I lava this 🌋

For awhile now the children have been experiencing the volcano experiment outside. This afternoon a few boys started building another volcano. They then asked me for the vinager and baking soda.  So, challenge excepted.

Boy was the play experience a hit. A crowd gather and all the groups watched. 

Wow.......... Awesome............... Cool........ The children exclaimed.

All the children  were able to have  a turn scooping the baking soda and pouring the vinager. As they watched a natural chemical reaction happened. When the two element s come together they create a foaming expolosion. 

This experiment teaches the children 

Patience 

Turn taking 

Math 

And the wonderment of science

 Science is cool

Written by miss Santillan

Oh how the leaves change🍂

As summer unfortunately comes to a close, the children at discovery experience the many changes.  The leaves fall off the trees and change color. Autumn is near and weather gets cool. 

The change in weather leads to different attire. A fall jacket, long pants a toque and maybe some mitts.

The children help to rake the leaves into a pile.

They gather the leaves and throw them up in the air. Chantting 1.....2....3  Horray!!!

The children watch as the cool wind blows the leaves  across the air. 

They children learn about the seasons 

We say bye bye to summer and hello to fall.

Written By: Miss Santilan🙋🏻

Letting creativity flow with nature

Today we set up a paint Easel with some paints and fallen branches from some of our different trees. The children qickly gathered and started to ask questions about the experience.

"We're going to use branches to paint?"

"Look there's paint brushes with leaves and pointy paint brushes to.There's even sticks!"

"Look mine is like a pen. I have paints at home but I use paint brushes at home. This is better."

"My brush smells like Christmas. Now the paint smells like Christmas too."

"Look these leaves are going to us a lot of paint. It's gonna cover my whole paper."

"My leaves are smaller then yours.I'm gonna have to paint more."

The girls continue to paint talking about the patterns their leaves are making on the paper. As they paint they stop every so often and look at each other's and then continue on.

"Look I got a big stick. It makes lots of lines."

"Mrs. Balharry look I'm painting a masterpiece. I'm really good at painting them you know."

" I like the stick it works really good for painting."

"I'm painting a whale. That's what I see in my mind. Then I'm gonna give this to my mom. She'll love the whale."

"Let's make a picture together." The two boys stand side by side painting and changing their brushes as they go.

 

Providing children with different painting materials gives them a chance to create with different mediums while allowing them to use their sense of smell, touch, and sight.

Written by Mrs. Balharry 🙋🏻

Friendship!

 This morning one of our children brought in a stick from home to play with during our outdoor time.

Another child saw him with it and decided he needed one too. But when he looked he couldn't find one and became sad. A Staff approached him and asked if he was ok and needed some help. They came up with a plan to ask the peer with the stick if he could help him find one to.

 "Sure I can help you find a stick. Take my hand and I'll help you find a really good one."

The two go off in search of a stick.

"Look here's a stick for you. It looks like a perfect stick."

Another friend joins the pair and they then help him find a stick too. The three go off together and use their sticks to move objects to the side so they could explore some bugs.

    This is a great example of showing caring and helpfulness to a friend.

Written by Mrs. Balharry 🙋🏻

Friday fun!

"To improve is to change, to be perfect is to change often." - Winston Churchill

"I'm just relaxing."

Today, our group discovered many new ways to play by simply changing subtle details about their surroundings and utilizing the resources we have in different ways.

"Oh wow!"

We began the day by making a tunnel maze out of milk crates and plywood for our friends to discover many different ways to explore their surroundings.

"Let's switch it up!"

We showed our best teamwork as many friends helped move the crates and wood to change the structure time and time again! 

"C'mon, let's change it again!"

We learned that when we are kind and respectful to our friends and teachers we can become the most efficient at working together!

We even made the stack of crates into a car and 'drove it around' the playground.

"Vroom! Vroom! Let's go!"

Meanwhile, in the sandbox, our other friends were building a pool and a nice flag to mark the territory of where we where building!

"I'm gonna build a pool!"

"Let's use the flag to show us where to dig."

This showed our friends where it was going to be wet so anyone who didn't want to get dirty didn't have to!

As we used our resources and built new structures around the playground, we also included some of the existing structures, such as changing our wooden house into an 'ice cream stand and using our jet ski as a 'power boat' to fly through the 'waves.' 

"I can go so fast!"

"I'm driving my power boat!"

"Who wants ice cream?"

"Just one?"

"Money please!"

"Here you go!"

All in all, we showed ourselves and each other that with embracing a change in imagination, anything can be possible!

-Mr.Freeman

Harvest Meal!

As you know, the last couple days we have harvested a bunch of potatoes and purple carrots from our very own gardens!

So...today we decided to cook up our bountiful harvest and have a yummy snack with it all.

All of our friends assisted in making cactus cut potatoes with a sour cream dip and butter glazed carrots!

We started our activity by making the dip. Our friends were each able to pass the bowl around the table and show a great deal of sharing by each taking a turn to put the ingredients in the bowl.

"We all get a turn!"

"Pass the sour cream please!"

After each child put their ingredients into the bowl, we each took a turn mixing them together to make a creamy, delicious dip for our cactus cuts.

"Look guys, it's like a tornado!"

Once the dip was finished, everybody helped Mrs.Zilkie and I slice up all the carrots and potatoes. Then it was off to the kitchen...

"Mmmm, everything smells great!"

Once in the kitchen, we began to season the potatoes with a little bit of salt, oil and pepper and glaze the carrots with butter.

Afterwards, we tossed the potatoes so all of the oil and seasoning came together! 

"Tossing it like a pizza!"

Then, each friend helped place the seasoned potatoes on the cooking trays!

"Not too close together!"

After everything was prepared, we threw it all in the oven and after a little bit of cooking...it was all ready to eat :)

"So yummy!"

"The best carrots ever!"

All of our friends and staff thoroughly enjoyed the spoils of our gardening and we cannot wait to have another harvest!

-Mr.Freeman

Going fishing🐟

Play imitates real life

 

Outside the children enjoyed a fishing experience in the water table. They played with fishing rods and toy fish.  

This child enjoyed the experience catching several fish.  "Fish......Fish." As I watched this child I noticed him run off and as he ran he came to the boat. He said "Boat..... Boat!!!  He climbed in and began to fish. Casting  the rod and pretending to pull back the reel. 

This child is role playing real life. Through this play he is recalling his experience of fishing with his dad and further more he remembers his times in the boat. That is why this child ran to the boat linking two and two together. 

Written By: Miss Santillan 🙋🏻