Outdoor Exploration

Our students love to be outdoors! And so do we. Following are some of the observations we have made as we explore our outdoor environment together through the seasons.

The Great

Outdoors:

What can we do outside?

-play hide and seek

-jump off the rocks

-climb on the logs

-play on the dirt hill

-look at the trees

When this question was first posed to the students, their answers were very typical given their observations of the environmental surroundings. Beginning the first week of school, we visited the “neighbourhood forest” which consists of the treed area in the middle of the schoolyard. Having been corralled in the Kindergarten area the first few days of the school year, the “oohs and aahs” of the children was wonderful to see as they ran happily to explore this new territory open to them.

Teacher observations focused around how the dispositions and behaviours of the students changed as they freely played outside. Rather than the crying and hesitation noted inside the classroom as the kids began to get their bearings, there was excitement and laughter as they called to their fellow classmates to come and see some new discovery. Right then and there, we decided this extended time outside was a must-do of our day. After lunch as the older students went inside for the afternoon, we lined up, took attendance and headed to the forest.

About three weeks into our program, we were enjoying the warm fall weather we were experiencing and decided to take our activity-centre time outside also. Thankfully, we had a number of resources available to us that we could set up a mock classroom environment, outdoors. The students loved it! There was a paint easel, a dollhouse (made a treehouse once placed near the stumps), some huge appliance boxes, big and small blocks and cars and trucks. Also, we brought out musical instruments so the kids could sing, play and create their bands at whatever volume they wished (and we didn't get headaches!).

We continue to have extended outdoor playtime because we see the value of kids experiencing nature. We have gone on discovery walks to make nature bracelets, imaginary safari adventures to find wild animals and visit African villages, tried the art of weaving with rope and chain-link fencing and created new games amid trees, rocks and logs. These activities have provided times of great learning and we know the Great Outdoors will be an integral part of the children's education this year.

Now when you ask the students, “What can we do outside?” their answers are much more far-reaching than at the beginning of the school year.

-be in a marching band

-get exercise

-play “Lava Monster”

-pretend to go camping

-write letters (in the dirt) to the big kids

-play school

-find bugs, leaves, acorns and berries

-walk on the moon

-play Shadow Tag

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Colours Of Us!

During first term as our students are getting to know one another, we like to read texts that foster a sense of community in the classroom. Some of our favorite titles are: Have You Filled a Bucket Today? by Carol McCloud, The Colours of Us by Karen Katz, Whoever You Are by Mem Fox and Shades of People by Sheila M. Kelly and Shelley Rotner. Throughout these stories is the recurrent theme that each person is a unique and valuable human being. However, with that being said, there are many similarities that we each experience simply because we are all human.
Many people think that these concepts are much too complex for our young students to grasp, but through the observations we have made, we disagree. As we read, students recognize the importance of getting to know a person beyond his/her outer appearance. Our students are quite matter of fact about noticing the different shades of skin that are represented in our classroom and we promote the idea that they be proud of their particular colours. We encourage them to form strong identities about who they are, what special gifts they contribute to our class and also to recognize how their family units are unique.
As an art extension, students are invited to explore colour, specifically how to mix a variety of colours that will enable them to create their own skin tone to paint a paper plate that represents their face. Each year the children embrace this challenge and enjoy choosing and mixing colours that match their individual features, all in the way that they see themselves. This activity also gives us so much information about the students' developmental phase, which allows us to target specific skills in follow-up lessons. Identity exploration and creativity set the stage for the creation of a collection of their faces for us to post around the room, further sending a message that this space belongs to all of us. We are a community of friends and learners!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Soup's On......Growing Vegetable Soup

 

 

During discussions about healthy snack choices and family Thanksgiving celebrations, the word 'harvest' was mentioned. A few of the students explained what the word means and we read a few stories about planting, caring for and harvesting a garden. The students were eager to talk about their favourite types of veggies and fruits as we read a story called, Growing Vegetable Soup by Lois Ehlert. The children were invited to bring in a veggie to contribute towards our cooking day experience. And what a harvest they brought! Before we set to work peeling, cleaning, chopping and cooking, the students helped to graph and sort the bounty during community circle time. The results revealed that carrots are a favourite among Kindergarten students and only a few enjoy eating broccoli. A sample of everything was added to the pot! Once the soup was ready, our students were not picky. A majority of them joyfully tried the soup because they helped to make it. Here, we share some photos and their quotes about the experience.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Yum!" N.L.

 

"I chopped a tomato." J.R.

 

"It's delicious and I loved it. I could taste the zucchini in it." P.D.

 

"I didn't like it because they put all the vegetables together." N.Z.

 

"I liked helping to make it and I liked helping to eat it. It's delicious." D.W.

 

"It smelled yummy in the kitchen. But I didn't want to taste it." M.C.

 

"I cutted up the vegetables with Mrs. Bulmer." T.H.

 

"I didn't like it because there was broccoli." I.A.

 

"It was so yummy." J.M.

 

"Tasty!" F.L.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Seeds Everywhere!

While exploring the schoolyard "forest", the students began to notice all of the dandelion and thistle plants turning into white fuzzy flowers. These were of course referred to as "wishing" flowers with the children happily blowing the seeds into the air while they made a secret wish. During conversations with the students, they were able to communicate the parts of the plants they were discovering in the garden. We decided to bring some of the plants and weeds into the classroom so the students could make further observations at the Science Centre. Using the magnifying glasses, many children took a closer look as they dissected the vegetation. As they explored, we asked questions about the importance of each of the parts. A few of the children observed that they could find seeds in some of the plants but not in others. This lead to us reading a book about seeds and after we did a small group investigation, the students were busy finding seeds everywhere! They found them in the fruits and vegetables during snack time, in the flower heads, in pods from a local tree, EVERYWHERE! They compared some of them by size and colour and even talked about the seeds that animals and humans eat. Recently, the students observed how the cattails changed their composition at the science table. They began as thick brown stalks and turned into fluffy white clouds as they went to seed. At the end of the day, some of the children made "seed snow" when they released the cattails to the wind to be carried off throughout the schoolyard. It was great fun as they learned about the lifecycle of a plant.