West Richmond Preschool

On Thursday October 19, West Richmond Community Centre hosted the 18th annual Lantern Festival.  Unfortunately it was raining this year so we were forced to moved the festivities inside -  however the rain did not stop the guests from enjoying a magical evening.  As a newer staff member this was my first Lantern Festival. I was unsure of what to expect, but I was blown away to see our community come together for an evening of charity and fun. Upon arrival guests were welcomed, many of them graciously brought perishable foods to be donated to the food bank.  Next, guests were offered crisp apples and sweet hot chocolate. There were so many stations to visit such as the scarecrow and pumpkin themed photo-op, the wishing tree, face painting, cake walk, obstacle course, drummers, balloon making station, lantern making station, the pizza concession, and finally the charismatic juggler.  As I looked across the ...

In class we put coloured water into three mason jars, and added the primary colours, red, blue and yellow. We then placed the jars in a circle with three empty jars in-between, and had paper towel rolling from one jar to the next. The children were very interested in this science experiment and what the outcome would be. The process took a few days, but the children were able to see the colours absorb into the towels, creating green, orange and purple.   We followed up with an interactive activity allowing children to mix the primary colours using vinegar with food colouring, droppers, and trays filled with baking soda.   The activity was much enjoyed by the children, and the effect quite beautiful. Some comments: Matias – It looks like it's steaming! Kaius – It's bubbling! Lucas – It's like a colourful volcano! Alara – It's like cooking with ginger!   Until next time :) Barbi

As the first month of preschool closes we are getting to know each other more and more every day. It is so exciting for us to see each personality shine through while the children participate in creative play, art, and circle time.   Some children are more vocal than others when it comes to expressing their likes, dislikes, interests, and passions. In order for us teachers to learn more about the children and for the children to learn more about each other, we will often ask questions at circle time such as, "what is your favorite colour?" or "what did you do this weekend?". We will then go around the circle letting each child share their answers. However, many times the children are so excited to share their thoughts that a lot of over talking occurs or thoughts get lost in all of the commotion.   In order to ensure that each thought gets heard we decided to make a "talking stick". The talking stick encourages children to listen when it is ...

  Cooking with children provides a hands-on approach to learning what we put in our tummies. Children love helping to prepare food. It exposes children to a wide variety of ingredients and encourages them to try new foods. Over the summer, our herb garden grew strong and we had an abundance of basil. Coincidentally, Teacher Mariam brought in a big bag of beautiful cherry tomatoes from her dad’s garden. So, off we went into our first cooking activity! We wanted a simple recipe with just a few ingredients so we decided on cooking pasta with pesto sauce and cherry tomatoes. Last class, we had intentionally placed some of the herbs out. We wanted the children to observe, feel, smell, and experiment with the herbs. In the next class, during our morning gathering, we passed basil leaves around for the children to feel and smell. Some children said they liked the smell, and some did not. The children who were playing with the herbs in the morning seemed to like the smell bet...

FRIDAY: When we were at the park, the children noticed that acorns were on the ground and started collecting them.       Some of the children noticed that some of the acorns were broken. Keane said “It’s because people step on them”. Koen said “Squirrels eat them that’s why they are broken”. With that being said, the children were determined to find more acorns to feed the squirrels. We went around the community centre to look for more acorns. When we had a bucket full of acorns, the children decided it would be enough for the squirrels to eat. Most of the class agreed that putting the bucket up on a tree is the safest and easiest way for the squirrels to have access to the acorns. We were deciding which tree to put the bucket on when Teacher Matt pointed out that there was a squirrel sleeping in one of the trees.   That made decision making easier for everyone. The children all agreed to put the bucket on the tree where the squir...

It has been an amazing few weeks getting to know each other and already we are on our way to a great start.   The children are settling into their classroom and friendships have begun.   We are learning a little more about each other as we spend time together playing, creating art, and learning about ourselves. During art, we have drawn our self-portraits.   We used mirrors to help us draw ourselves.  Our self -portraits will soon be up on our board out front.   We also created some leaf prints with potato stamps.   We discovered that less was more when using the paint.   Some of the children decided it was much better to actual use the potato as a paint brush rather than a stamp.   The beauty of art is how ones outcome is so different from the next person even if you set out the same materials for everyone.   An activity that showcases individuality is a great learning moment of acceptance and pride in one self.   An...

Free play is a fundamental part of our preschool programs here at Merry King! Each time we meet, the children are given the opportunity to engage in many interactive experiences, which they freely choose.   Being exposed to these situations naturally allows the children to enter into friendship-forming conversations and side-by-side play collaborations. Even though our year has just begun, we are already seeing many friendships form within our class as we watch the children converse and create together as they explore and engage in the many learning opportunities provided for them. We are looking forward to a wonderful year of growth and development each time that we all meet together! Sincerely, Teacher Lori Moore