Fun with the outdoors!

On Friday morning it was a bit of a dreary day outside, but that didn't stop us from going out and making the best of it!

 

Our children showed a great display of kindness and helpfulness as they played with each other! We went on many "wagon adventures" as each child had a turn 'pulling the wagon' around the playground!

 

One of the wagons was locked up so one of the children unlocked the chain from the fence all by himself!

 

When each child's turn was over, they went around the playground to pick up another child for their turn.

 

Some of the children needed a break so they relaxed in the wagon.

 

Some of the children helped clean up the playground.

 

And some of the children discovered new games to play like climbing the tree.

 

 

...or pretending to be dinosaurs in the rocks.

The amount of creativity and versatility was astounding.

 

And when we were all done playing, it was a good time to sit down and observe others ideas for next time!

-Mr.Freeman

Showing Affection Toward Others

On September 26, 2016, one child suddenly approached the other child and gave her a hug.  He continued to walk to other children and reach out with both hands hugging them.  He was showing the virtues of affection, love and gentleness toward others.  After that the children followed his actions and went around hugging each other.

They also showed affection to the baby dolls by holding, kissing and rocking them.

By encouraging the children to be kind and gentle to others, they will understand the meaning of kindness. By modelling acts of sincerity, even for our youngest friends, they will live a spirited, positive life.

" The purpose of life is to contribute in some way to making things better."  By Robert F. Kennedy

Ms. Wong

Falling Leaves

September 26, 2016. 

Fall has arrived and we have been exploring the leaves outdoors.  The children have been collecting and feeling the leaves.  Mrs. Cruz decided to decorate the room with Fall leaves.  One child looks up at the leaves indoors and begins to smile.  He points to the leaves and reaches his arms up in attempts to touch the leaves.  

Based on the child's curiosity I gather some fabric Fall leaves and yellow flower petals and the exploration begins.  I throw the leaves up in the air and the children stop and watch as the leaves fall onto the floor, giggling with excitement.

It is great to have a little help.  The child picks up a petal, reaches up and lets go of the petal as he predicts the outcome.  

We begin to identify and select whether to throw the petals or the leaves.

After observing the other children in the classroom we learned that the petals sometimes stays on your clothes.

We make sure that we all see the leaves as they flutter to the floor.

It is always fun to play a game of peek a boo with leaves.

 

We can pretend that leaves are hats as we place them on our heads.

Falling to the ground and dancing with the leaves demonstrates creative thinking and self expression. 

"Play is the highest form of research" Albert Einstein 

Written by Miss Sousa

Watching The Machine Move

On September 12, 2016, when the children were outside playing, suddenly they all stopped what they were doing. They were curiously looking at the sidewalk.  They had noticed a man who was driving the big riding mower, cutting the grass. One child screamed and pointed at it. The other children just stood  still and watched as it moved across the grass.

 

The children experienced the sound, and watched the movements of the machine.  They also learned what the machine is used for as they demonstrated excitement and curiosity.  


Ms. Wong

Having Fun Outside

Going outside is one way of learning and exploring new things. Sometimes, just being outdoors helps our body to calm down and relax. It helps us to become creative and make the most out of almost everything we see in our surrounding.

The children were having free play outside when they started finding different things on the

ground. One child found a block and decided to share it with her friend. After, she grabbed a long wood chip and started waving in the air. Another child found a coconut shell that had fallen off our sensory wall display. He picked it up, showed it and gave it to me, pointing on the wall where it fell.

On the deck the child found a piece of wood with screws on it. One child was touching and exploring a screw and decided to call on her friend to let him experience what she had discovered. The other child came closer and felt the screw. They took turns holding the screw for a couple of minutes before I brought out some toys for us to play with.

Another child joined us and they decided to play with the lawn mower. Pushing it around and towards the small hill we have in our quiet cove playground.

I decided to bring more toys out. BLOCKS!

I started balancing the blocks on my head and the children started doing the same!

After the blocks , it is time for some music!

Being outside is so much fun! Especially when you spend it with your friends.

-Mrs. Javier-

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