Milk crate construction

Recently we got some milk crates for the Adventure playground. There a great tool for children to build and create with. On this day they decided to work together and build a house.

"I have big muscles so I can lift my block really high."

 

Even though some of the children were a little smaller then others then didn't let it stop them from stacking the crates. After giving it some thought she says" 'I'll go up here so I can reach." The staff stands close by in case she needs a hand. 

"I did it. I made a wall."

The all worked together to stack the blocks leaving room for doorways and windows. Some even decided to make little seating areas in the walls so they could have a quite space to sit.

 "We can fit three of us."

"We can even sit here with our babies."

The construction continued for the whole morning with children coming and going. Some came to check out the house while others came and added to it.

Written by Mrs. Balharry 🙋🏻

Flex Aquarium

"When inspiration hits it can take you into a world of imagination." - Miss  Santillan

This morning we set out an art experience. We put out large sheets of blank white paper, an assortments of paints and brushes on the table. Also smocks  to help protect our clothes. 

The children all seemed quit interested in the experience. Some used just one color while others used many. Some children tried painting with their hands.

"This is a BIG shark."       

                                " I'm making the ocean "

While painting the children seem to take inspiration from the sea.  I asked them, what other types of things are in the ocean? 

                          Sharks            Baby fish           Star fish

             

                                   Rocks               Water              Plants

                                        "Never disturb an artist at work."

From our ideas, this child and I cut out fish shapes that could swim in the sea. We added baby fish, big fish and green plants for the fish to eat. The child wanted eyeballs on the fish so we added googlie eyes so that the fish could see. Then sparkles to look like the bubbles in the ocean. 

                                                  "It's as long as me."

                                                  An artists aquarium 🐠

Written By: Miss Santillan🙋🏻

Invasion of the caterpillars🐛

The children have been exploring the caterpillars on a daily basis. They were excited to find this morning that they have grown tripled in size over the long weekend! The children went from tree to tree looking for the caterpillars. Once they found them they collected some to relocate to new homes the children constructed.

"The worms need their own bedrooms. This board will be the living room."

"He's really fuzzy. And look this one has white on him"

"Look their walk sleeping! Look their walk sleeping." Mrs. Balharry asks what walk sleeping is, and is given the answer "When they walk in their sleep." 

"He's gonna fall off the wood."

"No he'll be ok because all his feet will stick to the wood."

"Look he's walk sleeping over the edge."

One of the boys adds another dandelion on the board and the caterpillars start to crawl towards it.

"It's walk sleeping to the flower. The one with the white is faster then the other one." They go on to observe the caterpillars and later create more homes for their expanding caterpillar family.

Written by Mrs. Balharry 🙋🏻

💗Love Bug🐛

Canker worms can be a pest when it comes to growing trees in your yard. To the children of Discovery  however these little worms have become their best friend and gateway into the world of nature.

 All the children were crowding against the crabapple trees inspecting something... through further observation the kids found clusters of canker worms on the trees. 

"Do they live up there?"    

                                   "Ewwww..... there is so many of them!"

"Can I have one , I want to hold one."   

                                                         " I want to name mine Maluna." 

This teacher shows the children how  to pluck them off the tree gently.  We also let the children know to put the worms back because we want to show them the importance of not disrupting nature. 

These children are building life long lessons through this experience. 

  Bravery        Confidence      Nuture      Empathy     Love

           Nature             Fine Motor       Gentleness

                       Love                     Respect

                                   Caring

Written By: Miss Santillan🙋🏻

                    

Baking Class with Mrs. Zilkie 🍪

On this rainy afternoon we decided to do a baking activity.

First the children helped me gather up all the ingredients we needed. Once we had everything we needed we made sure to wash our hands! 

We used our literacy skills to read the recipe and then match the ingredient with the name. The tricky ingredient was vanilla, but once we matched it The children got a chance to smell it, they all enjoyed the smell. 

Each children had a turn measuring and adding 1 ingredient to the bowl. 

Some of the older children got a chance to test their "delicate hands" and crack an egg. I watched as they very carefully tapped it in the side of the bowl.

"Mrs. Zilkie it won't open".

Then we used our large muscles to stir the batter...boy was it hard! We passed the bowl around to give everyone a turn. We also used team work to help each other hold the bowl so it didn't spin around while we were trying to stir.

Through this activity the children learned team work and cooperation. They waited patiently for their turn (even though at times it was hard....especially when the cookies were in the oven). We learned some simple math skills, counting and adding the ingredients together. We used literacy to read the recipe. We also used our sence of smell to smell the ingredients and the arouma of the cookies hot out of the oven! 🍪

Written by: Mrs. Zilkie 🙋🏼

Let the sun shine!

Well it seems like spring is here and boy are we ready for it. We've Been heading out every morning around nine and exploring the outdoors till 11:30am. Then heading out again around three to five pm. Here's a little peak of what we're up to.

The children have been creating with milk crates. Their using problem solving, strength, team work, and their imagination to construct different items.

Others have been working at mastering the different obstacles patterns of the crates.

Others were taking part in the sensory play of the sand pit.

Another group decided to go for a jet ski ride. They took turns driving the jet ski.

And others enjoyed the company of friends.

Sand and water play

This morning a group was playing in the sand pit. As they were playing they noticed the sand was very dry and they were unable to mold the sand. So they decided to fix the problem by adding water from the rainbarell. 

The children took turns filling up their pots and containers with water. Each day the rainbarell is filled once so the children need to work together to conserve the water supply. Once the water supply is gone that's it for the day.

 Children also use problem solving to figure out how to turn on and off the tap while holding the container still so their water doesn't spill. 

After a few trips to get water the crew is ready to start construction.

The children work together to to make channels for the water to run through. Trying to figure out how to stop the water from sinking into the ground. Through different attempts they found if they packed the sand really hard together it held the water in longer.

Written by Mrs. Balharry 🙋🏻