News Update

June

2018

Providing quality, service & value since 1991

Now we are in the summer season and the weather is getting better, please could all parents provide sun hats and sun cream for their child. These can be kept in their tray or bag or you may prefer to bring them in on a daily basis. Please note we cannot apply another child’s sun cream to your child in case of allergies.The Babies have had a busy time exploring their local community. We have made the most of the lovely weather by visiting our local play parks, Victoria Park and Keddie Park. All children showed increased confidence whilst exploring these areas and playing with their parachute and balls.

Some of the Babies are working hard to kick the ball and share it with their friends. A positive experience for all! We have been spending time in our garden area by climbing in and out of tyres, as well as crawling along the planks of wood and moving it all over the garden. Some of the older Babies have been concentrating on climbing the big slide in the garden with some support from staff. We have also been taking morning snack outdoors in the garden and in the community, which was a great success with the Babies. Whilst in the community, all Babies have been waving at different methods of transport and we have been lucky enough to get some waves back!

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Hello!

The Babies also had the opportunity to pick their own snack when we visited our local shop. We arrived at the shop but all but one baby was asleep - our babies do love their sleep! We will try this experience again at a different time of day. Additionally, we have visited Inverleith Park, taking walks around the park and playing in the play park. The Babies visited the Royal Botanical Gardens where they were able to see lot of brightly coloured flowers which they could smell. They explored the grass areas by crawling or walking.This month we have taken a walk to the harbour a few times giving all children the opportunity to visit the boats, in which they showed interest by babbling and pointing enthusiastically. As part of our water theme, we have been visiting the ducks and repeating their sounds at nursery, giving the babies a chance to recall and repeat.We have had some lovely experiences at the allotment with Molly. All Babies have

been engaging well and following short simple instructions from Molly.Within the room, we have been exploring our senses through messy play. We used thin brushes and cotton buds to develop hand-eye coordination skills whilst painting on tin foil. We also glued with feathers, wool and textured paper. Putting the glue on the paper was the most exciting part - we got nice and sticky! The Babies have also been making marks on paper with chalk, with some babies trying to taste the chalk! Balloons have been popular within the room this week, with all babies showing interest by sitting on the balloons, sharing them between their peers and throwing them in the air then chasing after them. On the slightly cooler days we have been bringing outdoor play indoors. This involved bringing slides and seesaws inside with all children exploring these independently.We have now started a new music/sensory class called Caterpillar Music on Fridays

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mornings. The participating Babies have been engaging well with the teachers of the classes.We been painting our feet this month - the finished works are now displayed within the room. The Babies who were unsure about the paint on their feet used their hands and a variety of brushes and sponges to make marks on the paper. We also had some indoors time exploring stories as well as song time with actions and musical instruments. We connected mega blocks to help us develop our hand-eye coordination skills. We used cotton wool on pegs and a variety of brushes to paint on to paper.We have been reading stories independently and babbling to tell our peers about the stories. We have also explored Peek-a-boo, musical instruments and the house corner. We visited the library exploring books and practiced becoming confident individuals within the community.All photos from the week can we viewed in the protected gallery for families of Summerside to view (just ask a member of staff for the password) or on class dojo.This month, the Tweenies have been exploring their local and wider community and have loved the variety of transport we have seen out in the streets. Due to the interest the children have had in this, we have brought the Transport theme indoors. The children have loved driving the different transport types that they found around the Tweenie room through a mixture of shaving foam, glitter and colourful textures. They have taken a great interest in seeing the different tyre marks and comparing sizes and patterns. The children have explored water play with some boats and have enjoyed cleaning different types of transport using clothes and soap.The Tweenies had a ‘Step Up’ dance trial class, which the children loved participating

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in; they had the opportunity to move their bodies to different types of music and they were given the chance to use colourful instruments while they danced. We are looking to offer this again once our yoga term has finished.In our yoga sessions every Monday the children pretend to be different animals, sing nursery rhymes and follow short instructions.The children helped Molly to plant around the garden at nursery and were very excited when they saw bugs in the soil. They spent a while watching them move and talked about how many legs each one had. A great counting experience outdoors was enjoyed by all. The children helped Molly move the bugs into the compost bin. We have some brave Tweenies!We have made junk model cars using paint and glue - this was messy but fun! These are displayed in our room. We have also practiced our fine motor skills by cutting out pictures of transport and using glue to make some collages.We took a trip along to the library to collect stories on transport. We had a nice time reading books while we were there and chose a few to bring back.In addition, the children have been practising numbers and letters through looking at stories, foam letters and by chatting with staff in small groups.The children have had a chance to explore more technology within our room by using the laptop. The children have been very keen to use the computer and learn all about the mouse and keypad. This is another great opportunity for the children to improve their literacy skills. We have also used the laptop to look at different types of transport and their environment.The Tweenies have also been busy creating art using the wheels of cars, trucks, buses and trains. We have mixed colours and

used a range of colourful textures and materials to enhance our paintings. These masterpieces can be seen in our room.The children have had an opportunity to make their own lunch: home-made pizzas! This was a great activity which the children fully embraced, picking their own toppings and making choices independently! The children were very good at listening to instructions and showed great turn-taking skills. And at the end we had some lovely pizzas for lunch!One sunny morning we decided to visit Pilrig Park, taking snacks along with us. The children loved exploring the large climbing frame, slides, seesaws and swings, each one of them gaining confidence as they used them.We have been to Keddie Park, again gaining confidence and gross motor skills on the outdoor equipment. We have enjoyed a walk in our local community, where we have spotted diggers and other construction vehicles.The Pre School children have been concluding their ‘Jobs People Do’ topic. We have spoken about various occupations and what we maybe would like to do when we grow up. We have had great answers, such a ‘space doctor’, ‘police lady’,‘shopkeeper’,‘boss’ and a ‘garage doctor’!We have continued the focus around money as our set-up shop was still proving very popular. Most of the children are confident in knowing what ‘money’ is and can name some of the smaller amounts such as 1p, 2p, 5p. We have enjoyed using the coins in different areas of the nursery, such as using them to do coin rubbings. This led us on to talk about what is on each coin, and they are now able to say the Queen’s head is on one side, and they know to look for the value of the coin at the bottom.Extending the interest in money, a small

group of children took a trip to Asda to get some fruit. We chose some apples, strawberries, grapes and oranges. Each child had a chance to scan a piece of fruit. We discussed the price of each item and put our money into the slot. We waited for our change and receipt and took our purchases back to nursery.To finish off our topic we arranged for the local Police to visit us. They were very good, explaining what they do in their day and letting us try the handcuffs, hat and baton. The children were very keen to ask about ‘baddies’ and what happens when they go to jail.

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We have also had a few trips to Gorgie Farm, looking at some spring animals. We spent some lovely mornings finding lambs, piglets, and baby goats. The children were amused that the latter were called kids! We had our snacks there and enjoyed some time in the play park.We have now started a new topic ‘Under the Sea’ in which the children are all taking a keen interest. Our house corner is now an area for our large pirate ship, where the children are involving themselves in role play using dressing up supplies to support their play. We have been painting several fish for our display and learning all about different fish.We now have iPads specifically for the children to use. We have got apps to support their learning in the ‘Under the Sea’ theme and are using YouTube Kids for songs and stories. Each child using one has a set

of headphones so not to disturb the rest of the room. They use the 5 minute timer to limit their time looking at a screen. They are beginning to become confident in opening the iPad up and selecting the app they would like.The Pre School children are starting to participate in free flow experiences. The garden doors will now be open throughout the whole day so the children can decide if they would like to play outside or stay indoors. Please could all parents provide appropriate clothing for their children as we will be outdoors in all weathers.

Have a great month,

MichelleNursery Manager

Recipe for 12 muffins

Easy Blueberry

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Ingredients

• 110g butter• 250g plain flour• 250g caster sugar• 2 eggs• 125ml milk• 2 teaspoons baking powder• 1/2 teaspoon salt• 225g fresh blueberries

Method

1 - Preheat oven to 180 oC / Gas 4. 2 - Grease and flour a muffin tin or line with paper

cases. Sieve flour, baking powder and salt together and set aside.

3 - Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and beat well. Add milk and flour mixture. Beat until combined. Stir in blueberries.

4 - Fill muffin tin 2/3 full. 5 - Bake at 180 oC / Gas 4 for 25 to 30 minutes.

At the AllotmentWith the lovely warm weather this month, the plants at the allotment are growing well. The soil is now warm enough to plant more tender summer vegetables such as pumpkins, runner beans, tomatoes and sweetcorn. Throughout the month we have been preparing our pocket pallet garden to show at Gardening Scotland. The children have been building, painting and decorating a pallet under the theme ‘our nursery allotment: a welcome place for all’. The little garden will be filled with plants grown in the allotment that the children have been caring for the past few months. As we transplanted some of these seedlings, we noticed that a hungry snail had been nibbling on the leaves. We made a special garlic ’tea’ to spray on the leaves so they don’t taste as nice. An environmentally friendly way of growing healthy plants!

With the higher temperatures, the wildlife in the allotment is becoming more active. The children have had fun going on bug hunts and exploring the different insect habitats around the allotment. The compost pile is a sure place to find many creepy crawlies. We have been learning about composting and the role of these bugs in the process as we practiced mixing the right ingredients for the perfect compost stew.We continue to harvest salads, radishes, leafy greens and lots of rhubarb to bring back to nursery. Summer fruit are ripening and we are all looking forward to snacking on some tasty berries in the next few weeks!

Bye for now,

Molly

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WHat's on...

Peppa Pig’s Adventure in EdinburghKings Theatre, 2 Leven Street, Edinburgh, Midlothian, EH3 9LQ

30 Jun 2018 - 01 Jul 20181000, 1300 & 1600

Join Peppa as she gets ready to go on an exciting camping trip to the woods with George and her school friends, including Pedro Pony, Suzy

Sheep and Gerald Giraffe. With lunch-boxes packed and Daddy Pig driving the bus, Peppa

and friends are excited about their outdoor adventure, full of games, laughter and live music! The happy campers soon settle down to sleep and listen to the gentle pitter patter of rain. Safe and warm

inside their tents the excited group can look forward to morning time, when there will be lots of muddy puddles to play in!

For more information: 0131 529 6000

The Pitt 125 Pitt Street, Leith, Edinburgh, EH6 4DEEvery Saturday. £2 adults, children free.

A street food market with live music and entertainment. The best traders from across Scotland spend Saturdays here with buskers and

dedicated drinks specialists including Barney’s Beer, Smith & Gertrude and Solid Liquids.

For more information: www.thepitt.co.uk

Growing Up With BooksMuseum of Childhood Edinburgh

42 High Street, Edinburgh Old Town EH1 1TG

Explore the world of children’s books in this exhibition on now at the Museum of Childhood.

This exhibition will have a large selection of books from the Museum archives, ranging from the 18th century through to the mid 20th

century. There will be some familiar characters and some surprises - such as well known fairy tales or a book from 1725 with a connection to Bonnie Prince Charlie. Personal stories are told through inscriptions,

scraps and handmade stories.

For more information: www.edinburghmuseums.org.uk/whats-on/growing-books

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Page 11 of 11Copyright 2018

1 Summerside Street • Edinburgh EH6 4NTw www.summersidekindergarten.org • t 0131 554 6560

e admin@summersidekindergarten.org

SummersideKindergarten & Pre SchoolProviding quality, service & value since 1991

Being outdoors has a positive impact on mental, emotional, physical and social wellbeing. The outdoors, which refers to the immediate environment attached to the setting, the local community and beyond, can provide opportunities for participating in new, challenging and healthy experiences. Most staff in early years settings understand that they have an important responsibility to ensure that regular and frequent outdoor experiences are integral to everyday practice for all children.

When making provision for outdoor experiences, staff can: • enhance the outdoor area by ensuring

the provision of a range of resources, such as natural materials, musical instruments, dressing-up clothes and tents

• maximise opportunities for literacy and numeracy development

• manage risk effectively by balancing the risks and benefits of outdoor learning experiences

• take full advantage of the benefits

offered by the wider environment in respect of real-life living and learning, perhaps by making regular visits to local amenities and using public transport.

At Summerside Kindergarten within our Baby and Tweenie room we provide daily outdoor experiences in all weather conditions. We use our local community to grow in confidence, practice/develop our walking and listening skills. We take regular trips to our allotment to plant and collect fresh produce. We give all children the opportunity to explore different areas within our community such as the local play parks, a visit to the ducks, ball/parachute games in the park, story/song time in the play park. We also make use of our lovely garden we have exploring the slides, sand and loose parts play. If we want to explore the wider community we use our mini bus and take the children on a variety of trips. We plan and give children ample amount of time to explore their surroundings when outdoors.

Pre-Birth

To Three