Our First Big Buddy Visit – 4 Year Old Class

November 16, 2017, 08:00 AM
One of the very favourite activities we have at our Preschool, is our Big / Little Buddy Program. We had our first visit by the Big Buddies recently, and the day could not have been more enjoyable.

It was so lovely to see the Big Buddies drop down to the level of the preschoolers, lower their voices and give the preschoolers their undivided attention. They seemed to become innately nurturing, and the preschoolers (Little Buddies) responded accordingly.

The children working on Friendship Drawings. The Big Buddies drew a picture in pastel for their Little Buddies, and vice versa:
 



The classroom was quiet and peaceful as each child was happily engaged with their buddies and the various activities put out for them to enjoy together:
 








 

Teacher Jamie brought his guitar, and all the children, big and small, joined in happily singing some old-time favourites:
 
 

The children enjoyed having someone available to push them freely on the swing:



We look forward to seeing our Big Buddies again in December!

 

Barbi
WRCC
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It's Raining Leaves!!! - 3 Year Old & 4 Year Old Classes

November 14, 2017, 04:04 PM
The sudden change in weather brought down the leaves from the trees. On this cold but dry morning we spent most of our outdoor time playing in the leaves. The children enjoyed taking handfuls of leaves, throwing them at each other or in the air, some of the children began hiding in the large piles of leaves. We also went for a walk to collect leaves so we could talk about the color changes that had taken place in many of the leaves we had gathered.






 
 
When the children were throwing leaves at each other, it is interesting to watch how each child has a natural instinct to know that it's safe to throw the leaves around and at one another. Could it be the positive response they get from each other. Children, many times follow their instincts as this allows them to make an instant decision based on feeling and the response they are receiving from one another.
 





 
 
Until next time
 
Jess   
WRCC
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Something Different - 4 Hour Class

November 8, 2017, 08:00 AM
On Monday, October 30, when I opened the door to let the children in the classroom, I noticed something different. The children were nowhere to be found. Instead different characters and animals came in the classroom.


Queen Elsa and an Angel helped Thing 2 put on more dress up accessories.

















Luigi came to the art table to draw.
 
 
 
 
 
A minion played with the cars.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Everest ate a cookie at the snack table.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Skye read a book.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
A firefighter rode on a tricycle.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
A dinosaur drove the car.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Darth Vader came with us to gym as well.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Even though the children did not come that day. We still had a lot of fun meeting and playing with the different characters and animals that came to school that day. 
 
It was very interesting to see how some of the children were acting out their character. The children who were dressed as firefighters were very eager in helping the other children. They saw everything as an emergency.  The superheroes were running very fast in the gym. Speed was their super power. I hope everyone had fun dressing up!
Until next time,
Patricia

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
WRCC
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Westham Island Herb Farm Field Trip - 3 Year Old & 4 Year Old Classes

November 6, 2017, 08:00 AM
Our Three-Year-Old and Four-Year-Old Classes recently visited the Pumpkin Patch at Westham Island Herb Farm in Delta.

After a relatively short and scenic drive from Richmond through Ladner, we crossed over a small, one lane bridge en route to the farm. This bridge has remarkably been in place since 1911.
 
Westham Island Bridge
Westham Island Herb Farm is a community oriented farm and promotes buying fruits and vegetables locally. It is part of the Ellis family farm which has been at the present location since 1916!
 Some of the sites you see upon arrival at the farm:
 
 
 
 
 
 

Lucas and his sister play a game of tic tac toe:
 

We start our tour by visiting a barn that's been standing in place since the Ellis farm was established in 1916:
 
 
The barn houses the cows in the Winter:

As we exited the barn, the farm's pigs were penned just outside and seemed happy to see us. They were even happier to have a few corn cobs tossed their way:
 


Washing our hands after visiting the cows and pigs:

While in the hay barn, our guide explains about the various fruits and vegetables grown on the farm. Flowers, strawberries, garlic, carrots, potatoes, pumpkins and more:

The children learned about the keen sense of hearing a donkey has. When he hears something, his big ears go back:
 
 Maisy, the highland heifer, came out to greet the children:

A visit with the farm's goats:

 
Our guide tells us one of the hens is trying to lay an egg. Scotia asks if she can come in and help her:
 
 Before heading out to the pumpkin patch, the children went into the mini haunted house:
 
 
Off to the pumpkin patch to find our pumpkins of choice:
 
Scotia tries to pick up a pumpkin but it's a wee bit too heavy:
 

 

 
“Look a Cinderella pumpkin!” Adson
 

Three boys deciding if they can make it across the big puddle. Garrett decided he can:
 
Toy diggers put out by the farm staff for visitors:
 
 
Lucas and Mikailyn find their perfect pumpkin:



Garrett succeeds at lassoing the pony:

 
The children spent a very enjoyable morning at the farm. All the senses were alive from the sounds of the birds in the trees, to the smells of hay, pig pens and pumpkins, and of course the feeling of mud under foot.
A big thank you to the staff at Westham Island Herb Farm for opening your doors to our Preschool children and the community on a whole!
 

 
 
Barbi
 
A few reasons to buy your fruit and vegetables locally....
Local crops are picked at their peak or ripeness (opposed to being harvested early in order to ship out to your local retail store.)
By buying locally, you help maintain farmland.
Local food supports the local economy.
Local food has a shorter time between harvest and your table, and it is less likely that the nutrient value has decreased.
 
 
 
 
 
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Friendships - Fine Arts and Science ~ M/W/F - AM Class

November 2, 2017, 08:00 AM
Hello families,

I have been asked by many parents/caretakers if their child is making friends in class. I realize this is a very important skill for children to develop.  Socializing is a major part of life and we all want our children to have friends.  At this age the children’s friendship are very different from how we perceive it to be.  A child’s definition of a friend is someone they spend time with which I can say that all our children in our class definitely have friends then.


Children in our class play alongside each other (known as parallel play) which is age appropriate.  It is still in the realm of making friends.  I see the children playing with one another but they usually only play for a brief time then they move on to another activity that catches their interest.  This happens during the time they are with us but they are using their social skills and developing skills to promote friendships.  The exciting part of what I see in our classroom is that the children play with different peers all the time and are very inclusive of each other.  They will usually gravitate to an activity they are interested in and then start engaging with the child that is also at the same activity.


We do provide many opportunities for children to make friends by building their social skills to help them form friendships.   Activities like circle time, art, dramatic play, sensory play, outdoor play along with all the activities that we set up, do encourage children to play together, communicate, problem solve and to share with one another.  It is important to remember that that it takes time and practice to build friendships at this age.


Until next time
Deanna



 



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