We have had so many fun and engaging moments with our preschoolers this December. We made latkes, read stories, visited our big buddies, made presents for our families and shared holiday traditions. The children were excited to learn about different cultures and gain new interests.

During our morning circle, I let the children know that our big buddies from Dixon School were going to be arriving shortly and was pleasantly surprised by their excited response - considering they have only connected with their buddies once before.

I wondered what it was about this friendship that allows it to blossom so well, and so quickly.

Upon the arrival of the big buddies, though, I realized what it was that makes this relationship so unique, and I would like to share with you some of the special moments I observed in class.




After she writes her name, Sophie’s big buddy decorates it, adding silver candy balls.This little special touch makes Sophie feel unique.




As I watched Jack walking around the classroom, not quite sure where to be or what to play with, I saw how the big buddies took a leadership role and started to play with snap together blocks, intriguing Jack's interest.

As Daniella played with geometric shapes and boards, I observed how the big buddies knelt down to her level so they could be engaged in the activity together.

I understand now how quickly this special friendship develops, as the little buddies are made to feel cared for and connected with their big buddies. The little buddies are learning to trust and feel safe with their big buddies, who are in turn learning to take on a more responsible role.


The children are learning co-operative play as they hold hands and begin to sing Ring Around the Roses, walking around  in a circle and jumping to the ground while holding onto each other's hands (and also welcoming new friends to join in the fun!)




Wishing all our families a relaxing winter break, looking forward to seeing you in the New Year!

Until next post,

~Jess

The preschool 3 and 4 year old morning classes have been busy preparing for the holidays over the past few weeks.

Along with many other activities, each child has made a gift for their families. These gifts are now wrapped and ready to be sent home, and we are sure they will be well received! We also showed the children our Preschool Donation Box and spoke about the importance of giving to those who are less fortunate than us.

We have decorated a Christmas tree and created two very large snowman (which will be on display at the family potluck!) It was fun to stand back and watch the children strategize and work together as a team.

The preschoolers have also been practising the songs they will sing at the family potluck and for the Hugh Boyd Seniors. In the coming week they will be decorating a gingerbread cookie with their big buddy - this always makes for a fun day!

Inspirational Paintings

Making a very Large Snowman.

For the Chanukah holiday, the children made and played with dreidels (spinning tops used during Chanukah). Competitions quickly developed to see whose would spin the longest. Dreidels are challenging to spin and most definitely take some practise.

Making Dreidels

Playing with Dreidels

Making and Eating Latkes 

At circle time we also spoke about the many holidays that occur around the world. Some we know and others we aren’t aware of, some we celebrate and some we don't. We spoke about families having different traditions and celebrations, and how wonderful it is that we are all similar yet not the same. We discussed how enjoyable it is to learn new and different things, and to take pleasure in sharing in the joy of others.


Wishing everyone all the very best this holiday season!

~Barbi

The children were excited to wear their costumes on our first visit to the seniors centre. During our circle discussion, the children had a lot of questions about the visit, asking: “Where is the centre? Are the seniors old people? What are we going to do there?”

With all of these questions and thoughts running through the children’s minds, it really was quite amazing to watch the instant connection between the two groups. The children must feel a sense of security around the seniors, as they began engaging in activities with them almost immediately upon arrival.

As I watched Jack in his policeman costume pretend to handcuff one of the older adults (who happily placed her wrists on table for him), it was clear to see connections were being made.




Until next post,
~Jess 

The pumpkins are on every corner perched on every corner can only been one thing - its that time of year again! These pumpkins naturally spark the interests of the children, and we hope to facilitate and nurture this curiosity in as many ways as possible.



As you may have noticed, we brought books, activities, pictures and even actual pumpkins into our class room, so the children could get a "hands on” approach in their exploration. A sink and float station captured many of the children's interest. This activity included sized pumpkins, squash and other fall items floating in a tub. The purpose of this station was for the children to see which of these items would sink in water, which ones would float, and why this was so. Sara, Julia, Kaitlyn and Chantel took a particular liking to this activity.




Sometimes when we set up an activity with certain intent, we find the children, using their imaginations and creativity, use it for something completely different. This is exactly what happened with the sink and float activity. The girls decided to turn the activity into an opportunity to test out their cooking skills! They spent several minutes stirring the water and picking up the pumpkins as they served their lucky teacher. Here is a conversation that took place during this activity:

Julia: “I`m making soup!

Sandy: “Oh! What kind of soup?"

Julia: “Pumpkin soup! It’s so delicious!”

Sara: “Do you want to try some?”

Sandy: “Sure! So yummy!”

Another pumpkin based activity we did was to cut the top off of a pumpkin and let the children explore it by using their hands, spoons and other utensils. We put this activity out during freeplay, and noticed a lot of the children used spoons to scoop the seeds up. We, though, wanted to challenge the children to get a little messy and put their hands inside the pumpkin to feel the different textures.






I brought our pumpkin to circle time and gave each child an opportunity to see how the inside of a pumpkin felt with their hands. Here are a few responses that the children gave:

Aedan: “I feel the seeds.”

Benjamin: “It feels spooky and sticky!”

Claire: “It feels sticky wicky.”

Gunner: “It feels mushy”

Adonis: “It feels icky!”

My favourite part of this activity was seeing the children’s reactions when they put their hand inside of the pumpkin. There were a lot of smiles and giggles as they felt the mushy seeds and pumpkin guts! This makes me think the children really enjoyed getting their hands a little sticky!

The most enjoyable activity for me involving pumpkins was, of course, visiting a pumpkin patch! This was not just a fun event for the children, but also very educational. The children had the opportunity to gain an appreciation of how much work it actually takes to create a pumpkin! We were treated to a tour that included some wonderful farm animals and some very informative facts about pumpkins. Getting the children out into the field was a great way for them to experience the hard work of picking a perfect pumpkin to carve into a jack-o-lantern! It was wonderful seeing all the children and families interact with one another. This was great experience for children to bond with their own families, as well as the others in our program.




I was interested to see how excited the children were to go out and pick their own pumpkin. Even with all the other things they could have done during this field trip, a lot of the children couldn’t wait to get to the pumpkin patch! They really wanted to be involved in this process and were so happy when they found their perfect pumpkin!


With the children’s imagination and curiosity leading the way, pumpkin season is always an enjoyable time of year for our program.


 ~Sandy