Back to School!

Happy September! Another school year has begun and we couldn't be more excited. A big welcome back to all the returning kids and a huge hello to all the new ones! The classrooms have been restocked with new toys, games and activities.

The colour this month is PURPLE and the shape is a CIRCLE

 Let's get ready for school! In the Tree Room, there are various activities that give children the opportunity to practice making their lunches and packing their lunch bags. As well, there is a dress-up center with coats and backpacks. 

 

Once the children are ready for school, they can ride or drive the school bus to the pretend classroom!

 

In the pretend classroom, the children have the opportunity to be the teacher and teach the class. Or they could be one of  the students and sit for circle time.

 

 

Another fun addition to the classroom is the life sized Mr. Potato Head! Children have the opportunity to learn about body parts, work on requesting, they could dress Mr. Potato Head up with a peer and practice turn taking.

 

 

The tactile tables are usually a big hit with our kiddos. This month, we have a search and find tactile table filled with shredded paper and different school supplies.

 

 

 

 

 



 

Tuesday Outing: Lloyd's Roller Rink

This afternoon we went to Lloyd's to try out roller skating and roller blading! Like everyone who has every tried roller skating, it is a very different sensation. Some of the kids really enjoy putting on the skates and moving around the rink. However, some found it quite difficult and didn't really enjoy it.  All the kids had an opportunity to try out skating and then they are able to remove their skates and run around or dance to the music. Some preferred to play with the activities(i.e. colouring, playdough, puzzles, etc.) we brought along after they have tried roller skating. Overall it was a fun afternoon :)

 

 

Sikome Lake

Happy Friday!

Today we went to Sikome Lake. We lucked out and had a sunny day! Finally all the rain has stopped. The water was a little cold but that didn't stop the kids from splashing around.

We had a great day filled with making sandcastles, swimming in the water, playing on the park, having lunch and eating popsicles :)

 

 

 

 

Bugs, Bugs and more Bugs

Bugs was the topic of learning group this week!

One of the songs we sang this week was Bee Hive:

Here is the beehive (make fist)
Where are all the bees?
Hidden away where nobody can see
Watch as the come out of their
hive -
1, 2, 3, 4, 5 (show fingers)
They're alive!
BZZZZZZ (Wiggle fingers)

As a fun circle time activity we made bugs out of playdough. Some groups made them together, taking turns adding legs and eyes. While other groups made them individually.

       



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For craft we made bumblebees:



 

Last Week's Adventures: Camping and Calaway Park

Can you believe July is over?! I feel like I am always saying this but honestly the summer is flying by. Last week our theme for learning groups was camping! Check out some of the fun things we did:

Storytime books included either Fred and Ted Go Camping by: Peter Eastman OR

Maisy Goes Camping by: Lucy Cousins

 

Craft: We made camp fires with real sticks that we found outside and red and yellow tissue paper

 

Gym: Played a classic camping game of ring toss as well we tried some camping inspired yoga poses

 

Our big outing last week was to Calaway Park on Friday! It was a fantastic day - the weather cooperated with us and the kids seemed to enjoy themselves. Some of the groups even made it on the log ride! Thanks to all that came out and helped make it a successful day :)



Beach Day!

Sorry for the delay...Friday was a huge success! The backyard was set up with lots of fun water activities: a kid size pool, sprinkler, slip n' slide. There was also a little tent set up for kids to take a break from the water and read a book. For a special treat we had popsicles. It was set up like a little ice-cream stand, where the kids took turns waiting in line and ordering a popsicle. It was a very motivating way to work on requesting. The kids has a great time playing in the water!

 

 

Ocean Week

This week we have been doing all things beachy in preparation for Beach Day today! In learning group, we have been reading and singing about things that live in the ocean. Our craft this week was paper bag jelly fish. The kids had an opportunity to cut, paint and glue. During our gym portion of learning group, we played fun games like "What time is it Mr. Shark?" and Feed the Shark (throwing bean bags into the sharks mouth)!

 

Check back Monday to see all the fun that we had at our beach party in the backyard! I'm sure we will be getting wet. 

Friday Funday!

Sadly the weather did not corporate with us on Friday and we had to cancel our Zoo outing. We tried to make the day extra fun. We set up the bouncy castle, watched a movie in the afternoon and ate popcorn. We also made s'mores in the microwave which was a lot of fun both staff and kids :)

 

 

 

Staff also put together a super fun painting activity in the Rainbow room!

Zoo Week

The weather hasn't really cooperated with us so far this week. We all got quite wet at Riley park on Monday and not because we were in the water. It looked liked the rain was going to hold off for us but unfortunately it did not. Hopefully, we will have better weather for the Calgary Zoo on Friday. Fingers crossed!

The theme of learning groups this week is the Zoo! During group times, we have been reading and singing about zoo animals.

 

"Let's Go to the Zoo" is an interactive book that gives children the opportunity to name various zoo animals and make animal sounds, identify the different colours of animals, count animals, find action words and match baby animals to their moms.  

 

For craft this week we are making elephants. This craft requires cutting, gluing and getting yours hands a bit dirty with painting the clothes pins grey.

 



 

Check out this fun video we found about going to the Zoo and dancing with the animals:

 



Stampede Week

 

In honor of the Calgary Stampede, we talked about cowboys and horses during group yesterday. We read a simple story about a rodeo called "Cowboy Up" By: Larry Dane Brimner. While reading the story we used small figurines and got the kids to imitate various actions. Then we made paper bag cowboys during craft and for our gym portion of group we rolled the big dice and did various horse actions (i.e. horse eating, horse galloping, horse jumping, etc.) and played I had a little pony! 

 

 

 

 

Summer Time!

Summer is here and we couldn't be happier! Our classrooms are all switched off to the new themes (camping, backyard and ocean/lake), outings have started - the first one was last Friday at Sikome lake. We had great weather and everyone had a fantastic time playing in the water. Today, we went Dragon Boating and all the kids successfully coped with getting in the boat and they all stayed in the boat. Also our Annual Stampede Breakfast is on Thursday which is always a blast, hopefully we will see lots of you there!

Here are some of the new activities you can find in the classrooms:

In the "backyard" (Tree Room) you can BBQ, water your plants, wash and hang your clothes to dry as well as mow the lawn and paint the fence.

 

 

 You can go camping in the sunroom. You can sleep in the tent, build a fire and roast marshmellows. There are also fun camping games, like lawn bowling to play.

 

In the Rainbow room you can catch some waves in the pool and then afterwards go to the ice cream/popsicle stand for a tasty treat. 

 

 

What a wonderful day to garden!

This afternoon for learning group, we went outside and planted flowers in the backyard. We learned today that not everyone is a fan of dirt! Some groups planted in pairs, so they had to help one another out and take turns. Others worked on coping with touching the dirt and helping dig a hole. Watering the flowers was a favorite of most of the kids.  After we planted our flower garden we went and played in the backyard! It was a great Thursday :)

Doctors and X-rays

This month we are learning about safety and community helpers. This week we have been talking about doctors. Yesterday for craft we made x-rays of our hands. First we traced the outlines of our hands, then we coloured them in with a white crayon. Next we glued on Q-tips for the bones.

We also read a story about a little girl who was sick and had to go to the doctors. We talked about what a doctor does, what a doctor wears and some of the tools a doctor uses.  For some of the groups, we also looked about some pretend x-rays. For other groups we played with a pretend doctor's kit and listened to each other's heart beats and looked inside one another's ears.

The Mixed-Up Chameleon

Today in learning group we read  The Mixed-Up Chameleon by Eric Carle and talked about colours and animals. Check out this online version of the story:

For craft, we made our own mixed-up chameleons!

 

 

 

Children's Festival

Today we went to the Calgary International Children's Festival! The show we saw was called BAM. This year we got front row seats. Here is a little preview of what it was about:

 

The show was a bit longer than was expected and at times the drumming was quite loud but all of the kiddos coped well and seemed to enjoy it! After the show we had a picnic lunch at Olympic Plaza and then we explored the rest of the festival. They had live music, face painting, story time and other games and activities. Some of the line-ups were quite long so most of the kids splashed around in the wading pool!

 

 



Oh, Mr. Sun

One of the songs we have been singing a lot lately during group time is Oh, Mr. Sun! We had forgotten about this classic song until Amy sang it the other day. We also loved her sun props so we made some of our own. We like incorporating props into songs as it allows all of our kiddos to participate.

 

Here are the lyrics if you would like to sing at home:

Oh Mr. Sun, Sun, Mr. Golden Sun
Please shine down on me

Oh Mr. Sun, Sun, Mr, Golden Sun
Hiding behind the tree

Oh these little children are asking you
To please come out so they can play with you

Oh Mr. Sun, Sun, Mr.  Golden Sun
Please shine down on
Please shine down on
Please shine down on me!

ANIMALS GALORE!

May is animal month...we got a bit of a head start yesterday as some of our PD day was spent changing over the classrooms. We are excited to see how the kiddos respond to the new toys and activities this morning!

 Here is a sneak peek of some of the new additions to the classroom:

A farm inspired tactile table

 Wagon Safari Ride

 

 Pin the tail on the donkey

 

A wide selection of animal books

 

 STA Animal Hospital

 Alice the Camel

Animal Crafts

 

 

Here are the upcoming events that we are looking forward to this month:

- Mother's Day Lunch on May 7th

- Tony and Gibbs are coming to visit on May 12th

- Music with Amy on May 15th

- Children's Festival on May 21st