Month: November 2016
Elementary Update
This week's class update is brought to you by Evan Marshall as well as Ms. Achong and Mme. Prat-Kalonji. The class had a wonderful time working to build a Lego community during a visit to the Locke Street library, with the creation of beautiful homes, cars, farmland, and even a tractor, windmill, and beehive. This was a great activity to bring together our discussions of human needs and architecture. We also loved having the opportunity to work with local pottery artist, Deb Wilkinson, and…
Casa Update
This term our casa students have been participating in a new physical education program. Our first unit focused on space, directions, and body awareness. Through games and activities such as red light/green light, tag, and freeze dance, students have learned to identify, maintain, and use space adequately while demonstrating an understanding of paths of motion. Our second unit focused on locomotor skills. The learning focus of this unit was to develop an understanding of basic concepts of…
Toddler Community Update
Bread baking is a favourite practical life activity in our Toddler Community. The Toddlers were engaged in bread baking on Wednesday. They helped with measuring and pouring, then enjoyed spreading butter and raspberry jam on the bread for a tasty snack. Music and movement was a great success. The children loved the actions to the words of the songs and had so much fun dancing. We appreciate the outerwear that has been sent for playing outside. We recommend winter boots and neck warmers as…
Elementary Update
The elementary class has had a wonderful week with major explorations in botany, geometry, and music. The students have been studying the function of plant stems and observing the water intake of celery stalk specimens, making daily observations and measurements. In geometry, they have been exploring lines and learning terms such as "ray", "segment", and "endpoints". The highlight of the week was our community outing to the Boris Brott Education Concert, where we were introduced to the…
Toddler Community Update
Since forming their community in September, the toddlers have become more comfortable and independent in the classroom. They are taking work out independently, completing tasks and returning materials independently, and tucking in their chairs when they finish their work. At snack and lunch time, the children are setting up their own mats and cups at their table. Some of the older toddlers have been introduced to flower arranging and glass polishing, while others have enjoyed spooning.…
Casa Update
This week in Casa we have seen children making beautiful floral arrangements. This Practical Life activity requires many steps and an extended period of concentration, while also allowing the child to embellish his or her environment. We have also noticed many of the math materials being chosen. Materials such as the addition work charts and the memory game of numbers give the children the opportunity to master operations and also extend concentration over a longer period of time.…
Casa Update
We have seen an explosion of writing in the Casa classroom this week. In the Casa classroom children are introduced to the movable alphabet (large individual wooden letters) when the child is able to identify a number of sandpaper letters. This Language activity gives further practice with linking letter sounds with letter symbols, and initiates word building. In order to build phonetic words, the child uses the skill of analysis to decipher the sounds in words. An exciting leap into…
Elementary Update
The classroom exploded with an enthusiasm for math this week, with many students working on multiplication and measurement using the metric system. Work in history continued with discussions of the fundamental needs of human beings and how people have met their needs for shelter, food, and clothing in the past and present. We also enjoyed a Community Outing to the Locke Street Library to select new sources for project research. The class is looing forward to having parents join us during our…
Elementary Update
The elementary class was a buzz of activity this week with many students completing independent research projects and making their first plasticene models to illustrate their studies. Our weekly community outing investigated architecture and street art in the Kirkendall neighbourhood, followed by a visit to the studio of local artist and Lyonsgate parent, Dana Cowie. After a demonstration of painting with warm and cool colours, the students worked on their own pieces using acylics on canvas.…
Toddler Community Update
Thank you to the moms who came out for our Toddler sing-a-long and story this week. We enjoyed dancing and singing to various songs such as "Bonjour mes Amies", "Wheels on the Bus" and danced to "What are you Doing?" and other movement songs. We all had a great time.The children continue to work very well in the classroom and are beginning to master some activities like the more challenging puzzles and setting up their own table setting for snack and lunch. Great job Toddlers!