay races, flat races and ball skills. Well done everyone!

A sheltered space to play and make believe.

🐛Our Caterpillars have turned into Butterflies!

The children have been following their life cycle and transformation with excitement. We then released them into our Eco Garden to fly free one sunny afternoon.

👑 "We're making a cake for the Queen!" 👑

The children have been asking to bake, so we have been preparing a rather special cake together to share and celebrate the Platinum Jubilee. We have had a host of eager helpers, who have shown great skills at pouring, whisking, measuring, mixing, cracking eggs, cutting , spreading and decorating. They have been using their fine motor skills and strong muscles, working cooperatively in small teams to get the job done.

"We need flour..." "Sugar..." "Butter...."

"... and eggs!"

Cracking and whisking the eggs

"Mmm, I love the smell of the vanilla (essence)."

A strong mixing arm

"I will pour in the milk!"

Carefully adding wet and dry ingredients together

"This is wet, that is dry... This flour is so soft."

"We put it in the tin and then in the oven."

Mixing the icing

Spreading the icing on the second layer

Chopping strawberries

Building up the layers

Cutting a circle shape of royal icing

Drawing patterns with icing

"We can put strawberries on the top."

"We need more blueberries."

What a fabulous team effort!

Finally... a cake fit for a Queen!"

The children also enjoyed a special celebration lunch.

A splendid selection of bespoke crowns

We've also been creating hand printed bunting, and learning how to sequence the colours.

May 2022

Stay and Play (May 25th)

It was so lovely to be able to welcome family members inside our Nursery again for our May Stay and Play. The children were so excited to show their guests around, indoors and out, telling them about plants they have planted and all the things they like to do. Our families joined in with painting, clay modelling, storytelling, planting sunflower seeds, outdoor games and much more. Thank you so much to everybody who came along, and there will be further opportunities to Stay and Play later this term.

Sharing stories

"It's a flying fish."

Catching fishies

"Smell this. I like it."

"It's chocolate porridge."

Planting seeds

Enjoying story props

Fruity modelling

Gloop mark making

Clay creations

Wonderful Woodwork
The children's woodwork skills go from strength to strength as they tackle using new tools, like the drill and Japanese saw. They have put their skills to productive use by fashioning a range of fantastic individual models.

Drilling holes

Hammering and Screwing

Using the Japanese Saw

Take a look at our wonderful woodwork models...

Discovery, Curiosity & Creativity
are flourishing at Bubsy Nursery

Colourful Outdoor Art

Creature Curiosity
The children have been excited to spot many interesting bugs in the garden, including beetles and a colourful spider. So we are learning more about bugs and studying them in a magnifier.

Creative with Clay

Building on our Skills
The structures the children build are becoming increasingly detailed and complex. Here they carefully constructed a house, complete with chimney and colourful "roof tiles".
Such wonderful work!

Independently created ball run

Testing of gradients & forces

Engineering Experiments

Balance and focus

Investigation & Imagination

Personal office space created...

Curiosity Box of Treasures:
"Look at this heart one."
"Those ones look like eyeballs..."
"Three the same."

Fun with Forces:
It was a windy day so the children had fantastic fun making their own kites and experimenting with them in the gusts of wind.

Caterpillar Curiosity

Our caterpillars have arrived in nursery to great excitement, and the children have been fascinated to study them.

Over the next few weeks we will care for them and watch them grow and transform, as we learn about their life cycles.

Block Play: Literacy & Engineering

Collaborative Play

Inspired by a child's idea, we created our own bridge at the Block Play area based on the story '3 Billy Goats Gruff'.

"The Gruffalo is the troll!"

"The troll will hear me walking on the bridge!"

"I hope they don't knock it down. I'm going to try it!"

Drama and Imaginative Play

Building Friendships

Fruit & Veg Threading

At our snack area we are using our hand-eye coordination to thread laces through a variety of fruit & vegetables made out of card.

“I‘m going to thread the watermelon one”

"Banana!"

“It‘s tricky at first!"

“ I think I’m doing it!"

Literacy: Sounds using fruit & veg

Some of the children have been learning about sounds and with support they have been matching them to the correct fruit/vegetable.

'Is it 'C' for Carrot or 'C' for peach?'

"I think it's carrot!"

'Is it 'G' for apple or 'G' for grapes?"

"Grapes!"

Building with Grapes: STEM

We are using our fine motor skills and imagination to make 2D and 3D structures, using grapes and cocktail sticks.

Have a look at all our creative structures!

"It's a square!"

“I made a hat!"

"It looks like a number 5."

"It is a windmill!"

"It is the letter L!"

"I made a person!"

"A flower!"

"It's a spiky ball!"

"It is a roof!"

"I'm turning it!"

"I'm spinning it very fast!"

🪲🐞 Literacy, Music & Dance🐛🦋
In more fun interactive storytelling, Miss Cairnie has been reading The Marveloso Minibeast Maloo, and the children have been taking part through song and movement to music, joining in with some very energetic minibeast dances...

🐞 The Ladybird Limbo 🐞

How low can you go?

The Centipede Cha Cha

Building on last week's Transient Art work, the children explored further creatively, using found natural objects, such as shells, pebbles, driftwood, sheeps' wool and sea glass. They combined these with pastel chalks in a variety of innovative ways.

This artist chose to trace around the eye-shaped pebble....

...then drew in her own pupil and iris.

"I'm doing a monster."

Colouring driftwood

"Look at this ice stone."

"That's my Grandad."

"This is the hair."

"I found a daisy and I put it there."

Science:
Sparking Curiosity
Some of the children have been experimenting with electric circuits and discovering how they work.
"The battery gives it the power."

Matching and Sorting:
Which objects use electricity?

Power source- is it battery or mains?

"You plug the big ones in at the wall!"

Muddy Movers

Outdoors we are practising and developing our Physical Skills and our resilience by trying out various challenges and obstacle courses.

Jumping ~ Balancing ~
Assessing risk ~
Developing core strength ~ Building stamina

Mud Kitchen

We are using our hand-eye coordination to practice our chopping skills at the mud kitchen. We are displaying good perseverance skills & we are being responsible when using the knives. We are cutting the fruit/vegetables into halves and counting how many pieces we have!

“I’m being careful doing this one!”

“Look, I’m doing well...”

“Waffles are potatoes.”

"So are chips!"

"You can have chicken and chips for dinner!"

“We need to cut it into more tiny pieces”

We are chopping up the apples into halves and quarters!

"I'm mashing them all up!”

"It is potato and apple soup!"

Flower Nature Cupcakes

“I want to add sand to it!”

We are making cupcakes using a variety of nature we found outside such as
blossom, grass, sticks, leaves, flowers, bark and sand.

“I think I will put it in the oven.”

"I'm pouring the water & mixing it!”

"There are different flowers!"

“I am putting the mixture into the cupcake cases!"

"We need to add water!"

Discovery with Dandelions

The children are learning about dandelions through numeracy play. We are counting the dandelions and matching them to the correct numbered vase.

What new information have we learned about dandelions?

"They grow in the grass!"

"Can you actually eat them?"

"They are flowers!"

"I need 10 dandelions..."

"1,2,3,4,5"

"I am making dandelion soup!"

We made yellow playdough and modelled it with seeds, as we learned more about the life cycles of sunflowers and dandelions.

Transient Art:
Exploring Similarities & Differences

In our outdoor area the children have been busy creating different faces using a variety of natural objects. They chose what they wanted to use for their creations - different colours, sizes and shapes of leaves, flowers, sticks and grass.

"I'm using this for my belly button!"

"This is a belt for my dress!"

"I am making you! Here's your mouth - you're happy!"

"I need a long nose. I am making Olaf the snowman!"

"I am making a sleepy face"

"The flowers are going to be the hairband."

"He has legs and no hair!"

"I am going to make you, Miss McFarlane! Look this is your hair clip!"

"The circles are your glasses!"

"I am making a sad face"

We are reading a book and discussing how we are all different.

"This person looks like you!"

"It is a dog!"

Creating Community Connections:
Connections with Nature,
Connections with our Environment,
& Inter-Generational Connections

In our nursery garden, we have been busy transporting soil, filling planters and planting or replanting herbs and vegetables. To extend these connections, some of the children took a mindful walk to Bonnyton House to share what they have learnt and been doing with other generations.

On their mindful walk, the children listened out for bird song and stopped to touch, smell and compare different plants and flowers.
"We have forget-me-nots in our garden too!"

At Bonnyton House they greeted the residents and then worked outside their conservatory to plant sunflower seeds for them. We also enjoyed a Bookbug session together, singing a few traditional songs, plus "Ten Little Daffodils".

We have left the sunflower plant pots for the residents, who wrote their names on recycled shells as labels next to them. They were planted on May 10th and we will compare their progress to the ones we have planted back at our nursery. We are looking forward to seeing how much they have grown next time we visit Bonnyton House!

Transporting soil to restructure our Nursery Garden

Filling the planters and smoothing the soil

Some plants need to be started off indoors first

Smelling the herbs: "We have mint and coriander."

Tending the garden

Planting Peas

Labelling the peas & herbs, using recycled shells

Off to Bonnyton House...
to share our gardening skills

On our mindful walk we stopped to look at different plants. We found so much beautiful pink blossom, blown on to the ground!

Inspecting the lavender in the garden at Bonnyton House

Planting sunflowers for the residents to keep, watch and grow.

See you next time!

"A child who has cared for another living thing is more easily led to care for his own life."
Friedrich Froebel
(from Lilley, Friedrich Froebel, A Selection from his Writings, London, Cambridge University Press)

Mark-Making in the Sand

Literacy: Story Journeys & Interactive Storytelling
Some of the children were building a house in the Block Corner. One of the children observed that "The Three Little Pigs is a story about animals building houses". This led to us reading this traditional tale together, and the children were keen to join in the story with puppets and props. They enjoyed feeling and comparing the different building materials.

The house that inspired the story session.

"Can I be the wolf?"

"I am blowing on the straw. It's not good for building."

"And the wolf was tired from all that blowing so he had a sleep.
THE END"

Another traditional tale we have been exploring is
The Little Red Hen.

Inspired by Miss Cairnie's wonderful storytelling, the children have been retelling it using signs, gesture and symbols to punctuate the story.
Afterwards they continued their exploration of the story using various textured props, and they built on it as they went, adding their own personal strands to it.

"The goat was too busy on the hill eating grass."

Here comes the hen....

The children take on the roles of the bull, the cat and the mouse.

"The Little Red Hen looked..."

"She said WHO....?"

What an excellent design plan!

Building Bridges

At the block area, the children were challenged to build a bridge across the river, so that the dinosaurs could cross safely.

First they drew a design of their bridge.

Then they chose their resources.

Marvellous Models

Next the children started to build their bridge, testing and experimenting as they created it. They used their problem solving skills and made changes when required.

They were also learning the names of some 3D shapes, such as Cube, Cuboid and Cylinder.

"We need more of these!"

"Make a ladder to get them up or a slide!"

One of the finished bridges!

Leaf cutters
Fine motor skills and hand-eye co-ordination

“It’s spiky”
“That’s dark green and that’s light green”

We are practising our scissors skills by cutting a variety of leaves. We are discussing their colours, shapes, textures & smells. We also used the magnifying glasses to look at the patterns on the leaves and to compare them.