Sunday 29 March 2015

Unicorn Room: Fire Safety, Emotions, and the Letter O.

 
Red and orange sensory light table.
 
 
Fire Truck Counting
 

 
Counting Spots for our Fire Dog.

 
Matching Emotions Word Recognition

Building Snack Faces

 
Drawing Our Emotions Activity
 
Emotional Face Manipulative Activity
Move the shapes to change the expression!

What Does Fire Need to Make it Burn
(Heat, Oxygen, Fuel)

What Happens When You Take Those Elements Away

Putting Out Foam Flames in the Water Table

Fire Themed Sensory Bin


 
Putting Out Fires in the Dramatic Play Corner

 
Letter Recognition and Matching

 
Creating Emotional Faces

 
Our Fire Station and Truck!
 
Letter O Day!


 
Watercolour Orca Painting

 
Find the Letter O

 
Ocean Water Table

Friday 27 March 2015

April Newsletter

Happy Spring, Douglas Park families!

It seems like we blinked, and March flew by in a flash.  We hope that everyone had a wonderful Spring Break!  As much as the teachers enjoyed their break, we have been so happy to see everyone's smiling faces back in the classrooms this week.



 April Reminders

Easter : There will be no classes in session on Friday, April 3rd or Monday, April 6th.

Professional Development Day: Monday, April 27th.  (Please note: The date listed on the Important Dates sheet that was distributed in September is incorrect.)



Rain gear:  April showers have been upon us early this year, as we are sure you've noticed! As we eagerly await those May flowers, just a reminder to send along weather appropriate outdoor clothing for your child.  We do go out almost every day, rain or shine  If it is heavy rain, we limit our outside time, but still do go out.

 Sometimes, we go on nature walks in the rain, asking exploratory questions like: How do things look different when they are wet? How many worms can we find?  What happens to soil when we add water?  Will a leaf float to the ground when it is wet?  Can you hear the sound of our feet on the wet ground? What about cars driving by...what sound do they make when the road is wet?  Other times, we encourage the children to explore their familiar outdoor environment with the added element of water.  For example, digging channels in the sand and creating waterways for small boats to float; creating mudpie masterpieces and engaging in creative imagination while we talk about what ingredients we could add. Not to mention the social element of co-operative play when the children work together to create a Mudpie Bakery, and invite others to come try the pies!

Our teachers believe that children's learning environments extend far beyond the classroom.  Rainy days (of which we have many here on the Westcoast!) are an opportunity to engage in relevant sensory play and to further explore the magic of your child's imagination and wonderment about the world around them.  We work hard to give them opportunities to play and learn, as well as create lasting memories to take with them on their journey through childhood!

Please help us by sending your child with: Rain gear (jackets and rain pants), rubber rain boots, and extra socks. 

Orca Room

Welcome, Miss. Crystal! 

As sad as we are to have said goodbye to our wonderful Miss.Sheena as she returns to Vancouver Island to be close to family, we are equally thankful to have Miss. Crystal join our preschool family!  If you haven't had a chance to meet her yet, please do say a quick hello and introduce yourself!  She is eager to work, not just with your children, but with all of the families as well.

This week will see our Space exploration come to an end in the class as we move forward into April with a focus on Animals!  The teachers have observed great interest in animal related play such as, co-operative play with the toy animals, as well as imaginative play while pretending to be animals.

Unicorn Room

Along with the Orca room, we will spend next week exploring Easter!  The activities and materials that will be out for the children will not only encompass Easter, but Springtime as well.  You may be hearing about rabbits and carrots, flowers, pastel coloured sensory materials, and a variety of egg science experiments.

When we come back from the Easter long weekend, our class will continue to learn about Community Helpers, as well as Emotions.  Stay tuned to hear about classroom visits, as well as a field trip.