West Richmond Preschool

We were all looking forward to heading to the farm. We had not been in two whole weeks so we were all experiencing farm deprivation disorder! We craved outdoor time, running on the paths, and checking out our favourite spots. We had no particular agenda- nothing to plant, nothing to weed, nothing to harvest and literally nothing to do! Perfect!!  Actually, we did have one special thing happening there but I will get to that in a moment. The children could not get off the bus fast enough, bounding down the tall stairs. Jackets on, zipped up, hats and mitts on, ready to face the chill of December. The children tossed their knapsacks onto the picnic table with abandon, and began to run around the courtyard area, obediently staying on the paths  ( finally, four months later they have learnt to stay out of the garden beds). They shouted, they chased and fell down! Once our initial burst of energy was out (only slightly), we walked over to the compost to see what the worms were eating- mo

Dollhouse It was an interesting day as I had lots of time to observe the children at play and listen carefully to their conversations. I was particularly intrigued by a conversation between two boys playing with the dollhouse. I heard Cole say to Nico " Where are the boys for this house? I need a boy." True, for some reason, only the female doll house figures were put out. He repeated the question and Nico said "I don't know but I need a boy too." They sat for a while, picked up some furniture and the dog, banged the items on the dollhouse roof and then stopped. They sat. And sat. And sat. I was so curious... why is it that they felt they needed a male to connect to? Our gender identity is clearly very strong at such a young age. I have seen this before when we act out stories in class. Generally boys want to play boys and girls want to play boys. The notion of pretending to be another character can be unappealing for some. Why is this? Should I, as a teacher,

turning...leaping...jumping...twirling...spiraling...spinning...crawling...posing...flittering...flapping smiling...turn taking...sharing...arguing...grabbing...laughing...exploring...looking...watching...twinkling Emily

On Monday, we became adopted parents of a dwarf frog. It was given to us by an alumni parent whose daughter no longer wanted it and I suppose she thought I was a vulnerable victim (clearly she was right!) and I said "Yes, we would love it,". Well, there is truth in that because the children already love this little creature. The Junior OSC children made Do Not Touch signs posted near the mini aquarium and our preschoolers made the frog pictures today and wanted to shower him/her with gifts. On Monday I asked them to go home and think about a name for the frog and bring their suggestion back to class on Wednesday. So, this morning we compiled our potential name list, with the understanding that we would be voting on the name. The name suggestions were as follows: Cynna: Badgie Colin: Jack Brooke: Flower Kayla: Froggie Luca: Penguin ( NOT Penguino) Alexa: Flower Bryn: Froggie Cole: Froggie Emily: Ella Zev: Spot Chloe: Eric Cash: Benji Wayne: Jackie The big vote

Our Farm to Table evening with all our families was so  lovely on so many levels. I know all our staff felt very proud of  our class and we were thrilled to share our work with you. The process of getting the dinner organized was intense... both in and out of class. But the outcome could not have been more rewarding;  the sense of community, the learning around eating locally, being environmentally responsible and the knowledge that as a group we can set goals and see them through proved to resonate strongly. We greatly appreciate all your support and spirit. The children were so excited leading up to the event I was very curious to know what stood out for them after the event. Would it be the food? The music? The guests? The tiffins? I really wasn't sure so I asked each child what their favourite thing was about the dinner and these are their answers: Loreli: The Sponge Bob Square Pants song Sidney: The music... I liked dancing with Alexa's brother, Dominic Emily: I like