Chinese New Year is here and this year is the year of the goat. Over here, at West Richmond Sr. OSC, we celebrated the year of the goat by making Chinese New Year decorations as our art activity.

First, we started with origami & construction paper to cut out the word “SPRING.” Since Chinese New Year is also referred to as “Spring Festival” in the Chinese culture.

Second, we made the firecrackers by cutting construction paper into several pieces and rolling them into cylinder shapes as the shape of firecracker. Then we decorated the rolled paper with glittered duct tape.

Third, we punched holes on the firecrackers and the word, “Spring”. After that, we used string to connect them. Then, we have our Chinese New Year decoration!

You must be curious about why Chinese people use firecrackers as decorations during New Year. According to old Chinese legend, a monster called “Year” will be seeking food in the village on New Year’s Eve. Villagers do not want “Year” to eat all their food, which they have harvested over the entire year so they used firecrackers to scare the monster away so they wouldn't suffer from hunger. Although the monster had disappeared and had never be seen since, Chinese people still keep the tradition alive by lighting firecrackers on New Year’s Eve. Nowadays, having a firecracker has become a decoration for the Chinese people during the New Year.

In this 15 day long festival, Chinese celebrate with family and friends, and also enjoy great food. It’s fortunate to live in a diverse community like West Richmond so we can experience different cultures and their holidays throughout the year.

Gong Xi Fa Cai and Happy New Year

Dennis

 Hello OSC friends and families!

It’s hard to believe that we are already one whole month into 2015…time sure does fly by! We hope you are all finding your groove with school, extra-curricular activities, work, and of course, time for fun!

We have a fantastic addition to our room at Gilmore, a new welcome sign! Take a second to check out the bright and colourful “Welcome to OSC” sign on our doors. The sign was designed, decorated and cut out  during an art activity ran by Ryan.  Each child and leader has included his or her name on it.  Come see if you can find your child's name!

In the past few weeks we have been lucky enough to get some consistent sunshine in Richmond, and we have definitely taken advantage of it. It has allowed for some great playground days enjoying the beautiful warm weather together!

We hope you are enjoying February and what will continue to be another great month! Keep on enjoying the sunny days, being active and staying healthy!

Take care,

Tatiana

Hello everyone!

On Friday, our kids showed their true “colours” with their creativity and imagination. James’ craft for the afternoon required a few materials (oil pastel colours and textured paper) but these items were soon transformed into works of art. Although some of our kids did not yet have a clear idea of what they wanted to create, they started off slowly with precise markings and streaks. Soon, many of them began to use their fingers and hands. This hands-on approach was much more fun and allowed the kids to achieve soft, blended colours. Smudged hands, lots of concentration and 45 minutes later, our artists proudly presented their pictures. Here are some of their cool creations!

The kids really enjoyed doing this pastel craft. In case any of you would like to experiment more with oil pastels at home, I have attached some easy instructions for making your own scratch art.

You will need:

Directions:

Step 1:

Colour your card stock with oil pastels, making sure you press down really hard. Add many different colours to cover the entire paper.

Step 2:

Pour some black paint into a small bowl and add 2-3 drops of dish soap. The soap will help the paint stick to the oil pastels. Then mix the paint and soap together using a foam paint brush.

Step 3:

Now you can begin painting over your picture. After covering the entire paper, allow to dry. It’s okay if you see some of the oil pastel colours lightly under the paint.

Step 4:

Using a toothpick, start scratching a design into the painting. For thicker lines a Popsicle stick will also work. The black paint will scratch off, revealing the pastel colors underneath. Once your scratch art masterpiece is finished, show it to a friend!

Perhaps if a special birthday is coming up, this craft could be a cool gift or birthday card. It’s up to your imagination and creativity!

Cheers,  

Katrina

Hey everyone!

It’s a brand new year full of new possibilities. I hope everyone had a great New Years and created exciting resolutions to pursue in 2015. Today, I asked some of the kids to peer into their crystal ball to give me some of their most creative predictions. They definitely delivered!

Johanna: “I think a birdcat will be discovered.  It will look like a cat with very colorful wings.”

Malia: “Space travel will be more advanced! A person will travel to Mars and maybe even uncover aliens.”

Kelsey: “Leaders at OSC will grow beards.”

Kaitlyn: “I believe that scientists will discover the existence of Unicorns. We might even be able to ride on them.”

Taya: “Flying cars will be invented.  I can’t wait to fly around the city!”

Emily: “People will have superpowers! I’ll be able to fly just by flapping my arms.”

Clearly, the kids here all have very imaginative and optimistic views on this New Year. I hope you all share the same enthusiastic outlook this year.

Regards, Jason Lee