West Richmond Preschool

The children in our 4 Year Old class have spent a great deal of time in dramatic play, from playing with the babies to acting out their own play which normally ends up in the book corner on the cozy mat and pillows. We decided to enhance this play by reading some traditional fairytales to see if the children were interested in creating the story and finally acting it out. The hands went up as we asked who would like to act out Goldilocks and the Three Bears. This story has a lot of repetition which allows the children to be able to remember what to say. It also teaches children basic concepts of big, medium and small.        Dramatic play develops children's imagination as well as giving them confidence to speak and listen in front of an audience or to one another. It helps children not to be impulsive because if they are playing a role of the baby bear they will need to wait till papa and mama bear have had a turn saying their part. ...

We went out to the park to play and something caught our eyes. There was something new and different. One of the paths in the park was flooded with water. The children quickly gravitated towards it and decided to walk in the water. Chloe said that they were crossing a river. Andrew noted that they can walk in the water because they are wearing their boots. Sara replied with “our feet won't get wet”. Adonis was watching the other children walk in the water. I knew how badly he wanted to do it as well. But he was not wearing his boots. He went around the playground and saw a big branch and started dragging it. I wondered what he would do with the branch.       Adonis brought it to “the river” and started tossing it in the water. Alvis saw what he was doing and quickly joined in. Adonis threw the branch in the water and Alvis got it in “the river” for him. Alvis was wearing his boots so he was able to be in “the river”. They speculated about the size of the...

The Preschool were fortunate to receive a penguin game called Pengoloo by Taylor for the classroom. I saw this as an opportunity for children to learn about winning and losing a game and being a team player. They also learned turn taking and having to wait for their turn. The children are learning to count how many penguins they have collected. For some of the children it was the first time using a dice. How to roll a dice required children to use fine motor skills. Many of the preschoolers would hold the dice in their hand in the hopes that it would land on their favorite color, whist others would enjoy simply rolling the dice.   I wonder if they felt in control of the game as everyone at the table was watching and waiting patiently for a turn. Fraser learning how to roll the dice.   Keane is using both hands to roll the dice and being careful not to roll the dice off the table.    Fraser is looking for the ...

The children in our 3's and 4's classes had fun creating with glue, kosher salt and water colours. First, glue is drizzled onto the plate, then salt is sprinkled on top and the excess shaken off. The best part... dipping the brush into the water colour and very gently touching the salt with the brush. Voila! The colour seemingly magically seeps deep into the salt. The children were intrigued by the process, and by the new colours created as the primary colours ran into one another.   At the sensory table, the children enjoyed exploring pre-frozen cups of water and sequins. A group of children spent a long while playing a penguin, memory game. A game we recently received as a gift from one of our families. It was wonderful witnessing the turn taking and watching the children cheer each other on. On Fort Day, sheets were tossed over tables and chairs, and various table top toys and loose parts placed inside. Children seemed thrilled to walk into ...

This Winter, preschool children have had many opportunities to explore the ice and snow that is everywhere! In our classroom I felt it would be a fun and beneficial exercise to create their own individual paper snowflakes.   After explaining that each real snowflake is different and truly unique we all got to work! Using white paper folded into triangles and an assortment of different types of scissors, each child involved was encouraged to cut along the edges in whatever way they wished. The children worked for quite a while, concentrating on the challenging task.   This artistic opportunity allowed them to express individual creativity, further improved fine motor skills and surely supported the development of hand-eye coordination.   Once their cutting was completed, they were invited to paint glitter glue on their creation.   This exercise was equally exciting to them as they saw their “snowflake” begin to sparkle.     ...