The document provides information for parents about Mid Calder Nursery Class. It introduces the 4 staff members and provides helpful hints for parents. It outlines the nursery curriculum, which focuses on play, interaction and embedding literacy and numeracy. The document details the weekly schedule and activities, including free play, group times, Enjoy-A-Ball sessions and story time. It provides suggestions for how parents can support literacy, numeracy, listening and talking skills at home. It also describes other nursery activities and upcoming home lending activity sacks.

1. Mid Calder Nursery Class
Meet the Teacher 2016
Thursday 8th
September
WELCOME!

2. Staff
We have 4 staff working in the
nursery:-
Mrs Carol Diamond
Mrs Leanne Murray
Mrs Lynn Findlay
Mrs Mary Aikman

3. Helpful Hints!
•Your child has been allocated a peg and a
shoe box but items still get mixed up, so can
you please ensure that all your child’s
belongings are clearly named.
•We try to make the children as independent
as possible when it comes to dressing
themselves for outdoor play so shoes with
Velcro are more suitable than laces, unless
your child can tie the laces for themselves!
•If your child has a nursery bag, hang that up
on the peg first with their coat on top, as it
makes it easier for them to take their own
coat down from the peg without having to
wrestle with a bag as well!

4. Snack
•Snack money – remember to
mark off on the register that
you have paid your snack
money. This can be paid
weekly (£1) or in blocks.

5. Nursery Curriculum
•Learning in the nursery comes through
play and interaction with other children
and adults. Literacy and Numeracy are
embedded in to these play activities.
•Our planning comes directly from the
children and the things they show an
interest in. They are fully involved in the
planning process.
• We provide areas in the nursery where
the children play and explore and we aim
to provide a balance between free play
and structured activities.

6. Weekly Overview
• The following timetables will give you an
idea of how the children’s week is
organised, including Enjoy-A-Ball, group
times and singing times.
• The weekly timetables are on display in
the entrance.
• We have also included a group story time
at the end of each session.

7.
Monday
8.05 am –
8.40am
Breakfast
Club
(FELC)
8.40am – 9am
Active Free Play
(Indoor only)
9am – 9.10am
Gathering Time
9.10am –9.25am
Small Group Time
9.25am – 10.45am
Active Free Play
(Indoor and Outdoor)
10.45am – 10.55am
Tidy Up Time
10.55am – 11.10am
Gathering Time
(Story, song, smartboard
singing)
11am Doors open
Tuesday
8.05 am –
8.40am
Breakfast
Club
(FELC)
8.40am – 9am
Active Free Play
(Indoor only)
9am – 9.15am
Small Group
Time
9.15am – 10.45am
Active Free Play
(Indoor and Outdoor)
10.45am – 10.55am
Tidy Up Time
10.55am – 11.10am
Gathering Time
(Story, song, smartboard
singing)
11am Doors open
Wednesday
8.05 am –
8.40am
Breakfast
Club
(FELC)
8.40am – 9am
Active Free Play
(Indoor only)
9am – 9.45am
Active Free Play
(Indoor and
Outdoor)
9.45am – 10.15am
Enjoy a Ball
Group 1
(Free Play Grp 2)
10.15am – 10.45am
Enjoy a Ball
Group 2
(Free Play Grp 1)
10.45am – 10.55am
Tidy Up Time
10.55am – 11.10am
Gathering Time
(Story, song, smartboard
singing)
11am Doors open
Thursday
8.05 am –
8.40am
Breakfast
Club
(FELC)
8.40am – 9am
Active Free Play
(Indoor only)
9am – 9.15am
Small Group
Time
9.15am – 10.45am
Active Free Play
(Indoor and Outdoor)
10.45am – 10.55am
Tidy Up Time
10.55am – 11.10am
Gathering Time
(Story, song, smartboard
singing, review of learning)
11am Doors open
Friday
8.05 am –
8.40am
Breakfast
Club
(FELC)
8.40am – 9am
Active Free Play
(Indoor only)
9am – 9.15am
Big Group Time
(review of
learning)
9.15am – 10.50am
Active Free Play
(Indoor and Outdoor)
10.50am – 11am
Tidy Up Time
11am – 11.15am
Gathering Time
(Story, song, smartboard
singing, review of learning)
11.15am Doors open
Morning Class

8.
Monday
11.55 am –
12.30pm
Active Free Play
(Indoor only)
12.30pm –
12.35pm
Big Group Time
12.35pm –
1.15pm
Active Free
Play
(Indoor only)
1.15pm – 1.45pm
Enjoy a Ball
Group 1
(Free Play Grp 2)
1.45pm – 2.15pm
Enjoy a Ball
Group 2
(Free Play Grp 1)
2.15pm – 2.45pm
Active Free Play
(Indoor and
Outdoor)
2.45pm –
2.55pm
Tidy Up
Time
2.55pm –3.05pm
Gathering Time
(Story, song,
smartboard singing)
3pm Doors open
3.05pm – 4pm
After school
additional
Hours
(FELC)
Tuesday
11.55 am –
12.30pm
Active Free Play
(Indoor only)
12.30pm –
12.45pm
Small Group
Time
12.45pm – 2.45pm
Active Free Play
(Indoor and Outdoor)
2.45pm –
2.55pm
Tidy Up
Time
2.55pm –3.05pm
Gathering Time
(Story, song,
smartboard singing)
3pm Doors open
3.05pm – 4pm
After school
additional
Hours
(FELC)
Wednesday
11.55 am –
12.30pm
Active Free Play
(Indoor only)
12.30pm –
12.45pm
Small Group
Time
12.45pm – 2.45pm
Active Free Play
(Indoor and Outdoor)
2.45pm –
2.55pm
Tidy Up
Time
2.55pm –3.05pm
Gathering Time
(Story, song,
smartboard singing)
3pm Doors open
3.05pm – 4pm
After school
additional
Hours
(FELC)
Thursday
11.55 am –
12.30pm
Active Free Play
(Indoor only)
12.30pm –
12.45pm
Small Group
Time
12.45pm – 2.45pm
Active Free Play
(Indoor and Outdoor)
2.45pm –
2.55pm
Tidy Up
Time
2.55pm –3.05pm
Gathering Time
(Story, song,
smartboard singing)
3pm Doors open
3.05pm – 4pm
After school
additional
Hours
(FELC)
Afternoon Class

9. How to help at home -
Literacy
Within the nursery the children will experience
a variety of literacy skills. These can be
supported at home:-
Writing
•Recognition of their name
•Begin to write their name
•Encourage correct pencil hold
•Painting, colouring in, threading, play dough
and finger gym are all activities that help their
fine motor control

10. How to help at home -
LiteracyReading
When reading regularly with your child please
point out and discuss the following:-
•Title, author, illustrator
•The front and back of the book
•Where to start to read and the direction you
follow when reading
•Discuss the pictures and story, listen to your
child’s ideas about the story and why they liked
it
•Play letter and sound games

11. How to help at home -
LiteracyGames to play
•Eye Spy
•Rhyming songs and stories
•Looking at sounds at the beginning of words
•Magnetic letters and boards
•Use lots of different materials to write with
Reasons for reading and writing
•Shopping lists
•Notes
•Cards

12. How to help at home - Numeracy
Within the nursery the children will experience
a variety of numeracy skills. These can be
supported at home:-
•Counting on and back in ones 0-10, orally,
using number tracks and starting and stopping
at different points
•Reading numbers 0-10 – practice in
environment
•Begin to write numbers 0-10
•Positioning and ordering numbers 0-10
•Smaller and larger numbers
•Counting collections by touching, moving,
putting in to rows and without touching

13. How to help at home - Numeracy
Suggested activities:-
•Count going up/down stairs
•Count buttons on clothes
•Count red cars
•Numbers on buses
•Number songs –1,2,3,4,5, Five currant buns,
Five Little Men in a flying Saucer
•Number Games – Snakes and Ladders,
Dominoes, Orchard Toys
•Websites – Education City, Top Marks

14. How to help at home – Listening and
Talking
Children learn a lot from listening and talking.
As your child is playing ask questions:-
•What are you doing?
•What happens next?
•How did you build/do that?
•How can I help you?
•How do you feel?
Encourage your child to tell stories or retell an
event.

15. How to help at home – Listening and
Talking
Listening Games:-
•Stand quietly – what can you hear?
•Tap or clap out sound patterns – can your
child copy you?
•Give your child silly instructions. Can they
follow them? – put your gloves on your feet
•Put noisy objects out. Can your child tell you
what is making the noise with their eyes
closed?

16. Online Learners Journey
We are about to trial an online system for
Learners Journeys. This will replace our old
system of paper Learners Journeys.
This means that you will now be able to access
your child’s profile any time you want, as long
as you have an internet connection.
You will be able to leave comments on your
child’s learning and share achievements from
home in their journal.

17. Online Learners Journey
It is important that you return the permission
slip with your email address to the Nursery as
soon as possible in order to have this new
system up and running by October break
If you don’t have an internet connection at
home you are more than welcome to view your
child’s profile from within the nursery as before
by using our computers/ iPads.
More information will be made available as time
progresses.

18. Other nursery activities!
As well as keeping the children busy in and around the
nursery we also provide the children with opportunities
to:
• Go on walks in the surrounding area and create links
with the local community
•Visit East Calder Library
•Once a year, in the summer term the whole nursery
goes on an outing
•Take part in a Nativity performance for family and also
for the local community in December, as well as an
assembly in the summer term performed in front of the
infant classes and family.
•We aim to attend assembly roughly once a month on
a Friday morning for the morning group and a
Thursday afternoon for the afternoon group.

19. Home lending activity sacks
We are hoping to start Home Lending sacks
after the October break. These will include:-
•Rhyme bag
•Busy bag
•Number puppies
•Adventure teddies
There will be a separate meeting for parents
who wish to take part in the story sacks
programme before we start this.

20. Thank you for
coming and
showing your
support.