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!



Fine Motor Activity (Hand-Eye Coordination)

 

December 3, 2015

Noticing the children's frequent use of their hands and fingers while playing, and their love and affinity for animals, we figured out a play experience where they can both learn and have fun.

 

Pictures of different kinds of animals were printed twice, big and small. The small pictures were taped on a clothespin while the bigger pictures were taped and hung on a rope.

The children seemed happy to see the pictures of animals.

 

One child watches while the other child tries to clip the clothespin with the small animal to its matching picture.

 

 The other children started doing the same thing.

 

The children were having a hard time with the clothespin, so we decided not to use the clothespins and use just the tape to stick them on their matching pictures instead.

 

 

Working together!

 

 

 Through this play experience, the children learned:

• hand-eye coordination as they matched the small pictures with the big pictures
• different sizes (big and small)
• cooperation and helpfulness with their friends

 

"Children learn through modeling and imitation."

(Albert Bandura)

 

-Mrs. Javier-

Taking care of our Aloe vera plant

 

January 22, 2016

On Friday morning the children helped transplant the aloe vera plant into another pot.

 

 

We begin by using our shovels to scoop up the soil, and place it in the new pot.

 

One child scoops up a small amount of soil.

 

The children take turns and show cooperation as they fill up their shovels with soil.

 

 

After a few minutes, it's time to take a break.

 

Once the planter is half filled with soil we examine the plants leaves and roots. 

 

 

We make a discovery; there is another small plant growing beside the large plant.

 

One child is curious about the texture and scent of the plant.

Once the plant is placed in the new pot, the children add more soil.  When it is full of soil we begin to water the plant with a little help.

 

 

 

 

Story Time

January 11, 2016

On a cold Monday morning, the children help gather all the toys to begin our magnet story experience. 

Currently Brown Bear, Brown Bear by Eric Carle is one of our favourite stories to read.  We start our experience by singing a song together, then the story begins.

The children find comfortable spots to sit as they watch me place each magnet piece on the metal door. 

One child walks over quickly to find a place to sit. The children help label the animals and help identify the sound each animal makes.  At the end of the story the children ask for "more" (using baby sign).

  Our next story is Old MacDonald had a farm.

After listening to several stories....

We start our dance party.  The children sing, jump and clap their hands to the music.

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Ukulele

December 21, 2015

On a quiet afternoon, Miss Arigo reaches for her ukulele and sits down with the children.  

Another ukulele is provided for the children to explore.

The child presses gently on the strings of the instrument.

After several minutes, it is time to pass the ukulele to another friend. 

There is some singing, tapping and strumming of the instrument.  During the singing one child stands up and begins to dance as he patiently waits for his turn. 

The other children watch as the child dances and giggles with excitement. 

Shortly after all the dancing it is time to explore the ukulele. 

The children practice taking turns, creativity and self expression as they move to the music and create their own song.