Authentic play

The teachers and I have been reflecting on the way children play in the forest.  

When we talk about it the one word that stands out for us is:

Authentic

These photos say it all don't they?

Decorating the Forest

Hi Families,

It's not that the forest needs any decoration as it's amazingly beautiful all by itself.  However, since we are learning about decoration and the children are thinking of all the amazing colours, shapes and purposes of decorations it was wonderful to bring our inquiry outside.

If you could have seen the careful planning of colour and line you
would have been in awe.

And there were shouts of pure joy and beaming smiles when a plan produced amazing effects.

We left the design up for the afternoon with a sign to say we'd come back to clean up later.  I wonder what the trail walkers thought of the children's creation.

The children told me today that they want to do it again!  I can't wait for the New Year.

Congratulations on winning the award!

Hi Everyone,

I can't believe the time has gone by so quickly.  I didn't get the photos up onto the blog after that wonderful celebration you all planned for the teachers here at Creative Minds.  It was thoughtful of you to honour all the teachers along with the Prime Minister's Award winners.  Everyone appreciated the gorgeous flowers.

We send our thanks to all the organizers and sorry that we don't have all their photos here.  Missing are Robin, Henry, and Cheryl and so many others who pitched in to help set up and clean up.

 

We also want to thank Monika Naus again for the amazing work she did to create the nomination letter and them to present the awards to Wendy, Kathryn and Mary.

And finally, it was wonderful hearing the children sing and then watching them use the library is such considerate ways.  Thanks to Kim (principal) for the use of the library in the school.  What a nice way to build the child care-school connections.

Sorry that not all the children are in this photo.

Contour Lines

The children have been continuing with their study of lines by focusing on contour lines.  

     

Contour lines are lines that follow the outline of the object.  Cross-contour lines cross through an object and connect to contour lines.  They help to make an object appear three-dimensional.

     

This connected to patterns in math and in nature that the children have been studying.

They traced leaves that we found just outside our building and there were a wide variety, which really supported the children's developing ability to make observations and share their thinking.

Awards of Achievment to the Team of ECEs at Creative Minds

It is with great pleasure that I can share with you that 3 members of the team at Creative Minds Early Learning Centre have been granted the  

Prime Minister's Award for Achievement for the 2010-2011 year.

Wendy McPhail
Mary Fai
and
Kathryn Dula

were sent Certificates of Achievement from the Prime Minister's Office yesterday. 
It is a great honour to have received this recognition.

The rules of the award prevented Dr. Monika Naus and I from nominating any of the other members of the team (there was a maximum of three members allowed per team).  

I would also like to show my appreciation to  

Deb Grant and Anamaria Girtonea 

and all the quality ECEs who have worked at Creative Minds over the years.  Working in this field is certainly achieved with collaboration among colleagues, parents, children, Southlands School and community supporters.

We especially thank the families who wrote letters of support last year and to Dr. Naus (Anna and Ivo's mum) for pulling the details together to build a fine nomination package.

We will be hosting a gathering in the near future at 5 p.m.  

I'll keep you posted.

Teaching Art with Books and More

Hello Families,

It has been my pleasure to listen to the children describe their art explorations over the last three Fridays.  The teachers have been helping the children learn about line in art.  A line has more length than width and can be straight, curved or jagged.   A line can be made with a pencil, stick, marker, or other items.  The outside edges of objects can be lines.  Lines are used to show direction and communicate moods and feelings.  

The smart board has played a role in helping the children trace lines and explore famous works of art.  Books have been central to the process.  

The Children have looked at the work of Kenneth Noland, Piet Mondrian, Paul Klee, Pablo Picasso. Joan Miro, Edgar Degas, Henri Matisse, and others.  

We suggest that on your next library visit you see if you can pick up:

Smokey night by Bunting

The Girl who Loved While Horses by Paul Goble

Hush!  A Thai Lullaby by Minfong Ho

A Color of His Own by Leo Lionni

Mirette on the High Wire by Emily McCully

Grandfather's Journey by Allen Say

Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters by John Steptoe

I imagine you have quite a gallery in your home with all that they have been bringing home.

Children as Storytellers

Hello Families,

It has been a wonderful week with the children.  One of the best moments I had was watching Deb and a group of children retell the story of Goldilocks using the new SMART Board.  Deb was fully immersed in the process as were the children.  They retold the story and with their suggested, Deb created the icons.  Then each child took turns coming up to move Goldilocks around on the screen while Deb retold the story depending on what the child decided to do with the icons.  The objects gave the story some tangibility. 

Storytelling plays an essential role in children's exploration of self.  Children practice expressing and developing their cognitive, emotional and social selves as they tell stories. It was clear to all of us that these children felt a growth in their self esteem as they performed the storytelling/making with Deb.  They also showed great support for one another as listeners. 

We are so thankful to Henry Au (Elijah and Natalya's dad) for helping make this project a success.  We thank him for the effort he made to get it all together for our start this week.  It's with parental support that we make this program so wonderful.

Kate