Preparing our Garden Planters for the Fall with Ian - 4 Year old Class
October 10, 2014, 12:21 PM
We began the morning with a group discussion about Ian visiting our class
to do some planting (in our planting boxes on the deck). The response from the
children was mixed, with some children enthusiastic to get their hands into the
dirt, using “real” garden tools and checking to see if there are “real” worms
in the worm bin; whilst others not so sure if they even wanted to see the worm
bin!!!
After a short introduction by Ian, we head onto the deck to begin loosening
up the soil in the planters box, and looking at the lettuce that had been
growing over the summer. We then transplanted the lettuce into another box so
it would have room to grow. This the children did carefully, picking a spot in
the box and making sure the lettuce is not planted to close together.
After washing our hands, Ian introduced the children to shelling beans,
using fine motor skills, the children began the task of sorting beans to
colors. Chloe found the beans to be “slippery” as she rubs them in her hand.
A Happy Face by Mia, who said “if you turn it upside down it is a sad
face.”
Ava makes a pattern with the beans.
Matthew made a line with the beans.
Here is what some of the children said they
made:
Lily – Cat
Tiffany – Fireworks Monster
Taya – Fish
Cade -
Castle
The children transplanted the lettuce and
thinned it out so it would have more room to grow.
Ian helping Tiffany squeeze the water out
of bean which will then be ready to sprout in a few days
Ian explains to the children how to take
care of the bean at home, once it is in a
plastic bag.
- Jess
Comments
Fine Arts & Science Class: Experiencing Fall
October 8, 2014, 09:59 AM
On Tuesday we explored Fall
We talked about the leaves changing colours
Touching
Pumpkins
Each child had a different opinion about
the pumpkin -hard, smooth, has a smell
Apple Printing
Weaving
WE were so excited about Fall, hopefully we
will experience it together outside.
Thanks everybody for a great day,
Michelle.
4 Hour Class - We Say Goodbye, and We Say Hello!
October 5, 2014, 12:46 AMAnother week has flown by - and it brought a couple of special people with it!
We said "Hello" to our newest class mates and family members:
Welcome Noa,
And Clayten!
And we said "Goodbye" to Big Blob!
But not before we played with him a few more times!
A cookie for Dominic's mom
A snail
Dominic's new glove
Clayten made some donuts
But sadly, we must say goodbye...
Adam and Ella helped Yvette sweep the floor.
Please don't worry, we are already plannning what the
next batch of space mud will look like!
And now for a glimpse of the past week:
ART
AUTUMN LEAF ART
This is currently on display on the board
PAINTING STICKS
We will be using these to construct a classroom family tree
PAINTING WITH BUBBLE WRAP
FREE ART
Cutting and gluing
Clayten drew "letters and bugs and leaves"
Justin made a shark
INDOOR FREE PLAY
THE SLING SHOT
Ashton is using a pom-pom and a sling shot to knock over the dixie cups
Adam resets the dixie cups
THE LIGHT TABLE
BLOCKS
PEG STACKING
MAKING TRACKS
The tracks always start on the blue carpet...
... and very quickly make their way around the room!
Various levels are used
And everyone gets involved!
Adam worked on this pyramid for quite a while -
stacking it in all sorts of new and interesting ways!
Matthew and Patricia read a book on the couch
CIRCLE TIME
We talked about the letter "B"
We generated TWO pages of "B" words!!!
And we started learning about money -
We talked about the difference between coins and bills
And began learning how much each coin and bill was worth -
Everyone seemed very interested, so we will continue with this topic next week!
THE GYM
HULA HOOPS
WHEELS
Dominic rides the scooter
Bikes and cars
Matthew pushes Patricia in the blue car
OUTSIDE AT THE PLAYGROUND
AIRPORT PARK
We brought some toys out in the field
Clayten made a nest
BURKEVILLE PARK
WE...
...LOVE...
...TO...
...CLIMB!
We also spend alot of time on adventures
ON THE BUS
TERRA NOVA PARK
Spinning
Pumping Water
Taking turns
Working together
What happens when we block the pipe with our hand?
What happens when we take our hand away?
What happens if we put something in the pipe?
Curiosity
Experimentation
Figuring it out
Sharing
We found a string in the tree
And it was VERY interesting and mysterious
And of course, we climbed!
Lots of spiders at the park today ;)
Walking in a line
Balancing
Playing with our shadows
This is a T-Rex
GARDENING
A special guest, named Mr. Lai, came in to talk to us about gardening.
We harvested wheat which we then planted in our garden boxes and then we
helped shell beans - there was an amazing variety in the colours of the beans we shelled!
The wheat seeds were very tiny and took alot of concentration
These are our garden boxes which live outside on the deck
Gardening is dirty work
So we lined up to wash our hands
Mr. Lai showed us how to shell the beans
And then we got to work
Everyone helped out
And we got to take a bean home after!
Thanks to everyone who helped make this week an extra special one!
I hope the weather holds out again next week so we can have a few more
dry adventures before the rain really sets in!!
Excited, as always,
Nicole
Leaf Exploration - 3 Year old Class
October 2, 2014, 12:47 PM
This week in class, the children enjoyed a
variety of experiences including puppet shows, sensory tray play, and space mud
At Circle Time we discussed Autumn Leaves,
and went on a walk to collect and explore leaves, the variety of colours,
textures, stages and the trees they grow on.
The children also enjoyed exploring freely
with the leaves.
When asked how a Summer leaf compares to an
Autumn leaf, some of the responses were:
Samual:
It feels crunchy and all dried up.
Taylor:
It’s scratchy.
Sofie:
It’s not soft.
Aneil:
This one is soft.
Claire:
I like the orange, and I like the yellow, and I like the red.
Exploration continued with leaf painting at
the Art Table.
Barbi
We're a Big Family!
September 29, 2014, 03:01 AM
Big Blob was back!
The Grocery Store
Last week there was lots of interest in the cash register which prompted the teachers
to bring out the grocery store toys... Now I'm wondering if the children might be
interested in learning about money... the value of the various bills and coins perhaps...?
Adam fills his basket with fruits and vegetables
Even Batman did a little shopping!
Dominic checks out the light table
The children worked together to create a track to roll balls on
It went all over the classroom!
Even on the furniture!
I was informed by Domenic, that this was called "the vegetable carrot slide"
We also talked about the letter "A" at circle time
A list of "A" words we generated
Adam even incorporated it into his art!
We also talked about autumn...
...which lead to the children wanting to talk about Halloween costumes.
So naturally, we asked them:
"What are you going to be for Halloween?"
Dominic - Captain America
Weston - A fireman again
Justin - Ninja Turtles
Ella - Dora
Domenic - Spiderman
Adam - A spaceman from Safeway
Matthew - Spiderman? No. Batman? No. Minnie Mouse? Yes, Ok.
Ashton - Obi-Wan Kenobe
Mayu - I don't know.
Art
On Monday we put out a wide variety of things to paint with
Of course the children did alot of drawing too!
And on Friday we started a new, autumn-themed art project
Sandbox
Domenic and Weston found this truck...
...and Ashton found treasure!
Story Time at Brighouse Library
On Wednesday we went to story time - we heard some great stories,
sang some songs and everyone got to choose one book to bring back
to school with us for our book shelf. We also got to check out the
3D printer which was making all sorts of cool things!
Paulik Park
We were excited to get to see the pig that lives next to the park!
Domenic helped clean up
Mayu and Ella hiding under a tree
We took a few moments to look at the leaves
and watch them falling from the tree
Mayu and Ella put a few leaves through the grate
A New Park
We had to walk through this tree-tunnel to get to the new park
It was raining, and slippery, but we managed!
There were lots of cool new things to climb on
And swings!
As we were walking back to the bus everyone just started holding hands
And Ashton said:
"We're a big family!"
I think that this is a great example of how we are all settling into our school year together! We are all
feeling comfortable with each other already - a few of the children have even called the teachers
"mom" or "auntie" from time to time :)
And our family tree is growing! We have a new friend in class, and this coming week there will be another new friend joing us as well!!
Thanks to the whole family for yet another fabulous week!
Nicole