Have flooding? Build boats!
19-01-2017, 11:34 AMWe already pride ourselves on not allowing the weather to stop us from playing outside. But with a playground half flooded by the current deluge, it was time to step up our game.
There were mini lakes everywhere we turned. Lake in the sandpit. Lake in the pathway. Lake under the swings. Lake under the pole and under the slide. Even lakes around the drainage grates that could take no more water.
Enter Inspiration.
LET'S BUILD BOATS!
Dustin quickly ran upstairs to gather supplies. Aluminum foil, some popsicle sticks and some tape. The equation turned out to be simple. 3 materials + imagination = the best hour in the playground this week.
Various boat designs were created and tested by the children. Flat shapes, standard canoe shapes, box shapes, and even ball shapes were attempted. Sarah A showed off her origami skills with her precise folds.
Once the boats were launched, brooms were brought out to create waves and current. Some of us even tried blowing with our mouths to sail the ships. Some were brave enough to sail their ships down the slide. Some were adventurous enough to drop their boats from the top of the pole.
Many returned to the supplies to refine or replace their designs. Some got the idea to use the popsicle sticks as the passengers. And some found out, the hard way, that gumboots are not impervious to splashing around in really deep water.
Until the next flood,
Dustin
Comments
Shift into Game Mode
16-01-2017, 10:44 AMSince Winter Break, a new board game has appeared at Jr OSC...
It has struck the interest of children and leaders alike...
It involves a twist on a classic...
A twist that forces players to predict the future...
SHIFT TAC TOE!
While doing some purging at home, Dustin unearthed this hidden treasure. First produced in 1988, Shift Tac Toe does not appear to be in production anymore. However, a quick web search reveals that "new" and used copies of the game are available for purchase for as much as $50 plus shipping.
The rules to the game are simple, but the consequences are not. On your turn, you must decide to either drop a piece or shift a row one space. A shift may result in pieces sliding over, a piece dropping out of play, or pieces dropping down - or all three events may occur from a single shift! First player to get three in a row wins.
The game forces players to think about the consequences of their actions, intended or otherwise. New players will often shift without proper forethought, giving an easy victory to their opponent. Even worse, players occasionally shift their opponents directly into a win!
Mastery of the game by any one person has yet to be achieved. Even Dustin, the most experienced player, attempted to hold court for a long string of consecutive wins, but was easily dethroned after a handful of matches.
Enough with this blog - time to shift into game mode!
Dustin
It has struck the interest of children and leaders alike...
It involves a twist on a classic...
A twist that forces players to predict the future...
SHIFT TAC TOE!
 |
| Anyone catch the problem with this implied move on the game box? |
While doing some purging at home, Dustin unearthed this hidden treasure. First produced in 1988, Shift Tac Toe does not appear to be in production anymore. However, a quick web search reveals that "new" and used copies of the game are available for purchase for as much as $50 plus shipping.
The rules to the game are simple, but the consequences are not. On your turn, you must decide to either drop a piece or shift a row one space. A shift may result in pieces sliding over, a piece dropping out of play, or pieces dropping down - or all three events may occur from a single shift! First player to get three in a row wins.
The game forces players to think about the consequences of their actions, intended or otherwise. New players will often shift without proper forethought, giving an easy victory to their opponent. Even worse, players occasionally shift their opponents directly into a win!
Mastery of the game by any one person has yet to be achieved. Even Dustin, the most experienced player, attempted to hold court for a long string of consecutive wins, but was easily dethroned after a handful of matches.
Enough with this blog - time to shift into game mode!
Dustin
Winter Break Recap
10-01-2017, 12:34 PMThis Winter Break provided us with many fond memories. The days seemed to fly by as we were kept busy with exciting out trips and jam packed In Days. One new addition to this Winter Break calendar was a new out trip destination called Kidtropolis. An interactive cityscape, Kidtropolis allows children to use their imagination to create their own world. Some of the features include a gas station, ice cream shop, grocery store and a fire station. The children seemed to love the freedom to roam around and interact with others in this realistic city.
Warmest Regards,
Here are some of the highlights from this Winter Break!
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| The inside of a residence in Kidtropolis. |
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| The city's gas station. |
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| Some of the submissions for city planning during Kid City day! |
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| Sliding down an icy hill at Garden City Park. |
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| Jason helping the children warm up with a his famous hot chocolate. |
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| Pretending it's summer at 6Pack Indoor Beach. |
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| Celebrating the New Year in style with sparkling juice! |
Warmest Regards,
Emmett
Kids Korner
17-12-2016, 01:19 PMOh the weather outside is frightful
Vinson- "doing a snowball fight and doing an igloo"
But JR OSC is so delightful
And since we've no place to go
Let's Play In Snow! Play In Snow! Play In Snow!
With the change in weather I decided to ask our kids;
What is your favorite thing about the snow?
Savannah- "having fun with friends"
Theodora- "it's...playing in it"
Max G- "throwing snowballs"
Isaac- "building snowmen, catching snowflakes on your tongue, almost anything you can do with the snow"
Vinson- "doing a snowball fight and doing an igloo"
Matthew- "I like going sledding"
George- "I have no idea... fine, playing in the snow is fun"
Isabel- "having snowball fight with my dad and building snowmen"
Our OSC juniors never let a little snow get in the way of having some fun!
Thanks,
Jason
Winter Wonderland at OSC
15-12-2016, 01:29 PMGetting all bundled up and heading outside in -4 degree weather isn't all bad...especially when you have garbage bags.
"We will use garbage bags!"
Garbage bags?
You are probably quite confused right now! Well, let me tell you what I mean. As we stared out the window from the top floor at West Richmond, we wondered what we could do outside that would make this Friday the best day ever. Then we had an idea! We looked to the field and saw that there was a hill which made us think,
"Wouldn't it be so much fun if we could sled down that hill? But we haven't got any sleds, so what do we do?"
"We will use garbage bags!"
So our amazing custodian let us borrow 6 large city garbage bags (unused, of course). They were perfect! They could fit 2 kids on one bag and they went down the hill like lightning! The day was filled with laughter and smiles and an amazing display of sharing. The kids had so much fun, as well as all the leaders. We all felt like kids again, running up and down the hill, screaming with joy as we slid down so fast into a pile of snow, with a smile from ear to ear on our face.
As we were sledding, we noticed that more and more families from across the street started coming with their own sleds, so we asked them if they had been sledding on this hill before. They said they hadn't, but they saw us having such a wonderful time and heard all the laughter that they thought it was an amazing idea and grabbed their kids and sleds and headed over.
It ended up turning into a massive gathering of people from the community sledding down this hill. Even our OSC parents were joining in on the fun when they came to pick up their kids! Overall, it was the best day of the year and a beautiful display of how one small hill and a creative idea can bring a community together and make it a day to remember forever.
Tegan