Outdoor Kindergarten

Last week’s cold weather helped bring new ways to play and enjoy the outdoors. In Science this term, the focus is on materials: sorting, describing, transforming, and using our senses to explore them. We were lucky enough to have all three phases of water to discover outside: fog, ice, and rain!

Observations: Ice is brittle: sometimes it breaks off in fun shapes like dinosaurs! Ice floats: if you have patience you can fish in an icy puddle! Slush is soft: you can sculpt it into a snow volcano!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The week ahead: January 17-21

Inspired by the tugs, barges, speedboats, and the patrol boat that we watched on the river, this week we’ll explore how boats are useful, and what shapes, sizes and materials are most buoyant.

• Monday – at the park.
• Tuesday – at the park. Boat-making day! Please send along a recyclable container of your child’s choice for a boat and string so we can experiment with buoyancy in the puddles.
• Wednesday – at FLE. Home reading books sent home (let’s try again!)
• Thursday – at FLE. Library book exchange.
• Friday – at FLE.

This week is our first time together in a long while! A whole new year, a new park (and a new Covid-19 variant, too).

In preparation for our days outside this week, please go through your child’s backpack and re-stock with extra layers, extra gloves and socks, hand warmers, a dry cloth, hand sanitizer, and a whistle. Since water taps may off, please send enough water for drinking and rinsing hands.

Home reading begins this week. Each week, students will take home one or two little beginning reader books in their mailbag. They should return these the next week. More information about the purpose and method of home reading will be sent home.

The week at a glance: Jan.10 – 14

• Monday – At the park. Drop off and pick up is at the picnic shelter. Please park and walk to meet your child.
• Tuesday – At the park.
• Wednesday – At FLE. Home reading begins.
• Thursday – At FLE. Library book exchange.
• Friday- At FLE.

Due to the Omicron variant surge, schools are delaying starting back until January 10 for most students. Stay safe, everyone!

Last week’s snow fall offered a wonderful new way to play. Students also enjoyed wondering and predicting how long it would take for snow to melt inside our classroom. At the Fort and Museum, students learned about the life of early settlers and Indigenous people. Our class looked and sang like busy elves at the Christmas concert filming. We are looking forward to seeing the video!

The week ahead: Dec. 13-17

*Please let me know if your child’s last day of school is before Friday. I will make sure they have all their belongings and Christmas crafts with them.

Monday – Community Walk and Christmas Decoration Scavenger Hunt. Please dress students for a snowy outdoor day as we will leave in the AM and be back around lunch.

Tuesday – At FLE. Christmas crafts with our big buddies!

Wednesday – At FLE.

Thursday – At FLE. Library Book return. Student will not borrow a new book today. Reindeer games outside on the school grounds (winter-themed relays and activities)

Friday – At FLE. Pyjama Day. We’ll relax, play, stay cozy and watch “Olive the Other Reindeer”.

Happy Holidays, everyone! See you in the New Year!

Any day this week, students can show off their Christmas flare! Santa hats, elf ears, red and green clothing etc.

• Monday, Dec. 6 – At FLE. Potential to play in the snow – dress students for the weather! Please be sure you have paid for our field trip on School Cash Online. Thank you! At the end of the day, I will have a selection of tags from our ‘Giving Tree’ available for you to take home at our door. Items need to be dropped off at the school foyer by Friday, Dec. 10.
• Tuesday, Dec. 7 – At FLE. Walking Field Trip 9:30-2:30. Students need a mask with them for the museum visit. Gloves and toques for the outdoor portion of the day.
• Wednesday, Dec. 8 – At FLE. Christmas Concert videotaping. Students should wear their ‘Christmas Best’ for the concert taping.
• Thursday, Dec. 9 – At FLE. Library book exchange. Fun Lunch.
• Friday, Dec. 10 – At FLE. Report cards issued. Giving Tree items due.

Last week, we ventured down to see the creek after the big storm. It had changed course a bit, creating a new rocky beach big enough for our whole class to enjoy! The students were concerned to find salmon eggs in the sand beside the stream. It was heartwarming to see them work together to carefully dig them out and return them to the water. We also saw one big spawning salmon, floating upside down in the last stages of life. I was so proud of the empathy and curiosity that students showed for the fish. I heard comments like “Look at all the pretty colours on it”, “Is it hibernating?”, “I think it’s still alive!” Moments like that show that we are succeeding in mentoring kids to care for and appreciate nature!

The week ahead: Nov. 29-Dec.3

• Monday – Roasting day at the park! Send something for your child to roast over the fire for lunch. Please send an extra marshmallow in case of dropping or burning, and also some other snacks that don’t require roasting.
• Tuesday – Hopefully our last day at the park if it’s not too windy/rainy. We’ll email if any change is necessary. We hope to make seed treats for the birds.
• Wednesday – At FLE. Fun lunch day. Music. We’re practicing for the concert filming next week!
• Thursday – At FLE.
• Friday – At FLE. We’ll get outside for a walk if possible.

* Looking ahead to next week – Field trip to Centennial Museum and Fort Langley Historic Site on Tuesday, Dec. 7. Please pay on School Cash Online when you receive the email notification.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last week’s Beaver Moon gave us a great reason to learn and play with a beaver theme. Students enjoyed being a part of puppet shows at our outdoor ‘stage’! Indoors, our classroom got a little upgrade – a car ramp has been an exciting addition to play time! I spent time this weekend viewing spawning Coho salmon in West Munday Creek in Walnut Grove. No matter how many times I see them, it is always an amazing sight.

The week ahead: Nov. 22-26

Learning themes include story telling with leaf creations, counting doubles with natural objects.

• Monday – in the park
• Tuesday – in the park
• Wednesday – at FLE. Fun lunch rescheduled to Dec. 1
• Thursday – at FLE. Library Book Exchange.
• Friday – at FLE. Community Walk. Details will be emailed.

Have we had enough rain yet? Puddles will be plentiful this week, so we’ll make mud pies, mud paintings and read stories about mud and rain!

• Monday: At the park. At school due to wind.
  
• Tuesday: At the park.
• Wednesday: At FLE.
• Thursday: At FLE. Library book exchange.
• Friday: At the park.

Have a wonderful week! Enjoy the photos of one of the postcards students made for veteran Great-Papa Charlie.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are some of the investigations we got up to last week! Leaves were turned into different creatures as we had fun learning about our deciduous tree neighbours in the park. We dissected wasp nests and discovered how they live in hexagon apartments 3 stories high, covered in paper layers. Amazing how they are so sturdy! On Friday, students showed fantastic fitness and good safety as we ventured to the beach and back. A lot of fun was had in the sand, including making volcanoes.

LEAP in the News! Check it out! Langley Advance Times

The week at a glance: Nov. 8-12

Our learning theme this week is peace. How can we help create peace? What does peace mean to you? How can we show respect to those who fought for our peace and freedom?

*We are watching the windy weather forecast and will email in the mornings if there is a need to change to indoors on Monday or Tuesday.

• Monday – At the park. Poppies will be created and added to a class wreath for our school assembly. We’ll write postcards for veterans with big buddies.
• Tuesday – At the park. LEAP classes will come together for a Remembrance Day Assembly outside.
• Wednesday – At FLE. Fun lunch day.
• Thursday – Remembrance Day.
• Friday – No school for students. Report Card Preparation Day for teachers.

Enjoy a peaceful weekend.

I hope everyone enjoyed Halloween. We had beautiful weather to be outside this weekend! Last week, students had so much fun at the pumpkin patch. Back in class, we counted and compared seeds from two pumpkins, by counting groups of 10 on sticky notes with our big buddies’ help, we got to 331 and 910 seeds! Students also enjoyed making up spooky stories with loose parts.

The week ahead: Nov. 1-5

Our nature  learning this week will centre around salmon and other animals that migrate, like geese. We’ll venture down the big hill on Monday or Tuesday to check for salmon in the creek, so please send kids in boots and rain pants even though it looks sunny!

• Monday – At the park
• Tuesday – At the park
• Wednesday – At FLE
• Thursday – At FLE (library book exchange)
• Friday – Drop off and Pick up at FLE. Walking to a local park