Ginger Kids Have Been Spotted

We have been wondering how our Ginger Kids have been doing on their
adventure. 
We have been waiting to hear any news.
          
 A mail box in the school office in case messages were sent.

Maps of Comox Valley, Vancouver Island and British Columbia
have been posted so we can track where the Ginger Kids have ventured.
                
So far we have received several notes and post cards from friends
who have seen evidence
of the ginger kids visiting their classrooms or community.
        
 
        
The messages vary from small handmade postcards, to purchased post cards,
to photos of children with a ginger kids cut out.

Keep watching and send us your messages because we love mail and learning
more about the world around us.
Thank you for participating.  

Send to:
                                   Brooklyn StrongStart
                                   1290 Guthrie Rd.,
                                   Comox, British Columbia
                                   V9M 4G2
                                   CANADA

Push Car Art

This is how we combined cars and markers to make art.
I saw this idea over at First Palette.
Loved it.
    
The table was  completely covered with paper.
From our block area I borrowed the push and pull vehicles. 
Left them on the table with markers and masking tape. 
 
The children didn’t even bother to wait to pull out a chair. 
Although this morning I had hesitated about putting chairs around the table.  For this type of activity I prefer for the children to have a full range of motion.  Being able to move around the table allows them to use their whole body.  It looks like they felt the same.
            
 
The marks on the paper showed their movements – some short pushes,
some very long pulls, others zigzagged and some spirals.
     
Then there was the two handed drawing.
 
Or crashing, tipping over, needing a tow truck to help start drawing again.
        
Didn’t even matter if it marked the paper. 
There was interest in how the combination of toy and marker worked together. 
Happy times. 
Art and mechanics together.

Fairy Lane News is Spreading

Many families have come back to StrongStart to tell me about their adventures into the woods to find the fairy doors. 
It’s very exciting to hear that even in our rainy climate families are venturing outside and encouraging their children's imaginations.



It was even more exciting when I heard that our fairy lane was featured in our local newspaper this past Friday.  

This came about after talking to my oldest daughter about Fairy Lane.       
              
                         
We were reminiscing about our family’s first adventure to the west coast of Canada.
                          
How we got into telling stories and looking for trolls in the awesome forests in Tofino and Cathedral Grove.  So thanks to my oldest daughter who sent the press release to the paper and to all my daughters for continuing to encourage me.  They are and always will be my inspiration.

I’m looking forward to being back at school this week and hearing if more families went on a fairy door hunt.

Coloured Pom Pom Drop

Look at this great idea I found over at Learning 4 Kids.
As soon as I saw it I knew we would have to try it.

Interesting though that the first day is what set up no one was interested.
No one played with it.  Hmmm, I thought it would be a hit.  Maybe the tubes were too long.  Maybe there isn’t enough room between the table and the divider that the tubes were on.  Maybe I was just expecting too much.
 
Maybe there was just other things more interesting that day because
the second day it was a busy spot.
 
It was interesting to watch the way they approached this activity.
Picking up one pom pom and dropping it in any tube, regardless of the colour. 
Then picking up several, some in each hand, and being more selective with the tubes they chose.
Then big handfuls trying to be stuffed into one tube.
 
The more it was used you could start seeing the pom poms being
sorted by colour down in the tray.
        
A pom pom drop is a fun, inexpensive, easy to set up toy for children to explore.

Fire Truck Snack & Documentation

               
                      Today we built fire trucks.
         Materials to eat: tea biscuits, cheddar square crackers,
                      cheerios, raisins and grapes. 
              
            I made a few examples and printed them out.
 
                     
This boy copied each sample – reconstructing from an image.
But I wanted to see their own creative fire trucks so after they made theirs
I had them take a picture of it.
                 I followed by taking a picture of them.
 
               I am an architect.

The following boy told me that there was nothing to make a ladder so
we brought out pretzel sticks.

                I am an innovator.
 
              I am a designer.

              I am a creator.

Target Practice

 
This week we have been talking and playing a lot about fire fighters. 
At the fire hall we were able to help use the fire hose aimed at a building. 
Back at school we sprayed water on a much smaller scale.
        
In the water table we used squirt bottles to spray at fire shaped
foam pieces
(some grown ups thought they were tulips). 
        
I’ve mentioned this before and you’ll probably here it again 
spray bottles are great for building those hand muscles for
pre-writers. 
And spray bottles are inexpensive from dollar stores so easy to have
several available.
        
Target practice also encouraged more control in regards to aiming. 
Some children were surprised the first time they sprayed. 
Surprised what, or who, they hit. 
The more they tried and were prompted to hit the foam fire
or the bowls the more accurate they became.
              
Also over at the art table the children were able to practice with
little spritz bottles. 
A different but similar challenge for them. 
            
The finger span is smaller than the spray bottle but just
as difficult.
          
Just like the spray bottle it’s important to know which side
the liquid comes out.
         
Some children found it easier to use the palm of the hand
to press down on the pump.
       
Are there any other ways that you use spray bottles or
spritz bottles at your centre?