Carolyn's Corner
02-12-2016, 11:18 AMI can't believe our calendars now read December! The holiday season is fast approaching with winter break being only two weeks away. I love this time of the year and can't wait for all the bonuses that come with December. I even heard that snow may be in our future!
Last Friday at West Richmond we welcomed all of our families to our first Family Fun Night. We had an amazing turn out. I'd like to thank everyone who stopped by, for spending their Friday evening with us. The candy houses and hot chocolate station were enjoyed by all and the slideshow, though a little late, was full of many smiling faces.This week at Senior things started off a little messy, in a good way, with Corey's art on Monday afternoon. He took on the challenge of making homemade bouncy balls with 15 excited children. Though the finished product went 'splat' instead of 'boing' everyone had a wonderful time. Sometimes it's worth just getting a little messy!
Tuesday I kept the messy theme going by introducing bubble art. My participants were given a cup with soap, paint, water and most importantly a straw, and were told to blow bubbles!!! Soon the art table was covered in bubbles, water, color and smiling children. Once they had an over flow of bubbles I showed them how to press a piece of paper into the bubbles to make home-made marble patterns. The paper turned out great and after our large clean up we turned out art into home-made cards and envelopes. All in all our mess turned out great!
Wednesday turned into 'Spooky Wednesday' when Keefer gathered a group together to play Werewolf.
Thursday Brianna continued the DIY theme and showed a group of children the bonus uses of potatoes in her DIY wrapping paper craft. I'm sure everyone will be wrapping some very special presents throughout this holiday season. Friday's Yarn Letter Art will surely be a great hit!
Next week, on Monday, Dec 5, there is an All Schools Pro D Day. Matt and Keefer have planned an animal themed In Day at Senior. Please arrive by 10am if you have signed up.
December has only just begun but I can tell it is going to be an amazing month! Stay tuned to hear more about our adventures at Sr OSC,
Until next time,
Carolyn
Comments
Lava Lamps with Brianna and Kevin
28-11-2016, 01:35 PM
Each week, our leaders come up with various
activities for the kids to take part in which creates a welcoming and enjoying
atmosphere for them. Last week Brianna and I decided to
mix up the activities slightly. So instead of our regular arts and crafts, we
chose to experiment a little with common household items to create a one of a
kind OSC lava lamp. On Thursday, they had the opportunity to let their inner
wacky scientist loose by participating in our afternoon activity.
The lava lamp activity allowed them to expand on
their scientific understandings further. They found out that oil and water do
not combine since oil has less density compare to water. This meant that the
oil floated to the top instead of remaining below the water. This was an unique
exercise that enable the kids to explore different scientific properties while
having fun with their friends. Mainly they were really keen to make very their
first lava lamp. When it came to the time for dropping the tablets into the
bottle, the excitement was rising as each kid wanted to be the first to see the
tablets perform its magical powers within the mixture.
After a couple unsuccessful attempts, we managed
to create a few working lava lamps. The buildup of excitement was on a whole
different level as it never once dropped throughout the different phases of
constructing. Everyone was excited to try with their own bottle once we got it working. Therefore, we all
took turns creating our own distinctive lamp that were of various colours.
This is an easy and inexpensive
small activity that any family can do
together to bond with their kids and or simply
brighten their day. If any families wish to try it out, the necessary
supplies needed for this homemade lava lamp are vegetable oil, water, food
colouring and an alka seltzer tablet. The proportions of each material is up to
the creator as it will produce varying results like our trials. This a great
method to build upon a child’s creativity and allow them to think outside the
box a little with only using household materials to construct things.
Until next time,
Kevin W
Mask Making
24-11-2016, 11:37 AMHello OSC Families,
Last Wednesday, Keefer and I did an art project that involved a lot of glue, newspaper, and a great amount of imagination! As soon as the art activity opened up, the kids rushed to the board to sign up as they were all eager to begin. We brought the group of kids outside where we started this messy, sticky & fun activity. But what exactly was this art project? Great question; the kids made paper mache masks! As a child, I loved any art activity that involved a big mess and getting my hands dirty, so imagine how much fun the kids had with this!
The first step was to blow up a balloon, roughly the size of their face, so they could wear it. Next, the kids dipped or drenched newspaper in a water glue mixture and laid it over top of the balloon. Some made their masks more complex than others by incorporating facial features such as a nose or eyes while others chose to go the simple route and made a traditional mask. I heard a couple ideas of the kids wanting to make their mask into an 'emoji' and some were indecisive and had not figured out what they wanted their mask to be.
Last Wednesday, Keefer and I did an art project that involved a lot of glue, newspaper, and a great amount of imagination! As soon as the art activity opened up, the kids rushed to the board to sign up as they were all eager to begin. We brought the group of kids outside where we started this messy, sticky & fun activity. But what exactly was this art project? Great question; the kids made paper mache masks! As a child, I loved any art activity that involved a big mess and getting my hands dirty, so imagine how much fun the kids had with this!
Paper mache was just part 1 of making the masks. They are hanging to dry and next week, part 2 will
begin. The kids are going to paint and decorate their masks in whatever way they
choose, letting their imagination run wild. They never fall short of impressing
me with their creative skills and I am excited to see
everyone’s final product!
Until next time,
Sarah A
Jumpstart with OSC
24-11-2016, 11:35 AM
This
week OSC was jam-packed with many fun activities like group knitting and a 'Big Two' card tournament. The week culminated on Friday in a Pro-D Day out-trip
to the Richmond Olympic Oval for Jumpstart, an initiative hosted by Canadian
Tire and its affiliates. 
Many out-of-school-care programs participated in the
event, and it was awesome to see everyone taking part in such a fun and active community
event. Groups rotated through various activities such as basketball,
table tennis, relay races, and a fantastic obstacle course. Each rotation
provided the group with new challenges, and each child had to opportunity to
participate in every event. 
By far the favourite activity of the day was wheelchair rugby, which was taught by a Paralympic athlete. The kids had the opportunity to practice moving around in the wheelchairs while catching and throwing a ball to each other, and they even played a rugby match with the professional athletes. It was great to see everyone interacting together in a fun and engaging environment with many varieties of activities!
Until next time
Sarah C
See you next year, Halloween!
09-11-2016, 11:25 AM
I can not believe that it’s November already!
As you could tell from our last 2 blog posts, we’ve been anticipating Halloween
for a while now. Last Monday, it was
finally here! Halloween is such a great
occasion for us to channel our inner zombie DJs, cats and many other great
costumes! It was so cool to see
everyone’s take on each character and to celebrate creativity. The leaders welcomed all of the kids into the
Wizarding World of Harry Potter by dressing up as the best Harry Potter squad
in town. Corey created and led an
exciting and spooky escape room, challenging kids to put their problem-solving
skills to the test!
One other interesting activity we did this
week involved a little bit of reflecting in the spirit of We Day. Matt lead a short activity that invited the
kids to think about the world beyond our Gilmore walls. In small groups, we shared our thoughts on
what we felt was working in the world and what we believe could use a little
work. It was a great opportunity to show
what we understand about the world as well as learn from others who may have
had different ideas. Many social issues
were brought up that we wouldn’t normally think about- it was a great moment of
learning and reflection for both the kids and the leaders! We are super grateful for all the fun things
we get to do at OSC and hope that one day, others will get to enjoy them too!
Carol