Playground Fun

We have been trying to spend more time outside and to change up our routine by playing outside before lunch to work up an appetite! I would say that all of the kids have responded to this minor change very well. The snow has been so much fun. We have created giant snow people and families, and have played many games of tag, king/queen of the castle and a slew of other neat and inventive games that only snow would bring about! In this shot, they are running away from me in a game of tag!

I am sure we will miss the winter and all of the fun activities that accompanied it. But spring and summer will also bring many new adventures!

Little Jamaica

In honour of Black History Month, Little Jamaica/Eglington West was our neighbourhood of choice. One afternoon, both groups of kids ventured down to Little Jamaica to see what it was all about. We went into grocery stores and looked at the different food and drinks, visited the cosmetic stores to talk to Monica about wigs, and had a very tasty treat of jerk chicken and rice. All in all, it was a lot of fun, and the kids all seemed to really enjoy the food!

Some of the delicious food that the kids enjoyed as a part of their snack. We talked about how jerk chicken can be made in drum barrel bbqs, and the kids LOVED that it was name 'jerk' chicken!

Here the kids are all enjoying their tasty snacks!

It was wonderful to see the kids be so brave and adventurous and try different foods!

Little Jamaica was fun! I am sure we will be back!

Neighbourhood Wa;l & Art Gallery Visits

We have been doing a lot of neighbourhood walks over the past month or so. Especially with the weather getting better and better.

We have also been visiting many of the art galleries in the area. It has been fun! The kids are able to talk about the pieces they see, and discuss what they like about the pieces and what they don't like. It's great to hear their ideas and hear them voice their own opinions.

Here, the kids were discussing what they think this piece of art could be. we have talked many times about the fact that art is so magnificent because everyone sees something different. We thought it could be a dishwasher that was ripped out from a wall, a scrunched up robot, a big piece of gum, or a very poorly wrapped present!

We will continue to explore all of the wonderful galleries and opportunities our wonderful neighbourhoods have to offer!

Little Red Riding Hood, The Puppet Version

Our friends the Twirly Birds made some awesome paper bag puppets with Daniel and Lorna before one of our drama and dance sessions. The Hamsters were given the chance to act out the story of 'Little Red Riding Hood' with the paper bag puppets and did an exceptional job!

Drama&Dance Fun

It's almost unbelievable how much the kids adore going to the studio on Tuesdays for drama and dance. They look forward to being in that big space together and doing lots of fun activities. The kids engage in different warm ups; on this day, it was a mini obstacle course to get their muscles moving. They all did a great job!

We are very lucky to be able to have this space to utilize! Many more fun moments from drama and dance to come!

Run! Run! Run!

We have found new and innovative ways to incoporate physical activity into our days. One day after lunch and some quiet play, we headed to the rec center and made use of the track. The kids really loved running at different paces, in partners, and trying to achieve their personal bests. It was fun to watch them get so much excitement and joy out of something so simple.

Continuing Character Education in the Month of March

We did some really exciting things in February, and we will continue to work with the themes of kindness, understanding, comparison, and sharing throughout the month of March. As the kids continue to get older and develop, we think it is really important that the kids continue to learn and grow in these ways.