West Richmond Preschool

Thanks for checking our blog out! We've stopped blogging, but have left these archives up for your perusing pleasure. Come check us out on  Facebook  to see our latest updates for what's been happening in our programs!

Field-Trip to the Richmond Art Gallery  Four-Year-Old Class and M/W/F Three/Four-Year Old Class   We recently enjoyed a visit and a workshop at the Richmond Art Gallery.  The workshop was influenced by the gallery's latest exhibition created by artist Adad Hannah. Melanie, the Gallery's School Art Program Coordinator, was very engaging while guiding the children during this workshop. The goal was to encourage children to describe and explore works of art... to try to understand the intent of the artist... and to give the children a different perspective of art. A perspective that challenged each child to imagine that they were actually “in” works of art themselves! Living pictures were projected around the gallery. These pictures were staged with people (in costume) pretending to be people from the original 14th century, historic paintings.                                ...

MWF 4 Hour Class When I’m writing a documentation, one of the hardest things for me is to decide what pictures, stories and reflections I’ll share with you. There are so many joyful, meaningful moments and every day’s learning experiences! As I was selecting some of the class’ photos I found myself wondering: if we consider the classroom’s environment, the third teacher, what is mother nature’s role in a child’s learning and development? The exploration of natural environments nurture children’s curiosity and holistic learning as much, or even more, than a classroom. Some of the benefit of connecting children with nature include: supporting creativity and problem solving, increasing physical activity, reducing stress, promoting social emotional development. We see children as innate scientists, artists, builders… full of wonders and curiosity they can nourish and experiment while they are playing in nature. Exploring the snow  Olivia tested her movements in designing sno...

3 Year old class - T/Th In our 3’s class, we had a conversation about using kitchen appliance and some safety rules around the grater the children were about to use. Luca, Victoria and Carter rushed to the bathroom to wash their hands. I think it must feel like a new experience. They  children watched me assemble the grater eagerly waiting to have a turn to operate the appliance. Everyday life is full of challenges and children need to test themselves in order to make decisions that is right for them as educators we need to show we are trusting them to follow the safety rules we have informed them. We feel from giving children these experiences they handle appliances safely and with a purpose, understand consequence to action.     Victoria places the lid on the Grater  Luca pushes the potatoes        Victoria scraps the grated potatoes.        Luca is placing the potatoes i ...

Fine Arts and Sciences ~ Afternoon Class (M/W/F) Our field trip to the Library on Monday was successful for all. Thank you to the parents and grandparents who joined us on that day. We definitely appreciate all your effort in having your child take part in our field trips. We were met by our favourite librarian, Depika. She does very funny and engaging story times. We were so lucky to have our own private story time with her. She had the children take part in the story and had them moving about. We decided to take a trip to the library since reading plays a very important part in enhancing a child’s vocabulary and to help them understand how to read and write. It is the first steps to providing them to understand the world around them. There is so many benefits of reading to your child as they are always absorbing knowledge around them. It exposes them to different topics, and vocabulary that they may not hear in their every day to day lives. The more word...

YVR EXPLORER TOUR FOUR-YEAR-OLD CLASS Our four-year-old class recently took a wonderful trip to the airport for a YVR Explorer Tour. It started with a skytrain ride to the airport. Once we arrived we walked to meet our tour-guide, Eliza, at The Spirit of Haida Gwaii: The Jade Canoe. The Jade Canoe is a bronze cast art piece in the rotunda of the International Departures level. Eliza spoke to the children about the art piece and had them locate as many creatures and beings they could. The children were asked not to touch the art piece, and showed them how the jade green finish was being rubbed off by the many visitors touching it.     Eliza explained to the children that YVR's architecture was reflective of the province's diverse landscape and people. She encouraged them to look for art that was located throughout the airport, art that draws on the themes of land, sea and sky. As we took our short walk, Eliza pointed out the elements of nature the airport encompassed, ...

FORMING FANTASTIC FRIENDSHIPS - T/Th FAAS Preschool is a place where we promote exploration and attempt to provide plenty of opportunities for children to learn through play and discovery.  However, it is also equally important for young children to embrace the chance to form friendships that support their ability to experience social and emotional growth.   As Early Childhood Educators, we have been excited to see many of the children begin to work collaboratively in their play experiences. The children are finding ways to effectively “work together” through their chosen play situations. These cooperative occasions create the chance to practice important skills such as sharing, turn taking, cooperation and verbal discussion with their preschool peers.   Since February is a month where we celebrate friendship and family both on “Valentine’s Day” and “BC Family Day”, I feel it is important to further consider the importance of friendship in an ...