The Family Tree

Drawing by Dylan

Family is a child's first social network. It is through this group that children are nurtured and raised. As a child grows he learns about the roles and responsibilities of each member and how they contribute to the larger community.

Learning about a child's family helps teachers to bridge the life of home and school.

A group of four year old children was asked the following questions.

What does family mean? Who is in your family? What do they do and why do you love them?

Dylan
I have a big family. I have a mommy. She plays games with me. I love my mommy because she invites my friends over to my house and that makes me happy.
I have a daddy and he always watches football, I like to watch it with him sometimes. Sometimes we even play football together inside the house upstairs. My daddy is fun! I love my daddy because we do boys things like wash the car.
I have an uncle and an aunt, it’s daddy's brother. They come over and visit sometimes but they live far away.
My mommy has a mommy and a daddy; that’s my grandpa and grandma. The live far away too but I talk to them on the phone. I love them because they are funny on the phone.
I have a Nonna and a Nonno, their names are Maria and Stefano. They are daddy's mommy and daddy. I get to see them when daddy goes to pick them up and they come over. Nonna and Nonno speak Italian. Nonna is teaching me how to speak it. I love them because they are nice to me.
Family means when you love each other and play together.

Children find Learning Opportunities in All Things

This group of girls decided to make a representation of a snow man using loose materials. When they were done they unanimously agreed that he was a "Big" snowman.

The question was which girl was as big as him?

Two of the four girls insisted they were as big as him while the other two remained neutral in the discussion.

How would they solve this debate?

They agreed to lay down beside the snowman to see if they were as big as him. However that did not satisfy the two girls since they could not see themselves in comparison to the snowman if they were laying next to him.

One of the "neutral girls" offered a suggestion.

"Lay down here and we will trace you with the stones so you can see!"

Certainly this was an excellent suggestion and the girls began their work.

When they were done the two girls in question stood up and studied their outlines in comparison to the snowman.

"Look, I'm bigger," announced Angelina.

"Yes, you are bigger," agreed her classmate.

A Game of Peek a Boo

"Where did Nicholas go?" wonders Marco.

A simple game of peek a boo is filled with learning for infants. In the first few months of life an infant is concered with what is before his eyes. As soon as something or someone

is out

of eyesight he forgets about it. Gradually that changes and the infant's world begins to expand beyond his senses. He begins to imagine people and objects even when they are not present-object permanence.

This is a key development in intellectual growth and emotional development.

"As soon as a baby is able of conjuring an image of a person or object in his mind, he is also capable of cognitive thought; remembering, imagining, deductive reasoning and planning."

When an infant develops object permanence he can recall images and take actions based on his recollections.

Does the Forest belong only to the Trees?

A morning walk in the forest revealed an unexpected surprise.

"Look I see a flower," shouted Ava.

"Why is it here?" she asked the teacher. "The forest is only for trees," added another student.

Certainly, for the children, this was an accurate observation since it was in fact the first time that they had ever seen a flower in the forest.

The teacher asked Ava to share her thoughts on the flowers presence in a place that belonged to the trees.

Ava answered, "The forest is green and the flower is purple so it shouldn't be here because it's not green."

What will Ava think when the class returns to the forest and sees all the leaves changing colors.

Squeeze. Poke and Pinch

Clay- Motivation for Thinking and Creativity

Most toddlers, when given a piece of ordinary soft pottery clay, are instinctively motivated to explore its inviting soft and responsive sensory qualities. They poke it, squeeze it, hit it, pick it up and pound it down, and so on. Each time they act on the clay, the clay adjusts and responds. These changes mean very little to us as adults, but for a toddler these changes in the clay are magical. The child is naturally fascinated, motivated, and empowered to keep experimenting.
Every child needs experiences that match his or her developmental level, and a simple piece of soft clay is the perfect match if the child is ready. Children that are old enough to squeeze your finger can squeeze a piece of soft clay. If they can notice a change in the clay, they are learning that their actions have consequences. This encourages more experimentation. The child’s brain is taking shape along with the clay. Such self-initiated activity can be the perfect match for the developmental needs of the child. Clay stimulates the child’s curiosity. Intelligence, imagination, and creativity are engaged and fostered. Many new neurons and synapses in the brain are being generated when a child is engaged by the immediate tactile and visual feedback provided by clay.
Manipulating a piece of clay develops the child’s large and small muscles. Clay play fosters

eye-hand coordination. Soft clay is receptive and responsive to all kinds of emotional expression. Clay is so fascinating that some children work for long periods without any adult motivation to maintain their interest. It can be a great way to extend the attention span of some children.
http://www.bartelart.com/arted/Clay&Toddlers.html

The Spider's Garden Continues

She ran down and they all quickly ran into the garden full of beautiful flowers. Then they saw a huge caterpillar with a pattern on its body. The caterpillar said, "Welcome to our beautiful garden!"

Just then the spider came into the garden and the caterpillar said, "Jump on!"

The Munchkins jumped onto the caterpillar and it moved very fast.

It took them into a part of the garden that had lots of green plants and flowers. The caterpillar said, "Quick hide."

Some Munchkins wrapped themselves in leaves and another one climbed into a butterfly chrysalis. The caterpillar said, "Stay still until the spider leaves."

Finally when the spider left, the Munchkins came out of their hiding places. Slowly the chrysalis began to open and one Munchkin emerged as a beautiful butterfly. "Wow this is really a magical garden," she said.

The Munchkins decided that their day had been very busy and that it was time to go home but the butterfly Munchkin said, "I'm going to stay here and live in the magical garden."

All the other Munchkins waved goodbye and promised to visit often.

The end!

The Spider's Garden

Children have vivid imaginations and they often engage in telling fantastical tales. But how often do those stories come to life?

This group of JK students created an imaginary place of tiny munchkins and giant spiders.

Once upon a time there were some little munchkins that went for a walk in the forest. They had fun walking with their friends, swinging from the tree branches and looking at nature. When they walked down the path they ran into a huge spider and it tried to catch them so he could eat them.

They screamed and tried to run away but one Munchkin got caught in the spider's web because it was blocking the pathway.

It took me four years to paint like Raphael, but a lifetime to paint like a child. Picasso

When we see the work of a child we are sometimes limited in the words needed to capture the beauty produced by such small hands. The heart of the child is always open to the impossible. Deep leaps of faith can produce the extraordinary.

It took me four years to paint like Raphael, but a lifetime to paint like a child.
Pablo Picasso

The Stream

The melting snow from the winter season left behind a slushy mess but not to worry it was a perfect opportunity for Nicholas to work on his engineering skills.
Nicholas discovered a “lake” in the middle of the playground. It’s very design fascinated him because it had a small “island” in the middle. Two small streams branched out at the edge of the “lake.” “We need a bridge here,” said Nicholas.

“What will the bridge be for?” asked the teacher.

“So I can get to the other side,” he replied.
Nicholas found two branches and bridged them across the opening of the two streams. He walked across.

“My bridge is sturdy!” he declared triumphantly.

He then walked along the length of one of the streams. Looking at the water he said, “I want to stop the water.”

“What will you use?” asked the teacher.

He found a few leaves. “These,” he answered.

Nicholas placed them into the water but the depth proved to be too much for the small leaves as they swirled about and sunk to the bottom. He reconsidered his intent and pulled them out of the water taking them to where the stream hit the snow bank.

“Nothing is happening,” he said as he watched the water push against the snow.

It was time for a new plan. He returned to his bridge and removed the larger stick. “I’m going to make the stream longer!” he declared.

Chipping away at the snow he elongated the path for the water until it hit the edge of the garden bed. “Look,” he cried, “the water is following me.”

Bodies In Motion

Can the movements of children's bodies be captured on canvas?

This question posed a definite challenge for the children.

How does it all work? Even at rest our bodies are in constant motion; a slight twitch, the jerk of a knee and even a simple smile require the use of a complex set of muscle movements.

Eden's Theory

The body is made of muscles and bones. They are what make us move. If I dance then my muscles dance too. Big muscles are for big people and little muscles are for kids. I use my muscles and bones for ballet.

We are Children of the World

We all Sing in One Voice

When do young children become aware of others?

Do they understand that the world is vast and there are children everywhere? Do those children laugh and play? Do they have toys, go to school, eat drink and sleep?

At the age of four children do begin to understand "otherness" as they move out of their egocentric worlds and begin to build relationships, form community bonds and sing in one strong voice!

A community project led to the design of this beautiful painting.

What is Community?

Coming from the Latin term meaning “with gifts”, the term suggests a general sense of humanity,
reciprocity and a shared practice of doing good for other that comes from working together for a joint purpose.
“Communities help generate a shared language,
rituals and customs, and a collective memory of those that join the group.”
www.learnactivity.com/community.htlm

If we give credence to the old African proverb that “it takes a village to raise a child” then we can understand the impact that community has in
helping us raise our children.
Children need more that just supportive parents. As they branch outside the home they require a larger network to grow into healthy citizens.
It is a child’s right to expect the community to provide them with safe neighbourhoods, adults who are good role models and dedicated teachers and politicians who keep children's rights at the forefront.
When children feel a connectivity to their
community they are more apt to develop a sense of civic and social responsibility. They build trust, learn to resolve conflicts peacefully and have a genuine sense of caring for others.
As a community of schools within the larger
community of Richmond Hill, we work together to
create a rich context of experiences that define us and support our children to grow into responsible citizens.

The Mural (As dictated by the children)

The alphabet blocks represent children playing, reading and writing-in all languages.

The musical symbols are children singing all over the world;singing in different languages but with one voice.

The butterflies are beautiful creatures that make children happy no matter where they live they can find butterflies.

The flowers smell nice and children around the world want to smell nice flowers and feel happy. Flowers are also beautiful gifts for others.

The red hearts symbolize life and love.

The blue ocean is the color of water. water is the gift of life and a source of energy.

The light blue background helps all children to see clearly so they can find their way home.

The children are holding hands around the earth to protect it from bad things. The are joined in friendship and happiness.

Logical Thinking

We observed Joshua at work at what first appeared to be the simple task of filling the leaves with stones. However, Joshua showed us that his experience was packed with learning.

Joshua covered different size leaves with natural stones.
He tried to count the stones on his two leaves to find out which one had the most, but he could not get a correct number because” the stones were everywhere on the leaf”, so he then decided that if he lined them up, it would be easier to count them.

After placing the stones in two lines and counting 16 for the first leaf and 13 for the second leaf, he commented, “This is bigger!” pointing to the leaf that had the most stones.

Joshua surmised that the larger leaf was able to hold the greater number of stones therefore it was definitely the biggest leaf.