I am so very excited to welcome all the children and their families to a wonderful year of exploring, discovering and creating together. Already, we are getting to know each other as the days go by and we are excited to be on this journey together.

A little glimpse into our time together, starts off with open activities and then we have a quick sharing time.  This allows us to just come together to start our day and share anything we may have with one another.  A great opportunity to learn about taking turns speaking and learning to share our thoughts with one another. Then the children continue with open activities, art and snack time.  Before we head outdoors, we have a learning circle.  This is the time we will further enhance on the interests of the class.  At this time we are discussing “All About Me”, our feelings, and signs of Fall. Then we head off to discover the outdoors.

This picture is two friends working together to build a very long roadway.  The longer the road got the more excited they became.  The pride they took in creating this highway system brought them to work together and to share their ideas.  This activity was an opportunity to build a relationship between the two children and for them to share, take turns, to communicate in a natural setting.  These are moments that the environment can also teach children.

 

 

During art, we were painting with potato stamps to create leaf prints. It was interesting how each child’s art piece looked so different due to the technique of how they used the materials.  It definitely confirms that each child is very unique.  Some children like to mix the colours up while some children are very careful not to.  Even the way they use the tools to create their art is as individual as they are.  At one point the art took a turn into finger painting and discovering what happens when you mix colours together. You just never know where an activity can take you.  I have learned through the children that the process is just as important as the end product because it often leads you to many discoveries.

 

Until next time, Deanna

  

 

It has indeed been a wonderful start for the Three and Four-Year-Old Preschoolers this year. Each child seems comfortable entering the classroom and engaging themselves happily in play. The social interactions that happen during play are an absolute pleasure to witness.  Already, in such a short while, we can see many social, emotional, creative, cognitive and physical skills being gained.

I have had the pleasure of teaching preschool for many years, however each year I am thrilled and excited to meet new faces and see how much old faces have grown. I especially look forward to the individual personalities working together in the same space learning about one another and making connections, some life long friendships. 

For our first painting activity this school year, I provided the children with paints and some painting tools made out of foam.




But the reason of my excitement shifted from seeing their artworks to the story and process behind each child’s painting as I observed them create their masterpieces.




Mateo only wanted to use green because that is his favorite color and it looks like the grass.













Dayna was focused on making a purple and green pattern.






















 Iris started painting with yellow then added blue in the middle. She noticed that when the blue and yellow paint mixed, it made a different color- green. Iris then added blue on the other parts where the yellow paint was. She mixed and mixed until different shades of green were present.

















This activity reminded me on how I should focus more on the process of how these artworks are created rather than the final artwork themselves. It is through this process that the children get to express themselves creatively.

Until next time,

Patricia

A few weeks ago, Teacher Patricia suggested we take the children to the hill area across from the far parking lot. I was all in, as the hills were lined with cherry blossom trees in full bloom and below was a sea of pink from the fallen petals. I could feel that an adventure was going to happen with the children. So instead of going to the playground, we headed over in the other direction.

The children were all full of questions, such as where are we going, are we going on the bus, what about the playground, are we going to the field? We told them we are going on an adventure, it was a mystery. You could feel the curiosity building and more questions were asked. We gave them a hint and told them it was a pink place. Oh boy, that got them going… So off we headed down the walkway with no toys, no bubbles and no wagon, just ourselves.

Do you know what happened? We had many adventures, all with our imaginations, our bodies and the cherry blossom trees. The children loved the way the ground looked with hues of pink below them and above them. The wind would gently blow the petals down which the children thought was like snow. Some children chased the petals while others thought of a way to make the trees rain more petals.

The children ran up and down and around the hill endlessly. They climbed trees with a little help from the teachers and once sitting up there, they enjoyed the view. We saw squirrels running around and a few insects as well.



We had a parade that the children orchestrated and performed. There was also some super hero role playing and some dinosaurs running around too. The children also picked flowers from the ground and used them as props for their imaginative playing.



The time we spent exploring on the hill was proven to be a success. The children were so engaged in interacting with their peers, moving their bodies, using their imagination and building their growth in so many areas of their development, simply by being present in nature.

Until next time,

Deanna