A New Year - 4 Hour Class
February 3, 2017, 08:30 AMThe children have
all settled back into class and let me say, everybody has gotten taller and
more mature since Christmas break. Is it the New Year and something magical
occurred? On the first day back, Duke wore a very smart red sport coat which
had medal like patches on it. He was so very proud to be wearing it and told us
about the story behind it. He wasn’t the only child who had a new look; there
was Chloe, Georgia, Kianne, Sara and Adonis who had new haircuts to come back
to school with. A New Year and new changes were definitely in order. We also
have two new faces in our class, one being teacher Rikki and a new student
named Mikaeyla. Please join me in giving them a warmest welcome to our class.
So, what has been going on this month? We made pancakes which was a huge success. The children were busy measuring and mixing the ingredients. We discussed all the things that go into making the pancake and had a chance to feel, smell and look at all the ingredients. Christina, Lucas and Sara carefully cracked the eggs into the bowl. I have to say, there were no egg shells in our batter as they were very skillful in avoiding it. Keira, Andrew, Georgia and Jaden all took turns mixing the batter and using their muscles.
The children all ate together and thoroughly enjoyed their own cooking. All the children liked syrup with their pancakes. Some children had second helpings since they claimed it was delicious.
During
circle time, teacher Patricia read the funny story, “If You Give a Pig a
Pancake”. The children thought it was funny since they could relate to the
story because of the sticky syrup.
As time went on the
frozen pucks started to melt and a learning moment occurred. The children were
wondering why the pucks were getting smaller. Then, we went outside to play and
when we came back the children noticed there were no frozen pucks. Adonis
asked, “What happened to them?” “Did somebody take them?” said, Duke. Oh it was
a great moment for a teacher. So, we did an impromptu before circle and
discussed what could have happened. We went from sensory to science from one
activity. This is a great example of how we try to provoke questions,
discussions and interests with your children during their time in class.
Deanna
So, what has been going on this month? We made pancakes which was a huge success. The children were busy measuring and mixing the ingredients. We discussed all the things that go into making the pancake and had a chance to feel, smell and look at all the ingredients. Christina, Lucas and Sara carefully cracked the eggs into the bowl. I have to say, there were no egg shells in our batter as they were very skillful in avoiding it. Keira, Andrew, Georgia and Jaden all took turns mixing the batter and using their muscles.
The children all ate together and thoroughly enjoyed their own cooking. All the children liked syrup with their pancakes. Some children had second helpings since they claimed it was delicious.
Since
the children were very excited about the snow and ice that was occurring
outside, we decided to make frozen coloured ice pucks for our sensory table. We
added some water to make it even more interesting and to add another dimension
to this activity. It was a popular table. Adonis enjoyed pouring the water over
the pucks and seeing the water change colours. Dana enjoyed using a spoon to
stir, and pour the water over her frozen pucks but then decided to get her
hands into it as well.
Until next time,
Comments
Dramatic Play…….Fairytales - 4 Year Old Class
January 30, 2017, 08:30 AMThe children in our 4 Year Old class have spent a great deal of time in
dramatic play, from playing with the babies to acting out their own
play which normally ends up in the book corner on the cozy mat and pillows.
Dramatic play develops children's imagination as well as giving them confidence to speak and listen in front of an audience or to one another. It helps children not to be impulsive because if they are playing a role of the baby bear they will need to wait till papa and mama bear have had a turn saying their part.
Again the children seem to know which chair to choose to sit on based on the size bear they are playing.
Goldilocks is lying on the pillows and without audience or myself prompting, Taylor starts lying on the big pillow and then over to the medium and finally on the small pillow.
The children are learning to paint inside the black lines to make a brick house.
Arianna is painting the house of sticks, she seems to be working in one area of the cardboard. I wonder if she thinks she needs to work her way down, or if she has a plan in mind.
Jess
We decided to enhance this play by reading some traditional fairytales
to see if the children were interested in creating the story and finally
acting it out. The hands went up as we asked who would like to act out
Goldilocks and the Three Bears. This story has a lot of repetition which allows
the children to be able to remember what to say. It also teaches children basic
concepts of big, medium and small.
Dramatic play develops children's imagination as well as giving them confidence to speak and listen in front of an audience or to one another. It helps children not to be impulsive because if they are playing a role of the baby bear they will need to wait till papa and mama bear have had a turn saying their part.
Mary, Isabelle and Huxley take
on the role of being the three little bears.
Again the children seem to know which chair to choose to sit on based on the size bear they are playing.
Goldilocks is lying on the pillows and without audience or myself prompting, Taylor starts lying on the big pillow and then over to the medium and finally on the small pillow.
The children had so much fun with acting out Goldilocks and the Three Bears
that we decided to make our houses for the story of the Three Little Pigs.
We began by painting the three houses.
The children are learning to paint inside the black lines to make a brick house.
Arianna is painting the house of sticks, she seems to be working in one area of the cardboard. I wonder if she thinks she needs to work her way down, or if she has a plan in mind.
Koen and Jayden are painting the house of hay.
We are getting ready now to act out The Three Little Pigs.
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| Elliot is acting the story out of the Three Little Pigs during free play |
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|
Elliot is now playing the part of the wolf inside the
piggies house.
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Until next time!
The River - 4 Hour Class
January 26, 2017, 08:30 AMWe went out to the park to play and
something caught our eyes. There was something new and different. One of the
paths in the park was flooded with water. The children quickly gravitated
towards it and decided to walk in the water.
Chloe said that they were crossing a river. Andrew noted that they can walk in the water because they are wearing their boots. Sara replied with “our feet won't get wet”.
Chloe said that they were crossing a river. Andrew noted that they can walk in the water because they are wearing their boots. Sara replied with “our feet won't get wet”.
Adonis was watching the other children walk
in the water. I knew how badly he wanted to do it as well. But he was not
wearing his boots. He went around the playground and saw a big branch and
started dragging it. I wondered what he would do with the branch.
Adonis brought it to “the river” and
started tossing it in the water. Alvis saw what he was doing and quickly joined
in. Adonis threw the branch in the water and Alvis got it in “the river” for
him. Alvis was wearing his boots so he was able to be in “the river”. They
speculated about the size of the splash once the branch was dropped in the
water. Adonis said that if the branch
is bigger it will have a bigger splash. The boys had a blast dropping the
branches in the water and seeing the splashes they made.
It was interesting to see how Adonis and
Alvis took roles in their play. Their roles were assigned based on who was able
to do what depending on the footwear that they had. Adonis had runners on so he
was the one standing outside of “the river” while Alvis had his boots on so
was standing in “the river”. They did not talk about the assignment of their
roles. They instantly took it. It was a shared understanding between them. If
they did not take these roles, their play would not have been as successful.
Until next time,
Patricia
Playing a Game - 3 Year Old Class
January 20, 2017, 08:00 AM
The
Preschool were fortunate to receive a penguin game called Pengoloo by Taylor
for the classroom.
I saw this as an opportunity for children to learn about winning and losing a game and being a team player. They also learned turn taking and having to wait for their turn. The children are learning to count how many penguins they have collected.
I saw this as an opportunity for children to learn about winning and losing a game and being a team player. They also learned turn taking and having to wait for their turn. The children are learning to count how many penguins they have collected.
For
some of the children it was the first time using a dice. How to roll a dice
required children to use fine motor skills. Many of the preschoolers would hold
the dice in their hand in the hopes that it would land on their favorite color,
whist others would enjoy simply rolling the dice.
I wonder if they felt in
control of the game as everyone at the table was watching and waiting patiently
for a turn.
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|
Fraser learning how to roll the dice. |
Keane is using both hands to roll the dice and being careful not
to roll the dice off the table.
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| Fraser is looking for the green coloured egg |
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| Fraser places his penguin on the iceberg |
Keane is counting how many penguins he has collected on his iceberg.
Magnus is passing the dice to Dayna
Until next post!
Jess
Sensory Fun - 3 Year Old & 4 Year Old classes
January 17, 2017, 08:00 AM
The children in our 3's and 4's classes had fun creating with
glue, kosher salt and water colours.
First, glue is drizzled onto the plate, then salt is sprinkled on top and the excess shaken off. The best part... dipping the brush into the water colour and very gently touching the salt with the brush. Voila! The colour seemingly magically seeps deep into the salt.
At the sensory table, the children enjoyed exploring pre-frozen cups of water and sequins.
A group of children spent a long while playing a penguin, memory game. A game we recently received as a gift from one of our families. It was wonderful witnessing the turn taking and watching the children cheer each other on.
On Fort Day, sheets were tossed over tables and chairs, and various table top toys and loose parts placed inside. Children seemed thrilled to walk into the preschool in the morning, and see their classroom transformed. Forts and children... a wonderful combination!
Until next time!
First, glue is drizzled onto the plate, then salt is sprinkled on top and the excess shaken off. The best part... dipping the brush into the water colour and very gently touching the salt with the brush. Voila! The colour seemingly magically seeps deep into the salt.
The children were intrigued by the process, and by the new
colours created as the primary colours ran into one another.
At the sensory table, the children enjoyed exploring pre-frozen cups of water and sequins.
A group of children spent a long while playing a penguin, memory game. A game we recently received as a gift from one of our families. It was wonderful witnessing the turn taking and watching the children cheer each other on.
On Fort Day, sheets were tossed over tables and chairs, and various table top toys and loose parts placed inside. Children seemed thrilled to walk into the preschool in the morning, and see their classroom transformed. Forts and children... a wonderful combination!
Barbi