Before we went to Courtyard Gardens Senior Home, we went for a run around Minoru track. The kids loved it- lots of bragging about their speed and agility. I know many of our children play soccer so we tried to make a connection about cardio and soccer. The other people on the track were totally in awe of our children and judging by their exclamations, found them to be most adorable!






We arrived at the Senior's home to find a very good turn out of "Grandmas" and "Grandpas". Right away, the Seniors and Charlene, the Recreation Coordinator, made our children feel welcome. We sang a welcome song and then everyone did name introductions. I was surprised at how comfortable all the children seemed, as if they had been there before. What makes a child feel comfortable in a new situation? I imagine it is many interconnecting attributes- their peers, the staff, the room, the new people- very interesting.

We brough a small, easy to clean up and portable art project on sharks. Each child teamed up with a senior to create an ocean picture. We saw waves, sharks, seaweed, algae, coral, black ocean (because it is night) and yellow oceans ( because it was day).


Helping hands...










We got to know eachother, just a little bit...





After songs, an animated story, juice and cookies, we said our goodbyes until next month. Then off for some outdoor playtime at Thompson Community Centre playground.






We rolled down a hill! It was a blast. There was so much learning...how far can I extend my body? How fast do I roll from half way? From the top? How can I make sure I don't get bumped or bump into my friends? How can I stop my body? How does it make my head feel?

So glad we found a hill!

Emily

We had an "in" day. Not "in" as in inside but "in" as in not going on an out trip. So.. time for some cooking and art projects.

We had squash and garlic from our garden so we added some carrots, onion, vegetable stock and a wee bit of cream ( ok, lots of cream) and made a pureed soup. While it was cooking Chloe said "Onion, garlic and carrots make the soup tasty so it will smell good". She was stirring the soup at that point. Colin jumped in and said " Smells yummy and delicious. I wish we could eat after.". Although every single child tried it ( our mandate) the general consensus was not favourable. Zev seemed to be the soup's biggest fan and showed his appreciation by eating 3 bowls. I repeat... 3 bowls!





Luca started in our class this week and he is doing amazing.  While he was playing with the airport with Cole, Zev and Nico he said " I have been on an airplane. I went to Taiwan. People talk different. I can't talk that. I forget." I love how he made that connection to his own life and thought about the different languages. He was deep in thought and I think he tried to say something in Taiwanese. Languages can be a an abstract concept and I am always curious to know what children really understand about language.


Last week, upon leaving the Food Bank, we walked under some trees that had dropped a lot of branches. I suggested to the children that they might want to pick a special stick to bring back to school to paint. Today was the day we painted our sticks. The children chose their colours carefully and used both thin and thick brushes.




Once the branches were painted out came the paper...

Chloe: "Isn't it beautiful?"

Loreli's rose bush

Loreli turned her brush upside down and used the end to make scratch marks

Other neat moments:

Emily reading

Bryn using 2 hands to draw with chalk On a planet... Moon rocks Bryn buried his moon rocks "so no one can find them" Quote of the day by Colin: Are we going to the farm today? ( we literally had 2 minutes left of class!) And yet another awesome day! Emily

Wednesday class:

Children spent a lot of time on fine motor development today as they poured, scooped, and squeezed. These simple activities help children to develop their fine motor and concentration skills. These activities strengthen their muscles, increase precision, support hand-eye coordination and concentration.

   


 We used our spades and turned the soil....




Digging with our superhero gloves on (yes, again!)



the farm today.....walking. finding treasures. running. holding hands. climbing hills. storytelling. lying on our backs on the grass. drawing in our journals. laughing. checking out playground development (none). picking vegetables. making salad. eating salad. negotiating seating partners on bus. another day of learning for all.

 

a heart shaped leaf.nature sharing its love.


 


journal drawings




finding a caterpillar



There was a lot of productive play today as children explored a few new materials. We had two clear bins filled with gigantic multi- coloured  pom poms and two bowls. This new activity was captivating for many children and I sat back and watched Colin and Cash for quite a while as they interacted with the pom poms. They initially began their play by sorting the pom poms by colour. Then Cash started to count the pom poms but quickly moved onto hiding them underneath the big container. He then turned the container over and declared that he was "The pom pom delivery man." and walked towards Colin. Cash dumped them out and Colin exclaimed "The pom poms are jumping out." They continued to play with the idea of the pom poms "jumping" out for a long time, at times spilling them all over their heads and then frantically picking them up and putting them back into the container. Soon, the two of them were holding one lid on top of the other and hiding them. Then the idea of hiding took on a new form as they transferred the pom poms to the small bowl and again inverted one on top of the other. This action was done repeatedly and I wondered about what they think about the idea of concealing something. What it means to conceal something tangible, like a pom pom. Also, what it means to conceal something more abstruse, like information. I wonder if these concepts could be explored in class. Children, from a young age, enjoy the game of hiding objects so how can we build on this idea?









Bryn said  " I am making a sun. It has to be a circle and have spikes."