Skip to main content

School has started ~ FAS M/W/F AM class

I am so very excited to welcome all the children and their families to a wonderful year of exploring, discovering and creating together. Already, we are getting to know each other as the days go by and we are excited to be on this journey together.

The children are getting settled and comfortable in their environment.  You can see this by the way they move from one activity to another, the expressions they have on their faces and the chatter that is happening in our classroom.
A little glimpse into our time together, starts off with open activities and then we have a quick sharing time.  This allows us to just come together to start our day and share anything we may have with one another.  A great opportunity to learn about taking turns speaking and learning to share our thoughts with one another. Then the children continue with open activities, art and snack time.  Before we head outdoors, we have a learning circle.  This is the time we will further enhance on the interests of the class.  At this time we are discussing “All About Me”, our feelings, and signs of Fall. Then we head off to discover the outdoors.

Here are Logan and Tiffany planning and building a large structure out of blocks.  You cannot tell by this picture but there was a very intricate plan on how they were going to construct this building.  Then we decided to take a picture of it.  You can tell they took pride in their work together. Through this activity, both children communicated with one another and had a vision together.  It was wonderful seeing them express their thoughts to one another.

This picture is two friends working together to build a very long roadway.  The longer the road got the more excited they became.  The pride they took in creating this highway system brought them to work together and to share their ideas.  This activity was an opportunity to build a relationship between the two children and for them to share, take turns, to communicate in a natural setting.  These are moments that the environment can also teach children.
 
 
During art, we were painting with potato stamps to create leaf prints. It was interesting how each child’s art piece looked so different due to the technique of how they used the materials.  It definitely confirms that each child is very unique.  Some children like to mix the colours up while some children are very careful not to.  Even the way they use the tools to create their art is as individual as they are.  At one point the art took a turn into finger painting and discovering what happens when you mix colours together. You just never know where an activity can take you.  I have learned through the children that the process is just as important as the end product because it often leads you to many discoveries.
 
Until next time, Deanna


 
 

 

 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

4 Year Old M/W/F Class – I Hear…I See…I Wonder…

We began one of our circle discussions with a question for the children, “What would you like to learn, wonder or hear about?” Here is what they said:    “Skateboarding, Soccer, Perches” (Connor) “Bikes” (Taylor) “Going outside to see if I left my toy” (Jun)  “The Sun” (Jack) “Rollerskating and Swimming” (Daniella)"Skating” (Noel) “Ball” (Sofie) “Scooter and Tricycle” (Masaki) “Shoes” (Ashlan) “When you put something under a pillow you can find it” (Tia) “Soccer” (Kyle) From my list I noticed quite a few of the children were interested in wheels, so at our next circle discussion we looked closely at a scooter and a pair of roller skates – as well as the wheels on a long board. The conversation brought up more questions and answers, which the children confidently discussed amongst themselves. One of the questions was “What makes this a scooter?” The conversation followed with “The scooter has a handle and a brake” and “I know how to ride a long board.” ...

Volunteering at Richmond Food Bank

Today was our last day volunteering at the Richmond Food Bank. I am so grateful we had this opportunity– it has been an extraordinary experience for all of us. I, myself, have been very lucky to work in a community where I have seen dedicated volunteers working countless hours for people and projects they believe in. In my own community centre, the staff devote extra hours for many events, all to help strengthen our community. From these experiences grew a desire within me to try to share this with our children. How can we make them generous with their time and energy for the good of others? How can we teach them to be giving people– people that think of others? Are they too young for these concepts? In my need to answer these questions, I sought to find a volunteer opportunity for them. I thought about many different ideas but the food bank always came out ahead. I was lucky enough to come across an open-minded and risk-taking individual– let's face it, preschoolers gett...

A Love for Cabbage

Another day of working with cabbage-our prized cabbage that I babied throughout the summer. The cabbage that I saved from the demise of cabbage worms, watered, and surrounded with copper to scare away slugs. So, yes, babied. After all that care and love I was hoping the children would enjoy working with this gorgeous vegetable and like the taste of it. The coleslaw was a hit last week but would cooked cabbage get the same positive response? We assembled our ingredients for cabbage rolls and showed all the children. They smelled all the spices that were in the recipe and many of them loved the smell of the fresh garlic! They took great pride in recognizing onion, salt, pepper, tomato sauce and ground beef. I wanted to introduce them to another herb so we passed around marjoram, which many agreed smelled sweet. We pre-cooked the meat just so the children could work with the food without any cause for concern. The smell of the onions and meat simmering sparked the interest of many ...