Sticks and Fine Motor Skills

"Quite simply, when we deny our children nature, we deny them beauty."

- Richard Louv

One of our toddlers has shown great interest in playing with sticks at our picnic table. Every time we go outside she heads straight to the picnic table and gathers sticks to slide in the spaces between.

To build on this interest, Miss Arigo invited the children to collect sticks from our nature area. We used our math skills and counted all the sticks. Then, we brought them all to the picnic table.

All of the children sat down and picked up a stick to insert in the slats.

Through this activity, the children are enhancing their fine motor skills and developing problem solving skills.

 

by Miss Arigo

Enjoying Our New Play Space

We have recently expanded one of our play areas. A big thank you to Mr. Blatz and the Discovery staff for all their hard work in improving our play spaces! The children and teachers have been enjoying the abundance of space, freedom to explore, thoughtful additions in our fence, and comfortable shade this summer.

Yesterday afternoon, we decided to do a picnic on our deck. We served peas, crackers, and milk.

We had to hold on to our hats because the wind kept blowing them away!

After snacks, the children were on the move to explore and play.

One child walked towards the texture boards and carefully felt the different materials.

Another child started running up and down the hill using her gross motor skills.

One child picked up a soft orange fabric and walked around with it.

We also did some stomping and marching on the deck. We made loud sounds with our feet!

After marching, one child decided to stop and hug the tree in our deck. She looked up at the leaves and smiled.

The texture boards were made by several Discovery staff a few years ago. They are very inviting to our young toddlers and promotes sensory learning.

One child enjoyed the wide space to crawl and move around.

Pushing his shopping cart, he is improving his balance and coordination.

Miss Arigo also brought her ukulele and she sang songs with the children. Each child explored the musical instrument afterwards.

We love playing in our newly renovated Quiet Cove. It is a great space for children to learn through play and enjoy quality meal times with their teachers and friends.

by Miss Arigo

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