Balance Bike Success

The Afternoon Group completed their balance bike training this week, and I’m sure you will agree that they have achieved great things in the last six weeks.  Most children couldn’t ride a balance bike at the start of the training, and this week they were confidently controlling the bikes to ride a figure of eight!  Nearly all of the children were able to receive their certificates of achievement today and they look rightly proud of themselves.

A special thank you to the mums and dads who came along to help in all weathers.  The children really needed the extra adult support and without you the training would not have been able to take place.

Thank you also to everyone who contributed to our fundraising effort.  We now have our very own set of 5 bikes and helmets which will be available for children to continue to practise their skills in the nursery playground next term.  We shall keep them safely locked inside the school building over the summer!

After a total of 11 weeks and 48 lessons, 40 children have had the opportunity to learn to ride a balance bike!  Phew!

 

East Links Adventures

We had a fabulous time at East Links today.  The sun shone and it was really warm too – which is why lots of ice-cream got eaten!  Here are a few photos for those of you who couldn’t join us so you can see how much fun we had.

Rhyme of the Week – Old Macdonald had a Farm and Family Fun Day Information

We are off to East Links Family Park on Thursday, so thought we would sing a song about some of the animals we might see there!

Please make sure you have returned your PC1 consent form and payment.  The bus will leave from in front of the school at approximately 9:30 am on Thursday morning.  Please assemble on the front playground for 9:15 am.  We expect to be back at school by 15:00 in time for school pickup.  Remember to bring sunscreen (we live in hope!), wellies, a packed lunch (there is a café if you prefer), a change of clothes etc.  You will be able to leave bags in the picnic barn while you explore the park.

Old Macdonald had a Farm

Old Macdonald had a farm, E-I-E-I-O
And on that farm he had a cow, E-I-E-I-O
With a “moo-moo” here and a “moo-moo” there
Here a “moo”, there a “moo”
Everywhere a “moo-moo”
Old Macdonald had a farm, E-I-E-I-O

And on that farm he had a pig, E-I-E-I-O
With an “oink-oink” here and an “oink-oink” there
Here an “oink”, there an “oink”
Everywhere an “oink-oink”
With a “moo-moo” here and a “moo-moo” there
Here a “moo”, there a “moo”
Everywhere a “moo-moo”
Old Macdonald had a farm, E-I-E-I-O

And on that farm he had a horse, E-I-E-I-O
With a “neigh-neigh” here and a “neigh-neigh” there
Here a “neigh” there a “neigh”
Everywhere a “neigh-neigh”
With an “oink-oink” here and an “oink-oink” there
Here an “oink”, there an “oink”
Everywhere an “oink-oink”
With a “moo-moo” here and a “moo-moo” there
Here a “moo”, there a “moo”
Everywhere a “moo-moo”
Old Macdonald had a farm, E-I-E-I-O
Continue adding animals with their sounds — it’s fun to allow the children to take turns picking the next animal/sound combination

PEEP in the Woods

We have just come to the end of the second PEEP group this year, finishing with the topic ‘Exploring Nature’ in the school woods. Unfortunately, the weather wasn’t the best and made for a soggy story time!  We had a mini-picnic, a nature’s colours hunt, and looked for some mini-beasts too. We used the balance bikes to help us get up to the woods to add to the fun.

Thursday Balance Bikes

We had lots of helpers today – thank you to the mums, dads and grandparents that came along to offer help and encouragement.  I’m sure you’ll all agree the children are doing fantastically after only 4 lessons!

Here are some photos of the Thursday group:

Block Play

There were some very interesting constructions created in the block area last week by our older children.  Have a look at this video to see them at work!

Wednesday Bikers

The weather was a bit better today when we did our balance bikes.  We had a smaller group today.  We scooted really fast to avoid being eaten by the sharks!  We also practised weaving in an out of the cones.  We learned how to push hard with two feet like a frog.

Now the children have had some lessons, the balance bikes are being regularly offered as part of our outdoor provision in the garden so the children can build on their skills.

 

Today’s Balance Bike Training

Today we got a bit wet at Balance Bike Training – although the photographs don’t actually show how wet it was!  Our skills are improving.  Can you see how we lift our legs up now?  We didn’t want the sharks to eat our toes!

Again, a big thank you to the mums and dads for coming to help with helmets, hi-vis jackets, adjusting saddle heights and encouraging the children.

 

 

 

Balance Bikes!

The Afternoon Group are now into their fourth week of Balance Bike training. Thank you to the mums, dads and aunties who have come along to support so far – without you the training would have been unable to take place. As the training progresses children will benefit even more from an adult being present to help them with the games, and it is rewarding for you to share their achievements.

Please note that the Thursday 15:30 groups will be moved to the Wednesday 22nd and 29th because of the nursery trip and sports day.

We are still receiving some sponsor money so can’t give you a final total yet, but we have raised enough to buy our own set of balance bikes and helmets which are being delivered from Belhaven Bikes in Dunbar on Monday. Thank you for your generous contributions which will mean that future classes will benefit from this resource.  If you have still to hand money in, please do so as soon as possible.

Here are some photos of the Monday Group playing the Shark game:

 

Challenge Friday

Last week the Primary 1 and Nursery Afternoon Group worked together for challenge Friday. The Primary 1 children completed a treasure hunt set by the Nursery and the Primary 1 children created a treasure hunt in the woods for the Nursery children. The children worked as teams to complete the treasure hunt challenges. The children used early mapping skills during the challenge. Well done everyone!