Fine Arts & Science Class - Light and Shadow

January 21, 2015, 10:02 AM

The Provocation: A projector was set up on the floor of the classroom. Fabrics, objects, markers, paper and music were provided.

The Purpose: - To inspire, explore and encourage experimentation with light, objects and color
- To create awareness of reflection, light and shadow

The Observation: The children eagerly tried out their ideas with movement of their own bodies and shadows, which progressed to other solids. They noted that light did go through glass, plastic and cellophane but not their bodies, pencils or markers. They observed the changes in the shadows when objects were moved either closer to or further away from the light. Conversation abounded with “Watch this,” “It’s really big now!” and “I think I can draw this.” The light was turned and patterns appeared on the ceiling and then progressed to the floor.

Conclusion and Reflection: A very successful activity for both children and teachers. The children collaborated with each other in experimenting, drawing, adding materials and working with the objects and colors in different ways. Perhaps the next steps are outdoor shadows and discovering what happens in the sunshine?

Creating and experimenting with small, medium and large shadows.

Draping fabric to create shadow.

Adding colour and design

On the ceiling with fingers

Adding more objects, the children create a beautiful floor design.

~Joanne

WRCC

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4 Hour Class - SEAs the Day!

January 19, 2015, 01:05 AM

This week our classroom was being painted so we had to get out alot. Luckily we had great weather! Our first adventure took us to Centennial Beach in Boundary Bay.

It was a little cold, but we were brave and ventured closer to the water

Making many discoveries along the way

There were SO many interesting treasures to find!

Ashton found one of many crab shells

Clayten uses a stick to turn this crab shell over

It was foggy when we arrived, but it cleared up

Adam throws seaweed to the sharks...

Ashton is curious about what Adam is doing...

So Adam demonstrates!

Noa and I discovered this -

A heart-shaped piece of driftwood!

It was quite windy at the beach, which made it pretty chilly, but we were all very brave and fought off the cold as best we could! We also spent some time playing at the playground.

We did alot of careful climbing,

Tried alot of new and different equipment,

And played tag

We jumped on the climber,

Practiced safe balancing,

And did some swinging.

We also saw alot of really cool spider webs!

We also continued our exploration of the human body by making x-rays for art:

We outlined our hands

And glued the "bones" inside

And in the hopes of getting to take our exploration even further, we went to the Bio-Diversity Museum at UBC.

When we walked in we saw this skeleton - We thought it was a dinosaur

But when we read the information, we found out that it was a blue whale!

We talked about what our jaw is, where it is, and noted how

small our jaws are in comparison to the whale's!

There were so many cool things to discover -

We did a scavenger hunt, but got side-tracked alot,

because there were just so many interesting things to look at!

Weston, Ashton and Clayten are looking at some eggs.

This display case was full of animals with horns and antlers,

Some were skeletons and others were stuffed.

There was also a crocodile skin in this case -

It was very cool to some and a little frightening to others

There was so much to see and do at the Bio-Diversity Museum that we ran out of time - we hope to be able to return in the future! Stay tuned for photos from the scavenger hunt, which we will probably have on the board in the hallway...

We were all very impressed this week by how well our whole class handled our big out trips - we did alot of walking, faced some unpleasant weather, and spent some significant time in the bus, but it all went really well and a great time was had by all!

Thanks,
Nicole

WRCC

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3 Year Old Class - Our Big Buddy Program

January 16, 2015, 10:38 AM

Each year we find a partner teacher from a local Elementary School, one who is willing to have his/her class act as Big Buddies to our Preschoolers, and commit to ongoing visits throughout the year. For the past few years, we have been fortunate to have a split grade 6 and 7 class from Gilmore Elementary happily be Big Buddies for our Threes Preschool Class.

The first meeting of the Buddies is probably the most important. It can set the pace, and level of connection for the rest of the year. We typically put out activities that the Preschoolers would find challenging if not for guidance and assistance from their Big Buddy.

Each Preschooler is matched with either one or two Buddies, dependent on class sizes. We are often amazed and impressed by the nurturing that flows from even the most energetic Big Buddies. Even though both classes discuss the importance of respect and safety prior to meeting, the Big Buddies seem to innately sense the importance of kneeling down, speaking softly and taking this new friendship slow and steady.

After a few visits, the Big and Little Buddies become very familiar with one another. Most have developed a nice friendship and look forward to each visit.

~Barbi

WRCC

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4 Hour Class - We're Ba-a-a-a-a-ack!

January 16, 2015, 12:21 AM

We're back from the holidays and our book shelves were looking empty, so we headed to the library to get some books...

Everyone gets to choose one book and check it out.

We played some bingo

which went from a single player...

...to several players...

...and soon...

...the whole class was playing!

We had lots of different art choices

Cutting & Gluing

Drawing & Colouring

And lots of imagination!

Justin made this "Rock Star"

To continue our ICE Exploration -

We used markers and ice on coffee filters

As the ice melted it made the colours run, creating cool effects on the coffee filters

This led us to a discussion about how ice melts. We talked about the difference

between melting and breaking the ice and the different ways ice might melt.

We set up an experiment to see which would melt the ice the fastest

For more pictures and info - check out the board in the hallway

The hot water was not hot anymore...

Clayten and Weston made fishing rods

This book on CD is a Magic School Bus book about the human body

We were very interested in it...

This led us to a taste experiement

For more pictures and info - check out the board in the hallway

We also started to talk about the brain

As our interest in the human body seems to be quite high, we plan on exploring it further in the upcoming weeks!

It's great to be back!

Nicole

WRCC

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Making Connections with each other and with the Community outside the Preschool

December 22, 2014, 09:59 AM

During this month, the children are making strong friendship connections with each other and within the community. In the classroom, children are finding their own connections with one another, talking about what they would like to play together and who is going to be the “mommy” in the dramatic play area or the “cashier” at the grocery store. The children are able to take charge and negotiate who plays what role in the classroom.

Aleah, Mia and Lily are all working together to help Tiffany put on her coat.

Cade catching the bird shadows that Kai and Matthew are making on the projector.

Chelsea and Lily helping Taya through the hoop. Finding a solution for Taya to step out of the hoop without falling. Lily is going to step up onto the bench so the hoop goes over Taya”s head.