West Richmond Preschool

The Three and Four-Year-Old Class spent a morning recently under the tables, as sheets transformed the tables into quiet, attractive hide-away. Table-top toys, became under-table toys.   Waiting for the children to arrive: The children entered the room very quietly and seemingly in awe of how their classroom had been transformed.   It took a few moments for the children to take in the new arrangement. They soon crawled under a table of choice and from that point onward spent time visiting each makeshift tent with excitement and anticipation of what was mysteriously awaiting them. The children took turns and adjusted their play to make room for more friends. Some children spent a very long while under one specific tent, while others hurriedly went from one tent to another.                 A colourful table cloth was placed on the floor for snack-time. This small change...

  On a recent outdoor day I was completely surprised by Hans curiosity when he discovered a puddle. During the 30 minutes we were outside Hans continued to play by the puddle. When he jumped into the puddle, was it the ripples in the water that attracted him or was it the sound of the water splashing?   At times Hans was planning on making the puddle go away by kicking the water out of the puddle. I find this to be interesting because inside the classroom Hans does not like getting his hands wet or messy yet here we are outdoor and he is not bothered about getting his hands and maybe his feet wet. Playing in puddles is a great sensory learning and physical experience for children to learn concepts of floating, sinking, and measuring depth and width. And not to forget the physical workout children receive form playing in something as simple as a puddle!   Hans dropping a stone into the water, watching the ripples the water is making ...

While searching for the letter of the week on the playground this "Landscape Structures" logo was spotted: The "Landscape Structures" logo We noticed that it was all over the playground on various objects. Playground equipment Signs Swings It was cool that we noticed it all over one playground, but then we started noticing it at other playgrounds as well! Climbing Spider Park Mushroom Park Even our very own playground at West has "Landscape Structures" equipment!  Now we keep our eyes open for similar equipment on other playgrounds.  It's always exciting to connect our surroundings from one park to the other. Keep your eyes open, you just might find some as well!!

How To Clean Rocks Step 1: Find a puddle Take some time to search the playground.  Not all puddles are adequate. These puddles, for example, are questionable. This puddle is too muddy. This puddle could work. In the event that an adequate puddle cannot be found, one can easily be created. Simply find a clean puddle and... ...push the water from that puddle into another one. Step 2: Find some dirty rocks If you are at the park, this shouldn't be difficult. Most rocks are dirty. Step 3: Wash the rocks Put the rocks in the puddle.  Use your hands... ...or your feet. Thank you for reading the 4 Hour Class - "How To" Guide #3: Cleaning Rocks. We hope you have found it to be interesting and exciting - we sure did! This has been and Amazing Expression of Creativity brought to you by the 4 Hour Class.

    The children in our 4-year-old class were provided with multicoloured permanent markers, and blocks of various shapes for tracing. They were encouraged to create either an abstract design or a specific drawing of their choice.   When the drawings were complete, glue and tissue were then provided as an additional element to the drawings. The children tore small pieces of tissue and glued diligently. The effect was quite beautiful and a number of children spent a very long while on their creations. There's no better way to brighten up the Preschool than with children's artwork! Daniela traced almost every shape available on the table (a challenging task) and then chose to fill the shapes in with coloured tissue...   Christy thoroughly enjoyed the process and was very proud of the outcome...   Ethan chose to brighten up his rainbow by tearing tissue into small pieces...   ...