Express Yourself #1 - How We Express Ourselves

Water group talked about different ways that people can express their ideas. The children looked through pictures and found people expressing feelings and messages through dances, paintings, music, conversations, books, photography and dramatization.

Enxin and Jayla like the idea of expressing themselves through dancing. Aiden likes music. Natalya likes painting. Alan loves photography and Peter likes dramatizing.

Each child picked a topic that they would like to explore. For the next 7 weeks, we will be exploring each topic and looking at different ways that we can express ourselves. The children have agreed to be open-minded and try different ways to express their topics.

Water Wonders #5 - How We Use Waterways

These are pipes.

 

To try and understand the Coast Salish use of waterways and the importance to their lifestyle, the children looked at the how we use waterways.
Natalya said: "We can swim in it."
Aiden said: "We can fish in it."
Cameron said: "Boats go in the water."

We focused on these three categories and thought of why people use the waterways this way.
Peter said: "It is fun to swim in the water." - recreation
Mila said: "We can eat fish." - food

We need to fish for food. 

Natalya said: "Sometimes you can go in the boat to fish." - transportation

After brainstorming our ideas, they painted a great river and constructed a community around it. It was amazing to see the children play with the structure when they were finished building. Some said they didn't have taps in the house so they had to go to the river to scoop water. Alan started building pipes in his house and this sparked an interest for Aiden to build one in his too. Jayla and Mila were concerned about food source so they were busy fishing. In the end, each of them made a little speech about how  they built their houses and why it's close to the water.

Giving a speech

This project helped us understand the importance of the Fraser River to the Coast Salish communities that surround it. Salmon fishing and canoe racing that exist today bring the communities together.

Easter Egg Hunt

Where are the eggs?

Easter is just around the corner and what fun is Easter without the Easter Egg Hunt! The children were told that the Easter bunny would come in the afternoon and hide all the chocolate eggs for them to find. In preparation for the hunt, we painted bunny baskets to store the eggs that we will find. After rest time,   the Easter bunny came and told Ann where the eggs were hidden so she could drew a map of the playground to help with the hunt. After taking careful looks at the map, the children rushed off to find the yummy chocolate eggs! They were all principled collecting the eggs to share equally with everyone. Not wanting to give up, the children were committed to find all the eggs but the bunny was just too tricky and we found all but one!

When the egg hunt was over, the children sat down to enjoy a chocolate pretzels nest treat made by Alexis and her mom. What a perfect day, lots of sunshine and chocolate!

Water Wonders #4 - Underground Water

The children learned we can get water from rain, snow, rivers, lakes, and other water forms. But as we looked at the book, we saw someone pumping water from a tap. Where is that water coming from? Cameron answered: "Maybe from a pipe." 

The children watched a video on underground water (http://www.leapingmedia.com/Media/groundwater_0413.swf). They learned that there is water trapped in the layers of gravel, rocks or soil and it is possible for people to dig down and find a supply of fresh drinkable water. After the video, the children made a collage with gravel and blue cellophane paper to mimic the ground and the water underground. As we were doing our art activity, Natalya looked at our painting on the display board and said: "There is no underground water on the picture." Mila continued: "I know, we can add it." And they did. 

Water Wonders #3 - Where does water come from? Where does it go?

When the children took the walk in the forest to find water, they noticed water in the creeks, water flowing to somewhere on the ground, and water in puddles. So where is the water coming from and where is the water going?

We read the book Waters by Edith Newlin Chase. It beautifully traces the water's journey through Canada, from a baby brook to the boundless sea.

Inspired by the artist Ron Broda, the children wanted to illustrate their understanding of where water comes from and goes. After painting the trickling water melting from the snowy mountains to the sea, the children added raindrops to show the water cycle (evaporation, condensation, precipitation). 

Water Wonders #2 - Kitsilano Beach

                             

The children had lots of fun on our trip to the Kitsilano Beach. As we walked to the bus stop the children sang "Wheels on the Bus". Not only did we get to explore water, the children noticed generosity. When we got on the bus, many people moved to offer their seats for them. The children used their manners to thank the people for their seats and Pauline reminded others to use their inside voice on the bus.

When we arrived at the beach, some children recognized the area. Esme said: "This is my mommy and daddy's beach." Orin added: "This is my beach." They were all so eager to explore their surroundings. We were fortunate that there was no rain but Simone noted: "It sure is windy!" But the wind helped create a wavy beach and the children loved chasing the waves.

Walk to the bus stop

Waiting for the bus

"Boats!"

Natalya: "Why is the pigeon here?"

Trystan: "I see the dock!"

Chasing the waves

Snack time!

Water Wonders #1 - Looking for Water

How come there's a lake here?

It's so muddy!

Where's the fish?

The children took a wet, soggy walk around the Pacific Spirit Park to look for water.
The children noticed there was water everywhere (because of the rain). Pippa asked: "Why is the water following me?" Lysander answered: "The water is just going down."

When we reached a creek in the forest, the children saw a sign on the fence that says Stream Habitat. Keep Dogs Out. Then the children began to ponder, where is the fish?
Alfie: They are sleeping.
Cameron: They are hiding.

A puddle!

Jeffery: The are scared of coming out because the water is black.

Even though the walk was cold and wet, the children showed their enthusiasm by asking questions and commenting on what they observed.

Why is the water following me?

Stream Habitat. Keep Dogs Out.