Having Fun with Balloons

This play experience gives the children the opportunity to learn math and science skills. The children will learn the colours, the sizes, the textures, and the elasticity of the balloons.  At the same time they are having fun and creating their own games to play.  Look at the expressions on their faces, you can tell they are curious and they are enjoying themselves.

Ms Wong

Determination and Perseverance

We love the outdoors. Being outdoors gives the children many opportunities that we don't see indoors. Children have the freedom to run and climb, or to simply observe and learn from the natural environment. Throughout this winter we have watched as our snow hill in our front yard grew bigger and bigger. The children have been hesitant to climb it.  With some determination and perseverance the children begin to challenge their balance as they begin to climb the snow hill.

This child decided that climbing wasn't working so the hill became a slide. Then she takes a break to look at the sky.

We encourage children to listen to the way their bodies feel, if they aren't comfortable climbing the hill they find a different path. The role of the Early Childhood Educator is to observe and watch for the child's cues on how they might be feeling. We can then help children understand what message their bodies might be sending them. 

One child proudly states, "Arigo, I did it!"

This week most of the children can easily make it up and down the hill with ease. It has been a very proud moment for everyone.

Miss Sousa

"It doesn't matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop" - Confucius 

Independent Reading

February 18, 2016

"Children who value books are motivated to read on their own."

(Koralek, 2003)

During free play this morning, two toddlers decided to pick different books to read to their stuffed animals.

 

In the photo above, one child picked the book Zoe's Snowy Day by Barbara Reid to read to her teddy bear. She held the book in one hand and studied the images on each page. Then, she looked towards her bear seeming to tell him a story! She said, "Teddy bear, read a book."

In the photo below, another child picked an animal picture book to read to her elephant and baby. She placed her baby on the wooden bench and lifted the book, seeming to show her baby the pictures!

 

 

Then, she held her stuffed elephant pulling him close and said, "big elephant!" She continued to read to both baby and elephant.

According to Carol Quick, (KidsHealth.org, 2013), "...most reading problems can be prevented if exposure to reading starts in the toddler and preschool years. Before children can read independently, they need emergent literacy skills."

In the infant and toddler room, there are always books on our shelves available for children to read any time. We change the books every two weeks and offer different stories with variety and diversity to enrich emergent literacy skills.

-Miss Arigo

Rough and Tumble

February 17, 2016

"When engaging in risky free play, children choose for

themselves how much they can handle."

(Science of ECD, 2015)

Rough and tumble is one form of risky play. In toddlers you see this when they wrestle or even tickle each other. When the kids are laughing and smiling at each other, you know they are having fun and respecting each other's boundaries at the same time.

This morning, two of our toddlers decided to tickle each other! It started with Miss Arigo tickling one child. Another child wanted a turn to be tickled. We did this for a few minutes. Then, two children decided to tickle each other.

I observed them move to a bigger, wider space where they can both comfortably lie down. One child began tickling another child. She said, "I tickle!" and giggled. The other child happily agreed. Then, the roles switched. Laughter and giggles filled our classroom!

We also established rules. The children know that when somebody says "stop" they have to end the tickle play. After about 10 minutes, both children stood up and ended the play.

This form of risky play promotes confidence and self-awareness. They learn about personal boundaries and self-control. And they have tons of fun!

"Children love to play in risky ways – taking chances

and challenging their abilities."

(SECD, 2015)

by Miss Arigo

 

Music with Miss Sonja

February 3, 2016

Ms. Sonja has been coming into the infant and toddler room for the past two years.  She does Music
class with the children in the room once a month. The children enjoy the time she spends with us.  

The children find a comfortable spot to sit and watch Ms. Sonja as she begins to tune the guitar. Once

the singing begins we all join in and use the instruments that Ms.Sonja shares with us. Each child moves to the music in a way that feels comfortable.  

Welcoming New Friends

February 5th, 2016

During outdoor play this morning, the oldest child (22 months old) in our group decided to sit by another child (12 months) who recently started in our program.

She crouched down in front of him, gently touched his mittens and smiled at him. The other child looked at her with curiosity, studying her face. She says, "Hi!" and gives him a kiss.

Showing friendliness and love towards others are just two of the many virtues children learn in their daily lives. They learn such social competence through abundant positive interactions with their peers and strong attachment with their teachers and families.

Miss Arigo

Paradigm - Thinking Outside the Box

"Education is a natural process carried out by the child and is not acquired by listening to words but by experiences in the environment."

-Maria Montessori

As we work with children and watch them grow, we are amazed by how much they learn. They can learn a lot through our teachings, but also through their own way of thinking. 

As adults, there are times when we offer them play experiences and expect specific outcomes. Then, suddenly they think of something completely different and they manipulate and play with the materials in their own way!

On January 13, the children were given several pieces of wooden sticks. We let them use their imagination to create their own play.

The first two pictures show how the child tried to build something by lining up several pieces of sticks on the floor and putting some more on top. Now, look at the bottom three pictures. After a few tries, she thought of a different way to use the sticks. She held one stick in each hand, tapped them on the floor, and pretended to play the drums!

 

Another child played with the wooden sticks in a different manner. He gave several pieces for the teacher to hold. As the teacher was holding some pieces in an upright position, he tried to put one stick inside the pile. He kept on putting one in until the pile was full and another piece would not fit. He repeated this several times then hestarted piling them up one by one.

 

Through this play experience, the children learned to create their own play through their imagination.

 

 

-Mrs. Javier-

Making Chicken Noodle Soup

January 29, 2016

This morning Miss Sousa and the children prepared to make chicken soup for lunch. With supervision, two of our toddlers helped cut up the vegetables using butter knives.

Then, it was time to mix the ingredients! Here is a list of what we used:

• chicken
• carrots
• potatoes
• celery
• peas
• spices (dill, poultry seasoning, garlic, and ginger)
• noodles
• chicken broth

Each child had a turn to pour and mix the ingredients in a big pot.

In the picture above, Miss Sousa hands a child a bowl of celery. Gingerly, she pours the vegetables in the pot.

Another child gets a turn and he adds more vegetables using a measuring cup.

The toddlers take a closer look at how the ingredients are mixing together.

Then, Miss Sousa lets the children stir the ingredients with a big spoon.

Each child gets a turn to stir the pot.

We observe how all the ingredients move around the pot as we stir them.

Then, we added some pasta! Once we have added all that we needed, it is time to cook the soup in the big kitchen. While it was cooking, the children played outside for an hour.

At around 11 am, it was time to taste our labour of love. Miss Sousa also made grilled cheese sandwiches to go with our soup.

Lunch time!

Through this play experience, the children learned about math: measuring and counting. They also learned about science: mixing, combining, cooking. They learned to be responsible while using butter knives. And they learned about good nutrition from proper hand washing to trying healthy soup!