Good afternoon everyone ,

We have all been very busy at Craigton  recently -  the children have been spending time outdoors(despite the weather) Den building continues to be very popular- the children have been using canes, logs , tarpaulins , blankets , guttering , plant pots as well as the existing structures in the garden to make wonderful covered areas which have sparked off some very imaginative play . We have had , castles and boats , supermarkets and garages , trains and bus stations and even a restaurant using the outdoor kitchen - these have helped to develop all areas - physical skills , problem solving , co-operation , negotiation and language skills as well as giving opportunities to explore mathematical and science concepts ....and its been great fun too! We will continue to spend time outdoors every day whenever possible , so please ensure that your child has suitable outdoor clothing every day. As we move into Autumn this means warm waterproof jackets and trousers/suits , and boots or wellies . They will also need a change of clothes each day as they will get wet and muddy outdoors(and some soft soled shoes or slippers for indoors) .
The snowdrops, bluebells and buttercups have also had the opportunity to explore the wonderful world of minibeasts , inspired by the huge amount of creatures that have been resident in our garden this 'summer'- there have been some particularly impressive slugs this year! Over the next few weeks they will be focusing on literacy and numeracy , with lots of stories, rhymes and songs to encourage language development and early numeracy skills .
Meanwhile the sunflowers have been investigating all things to do with trains . We are using floorbooks in this department - this is a way for the children to contribute their ideas - these are discussed in groups and noted in the floorbooks , along with comments and pictures by the children . The development of any topic can be seen in the floorbooks(including some often fascinating tangents!) When not in use , the current floorbook is on display on the table in the entrance area , so please have a look at them . We will soon be expanding this with mindmaps for parents , so you can add your own suggestions or share interesting information with the entire class . This year the sunflowers will also be focusing on a particular experience/outcome in the CfE so that these can be covered in depth . The current focus is Health and Wellbeing 0-04 - this is about understanding your own feelings and having respect for the feelings of others. There's a lot going on at the moment that will affect the children( some starting school, others moving into new departments)  and this focus gives them lots of opportunities to discuss how these transitions affect them all and to begin to be able to manage change . For more information on CfE , please visit   http://www.bexcellent.org.uk/   this a great site for both parents and children explaining the CfE .
Staff news : the sunflowers will be joined by a new nursery assistant next week . Chantel  Brown recently left  school , and is really looking forward to getting to know all the sunflowers and their families. We said goodbye to Emily and Cari  recently , and Jen will be finishing this week too - they have all  been with us over the summer but now have to go back to Uni and college  to continue with their studies.

Its also time for our self evaluation to be submitted to the Care Inspectorate . This does take some time to complete and we would like your contributions too . Copies of last years evaluation will be on display in each department by the end of this week . Please have a look through this , and if you have anything you'd like to comment on or add, please email   marion.barker@clns.co.uk    before 19th September so I can include them in our submission. - Thank you

One of our Craigton parents , Alison Siggins , is trying to get a group together to start a Foot Stars programme for 2-3yr olds on Mondays at Peterculter Sports Centre . Foot Stars provide coaching to young children in the early stages of football through imaginary play that children can relate to in everyday life. For more info please visit http://www.footstars.co.uk/.  If you're interested , please contact Alison at alison_siggins@hotmail.com 

Dont forget that you can leave your own comments on the blog , or add an instant reaction by checking the boxes under each entry - you will need to visit the blogspot to do this  http://craigtonlodgenursery.blogspot.co.uk/

And finally a reminder that the nursery will be closed for the local holiday on Monday 24th September . We shall also close at 6pm on Friday 21st December re-opening 8am Thursday 3rd Jan 2013