Pumpkin Patch Trip - 4 Hour Class

October 21, 2016, 08:30 AM

As Thanksgiving approached, we asked the children what they were thankful for. We listed each child’s comment on our board out front. I hope you had a chance to take a look. There was one common thread for sure and it was that we were all thankful for our families, friends and pets. We also made cranberry sauce which made our classroom smell so fall like with the cinnamon in the air. The children were very proud to take it home to share with you all.

On Wednesday, after the long weekend, we hopped on the school bus and headed to Westham Island Herb Farm in Ladner. We had perfect pumpkin patch weather with the sun shining that day. Once we arrived at the farm, we went on a tour of the farm and met some of the farm animals. The first animal we met was, Gracie, the Sicilian donkey. The tour guide fed Gracie an apple and she devoured it quickly. The goats were next, and there were plenty of them. The children enjoyed watching the goats running energetically in their pen. Then, we were off to see the hens and a snowy owl in the barn. But the most fun the children had was watching the family of pigs. The pigs were all so excited to see the children and came right towards them along the fence. The children laughed because of the funny noises the pigs made and their snouts were poking through the fence.

Then we went inside another barn to learn a bit about what is harvested on this farm besides pumpkins. We found out that artichokes have a beautiful purple flower that grows on the top. We also discovered that pumpkins are fruits and not a vegetable. We were also shown other vegetables that are harvested on the farm.

We then went out to the pumpkin patch in search of the perfect pumpkin to take home. The children were all very particular in which pumpkin they wanted to take home. They took their time and checked out many pumpkins to find the "one". Some picked round ones, long ones, small one and even white ones. I do believe this was their favourite part of our trip, of course. After making big decisions, the children were all so very hungry and we had a picnic to enjoy our snacks before heading back to class. It was another successful outing for our class. We would also like to thank Sofia’s Mommy and Alvis’s Mommy for joining us and helping out.

After the pumpkin patch field trip, we have been following the children’s curiosity with pumpkins and have been further discovering more about them. During one of our circle times, we passed a pumpkin around and each child got to touch, smell and observe it. Here are some of the comments that they had:

 * feels hard
 * orange
 * smooth
 * smells like chocolate/ brownies
 * smells like bananas
 * heavy
 * has lines
 * slippery
 * smells like nothing
 * round

Next, we will cut open the pumpkin and let the children discover the inside of it. This will be interesting as it will become a sensory activity. We will also be baking pumpkin chocolate muffins to further our pumpkin interest.

Besides our pumpkin exploration, the children have been busy making lanterns for our Lantern Festival on October 20, here at West Richmond Community Centre. We hope you and your families were able to join us. Also, we will be having a Halloween party on Monday, October 31. There will be more details in the coming days.

Take care and until next time,

Deanna

WRCC

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Thanks for Thanksgiving - 4 Hour Class

October 18, 2016, 08:00 AM

As our centre welcomes and appreciates diversity, the children participated in the celebration of Thanksgiving in two ways:

1. Making Cranberry Sauce

These are the ingredients that we used to make the cranberry sauce. We used sugar, orange juice, cranberries, water and a cinnamon stick.

Kianne pours the sugar in the bowl.

Keira adds the water to the sugar. As she is adding the water,

she said that the water will melt the sugar.

Nathan stirs the sugar and water together.

He carefully stirs to make sure the water stays in the bowl.

Sofia adds the “red berries” to the bowl while we wait for the water and sugar to boil.

After boiling the sugar and water, we add the cranberries and wait for it to boil again.

Sara squeezes the orange to get all of the juice out

Lastly, we add the orange juice and cinnamon stick to the sauce.

We hope you enjoyed the cranberry sauce as much as we enjoyed making it

2. Making a list of our thankful thoughts

At circle, we read the books Thanks for Thanksgiving by Julie Markes and did our list of the things we are thankful of.

I am thankful for:

Duke: my foxy Adonis: my transformers

Keira: rainbow superhero Dayna: my mom and dad

Jaden: my sister and my shoes Graeme: my giant puppy

Andrew: my sisters Nathan: singing

Sara: my bat dress Jason: my mommy, daddy & Emette

Alvis: my mom Mateo: my mommy, daddy & sisters

Kianne: my cat Timi: food

Georgia: my dad Sofia: my mom and dad

Christina: my bunny & fish (Bubbles) Emette: my family

Tegan: my mom and my dog Deanna: my family

Patricia: the world that we live in

We hope you enjoyed your own Thanksgiving celebration.

Until next time,

Patricia

WRCC

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Fine Arts / Science & Nature - M/W/F AM Class

October 17, 2016, 08:00 AM

Welcome to MWF Fine Arts / Science & Nature class! We have all adjusted quite quickly to our classroom routine and environment. We are ready to play, observe, and learn. We are getting to know each other and forming friendships.

As autumn arrived, we noticed many changes to our weather. Our children noticed that the weather has become cooler than when we first started school. We also noticed that the trees have been changing on our drive to and from school.

To observe our environment, we went for a walk around the community centre. We discovered that many leaves have fallen to the ground - some fresh and some dry. There were many more colours of leaves other than green, red, orange, yellow, and brown.

We collected leaves for further observation in the classroom. The children were inspired by the leaves and we painted our impressions of leaves on trees. Some children painted leaves on the tree and some children painted leaves on the ground. Other children noticed the leaves being blown by the wind. Each painting was unique to their own view and experience.

We have also been very busy learning in the classroom. Here are some of the other activities happening in class:

Experimenting with Baking Soda and Vinegar

Collaborative Artwork

Working on sensory play.

Felt Board Social Story Play

Reading at the book corner

As we come upon our harvest season, we have been talking about apples and pumpkins. We will be updating you soon about our Pumpkin Patch field trip.

Karen, Michelle, and Matt

WRCC

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October "Apple Tasting" (FAS Tues/Thurs Class)

October 14, 2016, 09:00 AM

On Tuesday, October 4 the children participated in an “Apple Tasting" Adventure!

Each child was given the opportunity to taste three colours of apples: green, red and yellow. After consuming each colour, they were asked to choose their favorite one and write their name on an “apple” in the colour they chose as the best.

This experience was exciting because it used many of their senses. They got to see, taste, touch, think, choose, colour and then extend this experience through dramatic play. They engaged socially in an apple stand, which included many apples in all three colours, baskets for sorting and shopping, and cash registers to pay for their desired purchases.

Since Fall is a time of year that is filled with the opportunity to consume many harvested vegetables and fruit, it was very fun to participate in this kind of play…and see which colour was the most popular!!!

Until next time.

Lori

WRCC

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Making Stuffing for Thanksgiving & Lanterns for our Upcoming Festival - 4 Year Old Class

October 13, 2016, 08:00 AM

I began by talking a little about Thanksgiving in our morning circle and some of the children spoke about what was on the snack table, which we had set up as a cooking table. I then explained that we are going to do some cooking today. Some of the children were excited to get started and others not so much, I would guess the concern of some of the children was if they had to eat it. I of course assured them, it was for them to share with families for Thanksgiving dinner.