Skip to main content

 
A Visit With Our Grand Pals - 4 hour class

Another wonderful morning with our friends at “Grand Pals” senior centre (Courtyard Gardens Retirement Residence).  After our arrival, we all gathered in a cozy space at Grand Pals. The fireplace was running and soft music was already playing in the background! This truly set the atmosphere for a rainy morning together. Our friends at Grand pals had planned an activity to make “fruit loop” bracelets! Each preschooler gleamed with excitement when the sweet smell of fruit loops were poured into their plates. Although very tempting to eat, the little children showed great control and worked hard on putting together their bracelets. 


 
 

There were some great interactions between the preschool children and the seniors: working together to string the fruit loops, problem solving as to how many could fit on a pipe cleaner, focus and eye hand coordination, and just simple joy and smiles exchanged amongst each other! The activity was so fun that most children and seniors made two bracelets. 

 
 



After making the fruit loop bracelets, the children had a little singing performance with musical sticks. “Tap your sticks in the air, with a 1 2 3...” Being in a smaller room, the sound of the music and sticks tapping was so vibrant and captured the attention of everyone in the room (even those working and resting down the hall). Without a doubt, that catchy song was stuck in our heads on the bus ride back to preschool. 

To end the lovely morning together, our friends at Grand Pals offered us some Oreo cookies and juice as a treat. From what we learned, the Oreo cookies was surely a treat for the seniors also!
We wished our visit to Grand Pals was longer, but our quality time spent together was more than delightful. Some children (and seniors) appeared a bit "shy" initially, but you can witness such a quick connection soon after. The smiles and laughter in the warm room was infectious and we look forward to our next visit during the Holiday season!

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 ...

4 Hour Class - We Say Goodbye, and We Say Hello!

Another week has flown by - and it brought a couple of special people with it! We said "Hello" to our newest class mates and family members:  Welcome Noa, And Clayten! And we said "Goodbye" to Big Blob! But not before we played with him a few more times!  A cookie for Dominic's mom  A snail  Dominic's new glove Clayten made some donuts But sadly, we must say goodbye... Adam and Ella helped Yvette sweep the floor.  Please don't worry, we are already plannning what the next batch of space mud will look like! And now for a glimpse of the past week: ART AUTUMN LEAF ART This is currently on display on the board  PAINTING STICKS We will be using these to construct a classroom family tree PAINTING WITH BUBBLE WRAP FREE ART Cutting and gluing  Clayten drew "letters and bugs and leaves"   Justin m...