Bangles

On July 19, the infants explored bangles while the toddlers are having their naps.  The bangles are open ended and children use their creative thinking to transform them into anything that their minds envision.  

The child begins to explore the bangles by his sense of touch.  He examines it closely and begins to shake his hands quickly in the air.  He then discovers that he can make noises with them as he bangs them on the floor.  He proudly looks towards me and begins to smile. 

This child looks at the bangles on the carpet and picks one to explore.  She fits it through her wrist and continues to slide it up past her elbow.  Once it is past her elbow she begins to walk away smiling and waving goodbye.  

This child discovers a bangle with a bumpy texture.  After some examination she places it through her hand balancing the bangle.  Once she moves her arm up or down she discovers that it slides on her arm.  

After some investigation this child is curious about the bangle. He uses his sense of touch and his sense of taste to learn about the bangle.  He picks a few different textured bangles to explore each one carefully.  

Each child explores the bangles in different ways. They are expressing their various ways of thinking through their play.  By providing the children with open ended materials it allows the children to express their creative thinking as they find a way to explore the items. 

Written by Miss Sousa

Reading Stories

The early skills of literacy can be seen at the infancy and toddler stages.  Infants often enjoy books with textures, and clear pictures.  As the children get older they are able to hold books using both hands, and they begin to turn the pages.  Showing interest, enjoying books and the ability to describe what is happening in the book will soon follow. 

During outdoor free play, the child makes his way over to the bench, sits down and begins looking at book.  He picks the story book called "The Gruffalo".

He talks as he looks at the picture on each page.

He points to the Gruffalo, then points to the owl and identifies what he sees. The child proudly states "owl".  He continues to name the different things that he sees on the page. Once the story is finished, he states "all done" 

 After placing the first book down he reaches for another book.  

Labelling and identifying what is happening in the story begins once again.

The child looks closely at each item on the page after a few minutes he points and states "washroom" on this page a child is in the washroom with their parent washing their hands.  

The child is able to turn each page with ease. He makes sure to read the very last page which is filled with words.  He looks at this page and states what he is reading.  

Through his enjoyment of reading and looking at books he is able to remember familiar routines that take place throughout his day.  Reading helps improve memory, enhances concentration and encourages language development.  

"Reading is to the mind as exercise is to the body" Richard Steele

Miss Sousa

Garden to Table

July 11, 2016

"Take care of the land and the land will take care of you."

-H. Bennett

On Monday morning the children, Miss Arigo, and Mrs. Javier visited the garden boxes on Ground Zero to check how our plants are growing.

We noticed that there were three cucumbers ready to be picked from our planters.

The children held them and carefully felt how rough and prickly they were.

One child moved the leaves to check for more that may be hiding underneath.

Another child joined him and watched.

Through this harvesting process, the children learned math as we counted each cucumber. One child said, "One, two cucumbers. Haha!"

He also held it closer to his mouth and said, "Miss Arigo! I eat it? Mmm yum!" Then, he passed it towards Miss Arigo and said, "Arigo's turn!"

This week we will be making a cucumber salad. We will also harvest and add some dill from our herb garden and try them at snack time!

by Miss Arigo

Where Did The Light Go

"Keep your face toward the sunshine and shadows will fall behind you."

-Walt Whitman

During free play this morning, one child noticed the light that was shining on our carpets and walls. Miss Doerksen was holding a mirror block and was moving it side to side causing the light to shift.

Expressing a look of curiosity with his palms up, he said, "Oh! Woah!"

He followed the beam of light where it went and extended his hands over it.

 

When the light moved, he looked around the classroom seeming to find where it went. He looked towards Miss Arigo and Miss Doerksen saying, "Go? Go!" We asked, "Is it gone?" He repeated, "Go! Go!"

And he found it again! How exciting to see it after it has disappeared!

 

 

Below is a short clip of this curiosity-filled moment.

 

 

by Miss Arigo

Relaxing Outdoors

"I was drinking in the surroundings: air so crisp you could snap it

with your fingers and greens in every lush shade imaginable."

- Wendy Delsol, 2010

 

 

The children have spent the morning using their large muscles - running, pushing cars, and climbing the play structures. After about half an hour, two children decided to take a break.

 

 

One child clambered up our bench and lied down. He looked up towards the leaves and branches swaying above.

 

A few minutes later, another child joined him. He lied down on the opposite end. Then, we began singing some lullabies.

One child got up and decided to rub the other child's belly as we sang our songs for sleep. The child laying down closed his eyes and went, "Shh! Shh! Shh!"

 

Both children got off the bench after a few minutes and went back to play. Through these little moments of peacefulness, the children expressed gentleness and caring towards each other.

 

by Miss Arigo

Personalized Father's Day Gifts

Here are some "behind the scene" photos of how the children made their Father's Day paintings.

 

A child grabbed the paint brush and started painting on the canvas. Another child painted his hand and made a handprint on his canvas.

 

 

One of the children tried to mix blue and red together and noticed that it made purple. She said "Woah!" excitedly as she kept on mixing the two colours. Another child stayed focused on controlling the brush as he dipped it in his paint and spread it slowly on his canvas.

Avoiding having paint on her finger, one child painted very carefully. Another child started dipping the brush along with his fingers on his paint and started painting.

One child decided to mix the colours using his hands and decided to do finger painting instead.

One of the children decided to hold the cup and paint slowly. Another child looked at the paint sternly for a couple of minutes. Looking confused, I gave him some time to examine the paint. Afterwards, he decided to try it.

One child started using different kinds of brushes. He also used his fingers to paint with on his canvas. Switching from fingers to brushes, he mixed the colours and started applying it on the painting he was making.

The children showed different ways of creating art through painting. Some of them were really into it; the others, not so much. Each of them showed varying levels of interest as they were reminded that the paintings will be a special gift for their dads.

In the end, all of the children's artwork turned out to be beautiful, unique Father's Day gifts that can never be duplicated or imitated.

-Mrs. Javier-

Fun That Lasts

On June 14, 2016 Ms. Wong brought out some spray bottles. The children were so excited when they saw the colourful water in the bottles. One child saw it and burst out laughing, "Hahaha...the!" and pointed at it.

The children began by choosing the colour they liked. Then, they figured out how to squeeze the trigger for the water to come out. One child gave it a few tries and he got it. His face lit up with excitement and pride.

They played with the bottles for an hour. Some played alone and some played with a friend.

The children were using their cognitive skills to figure out how to make the water come out. They used their fine-motor skills to squeeze the trigger, and they used their gross motor skills as they ran around to find things to spray at.

Ms. Wong