Category: Doune Parents

June at Doune!

What a busy month Doune Terrace are having!

It all kicked off with our annual trip to North Berwick. It was such a great day where the babies enjoyed a picnic in the park followed by an afternoon at the beach. We built sandcastles and collected lots of shells to take back to nursery.

Then came our fab invite to the Garden Party at Holyrood Palace. The boys and girls enjoyed a fantastic tour then got the chance to dress in in hats and jewels for a tea party.

We rounded off last week with a fabulously sunny sports day. All the usual events were on, with the children competing to their usual high standard!

The parents race was especially fun to watch too!

Phew, what next?

 

Keeping Our Coasts Clean

Our Coastal Classroom has been up and running for a few weeks now with much success.

The children are absolutely loving their lessons and learning so many new skills.

This week however, we focused on something a little different; our very own Early Days beach clean up.

It’s no secret that our coastline is becoming increasing polluted with plastic waste causing worrying environmental statistics for the future.

As a nursery we know how important it is not only to teach our children how to learn and grow, but also how to protect their own futures and the planet we live on.

With this in mind, we will continue to incorporate our beach clean up into our lessons. We also ask that whenever you find yourself at the beach, you do the same.

Lets save our coastlines one piece of plastic at a time.

 

Recipe Of The Week – Chicken Curry

Ingredients –

½ fresh red or green chilli, chopped,

2 cloves of garlic, chopped,

15g fresh ginger, chopped,

1 large onion, chopped,

1tbsp vegetable oil,

1tbsp coriander,

3tsp cinnamon,

2tsp turmeric,

3tsp cumin,

1 400g tin chopped tomatoes,

5tbsp mango chutney,

400g chicken breast, diced,

1 tin coconut milk,

4tbsp fresh coriander, chopped,

Method – 

  1. In a large saucepan, fry the onion and spices with a little oil over a medium heat until soft.

  2. Add the chicken and fry for 5 minutes until cooked and coated.

  3. Add all other ingredients and simmer gently for 30 minutes.

  4. Serve with some fluffy rice or nann bread

Serves 4

Coastal Classroom Has Arrived!

What a week to launch our Coastal Classroom!

The preschool boys and girls from each of our nurseries are having the best time planning their activies for the coming weeks.

Yellowcraig Beach is such a great location with so many different and exciting areas to explore.

Keep watching for more fantastic photos and updates as the children get more involved with our beautiful Scottish coastline.

Coastal Classroom is Coming!

We are so excited to announce that our Coastal Classroom programme will be up and running from Monday.

Steve and Laura Crandles, along with our newly qualified leaders from each nursery, will be putting their skills and knowledge into practice at Yellowcraigs Beach for the next 6 weeks.

Their first session will be focusing on creating a risk assessment of the area and putting in place rules and boundaries with the children.

This beach was chosen as it has a massive array of rock pools, open spaces and beach woodland to explore.

We can’t wait to get the boys and girls out there!

Recipe Of The Week – Root Vegetable Rice

Ingredients –

1 tbsp olive oil,

2 onions, finely chopped,

250g carrots, sliced at an angle,

250g parsnips, sliced at an angle,

1/2 tsp coriander seeds, lightly crushed,

80g butter,

500ml chicken stock,

100g short vermicelli,

300g white rice, rinsed and drained,

pink of saffron,

1/2 small pack flat leaf parsley, chopped,

Method – 

  1. Heat the oven to 200c / 180 fan / gas mark 6.

  2. Put the carrots and parsnips in a roasting tin and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle over the coriander seeds, season well and bake in the oven for 25 – 30 mins until cooked through and starting to turn golden brown at the edges. Remove from the oven and set aside somewhere warm.

  3. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a large saucepan and add the onions. Fry for 2 – 3 mins until starting to soften, then add the vermicelli and cook until golden.

  4. Add the rice, saffron, stock and 500ml water. Cover with a lid, bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and cook until the liquid has been absorbed, about 20 mins.

  5. Add the roasted carrots and parsnips, scatter over the parsley and serve.

Serves 4

Activities Information

The new term for all our activities will run from 22nd April 2019 to 15th June 2019.

Please see below for individual costs:

Swimming – £80

Tutti Footy – £20

Bambino Beats – £20

A permission and payment sheet will be put up outside each room for you to complete if you wish your children to take part in these activities.

As always, payment should be made online, over the phone or via the Early Days Nurseries App.

Thank You

Coastal Classroom – What a Team!

As part of our development of exciting outdoor learning, we have some of our fantastic staff and management team out at Coastal Activity Leader Training this week.

The seven day course is taking place at The Ecology Centre in Burntisland, Fife.

The course is designed to inspire us to lead groups of children in the coastal environment. Once completed, we will have the skills to feel confident in the exploration, discovery and conservation of the wild marine environment.

During the course, which is headed up by Laura and Steve Crandles, the team will learn coastal bush craft skills, increase coastal naturalist knowledge, discover new seashore activities and learn the basic health and safety requirements required to lead groups and outdoor learning sessions in this unique and dynamic environment.

Like our Forest Schools programme, Coastal Classroom will provide active outdoor experiences and games which will encourage the children to enjoy healthy outdoor play, whilst increasing their understanding of the world around them and the impact we have on it.

We can’t wait to get this up and running, so watch this space for more information!