Outdoor Kindergarten

The year has flown by and it has been a great one. I’ve loved being your children’s teacher and guide in outdoor exploration. I wish all our families a wonderful summer, spent outside as much as possible! My family and I will be out there, too.

Here’s the schedule for this last short week:

Monday: At FLE. We’ll walk to the Fort Langley Community Park between recess and lunch. Please return any library or home reading books.

Tuesday: At Ponder Park. Remember to carpool if possible, be aware of traffic congestion in the small parking lot.

Wednesday: At FLE. Class clean-up day. Send an extra sturdy bag for all the supplies and school work. Year-end slide shows at 2:15 sharp in Ms Harder’s room (arrive early). We hope you can attend to see all the fun moments captured throughout the year.

Thursday: Report cards issued. Assembly at 9:15 AM. Dismissal at 11:38. Summer Break begins!!

Highlights of last week:

Art in the park, catching crayfish, reflecting on outdoor learning.

 The week ahead at a glance: June 17-21

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday – At the park. On Tuesday, we plan to have a bit longer water play at the creek. I will be in the water to assist in the deep pools if kids are comfortable swimming. There are sections where shorter kids won’t be able to touch.  If they are not able to swim they will still be able to wade in the shallows. Send a swim suit, towel and water shoes if you want to give permission for your child to go for a dip!

Wednesday – Ruth Rissiek’s Retirement Tea – 3-4 pm at Fort Langley Elem. Parents and former students welcome to drop by.

Thursday – At FLE. Send in any library or home reading books. Spud harvest: We’ll be digging up, counting and scrubbing our potatoes and garlic. Look for a notice for what to bring to contribute to a potato feast on Friday afternoon.

Friday – At FLE.  Cooking and eating our potatoes and garlic. Celebrate Aboriginal Day.

Belcarra beach was amazing! So much diversity of life. We came back full of facts and wonders about Salish Sea creatures. Thank you all for getting your kids all the way there and back on a busy weekday.

Students were mesmerized by the first flight of our Painted Lady butterflies. All ten of our caterpillars transformed and flew away over the school garden!

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday – At Williams Park. I will be absent Monday but Ms Sword and the TTOC will take good care of our class.

Thursday, June 13 – Please return all library books. No book exchange on Friday.

Sports Day is on Friday: Hat parade is in the gym in the morning. All encouraged to participate by decorating a hat with their team colours. Here is the hot dog pre-order form – there will also be a concession available at lunch time. Orders are due on Wednesday, June 12 at the office.

Monday, June 3 – Belcarra – Meet at the Belcarra beach picnic area (at the ocean) in Port Moody. Be sure to pack lunch, water, water shoes or sandals and closed-toe shoes as well for walking on trails, a change of clothes and a small towel in case they get very wet. Students can bring a beach play toy if they like (we have some buckets and shovels to share as well). It’s a muddy beach, not a sandy beach. Metro Parks is presenting Seashore Sleuths in the afternoon. We will follow regular school hours.

Tuesday-Wednesday, June 4 – 5 Aldergrove Park

Thursday, June 6 – At FLE – Tap Co performance

Friday, June 7 – Family Reading, last library book exchange

Upcoming Dates:

Mon-Wed – June 10, 11, 12, 17, 18, 19 – Williams Park

Thurs, June 13 – please return all library books by this date

Fri, June 14 – Sports Day – wear team colours, decorate a hat for the hat parade

Wed, June 19 – Ruth Rissiek’s Retirement Tea in the library

Tuesday, June 25 – Ponder Park

Last day Thursday June 27 dismissal at 10:30

I hope everyone enjoyed the long weekend! I was so relaxed I forgot to update the website!

Here’s the plan for the week:

• Tuesday – well that was a fun day at the park – students explored at the pond, shared our discoveries, created their own Very Hungry ____ story, and learned what is a samara and how does it fly?
• Wednesday – the plan is to visit the Nature House and then have our BBQ lunch and continue working on the Very Hungry ____ stories. We bid farewell to beloved Campbell Valley Park.
• Thursday – Home reading book exchange – send mailbags, drama presentation from Ms Evans Gr.6/7 class.
• Friday – Hot lunch (twice in one week, yahoo!), Family Reading, Library, Presentation about Africa and water **** Parent Appreciation**** coffee and cookies at the front of the school on Friday – please come and read, then enjoy a treat on us! I am so appreciative of your support for our school and the outdoor program. It takes extra commitment and effort to drive your child to the different parks and get them ready to learn no matter what the weather.  So thank you!!!

Requests Coming Up!

• Recycled containers and materials – we need new bug boxes – medium sized margarine or yogurt containers work well. Also for our ocean themed activities in June, we’ll be making creatures out of recyclables. So send a variety – paper towel tubes, plastic bags, bottles, plastic plates etc. One grocery bag full per child should give us lots of creative options.
• June 3 at Belcarra Park. Does anyone have a crab trap we could borrow? I’d love to show the kids how big crabs can get and how the crab fishers measure them.

It was a busy week! Thanks to all the parents/grandparents who made it in to listen to our Readers’ Theatre performances and to read with their child. The students were so proud. They also enjoyed doing activities with their stuffed animals – we had quite a variety, and only 1 bear! Our hatchery tour was a success also, and we dissected and made art from a salmon so plenty to remember about this week.  I’ve been teaching about healthy bodies and private areas, personal safety and trusted adults. Kids in the know is the online source for parents to follow up on what is taught in class.

Next week, we are at the park Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday – sunny warm days ahead, yahoo! So far the mosquitoes haven’t been too bad but there are quite a few bees and wasps around so maybe pack insect repellent.

A beautiful grove of fruit trees was in full blossom at Salmon River Wetlands.

Looking ahead at May 6-10:

• Monday – at the park. Please be sure you have paid the $2 field trip fee online. The office (and teacher) is not set up to receive cash. Sorry for any inconvenience! Today at the park I will lead a salmon dissection to learn about their amazing features and adaptations.
• Tuesday – at FLE. Bus for the Nicomekl field trip leaves at 10 AM. There will be room for any and all parents who would like to attend so please arrive at 9:45 AM if you signed up to join us. We will return before 12:20.
• Wednesday – at the park. LEPS will teach a workshop about frogs.
• Thursday – at FLE. Early dismissal for collaboration at 1:36. Last one of the year!
• Friday – at FLE.
  • Family Reading 8:51-9:15. Please come if you can. Our students would like to perform their Readers’ Theatre Nursery Rhymes for you! They’ve been practicing hard and are proud of their reading skills.
  • Teddy Bear day – students welcome to bring a teddy to school to do activities with. (Measuring, sorting, writing, reading, picnic, playing)
  • Hot lunch
  • Happy Mother’s Day on Sunday to all the moms in our community! I appreciate all you do to help your kids learn at their best!

Monday we planted seeds in our school garden. Amid the strawberries that seem to be taking over and the garlic and daffodils we planted last fall, we added runner beans, snow peas and sunflowers. We also had an Aboriginal cultural presentation about board games using traditional materials like shells, bones, sticks and deer hide.  I think we have been inspired to make our own games!

Tuesday we meet at Lelam cafe on Billy Brown Road and walk the Fort to Fort trail to the Salmon River Wetlands Park. There, we’ll explore a beaver pond, who knows, maybe we’ll spot the busy beavers. Our learning will include how to design and build a structure like a beaver, using sticks, clay and grasses. We’ll return to the cafe area for pick-up.

Wednesday is a day to explore the services and jobs that help make our community strong. Our route will take us through town in approximately a 2 km loop. We’ll be gone from about 9:30 AM until around noon, returning to the school for lunch and the afternoon.

Thursday – please return the permission form for the May 7 field trip to Nicomekl Hatchery today, and pay $2 online by Monday, May 6. Thank you!

Friday – Professional Day – I’ll be working on teaching literacy and social-emotional learning.

See you at CV Park on Monday.

Highlights from last week:

A sleepy wet bumblebee that was ‘rescued’ (she eventually recovered and flew away), a frog egg mass, and the largest tadpole I’ve ever seen!!

Highlights:

Last week, we decorated rocks for Easter, learned about rabbits and hares, hunted eggs, and practiced using a compass. Walnut Grove Secondary students taught about plastic pollution and how it affects wildlife, especially in the oceans. Earth Day is a great time to think about our choices as a part of the problem or the solution to environmental issues. And also to just enjoy and celebrate how beautiful and wonderful our little corner of the planet is.

The week ahead at a glance: April 23-26

• Tuesday & Wednesday – at the park. Weather looks pretty dry! Learning themes include Earth Day, reading nursery rhymes, observing animal behaviour and measurement.
• Thursday – Home reading book exchange.
• Friday – Family Reading 8:51-9:15, Crazy Hair Day, Hot lunch, Library

Learning with a sense of place and time allows students to connect to their senses, memories and emotions. We are enjoying all the new life that is springing up – students are learning to identify wildflowers, shrubs, ducks, birds, insects and amphibians as they come across them in the park. We are also enjoying re-visiting our favourite places like the Listening Bridge, the Race Track and the Frog Pond.  Lucky us!

Reminders to pack in the backpack for wet, cool spring weather:

• Extra socks, shirt and pants
• Toque
• Gloves and hand warmers
• Poncho or garbage bag for emergency dry layer.
• Plastic bags for inside wet boots

The week ahead at a glance: April 15-19

• Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday – At the park. Learning about rabbits and decorating rocks for Easter. Also starting Readers’ Theatre, mapping and using a compass.
• Thursday – At the school. Home Reading Book Exchange.
• Friday – Good Friday, no school. Enjoy the long weekend, Happy Easter! See you all on Tuesday, April 23 at the park.
• Saturday, April 20 – Community Event – I will be volunteering at the Yorkson Fish Release. Join in the fun at Derby Hills Park on 98 Ave at 11 AM. Wear boots, it’s very wet and mucky!