Curriculum

 Duchal Nursery School is following the new Curriculum for Excellence (ages 3-18).

Whole School Activities

Language Development

Every activity has a language element to it. In addition the children are encouraged to tell the others their "news".  
This may be something that has happened or is about to happen. It could also be telling the others about a new or favourite toy.   There is also lots of storytelling, reading of poems and rhymes and the learning of poems rhymes and songs.

Colour

The children learn about colour through a "colour table" for which they bring contributions, and through painting, coloured dough, colouring sheets and colour games.

Our bodies and senses

They learn the names of the various parts of the body including the less obvious eg shins, palms, calves & nostrils.They are also encouraged to think about how they see, hear, smell, feel and taste.

Simple Science

The weather and seasons are observed on a daily basis using a weather chart. There is also a nature table for plants and anything associated with the natural world. Simple little experiments are done, e.g. water becoming ice in the freezer and melting back to water again.

Healthy eating

A selection of fruit, some vegetables and milk are provided as a healthy mid-morning snack. There is a regular discussion about which foods are good for you and which are less so.

Other cultures and festivals

The main Christian festivals and Hallowe'en are celebrated each year. One other culture is also covered by a project each year. Other cultures covered to date have been Chinese, Hindu, Jewish and Muslim. Any festivals occuring during the period of the project are celebrated.

Creative experience

The children enjoy all sorts of painting activity, drawing, craft and construction.

Music & Movement

The children take part in some of the traditional singing games, have experience of  percussion instruments and have the opportunity to move to taped music.

P.E.

There is a fortnightly session of PE held in the Sports hall at St. Columba's School, led by Mrs McCarthy, who is a qualified PE teacher.   We also have an annual visit to Greenock Sports Centre. Sports Day and the fun of practising beforehand is also much enjoyed.

Much of the curriculum, taught as a whole school activity, is delivered in the form of projects where the theme is chosen and all the work built around that theme. Past projects have included: transport, people who help us, pets, space, the olden days and farming. Projects vary from year to year so that there is no repetition over a three year period.

First Year (Age 3)

While taking part in all of the above the children are also learning social skills. They learn to be considerate to others, to wait their turn and be polite and helpful to others. They are also encouraged to be as independent as possible, learning to manage their own clothes, doing things for themselves and tidying up at the end of an activity. Knowing that they can do things for themselves helps to build self confidence.

After the Autumn half term holiday; French starts.  The French course includes learning about colours, numbers, clothes and food as well as French songs and rhymes.

Second Year (Pre-School)

When not involved in the joint activities, the children in their pre-school year spend some time each day in groups of about six; involved in more formal activities to prepare them for School. 

Duchal does not set out to teach the pre-school children to read, write and do arithmetic but instead to provide them with the tools so that they can take best advantage of the teaching that they will receive at school.

1. Teaching them to sit and work as part of a group.
2. Pre-reading consists of exercises in language, for skills in observation and discrimination and for the ability to see connections between things, e.g tree - leaf or dog - puppy.  They are also introduced to the eye movements necessary for reading, (it does not come naturally!)   Having completed the preparatory work they work through their own copy of a pre-reading workbook.
3. Pre-writing consists of building up pencil control, showing them how to hold their pencil, doing writing patterns, where they work on top of a guide and then finally working through their own copy of a pre-writing workbook.
4. Alphabet - Introducing them to the alphabet as sounds (not names) using the Letterland system.
5. Pre-Counting consists of lots of practice in counting, adding on and taking away using a variety of counting materials as well as familiarising them with the language of numbers.
6. Geometry - The basic geometric shapes of triangle, circle, square and rectangle are introduced in meaningful ways, e.g. circles are used for clocks, plates, pots, wheels etc.

French continues throughout the child's second year at Duchal.