West Richmond Preschool

    This month, our preschool classroom has been filled with multi-sensory experiences for the children to explore! As educators, we have attempted to provide plenty of opportunities for each student to see, hear, touch, smell and taste using different activities. When we focused on “hearing”, we encouraged the boys and girls to try different musical instruments and see what sounds they make. At our art centre, the children “listened” to classical musical compositions as they created masks by “touching” and using different types of materials.   They were able to “see” their finished creations in a mirror when they were complete.   Last Tuesday we observed the students engaging dramatically in the play kitchen where they pretended to prepare different food items and “bake donuts” to share in a planned “pretend” party!   At circle time, each child was able to “taste” different types of flavours (lime, orange and apple sauce) on small...

Children are drawn towards things that change suddenly like color mixing. It seems to bring out the curiosity in them and further see what would happen if I try another color and so on. In the classroom we set up many areas for the children to mix and explore color mixing. Some children were able to grasp the concept of what will happen if I add a little of this color while others just needed to mix the whole colors together to see what happens. We had an interactive story called Mix it Up by Herve ‘Tullet     Cara makes the color purple and blue by mixing primary colours         Lucas prefers to use a   paint brush to mix colors       Elliot is mixing colors with his hands.               Keisha is looking at the colors she has made     Painting on sand paper with colors       ...

This month our class is exploring the five senses. Last week, we focused on our sense of smell. At the art table, the children created their drawings using some scented markers. Most of the children liked the smell of “cotton candy” which was the pink marker and the smell of “ mixed berries” which was the red marker. Mia jokingly commented that she wants to eat the pink marker because it smells so so so good.    The children did not like the smell of “ fresh air” which was the green marker. The children enjoyed smelling the markers more than making their drawings. At circle, the children got to smell different scents and they had to guess what item it was based on the scent. I presented them with four different things that had different scents. This is mouthwash. When Alessandria smelled it, she said, “This is mint!”       This is cinnamon. When the children smelled it, most of them said, “It’s chocolate!”   Maybe they think it is...

Last week, when we were outside at the playground, I noticed that Chloe, Keira and Sara kept running towards and away from the climber for a good ten minutes. They looked like they were on a mission. This observation got me curious so I went closer to the climber to hear their conversations. Keira asked Chloe and Sara to put on their underwater suits and get the treasure. Chloe and Sara pretended to zip up their suits and they were ready to go underwater. They then ran around and around the blue playground looking for the treasure. Keira asked me if I could help control the submarine and without hesitation I said “yes”! She asked me to climb up the climber and showed me how to stop the submarine.   She left the climber and ran towards Chloe and Sara. The girls got some rocks and brought them back to the climber. Keira, Chloe and Sara told me that the climber can be anything they want it to be. It can be a rocket ship to bring them to the moon, an airplane to take them to Disn...

The children had a wonderful time playing in the sandbox today. They were laughing, communicating and working both independently as well as together. The weather was unseasonably warm, and having rained the day before, the puddles were very inviting, and accentuated the play. Sand-Play is a simple activity that has so much to offer children. Sand is a soothing, entertaining and open-ended medium. Very young children can simply sit in sand and take in the texture and qualities of the medium. Older children with more sophisticated thought processes can use sand for exploration and creative play. Sand-Play promotes physical development. By digging, pouring, sifting and scooping, children use their upper bodies and arms in ways that many of their other toys don't require them to do. Large amounts of sand can become very heavy when weighted down with water, and can use a lot of muscle power to dig and transport from one area to another. Sand-Play can be the ideal opportun...

In our classes we decided to make personal books so the children could share with one another at free play and book time. We hope it would, for the three’s class help them settle into the new surroundings having pictures of family and places they are familiar with to be reminded of. For the four’s class, it created conversations. The children love looking at pictures of themselves and sharing who their family members are along with the picture they have drawn. During morning circle we look at a book together, I have noticed how proud the child feels and eager to share who is in the pictures.  Taylor is admiring Katliyn's dress in the picture.   Charlotte explaining to Taylor the picture she drew in her book that they are both looking at, lots of back and forth conversation going on between Taylor and Charlotte.   Jasmine is looking at Mary's book, pictures of her when she was a baby. Inspirational Art: Children are invited to enjoy drawing the oth...