It has finally begun to feel like Spring.  The weather has started to cooperate and we have been enjoying our time outdoors.





Another way was taking a field trip to the Richmond Nature Park.  Although, it was a very rainy day, we had a successful trip.  At the nature park, we expanded on Spring and gardening by learning about bees, pollen collecting and other plants and trees. We also got to learn about frogs and a variety of birds too. Oh yes, we must not forget about the snake that we got to pet.

The activities and information that was given to our children related to them because we used all our senses to learn about the many signs of spring time.  The children were actively doing by observing, touching, moving, and listening.  This makes a huge impact on how they receive information and how they learn from the experiences.

The sun gods were watching over us on Wednesday April 18^th as we ventured out of our classroom to embark on our Wee Walk. 

To make our walk more interesting we decided to do a little scavenger hunt along the way.  Our mission was to find a blue car, a tree with pink or red flowers or leaves, a grey squirrel, a baby stroller and some pine cones. 

We were successful in finding all of the items except for the grey squirrel.  We did however spot a black squirrel so I’m going to call it a win!  The children were all so excited to explore a different environment and participate in the scavenger hunt. 

However, I believe that the highlight of the walk was stumbling over this tree with a face on it.  Some children were so perplexed as to how the tree had a face and others just giggled and thought that it was the neatest thing. 

Everyone was such troopers that we finished before expected, so to burn off the rest of our energy we decided to play a game of tag in the soccer field.  All in all I’d say it was a very successful Wee Walk.




Until next time
Jordan

For art today, I decided to do something basic. We used paint brushes and paint. The children were focused on creating their own masterpieces. Once they were done, I encouraged them to tell me something about their paintings. The children’s story behind their paintings, gave me a chance to get to know them better and understand things through their perspective.


Linden: This is my rainbow box.

Jayden: My easter egg.  Mia: This is you, Teacher Patricia, in pigtails with a heart. Because you are happy. Fraser: This is the ocean. Jerome: Me playing under the rainbow and a fire truck. Chelsea: I used red and blue because they are my favorite colors.     Keane: This is fire outside and the fire truck needs to come.     Elliot: I used all my favorite colors to cover my paper.       Until next time, Patricia

Since Spring has arrived and warmer days are on the way, we thought it would be enjoyable for the children to explore fish and their habitat in many multi-sensory ways.

We were able to provide artistic opportunities for the children to collaborate and create “water waves” with large pieces of paper and various brushes and their hands to resemble rolling water (see our bulletin board!).  It was wonderful to watch them mix the colors and move around the table, enjoying these “messy” moments.  Our indoor gross motor play even included games of “Fish, Fish, Swim” and “What Time Is It Mr. Shark”!  These fun group games gave all of the students the chance to share, take turns, and watch each other enjoy the experience.  Our circle times created chances for the children to move to creative sea life songs and listen to engaging sea life stories!

As we continue learning about sea life, we hope the boys and girls bring home comments and stories of all we are experiencing together!  Looking forward to more fun as we finish the year together!



Sincerely,

Our Four-Year-Old Class recently learnt about printing, during an engaging and interactive visit to the Art Gallery. They also toured and viewed the gallery's Art Showing called 'Transference'. The field trip was led by Melanie, the Gallery's School Program Coordinator, who did a wonderful job engaging the children throughout the visit.




The children created monotype prints using a printing press. Melanie led the children in a discussion about prints and how they are all around us... in books/comics, on signs, labels, and endless more items. As Melanie pointed out, you could even see a print on the T-shirt that Matius was wearing! He had a print of a dinosaur on his T-shirt. That had all the children looking down at the clothes they were wearing, and calling out the prints they could see.














When the children were done, they took turns carrying their creations over to Melanie and the printing press. There, the artwork was put on the press, with a sheet of paper laid over-top the artwork. The next step was to roll, roll, roll the press.






The children collected their artwork and took them back to the tables. There the paper was peeled back, revealing their very own print. This was a very intriguing and enjoyable process. Once on the shelf to dry, the children washed the ink from their hands.




It seemed each child thoroughly enjoyed their morning at the Art Gallery, and the new learning experience they all shared.