Craigton roundup

Hello everyone ,

we have all been very busy at Craigton recently - the children celebrated Diwali last week with lots of investigations and activities linked to the Hindu New Year and Festival of Lights . We have been tidying up the garden and getting ready for winter , keeping the wild bird feeders stocked up to encourage the birds to visit us . There has also  been a lot of outdoor play( we're making the most of it while we can) and the sunflowers have been making plans for an orchard with some helpful suggestions from Jo from Gardening 4 Kids !
Please ensure that your child has suitable outdoor clothing(including boots, hats and gloves) and also soft soled shoes/slippers for indoors- those boots are very hard on little feet all day ! Please also provide a full change of clothes each day your child attends - we do have a small supply of  emergency clothing here , but most children prefer to wear their own. Can I remind you to ensure that all clothing has your child's name/initials on - its very hard to keep track otherwise - please check the lost property boxes too! Thank you.
Coming up :
We shall be celebrating St.Andrew's Day( Patron saint of Scotland) on Friday- there will be tartan and shortbread and poems and music and haggis galore!
There are still a few Giving Tree gift tags left - please take one and get the gifts back to us by this coming Monday(3rd Dec) when Santa's helpers will collect them .
Advent begins on Saturday(1st Dec)  hope you're all ready with your calendars!
The Sunflowers Xmas Concert will be on Wednesday 19th December 3pm, and the Xmas Party on Thursday 20th December 2-4pm .
We are asking for donations for the Xmas raffle which will be drawn after the concert on 19th Dec. Tickets for this will be on sale next week .
And finally a reminder that the nursery will close at 6pm on Friday 21st December and re-open at 8am Thursday 3rd January 2013 .

Don't forget to register at   www.easyfundraising.org.uk - then all that online shopping you do will help to raise funds too. You will also have access to special offers and discounts from hundreds of retailers so it could save you some money too!  Thank you .

New book launch

Hello everyone ,

One of our Craigton grandparents has just published a new children's book . Kathryn Green has written two previous books which we have been very popular in the nursery . Her new book 'Don't Eat Me' is the story of a little acorn who wants to grow into an oak tree . It follows the changes in the countryside with the seasons , and is beautifully illustrated with lots to look at and discuss on each page . We have been using these books in the nursery this week and they are a big hit with the children .

We have some of these for sale(on display in Pre-school) for £5.99 , and Kathryn has very kindly offered a donation to our staff development fund for each book sold - would make great stocking fillers!!!!!!!!

We are also appealing for donations for our Christmas raffle . Tickets for this will go on sale in December and the draw will be made after the sunflowers concert on Wednesday 19th December.

If you're planning a clear out to make room for all the lovely goodies that Santa will bring , don't forget that we have  a charity bin (British Heart Foundation)  at the pre-school entrance.

And finally a reminder that we shall be closing 6pm Friday 21st December and reopen 8am Thursday 3rd Jan 2013

Culter Christmas Lights switch on

Good afternoon everyone ,

One of our parents , James Farquhar is organising the Xmas Lights this year and has the following message for you all

The ‘Switch On Event’ for Culter Christmas Lights takes place on Saturday 24^th November at Culter Village Hall from 4-6pm. Please come along and enjoy the celebrations.

There will be a visit from Santa, carol singing accompanied by The Granite City Brass Band, mulled wine and mince pies and also a magic show for the kids. Entry is free.

We are hoping that children will come along on the day and join in the carol singing.

Sounds like a great event so please go along and support the local community efforts - thank you . 

And talking of the winter festival......... dont forget to hand in your Giving Tree gifts by Monday 3rd December , when Santa's helpers will collect them . 

Following the parents evening last week , there does seem to be a little uncertainty about the CfE , and what this means in the nursery . The CfE is based on the development of  each child as an individual, to offer in- depth learning opportunities and adult support to allow each child to achieve their full potential .  Full details of the experiences and outcomes of CfE are on display in the sunflowers room , and you can get some really good information about it at   http://bexcellent.org.uk/. 

We have always , and continue to provide opportunities for learning , rather than 'teaching' . Research across the world has shown that children who learn through play in early years rather than formal teaching , are more engaged in their learning at school , and achieve better  results in secondary education . 

Best practice in early years settings is to encourage active , engaged and focused leaning - for the child to direct their own learning , with appropriate adult support. 

If you do have any questions regarding this , please talk to Suzanne , Donna or myself and we'll do our best to answer ! 

Cold and frosty morning!

Good morning ,

a big thank you to all of you who made it along to Parent's Evening last night . It was great to see so many parents there , and I hope that you all enjoyed the opportunity to have a good look around and talk to staff about your children . If you took your child's folio home with you , please remember to bring it back !

I was talking to some parents about Childcare Vouchers last night and it appears that many of you missed the previous post regarding the campaign to raise the weekly allowance for £55/week to £75/week . This could mean savings of an extra £300 per parent per year . Below is a link to the petition - please have a look and sign if you'd like to  support the campaign and pass it onto any of your contacts who would be interested - Thank you.                               http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/31669 

A big Craigton welcome to Catharine and Rachel who have both just joined us as 4-6 girls . Catharine is in S4 at Cults Academy - she was with us for work experience last month and we liked her so much we asked her to come back! She will be in the Schoolhouse on Fridays . Rachel is in S6 at St.Margaret's and will be in Pre-school on Tuesdays . Both already have experience volunteering with local Rainbows groups and are already getting to know the children .

Other staff have recently attended the following training/CPD:
Fitstars- now being used by sunflowers and buttercups
Outdoor Ranger Training
Children's Mental Health
Risk/Benefit Assessment
Pre-birth to 3- Positive Outcomes for Scotland's children and families
and will be attending before the Xmas break :
REHIS Food Hygiene
Child Protection
Staff Appraisal and Supervision skills
Employers and Managers Forum
Manual Handling

Please remember to take  a Giving Tree gift tag and to return them to us by Monday 3rd December .....and while on the subject of buying gifts..........an other appeal to sign up to   easyfundriasing.org.uk  . If you register as a supporter of Craigton Lodge Nursery , everytime you shop online you will raise a donation for the nursery . If you download their find and remind toolbar(which raises 50p)  , you don't even need to go to  the site as it will tell you when you are visiting a participating retailer . There are hundreds of retailers , including Amazon, ebay, John Lewis, Debenhams etc . So you could raise lots of money just by shopping online and it wont cost you a penny!(though I cant promise the same for your purchases!)

Stay warm !

Giving Tree Appeal

Good morning ,

Many of you will already know that every year we take part in the Giving Tree Appeal . This is a charity appeal for gifts for children in this area who for whatever reason will not be waking up to presents on Christmas morning.

We know that this is a very busy and expensive time for all .....there's cards to be written , frantic searches for the last Peppa Pig outfit/spiderman watch/ furbie/wii game  that just cant be found anywhere,  food that you wouldn't dream of buying at any other time and that nobody eats  , untangling tree lights that you packed away so carefully last time , wrapping  of gifts when you've run out of sellotape , and slowly realising that there is no way you'll get a babysitter the weekend before Christmas ....Yet its always worth it in the end ! When you wake on Christmas morning and see the look of wonder and delight on your children's faces , and spend time with your family and friends , all that effort is rewarded . Ahhhhhhhhhh :-)

But please spare a thought for children in this area who are much less fortunate than your own. Children who may  not be celebrating in the warmth and security of a loving family , and for whom Santa will not come .

There are gift  tags in each department with the name and age of a child. Please take one , wrap an appropriate gift and attach the tag . These need to be returned to us by Monday 3rd December when Santa's helpers will collect them .

Please do this ........you will be giving not just the gift , but some Christmas joy to children who sorely need it ........ And after all , that is really what Christmas is all about . Thank you .

Parents Evening

Good afternoon everyone ,

A final reminder that its Parents Evening this Wednesday 14th November 6-7:30pm . Please come along and chat to the staff and other parents - we look forward to seeing you there .

Culter Playgroup are holding a Christmas Fayre in the village hall on Saturday 17th November 1-4pm - there will be games , arts and crafts , a puppet theatre and home bakes -something for everyone there- please go along and support them and get a  head start on your Christmas gifts ! Don't forget too that the following Saturday 24th November is the Christmas lights switch on 4-6pm again at the village hall.

Speaking of Christmas........ the sunflowers Christmas concert will be on Wednesday 19th December at 3pm. This seasonal spectacular is always very well attended - all parents , grandparents , aunties, uncles , brothers and sisters are welcome to  come along . You really don't want  to miss this so please keep the date free . Sunflower parents will be given more information about the arrangements nearer the time.
And that's not all! The Christmas party will be on Thursday 20th December 2-4pm . All sunflowers and buttercups are invited to this , while the snowdrops and bluebells have their own more restrained celebrations for those who normally attend on that day - it can all be rather overwhelming for the very little ones.....I am currency in negotiations with the North Pole PR team , and am confident that a very special visitor will come with gifts for all .Please note that the children attending on the morning should stay for the party , but as it is such a busy time , we are not able to accommodate extra sessions on that day . 

A reminder that we encourage all the children and staff at Craigton to reduce, reuse and recycle , so please don't send cards to everyone at nursery .Save a tree and yourselves some money! One card for the whole group is perfect - these will be displayed in the rooms so all the children can see them , and recycled afterwards . Thank you .

After all that excitement , the nursery will close at 6pm on Friday 21st December and reopen 8am Thursday 3rd January 2013 .
And finally , for those of you who are very organised, the nursery will be closed on the following dates  next year :
Easter Monday - 1st April
May Day - 6th May
Aberdeen holiday - 8th July
Aberdeen holiday - 23rd September

Safety Notice

Good afternoon everyone,

We've just had a report of a near miss in the carpark as one driver entered at speed . Can I please remind you all to drive at walking speed in the carpark. At drop off and pickup times there will often be children in the carpark , and as its now dark so early you may not see them in time , so please go very , very slowly .

To try to prevent congestion here too , we're asking that everyone reverse parks from now on - Thank you all for your co-operation .

A reminder that its Parents Evening next week - Wednesday 14th November 6pm to 7:30pm - we all look forward to seeing you there .