Fieldtrip

Our Valley has built a new Visitors Centre with great displays.

We went to visit and play.

I created a scavenger hunt to encourage the families to look all around.

They searched, found and counted what was on the list.

 Oysters

  are in the tank

and the mussels are hanging.

It was easier to count how many strings of mussels than 

how many mussels all together.

 

I love this orca display.  

With the metal kelp below and the acrylic water makes it appear beautifully authentic.

 Mountain biking is very popular,

 even inside with the children.

Although we couldn't ride the bikes we could still climb over the trail.

At one time, our valley was predominantly old growth forest.

But with time, community and economic growth the forest has been disappearing.

This tree display just called for the children to come inside.

They waited their turns to climb the ladder

to peek out of the two little windows.

We're fortunate to have a variety of year round activities.

Our mountain offers wonderful skiing

and the ocean boating or kayaking.

I brought a couple of stools with me so the younger 

children could reach this great interactive display.

Wherever they touched, pictures would appear

and change.

But the favourite, well at least my favourite, was

the marmot display.

 Here I am doing my best marmot impersonation.

We were able to crawl under and pop up through the hole.

 

We said hello to the marmots above ground then the children pointed out to me that there were more marmots underneath.

I have to admit that I didn't notice the little critters when I crawled in there.

Once we finished with our scavenger hunt.

We headed outside to be the first group to try the new playground.

I overheard families saying that the visitor centre is a great destination 

for rainy days.

And to show off to company.

 

Faux Stained Glass

Our art display from today's work.

The process.

 Drop paint on one sheet of waxed paper.

 Make a sandwich with the paper and paint.

Roll it out.

 Add more if you wish.

And roll some more.

 It was repeated

again

and again.

   It was a wonderfully busy table this morning.

Also quick to display because the two pieces of waxed paper stay together.

Story - Why Dogs Hate Cats

A few families have commented to me that their children enjoy listening to the stories that I tell at school, at home when they can't visit.  So I'm going to try to record more to post.
Here's a short story that explains why dogs hate cats.

Whose Eggs Are These?

First morning back to school after a two week Spring Break was busy.

During my time off I visited a pond and found some eggs.

I'm not sure what kind of eggs they are so I created a survey asking the children.

 The survey has three options.

 Do you think the eggs will be frogs, fish or salamanders.

So far the majority is hoping for salamanders.

Learning how to use a magnifying glass takes a bit of practice.

How close to hold it to the item and not to your eye is the first step in understanding.

 

Airplanes and Pilot

 

Welcome to our airport.  

Check in and buy a ticket.

The plane is waiting for passengers.

 The pilots are ready to fly.

Before we shut down our airport dramatic play,

 we were fortunate to have a pilot visit.

The Captain brought a set of head phones for us to try.

I loved them, they cut out most noise.

We passed them around.

Even a mom tried.

The Canadian Snowbirds will be arriving soon 

and we'll be entertained while they

practice their drills.

Easel Collage

It's amazing how much paint we can go through in a day at the easel.
So this week I decided to try something different.
No paint.
But there was glue, markers, scissors, and an assortment of collage materials.

I got a few looks from people like, "what do we do with this?"  but all I had to say was glue, colour, cut, create.  They got to it.

Even big enough for two people to create at the same time.

I enjoyed watching the next girl, setting up her baby in the stroller to watch her create.

We'll be experimenting more with the easel and how we can use it without paint.