Grand-Friends

Once a month we visit a Seniors Lodge to share stories
and songs with our grand-friends.
    
Our visits offer us an opportunity to enjoy each others
company and share our learning.

   
Today we started a project “Planting a Promise”.
A daffodil bulb has the
           promise of a flower deep inside.
 
When we plant it, the promise is there that it will
         grow in the spring.

We drew pictures of what we think the flowers will
look like and gave them to our grand friends.
        

Then it was time to sing and dance,
 
           share a story,

            and play a game.

Visiting with the seniors helps us understand each other. 
How we are the same and how we are different? 
Our visits help us build compassion.

Autumn has Arrived at StrongStart

   
Our dramatic play area is set to explore autumn leaves,
with a picnic on the side.
      
It didn’t take long for the leaves to be placed on the tree
and shook off.  We pretended to be the wind and blow
the leaves off the tree.
   
Watching the little ones reaction to the leaves falling is
wonderful.  Are they amazed because we are spreading
the leaves all over the floor?  Or are they mesmerized
by the colours floating?

 
They learn to spill the leaves themselves and use the rakes to
move them around.

Then one child noticed a basket of squirrels and chipmunks
on the shelf and brought them out to play.
  
She showed me how the animals move up the tree.
 
I started to see the chipmunks move around.
       
In baskets,
   
in the leaves,
   
at the picnic table

so we found some acorns for them.

    
What other animals do we see in trees?

Autumn Trees

I saw this craft idea at Happy Hooligans.
   
They are very simple to make.  We already had the sticks
on our craft shelves and used plastercine as the base.
  
The children crumpled coloured tissue paper and glued it to the branch.
  
We now a lovely forest to help decorate our science table.

Spin and Squirt

         
Spin and squirt are fun words to find at the art table.
           
   As well as squeeze, up in to the eye dropper.
 
  And splat, goes the paint, on the paper.
 
  There was also stripes and splotches.
  
         Hope you give it a spin.

Talk Like a Pirate

Do pirates go out in the rain? 
That was a question that arose last Friday when we celebrated
Talk Like a Pirate day. 
It was pouring outside but the temperature was warm and there
was no wind.  Do we go or stay at school?
  
We had warned the families that yes we would we go regardless
of the weather.  So this was our test, “will we follow through?”.
   
Colleen, my co-planner from another StrongStart centre, and I
arrived early to set up.

 
    Then we waited to see if anyone would join us.
     
And they did.  We were impressed with how many came and
that they arrived dressed to get wet.
               
           Or prepared to stay dry.
   
 
 
We had a lot of fun being pirates, building boats, playing in
the water, searching for treasure.
 
To finish the morning, Captain Thunderpants joined us for a few songs. 
    
          What an awesome morning!