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We have some very enterprising children in the 3-5 room this term. They are busy exploring buying and selling in our role-play shop, and the chat is flowing. They are learning to recognise different coins and notes and being exposed to numbers through this rich real life context. Numbers and counting are also the focus of our singing and rhymes this term. 
Is èasgaidh a' chlann againn nuair a tha iad a' dol an sàs anns an uidheamachd iasgaich againn, a' slaodadh, a' putadh, a' togail, a' dealbhachadh, a còmhradh, a' cruthachadh. Is deagh spòrs ann aig an aon àm. The children have been very creative in their approaches to play with the new fishing equipment.
On Thursday the 11th of November we had pyjama day, which included lots of squeals of delight as each child arrived and the array of patterns, characters, and fluffy slippers were being checked out. We invited each child to bring along a special teddy, dolly, or soft toy as the Health and Wellbeing focus for the day was "sharing and caring". The children explored this theme through stories, playing with the toys, washing and looking after the dollies and while having a soft toy picnic.  
Abair là sònraichte a bh’ againn air Là Mòr na Leabhraichean ‘s sinn a’ comharrachadh gun d’ fhuair sinn maoineachadh £4000 bho Bòrd na Gàidhlig. Cheannaich sinn an t-uabhas leabhraichean ùra bho Acair agus chòrd e glan ris a’ chloinn am bogsa ùr fhosgladh air an là, agus bha iad nas toilichte buileach nuair a fhuair iad am pasgan Bookbug, agus bi cothrom aig na teaghlaichean èisteachd ris na sgeulachdan còmhla air https://www.gaelic4parents.com/maoilios/read-aloud. Thadhal Liam Crouse oirnn, is e as dèidh duais airson an leabhar as fheàrr do chloinn a ghlèidheadh aig na duaisean Litreachais 2021, ‘s leugh e grunn sgeulachdan laghach. Fhuair a ‘ chlann cothroman a bhith an lùib na leabhraichean ‘s iad nan suidhe a-muigh am broinn teant mòr sgoinneil a bh’ againn air iasad bho Sgoil Dhalabroig. Se an là seo cuideachad a’ chiad là a chum Cothrom Òg agus Ceòlas seisean Pàrant ‘s Pàiste, ‘s bith seo againn gach Diardaoin bho 1.30f -3f. We had a special event in the nursery, Là Mòr Na Leabhraichean, as we were celebrating that we have received a grant of £4000 from Bòrd Na Gàidhlig for Gaelic medium promotion activities. With this money we purchased Gaelic books for the children from Acair, and there was great excitement when we opened our delivery of new books. We were delighted to have Liam Crouse, this year's recipient of the Gaelic Literature Award for best unpublished children's book, join us to read some stories. Liam also helped hand out the book bugs bag we received from The Scottish Book Trust. The children had some great fun exploring books inside the big tent kindly lent by Sgoil Dhalabroig. On this day we also launched our new Pàrant 's Pàiste sessions in partnership with Ceòlas. They will be held every Thursday in term time in Cothrom 1.30-3.00pm. 
 Le taic bho Bhòrd na Gàidhlig  The children in the 3-5 room were making a special Struan bonnach today and learning about an ancient tradition special to the culture of South Uist.
 Michaelmas takes place at the end of September and marks the end of the harvest.
Strùthan or struan was traditionally made on the eve of St Michael. A struan is a versatile cake with no exact recipe. It is essentially a combination of a girdle scone and a pancake type batter and is especially delicious served warm out of the oven. Some are flavoured with caraway seed or dried fruit. Here is a Tobar an Dualchais archival recording, which has a transcription: https://www.tobarandualchais.co.uk/track/60570 After making potato scones we still had some potatoes from the St. Peter’s walled garden so what better way to use them than to make a lovely pot of soup.
On Monday the children aged 3-5 went on a walk in Loch Aineort and saw an array of autumn produce, including apples, pears, and brambles. They had a great time exploring in the forest. We are so lucky to have such a playground on our doorstep. 
Last week we trialed ‘self service’ snack. The children were very willing and eager to help with this service. The children get to choose their snack from pictures. All the helpers through the week worked very well together to ensure their ‘customers’ got what they asked for! The children also engaged in lots of conversation in Gàidhlig. Self service snack is a great way to promote fine motor skills, build relationships, and encourages the children to become more independent.
Part of our new menu choices involves the children making their own snack. This week, Alison kindly donated some potatoes from the garden in St Peter’s and we decide to make potato scones with them. The children enjoyed the process from mashing the potatoes to tasting the delicious final product!
The children were very busy this week - working together to identify the different features of the body, demonstrating great pencil control when drawing pictures of their own families and practicing their scissor skills when cutting out petals for our Mi Fhèin topic wall.
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Cothrom Learning Centre
