Skip to main content

A New Year - 4 Hour Class

The children have all settled back into class and let me say, everybody has gotten taller and more mature since Christmas break. Is it the New Year and something magical occurred? On the first day back, Duke wore a very smart red sport coat which had medal like patches on it. He was so very proud to be wearing it and told us about the story behind it. He wasn’t the only child who had a new look; there was Chloe, Georgia, Kianne, Sara and Adonis who had new haircuts to come back to school with. A New Year and new changes were definitely in order. We also have two new faces in our class, one being teacher Rikki and a new student named Mikaeyla. Please join me in giving them a warmest welcome to our class.

So, what has been going on this month? We made pancakes which was a huge success. The children were busy measuring and mixing the ingredients. We discussed all the things that go into making the pancake and had a chance to feel, smell and look at all the ingredients. Christina, Lucas and Sara carefully cracked the eggs into the bowl. I have to say, there were no egg shells in our batter as they were very skillful in avoiding it. Keira, Andrew, Georgia and Jaden all took turns mixing the batter and using their muscles.



 
The children all ate together and thoroughly enjoyed their own cooking. All the children liked syrup with their pancakes. Some children had second helpings since they claimed it was delicious.



 
During circle time, teacher Patricia read the funny story, “If You Give a Pig a Pancake”. The children thought it was funny since they could relate to the story because of the sticky syrup.



Since the children were very excited about the snow and ice that was occurring outside, we decided to make frozen coloured ice pucks for our sensory table. We added some water to make it even more interesting and to add another dimension to this activity. It was a popular table. Adonis enjoyed pouring the water over the pucks and seeing the water change colours. Dana enjoyed using a spoon to stir, and pour the water over her frozen pucks but then decided to get her hands into it as well.




 
As time went on the frozen pucks started to melt and a learning moment occurred. The children were wondering why the pucks were getting smaller. Then, we went outside to play and when we came back the children noticed there were no frozen pucks. Adonis asked, “What happened to them?” “Did somebody take them?” said, Duke. Oh it was a great moment for a teacher. So, we did an impromptu before circle and discussed what could have happened. We went from sensory to science from one activity. This is a great example of how we try to provoke questions, discussions and interests with your children during their time in class.

Until next time,

Deanna

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...