IMPORTANT: The toddlers are going on an excursion to DR. Foley Park next thursday. They are going to be leaving the centre at 9am and coming back around 11.30 for lunch. Please remember to be on time.

In the following week, the preschoolers are going to keep learning about autumn and how this season makes some changes in our environment. So, if you find some fallen leaves you like, please feel free to take them to school and share them with your peers. Toddlers and babies are committed to know everything about the colors, therefore the toddlers are going to develop knowledge about the color blue while the little ones keep exploring the orange. If you want, dress up your child in the color of the WEEK. 

Stay safe and wash your hands.

Preschoolers

This week, we have been talking about Autumn and what this means. This gives children a broader understanding of the world in which they live, and an awareness of changes in their environment.

Friday 06^th March 2020: Ending the walk through our emotions

In our last day of the walk through our emotions we played a memory game with different pictures showing feelings. This game allowed us to practice patience and turn taking while we exercise our language memory of the new words we’ve been working on in Spanish and English.

Monday 9^nd March: Autumn The orange season

We talked about what Autumn looks and feels like, and everyone had a chance to put forward their thoughts and opinions. We played ‘I Spy’ with autumn colours, for example, “I spy with my little eye, something that is Autumn yellow”. Engaging in experiences such as this assists children’s verbal skills, observation skills and colour recognition skills.

Tuesday 10^rd March: Painting the Autumn

We learned about the concept of seasons, and a different group of children had the chance to give their opinion. We learned some Autumn facts, such as why it gets colder during this season, why trees lose their leaves during this time, that the beginnings and ends of the days are becoming darker, and that Autumn, like each other season, lasts 3 months. We looked at some Autumn colours, and then we used our developing science skills to try and mix some of our own Autumn colours. We enjoyed using these to paint some Autumnal pictures!

Wednesday 11^th March: Falling leaves

The preschool children had a look at a variety of fresh and dry Autumn leaves. We talked about what we like to do when we see lots of leaves under the trees at home or in the park. We watched how the leaves fell when they were dropped, and we challenged ourselves to drop the leaves in different ways, such as fast, slow, hard, soft. We tried to replicate the movements of the leaves with our own bodies to some Autumn music! We also had a go at drawing some Autumn pictures, increasing our understanding of how to process ideas and move them onto paper. We also had a look at the new women’s books we’ve got in class and we listen to the interesting life Frida Kahlo had.

Thursday 12^th March: Autumn food

We had a look at some photographs of some Autumn trees with different coloured leaves, and some with no leaves. We reinforced our learning that some trees keep their leaves, while others drop all their leaves to the ground to preserve the energy in their trunk for the months of Autumn and Winter. We also had a look at some photos of different fruits and vegetables that grow in Australia during this season, and we matched some real foods with the images we saw.

Toddlers

Friday 6^th March 2020

Friday we built some characters using a great variety of materials most of them recycled resources. We practiced our fine motor skills and eye-hand coordination and while respecting the enviormen. The use of recycled mateial triggers imaginative play, builds creativity and problem solving skills. 

Monday 2^nd March: Verde week

We started with this week in green color by sticking green paper on an apple. Children are improving rapidly their cutting skills by ripping paper with their fingers. Through this experience I expected children manage better the glue, encouraging them to expand their eye hand coordination skills. Children are getting more familiar with the term green in Spanish, by repeating words in songs and videos.

Tuesday 3^rd March:Green sensorial clove

We planned this experience with the purpose of observe the nature that we have in the center. With children collected leaves from outdoor area, we spent time talking about the sizes, colors and why some of them gets drier than others. Then we jumped into the feather with same conversation, where children place them on their faces saying “Suave” (soft). Sensorial experiences are very important for toddlers, letting them learn about the word with textures, smells and colors. They also are recognizing the color in Spanish easily. “Verde” improving their language skills.

Wednesday 4^th March: The green apple tree

The tree needs just green apples: By sorting, children understand that things are alike and different as well as that they can belong and be organized into certain groups. Getting practice with sorting at an early age is important for numerical concepts and grouping numbers and sets when they get older. This type of thinking starts them on the path of applying logical thinking to objects, mathematical concepts and everyday life in general. After a small story about the hungry tree, we asked children to place the green apples on the tree, mixing yellow, red and green apples together. Most of them were able to recognize the color by selecting just green apples, developing their cognitive skills.

Thursday 5^th March: Making green color from herbs

Doing science projects helps develop children resourcefulness, particularly their skills at goal-setting, planning, and problem-solving. It also nurtures intellectual curiosity, helping children acquire new ways of asking questions and understanding the world. Continuing with green color and following children interests we made our own paint on based to mint and coriander. Children experienced the smell of the mint and the texture of the coriander. Their favorite part was using the mortar and smashed it, watching the green liquid coming out from the herbs, being able to paint with that!!

Babies

Life in orange 

Come play and learn with the color ORANGE, we participated in lots of activities and play ideas! As part of our Learning Colours Program, this week I am sharing with my babies some activities to explore and play with the color ORANGE.  Our ‘orange activities’ involved watching The Big Orange Splot video. After, I displayed plastic bags on the windows with orange paint where children could draw with their little fingers and experiment with the texture of paint. In another bag, I put water beads with orange color for the children to try to catch them with their hands and finally I put orange color acetate for the children could explore their sense of sight by watching the world through it.  By completing all these experiences, we are not only learning about the color orange but we are also promoting other learning, development and skills building.

Playdough squishing and squashing

Vegetables give your child energy, vitamins, anti-oxidants, fiber and water. They help protect your child against diseases later in life. A healthy diet means eating lots of vegetables, plus a wide variety of foods from the other main food groups. When children are learning to feed themselves, it’s an important stage for lots of reasons. First, children are learning to eat independently, which is a skill they need to develop for the later years of early childhood – and for life. Second, this stage involves lots of feeling, squeezing and dropping food. It might seem messy, but it’s one of the ways your child develops fine motor skills like learning to hold a spoon. Third, this is a chance to help your child learn more about the taste, texture, smell and temperature of food.