We always love celebrating Chinese New Year! The community is abuzz with the excitement of a new year in the Lunar calendar. Bonnie was tasked with organizing all the activities and she did a wonderful job! She set up lots of different stations for the children to explore.

Lantern making

Cooking

Figures to act out stories

Chinese character writing

Food in dress-up area

Treasures

One of my favourite stations was the "Build your own Lion Dance Head". Rather than offer them something already with a predicted artistic outcome, Bonnie put out materials to create a piece they could use in a lion dance. Boxes, tape, toilet paper rolls, cotton, markers, scissors and shiny red paper were placed on a table for the children to use as they needed.

Kahlen worked hard! She wanted pointy teeth!

The Lion Dance

 I overheard the following snippets of conversation at this station:

Miele: We needs lots of tape.
Kahlen: We needs lots and lots of tape. And fur.
Jack: It's like opening a present (referring to covering the box with red tissue paper)
Rhyan: Where are the horns? Do you need a tail?
Miele: We need a lot of fur. But not get the glue all furry.
Kahlen: I will cut triangles for teeth.

As the food was cooking I heard Jack say " It smells delish!" to which Emma replied "That's the noodles." Jack then said " Instead of delicious we say delish". He sported a huge grin when telling me this fact!

Response to the fried noodles with Chinese cabbage, carrots, bbq pork, soya sauce and garlic was positive.

Koltyn: Can I get more?
Joban: I like it (he even surprised himself!). Yummy! I like the yellow thing. (the noodle)
Sebastian: I like it. I like the cabbage.
Makena: I don't like it. Wait, I changed my mind. I do like it.
Jack: I like it. This kind of noodle is at the mall.
Rhys: I like it.
Rhyan: I like the noodles.
Jordyn: I like it. I like the pork.
Addie: I don't like pork. I like the noodles.
Kahlen: I like the pork.
Miele: I don't like it, I LOVE it! I'm eating the whole plate!
Emma: I love everything. I want more!

Bonnie told an engaging story about the animals in the calendar and I was amazed at how much information the children already knew. I like the idea of introducing them to new calendars; it opens up our thinking. What do they understand about time? What meaning does a day have? A week? A year? What do they need to understand about our calendar? Is this valuable for them and if so…how? I find myself always grappling with these concepts.

Other wonderful moments in our day…

Rhys is knitting!

Rhys was thrilled to use this big broom to sweep sand.

Makena joined in the sweeping fun.

Hard at work digging BIG holes!

Emma making 'moon cakes' for Chinese New Year.

Gung Hay Fat Choi! May we all have a prosperous and joyous year!

Emily

I am amazed how the interest in beavers continues to grow. On Wednesday, the children wanted to know more about lodges since we opened the discussion on Monday. We learnt how they sometimes build two rooms within their lodge. We played with this concept, pretending we were beavers, collecting wood and bringing it back to make our lodge. We settled into our different rooms and the children loved being beavers! In a later discussion, Kensie said "It would be cool if they have a living room." and then Rhys said" Maybe they can pretend to sleep in their bedroom." Connor said "Maybe there is a bathroom." to which Makena replied "They pee in the water!"

We began to talk about the beaver life cycle so for home research they were tasked with finding out the proper name of a 'baby' beaver. On Wednesday, they came back to school with their research done. When I asked them how they found out the term "kit", they answered the following:

Joban: My mom's phone.
Makena: My pink computer. My mom helped me.
Miele: My mom showed me on her phone.
Koltyn: My sister helped me. (this is very cute, since his sister is only one year older!)
Jordyn: Mommy helped me on the computer.
Connor: My brother told me how it is called. He's smarter. (also very endearing)

Clearly, the way children access information is changing. Oh, the long gone days of our World Book Encyclopedias! I loved those glossy pages! I enjoy arming the children with strategies to learn about the world around them; it is important that they fell in control of knowledge acquisition. We can seek out answers to our questions!

Quote of that sharing circle:
Kahlen: In the beaver world, do they have a hospital for babies to be born?

Yvette built a beaver lodge. We counted how many sticks would be needed to cover the top- math minds at work!

A friend and colleague of mine, Alexis, visited Paulik Park with her preschoolers. She has tauted its beauty and since I have the utmost respect for this educator, I knew it was worth visiting. We had a glorious time exploring this gem of a 'forest' within our own city. There is a very romantic and poetic feel to the park, exemplified by stones with poetic sayings and a beautiful piece of public art (created by the same artist who we are currently working with at our own centre). We wandered around on the paths, investigating trees and noting their differences. Children noticed holes, fallen trees and made me inferences about beavers as they went. "I wonder if beavers…" was heard over and over again during our time at the park.

A collection of sticks for our beaver dam.

Emma started to decorate a tree branch. I wonder if this connection came from our  natural art session with our buddies in the fall. Very cool!

The day could have needed here but we had a booked session to go visit the weaving guild as the children are also very engaged in weaving.  They were interested in seeing a carpet (especially Connor) so we went to talk to the weavers themselves and see the looms. It was a worthwhile experience as the children not only learnt about weaving but also had a chance to speak to new adults, learn how to ask questions, use our good manners, look but not touch and on and on. Each experience is such a wonderful learning opportunity. We are grateful to the weavers for letting us visit.



A full, informative and joyous week. Now to rest and re-charge!

Emily

The Stew

We began our day with a cooking project. Miele had been leafing though a cookbook she borrowed on our last library visit and found a chicken stew she wanted to make. I love how excited she has been about this book- she has been leafing through and finding all sorts of delicious looking treats that have tantalized her taste buds! Since we had carrots, beets and rutabagas from the garden we decided to alter the recipe slightly. Funnily enough, her participation in this project was minimal because she was more interested in building the beaver dam.









 15 out of the 16 students tried it, many had second helpings and everyone liked it. A few comments that were overheard while eating:

The Beaver Dam

After deciding to make a beaver dam last week, each child agreed to bring in 10 sticks. I am not sure if everyone brought sticks but we had quite the pile! Since we wanted the children to really be able to build it themselves without an overabundance of adult support, we knew we needed to provide them with a base for the sticks. Boxes seemed the easiest solution and it worked very well. At first we thought about gluing on the sticks with hot glue but we then knew this would then become an adult piece. So, we gathered up many rolls of masking tape and put them beside the boxes. Again, we had to step back as we knew that masking tape would not be as aesthetically pleasing as clear tape but is much more manageable for the children to use on their own.

Kensie under the box. Her arms must be sore today-she worked tirelessly under there!

Rhys spent at least 5 minutes trying to work with this clear tape. Her worked patiently and never sought the help of a teacher.

These are a few of the comments made during this activity.

Kensie: I am working on the top.
Connor: I am trying to make a window. We need tape.
Miele: Sebastian, put this stick here.
Sebastian: Yeah.
Rhys: Wait a minute, the tape is falling off.
Connor: Got it. I want to colour it. Can you hold this down, Rhys, again. I get another tape. Got it. Phew, that was a close one.
Sebastian: We need more. One more. Can you got one Connor?
Connor: OK, I got it.
Miele: This is a door. It will swing open.
Sebastian: My idea isn't going to work. It won't stick.
Miele; I want to put tape on the door. Emma, can you help me hold this? Sebastian, can you come and tape this please?
Sebastian: OK.
Emma: I am piling up sticks so you don't have to get them far.
Miele: I am using double tape.
Emma: Keep it up. I am doing some work here.
Jack: (singing to the tune of the ABC song) I need more tape.
Addie: Jack, how about I do the taping?
Jack: OK.
Rhys: I will help you.
Connor: I made an alarm. A burglar alarm.

I sat back and listened in complete awe. They have come so far in such little time. Their ability to work collectively struck me in a profound way. I never tire of watching children go through the natural stages of social development- moving from solitary play to cooperative play. It is so lovely to see this degree of collaboration; even the moments where there is conflict are joyous. I believe these skills will carry them through their lives.

I find myself wondering a lot of questions. How will their conversations sound in March? June? Next year? How do children who are shy feel about these types of group projects? How can we make everyone feel welcome? How come some children emerge as leaders so easily? How can we make everyone a leader, in their own way?

Beaver dam building continues on Monday so stay tuned!

Emily

After being off for two weeks, I wondered how the children would be upon their return. Would they struggle to come back to school- getting up and dressed and out the door in a hurry, missing their parents and siblings, longing for laying on the floor in their pyjamas and building lego? I know I sometimes have a hard time making the adjustment back into a schedule life. I was surprised that the children bolted in the door with great enthusiasm, quickly grabbed their name tags, chose a cubby and off they went their child's world of playing, chatting with friends and checking out materials. I was so happy that they were eager to be back and I think it speaks to their relationships that they were able to comfortably pick up where they left off. It also tells me they feel safe and secure in this place. How fortunate they are really; it is not something to take for granted as children all over the world, near and far, live in circumstances that they are not safe.

We went to the library, chose our books (this should be another blog! Stay tuned) and went to South Arm park to play in the chilly air and on the slippery equipment. We brought back 24 books, one of which was on beavers.

We did not have an area of study or inquiry as we wanted to see what the children were interested in after our break so on Wednesday we put out the beaver book and some provocations around beaver dams to see if the children would show an interest in learning about these animals. Soon enough children were investigating the sticks, rocks and pictures. We opened the book and the questions started   flowing out. It did not take long before Kahlen asked for blue paper to make water.



Then suddenly two more children wanted to make water.


Then many more children.



The following conversation took place whilst they were cutting.

Emma: I have seen a real beaver dam.
Makena: I've seen a baby beaver in the forest. With my grandma and mom. 18 years ago. I am not fibbing.
Kahlen: I've seen a beaver on t.v. but not a real beaver.
Makena: We need more water.
Kahlen: It's home is all done.
Makena: They eat and bite on trees.
Connor: I wanna make the Indian guys that beavers like.
Sebastian: They live in water.
Makena: And they make a dam so water doesn't get it.
Connor: They eat wood.
Jordyn: I saw a beaver dam, Teacher Emily. It had sticks.
Kahlen: Mommy beaver and baby beavers should be in our game.

Once again, I am impressed at their knowledge base. They know so much already! This dialogue also shows how far they have come in the last few months in terms of their ability to attend to a topic through conversation. They are learning how to listen, offer information and stay on topic. Later we made a list of what they know about beavers and what they want to learn.

On Friday, we took out the beaver book in circle to see if we could answer some of their questions. It seemed like you could hear a pin drop as we went through the book as the children were so interested in learning. Then they decided they wanted to make a beaver dam in class. I asked them how we would make it and this is what they said:

Kensie: Go to the park, the teachers take a machine to get wood to make dam.
Miele: We can go outside and collect sticks.
Makena: We can use this blue sheet ( pointing to sheet on wall used for the projector) to make water.
Addie: We can cut the tree down.
Kahlen: We can cut the tree from brown paper, into stick shapes.
Connor: We need an axe to cut down the tree.
Emma: What's an axe?
Makena: What does it look like?
Connor: Its long, with a thing. ( trying to show a handle)
Rhyan: We can find sticks on the grass.
Grace: We can use sand.
Rhys: Use a cardboard box, wrap it up and rip paper and glue it on top.
Connor: Get blue paper to pretend water.
Joban: Get sticks from beaver dam.
Miele: They would be wet.
Addie: They actually would, for real.
Jordyn: Get sticks in the grass.
Sebastian: Use sand.
Koltyn: Get sticks from all over.
Makena: We can get a beaver!

We ended the conversation with a group decision that each child would bring 10 sticks to school by next Friday and they had to fit into their knapsacks! The journey will continue!

Other moments from Friday's class.
























So so nice to be back!

Emily

As always there was great anticipation for our big buddy day. Prior to their coming, we revisited the Genius 15 topics to refresh their memories. I was very impressed that most of our preschoolers remembered their big buddies's names; even the ones who have two buddies! Our plan for Genius 15 this visit was for the groups to create a multi-dimensional representation of their topic. Our hope was that they could take the knowledge they have gathered from their research and use it to create a piece of  art. We believe children 'speak' in many languages and it is our job to invite them to use these languages to express themselves.

We collected various materials, everything from elastic bands to wire to foam to tape to fabric to cotton balls to boxes and on and on. As soon as the teams were paired up, they set to work. There was this intense and focused energy in the room as big and small buddies collected materials from the art table. Designs were discussed, debates over the 'best' way to do something transpired and soon the wheels were in motion to create their piece. The creativity and ingenuity revealed by these students was impressive. All the teachers were totally in awe of their work- these kids are smart! I especially loved the way the big buddies gently supported the little buddies, knowing the little buddies needed help to articulate their ideas. Sadly, I took loads of photos but they have faces so I cannot post them here.

We also had a plan to write Christmas stories and sing Christmas songs but time was too short! Luckily,  we managed to sneak time in for the stories the Dixon students wrote. They had worked hard on re-writing a fairytale (known as a fractured fairy tale). They brought their stories with them and read them to their little buddy. I listened to a few of them and was most impressed with their humour and ability to use sarcasm and irony. The preschoolers listened on a whole other level, one that is equally important and far less judgemental. They listened with complete admiration and even though they probably did not understand a lot of it, they enjoyed the stories anyway.

This is an exploration of playgrounds-monkey bars and a slide.

This is a robot relating to the topic of  electronics.

After Genius 15, we decorated gingerbread cookies.  Needless to say, everyone, including the teachers, had a blast decorating cookies with lots of icing and candy. Soon, they were gobbled up, fuelling us with energy to take outside to the playground.


Walking as fast their feet could walk without being accused of running, everyone bounded down the hallway to get to the playground. They rushed onto the equipment, little buddies in awe of the big buddy's ability to hang effortlessly from the money bears, jump onto swings with ease and dig deep deep holes in the sandbox. I chuckled to myself as I saw this humongous hole and knew it could not been the work of my preschoolers who try to dig holes every day but are about 1/16 the depth! What a few years can do…

It was time to part our ways and I love this moment- big buddies hugging little buddies, shouting goodbye and thank you repeatedly, knowing we all had a wonderful time being and creating together. Also, the warmth of knowing we will get to see each other next month and will deepen our friendships.

As a side note, the Dixon students had a Bollywood Dance session last week. Miele's older brother goes to the school so she got to see them all dancing, even Mr Vines!  I was so happy she connected with her buddy and this class on a level outside of our arranged visits. This is why we do these programs; to build bridges within  our community, to create long lasting relationships with those who live around us. Thank you West Richmond Community for being such a wonderful place for our children to grow up!