Skip to main content

Helping Hands

Yesterday was our last day visiting our Grandpals at Courtyard Gardens. The early days were sometimes a challenge as our children were often shy to just jump in and strike up a conversation with these older adults. And, on the other side, some of our Grandpals were unsure how to talk to our children or what to do with them. However, each time we saw them, it was obvious their feelings of uncertainty and trepidation were slowly being left behind. Relationships are difficult and it can take a while to build up trust. And, this is where the commitment piece comes in. We must stay committed to the building of a relationship for it to be successful. It would have been easy to let this program go, to decide that it wasn't worth it. But, as educators and community advocates, we see great value in these types of connections and thus we did not simply 'throw in the towel' on this program. Yesterday's visit truly epitomised the meaning of these relationships and I believe we are all grateful for this wonderful opportunity to grow as individuals and as a group.

Here are some photos that speak to our relationship and I title them "Helping Hands"

















To our Grandpals: Thank you Grandpals for lending us a helping hand when we need it. We hope we made your days bright and we offer you our hands when you need it.

Emily

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Mosaic Garden Stones

Today our children had an amazing opportunity to work with Glen Anderson, a local artist specializing in mosaics. You can see his work at http://www.mosaicplanet.net . I met Glen last year at Urban Weavers Studio in Strathcona. I asked him many, many questions about mosaics, all of which he patiently answered with expertise. I was gearing up for an art project in our preschool class so I really wanted to get any pointers I could from him. The plan was to have our students make mosaic tiles to place along our fence at the garden plot at Terra Nova Farm. They worked out very well, thanks to Glen's great advice and it was a beautiful moment when child and parent hung the stones at the farm on our last day of school. It was a moment of great pride for all of us. The garden that they cared for with their own hands- tended to its needs in sunshine and in rain. They will always remain part of that space, that land and their stone will remind them of this connection. Even though they turne...

3 Year Old Class - Westham Island Herb Farm Field Trip

Our threes class recently visited the Pumpkin Patch at Westham Island Herb Farm in Delta. After a relatively short and scenic drive through Ladner en-route to the farm, we crossed a small, one-lane bridge that remarkably has been in place since 1911.    Westham Island Bridge We arrived at the farm in the early morning, before the school buses appeared. It was a very peaceful time of the day, and the morning mist floating over the fields only enhanced the feeling. Westham Island Herb Farm is a community oriented farm that promotes buying fruits and vegetables from local sources. This farm is part of the Ellis family farm and they have been in this location since 1916! Upon arrival at the farm, we were greeted by a beautiful display of pumpkins in all shapes and sizes. Prior to the tour of the farm, we visited the general store, which showcased a large variety of homemade jellies and honey selections such as wild flower, raspberry, pumpkin and ...

A Day at the Farm... with a twist

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 w...