michelle - summerside kindergarten...cabbage, swiss chard ‘bright lights’ and kohl rabi. we also...

We have been celebrating St Andrew at nursery. The children enjoyed ceilidh dancing, music, poems and some Scottish food such as oatcakes and haggis, neeps & tatties. On St Andrew’s Day our Green Flag was replaced by the Saltire and the children participated in making their own flags with the St Andrew’s Cross.The Pre School children have all now visited Beecraigs which is a country park in West Lothian. They went on adventures through the woods as well as exploring the pond where they saw the swans and ducks. After a picnic lunch, which all the children loved, they spent the afternoon exploring the park. Some of the children were having races on the flying foxes we then conquered the obstacle course to get to the big slide. At nursery the Pre School children are finishing up their Shapes and Colours topic and are now starting their Winter & Christmas topic. The children are very excited to start singing winter and Christmas songs and are especially excited for the return of our Tinsel Tours in the minibus to look at all the Christmas lights. The Tweenies recent outing to Vogrie Country Park had to be changed at the last minute due to the weather. Instead they went to the harbour and play park at Musselburgh Quay. Despite the cold weather they had an excellent time. They explored the sandy park and enjoyed playing with the diggers, mastering the climbing frames and pouring sand down the tubes. They

finished-off with a picnic lunch. In the Tweenie Room we have been finishing our Colour topic, they have been exploring a variety of shape sorting toys and puzzles and have worked very hard to complete colour matching worksheets. The Tweenies are also looking forward to the up and coming Tinsel Tour outings in the minibus and they have been practicing their singing.The Babies recently had an exciting trip to Dalkeith Country Park. The children explored the park taking walks through the grounds which were covered in leaves; the Babies were collecting leaves as they went. They then visited the cows and watched them being fed! They didn’t let the cold weather dampen their spirits and they still had a fun time in the play park and enjoyed a picnic for lunch. All Babies will be participating in our Annual Tinsel Tour outings in the minibus! At nursery the babies are concentrating on developing their sense of touch. The stone sensory box has been most popular with the children; we have been adding leaves and sticks that the babies have been collecting on walks.

Have a great week,

MichelleNursery Manager

Hello!

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Ingredients

• 1.5kg peeled and deseeded butternut squash, cut into 3cm cubes

• 1 large onion, roughly chopped

• 2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped

• 1 red pepper, deseeded and cut into cubes

• 4 tbsp olive oil

• 1 tbsp clear honey

• 5cm piece fresh root ginger, peeled and chopped

• 1.5 litres / 2½ pints vegetable stock

• salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

1 - Preheat the oven to 200oC/180oC fan.

2 - Tip the prepared squash into a large, resealable freezer bag with the onion, carrots and red pepper. Add half the oil, salt and pepper and toss everything together until the vegetables are evenly coated. Tip into a large roasting tin and spread out to form a single layer.

3 - Roast in the oven for 40-45 minutes, or until tender and tinged brown. Drizzle over the honey five minutes before the end of cooking.

4 - Place the large, deep-sided saucepan over a medium heat, add the remaining oil and, when it is hot, add the ginger and fry for a minute. Pour in the stock and bring to the boil, then stir in the roasted vegetables and add salt and pepper.

5 - Remove the saucepan from the heat and, using a hand blender, blend the mixture until smooth. Return to the heat to warm through and serve hot with crusty bread.

Thick Roasted Butternut Squash Soup, great

for the cold weather.

Roasted Butternut

Squash Soup

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At the AllotmentWinter doesn’t officially start until the equinox on December 21, but clearly Jack Frost has paid a visit to the allotment this month and there has been a frosty tinge all over. The sun is very low in the sky at this time of year and only just touches the very top of the allotment on bright days. Our water butts have frozen over and any tender plants remaining have gone over, but on a good note - weeds have stopped growing!Things have started to wind down at the allotment now, but there are still jobs to do and things to harvest throughout the

year if you plan well. The spinach plants we covered last week with horticultural fleece to protect from frost have managed to survive and we will harvest them before it gets any colder as they will wilt. The last of the tomato crop had frozen in the polytunnel as temperatures were so low, so we cut the plants down and took them to nursery. The children had great fun picking and handling the strange frozen fruit, placing them in a bowl to ripen on the warm kitchen windowsill. The space we made in the polytunnel has now made way for over-wintering

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cabbage, Swiss chard ‘Bright lights’ and kohl rabi. We also have our seed table in the polytunnel where we are starting off our garlic, broad beans and winter seedlings giving them a good start and keeping them off the ground away from little critters. The winter-loving kale plants the children planted recently are doing really well and we will harvest them during the coldest part of the year. Our Brussels sprouts are forming nicely now after the young crop had a bad start in summer with an almost fatal attack of cabbage root fly. All our raised beds will be cleared, manured and covered this month in preparation for spring when they will be used again. We have enjoyed stunning displays from our dahlias in pots all summer, and now they have finished flowering and are dormant, we will cut them down to the base and store them in the polytunnel as they don’t like winter, wet or frost. They will happily grow away next spring with the benefit of some slow release plant food.

Bye for now,

Nadia

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Eco School

Bulletin

Green Flag Status for Summerside Kindergarten & Pre School Keep Scotland Beautiful is the charity that campaigns, educates and acts on a range of local, national and global sustainability issues. Working collaboratively to achieve positive change; improving people’s quality of life and environment. Eco-Schools is the largest sustainable schools programme in the world and is operated internationally by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE). It connects 15 million children, young people and educators through sustainable development education and is the biggest learning network in the world.Being part of this and our Green Flag Status award is a great achievement for all our hard work, especially the children’s. To achieve Green Flag Status everyone at nursery has engaged in all-year-round eco activities to carry out our actions for our Eco Schools topics and importantly, the monitoring, recording and documentation of all our results and efforts. These are displayed on our eco board, website and eco floor books for everyone to see and follow our Eco Schools journey.

For more information: www.keepscotlandbeautiful.org/sustainable-development-education/eco-schools

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Eco School

Bulletin

Interesting who you meet on Market Street!As part of our Eco Schools activities and our food and environment topic, we are engaging with local businesses and the community. The Pre School children were invited to meet the people who work with the fresh produce at ‘Market Street’ at our local Morrisons Supermarket. Community Champion Kirsty Clark was there with the staff to meet us. The children had a tour of the bakery, slicing their own bread, then a chat with the butcher, fishmonger and pizza counter staff where the children got to make their own pizza with lots of toppings to take back to nursey. We then got to go behind the scenes into the tasting room where the children got to try lots of different and unusual fruit like dragon fruit, papaya, and persimmon, which most of the children tried and liked.

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WHats on...

Monkey BusinessFeaturing more than 60 taxidermy specimens including

orangutans, gorillas and chimpanzees especially created for the exhibition, as well as photography and film. Stand shoulder to shoulder with our closest living relatives. Hands-on interactives

for all ages, this immersive, family-friendly exhibition takes you into the heart of the jungle.

9 Dec 2016 - 23 Apr 2017, 10.00am - 5.00pm. Tickets from £8 with Under 5s FREE!

National Museum of Scotland, Chambers St, Edinburgh EH1 1JFFor more information: www.nms.ac.uk/national-museum-of-

scotland/whats-on/monkey-business

Scottish Chocolate Festival 2016“It’s the most Chocolatey time of the year”

This Christmas come and join the biggest Chocolate Festival to ever hit Edinburgh. A weekend packed with chocolate and activities. A great family day out with lots of kids activities, and

not forgetting the “big kids”. Chocolatiers from all over Scotland, kids workshops, chocolate school, Santa’s chocolate grotto, hot

chocolate cocktail bar and Christmas food & craft market. 17 & 18 Dec, 11.00am to 7.00pm. Adults £10.50, children £7.50

and under 3’s FREE! The Biscuit Factory, 4 - 6 Anderson Place, Edinburgh, EH6 5NP

For more information: www.biscuitfactory.co.uk/event/scottish-chocolate-festival-xmas-special

The Great Edinburgh Santa Fun Run and WalkIt’s a wonder Santa can run anywhere after all those mince pies, but never the less, run he does. Thousands of him. All to

raise funds for the ‘When You Wish Upon a Star’ charity to grant Christmas wishes to sick children. Price includes a Santa suit to

keep (or elf hat for kids). Dogs are welcome too. 11 Dec from 11.00am. Prices to be confirmed.

Ross Theatre Bandstand, Princes Street Gardens, Edinburgh, EH2 2ER

For more information: 01357 529950, [email protected] or www.thesantarun.org.uk

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Parents, carers and families are by far the most important influences in a child’s life. Their support can play a vital role at all stages of education.Parents who take on a supportive role in their children’s learning make a difference in improving achievement and behaviour. The active involvement of parents can help promote a learning community in which children and young people can engage positively with practitioners and their peers.Practitioners can benefit from developing positive partnerships with parents by involving them in all decisions affecting their children’s education and learning. Engaging with parents gives them the chance to understand the role that they play in their children’s learning and development and fosters parental involvement.

The Parental Involvement ActIn May 2006, the Scottish Parliament passed the Scottish Schools (Parental Involvement) Act that aims to help parents to be:• involved with their children’s education and

learning• welcomed as an active participant• encouraged to express their views on educationThe Act was introduced to help parents, carers and schools work together as partners in children’s learning. It places duties on schools, local authorities and Scottish Government to make it easier for parents to become involved.The Parental Involvement Act gives schools the freedom to decide locally on the best way of having parents represented in the life of the nursery.Although the Act refers to schools, the information can be related to other settings

for information and support on engaging parents and families.

Involving all parentsParents are the first and on-going educators of their own children and should receive information and support to help develop learning at home and in the community.

Learning at homeParents are the first and on-going educators of their children and, as such, should receive information and support to help develop their children’s learning at home and in the community.

Home-school partnershipsEffective home-school partnerships are essential to ensure that each child gets the most out of their school and the education system. Schools, settings and practitioners should be open to the involvement of parents in the work they do and should consider opportunities to encourage meaningful involvement to engage with services and their children’s education.

Parental representationParent Councils, forums and associations give parents and carers the opportunity to have their views represented to the setting and local authority on policy matters and decisions affecting the education of their child.

Family learning and community linksFamily learning is recognised as having significant benefits for parents and children of all ages and can be delivered in a range of settings and by a variety of practitioners working in partnership.

Why should parents

be involved?

of 10Copyright 2016

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

e [email protected]

michelle - summerside kindergarten...cabbage, swiss chard ‘bright lights’ and kohl rabi. we also...

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