Fine Arts and Science class - October
November 4, 2014, 11:15 AM
It’s the best time
of the year- it’s the month of Halloween! In October, we continue teaching the
children about Autumn, getting ourselves
ready for Halloween by going to the pumpkin patch, and carving them into Jack-O-Lanterns!
Learning the life cycle of pumpkins
Getting the seeds out of the pumpkin
Some of the children were having fun touching the pumpkin guts and seeds and each of their reactions were different. Some thought it was yucky, some thought it felt strange, but they were all very excited to be carving pumpkin
A finished Jack-o-Lantern!
When we lit the Jack-O-Lantern up in a dark room, it felt like Halloween was finally here!!!!
On the day of the Halloween party, we had lots of activities planned out for the children such as decorating the pumpkins and counting how many spiders fit on the spider web!
Our little giraffe is building his own city with Legos!
Here comes the
costume parade!!!
Our
princesses Noa and June were singing the song “Let it Go” from the Disney
movie, “Frozen”.
Our
heroes of the class!
We ended our
Halloween party with some wonderful food and goodies! J
Matthew could not
get enough of the chips and kept saying “More chips please!”
October was a very
exciting and busy month for the children with the Lantern festival, pumpkin
patch, Halloween parties and more!
Thanks,
Michelle.
Comments
4 Hour Class - So Much to Do, So Much to See!
November 3, 2014, 02:27 AM
What a busy week the 4 hour class had! We went on 2 big field trips and prepared for our Halloween party!
The Pumpkin Patch
While we waited for our tour guide, we got to check out
the pumpkins (and other things) that had already been harvested.
There was a couple of boxes of gourds situated at a perfect height
for exploration - we sifted through these with great curiosity!
We tested our strength
There was so much to look at!
There were a couple funny characters like this around,
and we were cautious about getting too close to them...
the halloween air (and talk of the haunted house)
had made some of us a little nervous!
There were a couple of big, exciting chairs
An interesting discovery was made, and everyone
crowded around for a closer look...
...at the worm!!
A ditch next to the barn
What could there be behind these great, big barn doors?
Cows!!
The cows ate oats and hay and had a salt-lick
Matthew was a little hesitant about going in the barn
After the barn we had to wash our hands.
The water was very cold, but we were very tough!
In another barn we sat on bales of straw - and learned about vegetables.
We also learned that "Hay is for eating. Straw is for sleeping."
Then we got to meet the other animals! Here's one of the chickens.
The donkeys were shy at first, and stayed in their shelter.
But, lucky for us, this one came out to see us!
We were trying to see Bucky - the Scottish Highland Steer
But he was staying on the other side of the enclosure.
Heeeeeeeere's Bucky!
We found out that the goats have their own playground,
because they get bored easily!
Matthew and Michele show how dirty
their hands got from all the mud!
Visiting Our Grandpals
We met our Grandpals for the first time
They helped us make halloween decorations
At the senior centre, we also told them the story of "Mortimer" and sang a few songs. Then we shared a snack of homemade cookies and apple juice. Our Grandpals had decorated tiny pumpkins for us, so we got to take those home!
The Halloween Party
Unfortunately, I was too busy at the party to take many pictures... but here are a few:
SO much yummy food!
So many treats!
Spideman and Obi-Wan listen to Halloween music -
Which we played when we danced!
We ate, we danced, we told our "Mortimer" story and we sang some songs - a great time was had by all! Thank you to all the parents, family and friends who brought food and/or came to celebrate with us!
Indoor Free Play
Weston turned Foody-Doody into "Lip Chap"
Adam is "Making Chicken"
Noa peruses her reading options
Clayten and Ashton spend a little quiet time reading books
Adam and Ashton work together to make a costume for this toy
Adan tests his ears at sound matching
Playing in the haunted house
Everyone was taking turns and sharing
Wearing Hallpween costumes really enhanced imaginative play!
The Bat did a little dancing
Obi-Wan showed off his light sabre
Justin showed me how to Zombie-fy someone in the haunted house -
You simply drop as many of the halloween toys as you can
down through the hole in the roof while someone lays on the
ground inside... obviously!
Ashton came up to me like this and said:
"I'm almost brown enough"
We played with pumpkin guts
and used the pumpkin to crush the seeds
Noa scooped and seperated
While Clayten squeezed the juice out "to make soup"
With the projector out, we got to try shadow casting
When Clayten put his lunch kit away, he discovered that he
had made a robot!
At circle Yvette read a halloween story
And, of course, we took a look at the letter "F"
These are our "F" words
At the Playground
I was able to capture this photo of the Zombie that keeps chasing us!
That Zombie just won't quit!
Running away!!!
The Gym
Hoops...
...and hats...
...and bats - Oh My!
Another busy week for the 4 hour class - thanks again to everyone who helped out with delicious food and treats for the party and to all of you who came to celebrate with us!
Thank You,
Nicole
4 Hour Class - Everything is Awesome!
October 28, 2014, 12:55 AMIt's been another eventful week for the 4 hour class! I've decided to go with a song theme this week, as we've really gotten into music... and boy-o-boy, does this class love to dance!!
I recently made some mixed CDs to play during free play and while we're on the bus...
I recently made some mixed CDs to play during free play and while we're on the bus...
These CDs are a mix of old and new songs. Some are instrumental. There are songs from movie soundtracks and tv shows, and from many different genres. We are all enjoying them very much! Often we end up with a request session that turns into a dance party!!
Dance Party!!
Break Dancing
Spontaneous Dance Parties have been breaking out all week!!
Ella dances in costume!
Everything is Cool When You're Part of a Team!
The Lego Table
The lego table is always a wonderful source of creativity,
problem solving and conversation!
Ashton made a "tall climbing building and two salmon cans"
Dominic's creation
Foam Stacking
This is a seemingly endless source of fun and exploration
Stacking and re-stacking the foam - sometimes sorting by colours or patterns
And always culminating with a shower of foam pieces!
This is typically what the area looks like after!
Wooden Arcs and Cars
The arcs and cars have inspired the creativity of most of the children this week
Many tunnels have been built, and the children have had a lot of interesting
discoveries about how to get the car through such a long tunnel.
The limited number of people, arcs, and vehicles has
promoted alot of teamwork and sharing.
Taking turns
Over and Under
And sometimes the pieces get used in different ways :)
Domenic is hiding...
Ashton is looking through a telescope
Table Top Activities
Noa is sorting the pasta into two piles and the jewels into a third pile
Adam and Weston are playing with different kinds of blocks
Lacing
These blocks all fit back into the box in a very specific way...
Noa challenges herself to figure out how to put them all back!
Noa and Yvette are trying out a matching game -
they are matching the sounds of each of the shakers!
Dressing up the toy...
...and dressing up ourselves!!
Playing as viking characters
And a new friend joined our class - meet our new friend "Skeleton"
Taking a much deserved rest
Yvette shows us how to use a new toy -
following patterns and working patiently
The boys try it out
Working on the letter 'E' this week
'E' words
We practised writing the letter 'E' in upper and lower case
And drew pictures of things that start with the letter 'E'
Clayten made his own yogurt drink by mixing his yogurt
with water in a tupperware container - he tried stirring it with a spoon
and shaking it with the lid on. Then he drank it with a straw.
Adam helps Yvette paint a large box that will eventually be
a haunted house for our Halloween party
We made some egg carton bats to decorate the room for the party
Ashton's bat only had one eye because "in a battle one eye went missing"
It's Mummy time!
These paper towel rolls are about to be mummified...
Wrapping and gluing...
Some finished mummies
Justin checks out the mummies on the window sill
Ella made a tent for the mummies
And of course, there was free art - cutting, gluing, drawing...
Clayten wanted to use the clipboard
Domenic experiments with using multiple markers at the same time
Ella and Mayu wrote letters - lots of letters!
Justin: "The baby is walking in the eye...
...and a strong man"
Chalk boards
We made some new space mud - and voted on a new name for it
Suggestions:
Clayten: Dinosaur Stomp
Ella: A Saurus
Ashton: Big Zombie Face
Justin: Nothing
Domenic: Nothing
Dominic: Hoo-hoo-hoo-ha
Adam: Foody
Weston: Doody
Mayu: No
Noa: No
We decided to go with "Foody-Doody"
We tried some new toys with Foody-Doody
It's SOOOOOOOO stretchy!!!
Dominic loves to wear Foody-Doody as a glove
Everything is Awesome - When We're Living Our Dream!
Matthew plays in the leaves outside
Ella sprinkles the rock with sand
Dirty hands from playing with wet leaves and sand
Dominic and Noa ride off into the sunset together
Hiding...
...and seeking
The zombie was back to chase us
Adam made sand castles...
He worked very dilligently to get them just right
And then we discovered the "Volcano Mud"
(if you haven't already, check out the board for more details)
Terra Nova Park
Spinning
Making this apparatus spin takes alot of effort and teamwork!
Working their way through the posts
Playing in the leaves
Adam was testing whether different items would sink or float -
He tried woodchips and leaves and anything else he could find
Climbing
And more climbing! Ella was very proud of herself
for being able to climb so high on her own!
This was a great place to hide from the zombie!
Dominic proudly climbed over the fence
Clayten was studying this big puddle very closely...
...and he discovered "a monster" living in the puddle!
Mayu and Ella join Clayten to check out the puddle
We had alot of fun going up and down the slide
And especially making a dog-pile at the bottom
Mayu encourages Adam to join the others on the slide
Clayten tries the zip-line
And then helps Weston do the same!
Time to go back to the bus...
Walking across the bridge Dominic told Adam and I that there were
"sharks in this ocean water" and then listed the many things in the "ocean water"
that might bite you. Such as: sharks, crocodiles and piranha
Back at our playground - we take our time going down the stairs
Going up...
...and up and down...
...and down :)
There's that zombie again... we just can't seem to get rid of her!
Climbing
Making announcements - in this case it was about the zombie attack!
Matthew loves to play in the leaves!
Ashton found a spider which we took turns holding.
Yet another AWESOME week has passed us by!! Looking forward to a very spook-tacular week ahead - with lots of Halloween activities!!
Nicole
Lantern Festival
October 25, 2014, 12:45 AM
On Thursday Oct 16 we had our annual Lantern Festival. It was a lovely evening - the weather held out, there was a great turnout, and lots of fun was had by all!!
Here are a few photos to highlight the evening:
Mind Of A Snail was there to do shadow puppets -
it was interactive and got many children involved and excited!
It was so much fun to watch as they discovered the potential of each of the masks!
Staff from the Out Of School Care programs were there to do balloon art.
As far as I could tell, they were kept busy all evening!
And what would the Lantern Festival be without a drum circle?
The sound of drums could be heard from the parking lot,
welcoming everyone to the event!
And there were many other fun activities for families to participate in, such as:
Face Painting
Ring Toss
Apple Fishing
Participants from the Sr OSC program were manning this station,
and were extremely excited to be involved!
If you didn't have a lantern you could make your own!
The Wishing Tree
And then it was time for the main event -
Lanterns were lit...
...and the parade began!
Thank you to everyone who brought donations for the food bank!
The shadow puppet screen was so delightful that I could not stop taking pictures -
It was so wonderful to see the creativity and excitment that was happening there!
So here are a few more pictures:
Thank you to everyone who helped to make this year's Lantern Festival such a huge success!
Happy Autumn!
Nicole
Pumpkins and More - Fine Arts & Science Class
October 22, 2014, 12:41 PM
Off
to the pumpkin field!
The
pumpkin is heavy. I need both hands to lift it.
Some
of the children liked the red pumpkins best!
A pumpkin big enough for a chair.
What is it?
What happened? Look at this! Are those seeds?
The children
also met different animals that were on the farm.
The
barn owl
Some cows that were on the barn
Bucky, a Scottish Highland Steer
Samson, the donkey
And some pygmy goats
The children
enjoyed exploring the different variety of pumpkins and watching the animals.
But most of all they had fun playing in the mud (good thing, we got our rain
boots on)!
We are all looking forward to our next
field trip! Have a safe and happy Halloween!