Snow-vember Highlights: Whimsical Winter Fun, International Kindness Day, and Special News!

November was full of fun, and an early winter wonderland! The days were getting shorter, but we went outside when we could and explored the changing world as the fallen leaves become frostbitten then covered in snow! It’s crucial for kids to stay active during this transitional month, so we made sure there were tons of activities inside and out!

“Parents definitely have to get more creative with how they are going to keep their kids moving during the wintertime. I think we need to get our kids unplugged. They may not be able to go outside, but they don’t need to be sedentary.” – Phyllis Townsend, Pediatric Associates of Franklin.

Before we get into the highlights of the month, we have amazing news! We did it!! Discovery-Harvie Road now has a defibrillator onsite! All staff will be receiving a refresher course on how to use the machine. We will be arranging an infant/child/adult CPR course for any interested families to be held at Discovery in the new year. Stay tuned for details via email or follow our facebook page, Discovery Child Care, for updates. Thank you to all the families and friends who helped make this happen!

Food for our Forest Friends!

We took our carved pumpkins to the forest with us yesterday. At circle, we talked about why we brought them. Instead of sending our pumpkins to the landfill or to be composted, we decided that they would be great food for the animals in the forest.

We decided to break them up to be sure the animals wouldn’t get stuck on them. Our friends quickly got to work finding sticks which they used to poke the pumpkins, but those pumpkins were tough!

JL and DF came up with the idea of rolling them off the boulders to see if that would help. They worked together to roll and then lift the heavy pumpkin onto the boulder before letting it roll off the side. After a few attempts, the pumpkin finally cracked! This was so exciting! They worked at this for a very long time, eventually getting that pumpkin to crack in half!

Meanwhile, RC was hard at work using two sticks to make the carved holes larger. She placed one stick in the eye hole and used another as a hammer to push the stick into the pumpkin even farther, prying at the opening as she went. She worked very hard all morning at this, taking turns with her friends along the way. We know that the animals will appreciate all of our hard work and we can’t wait to see what is left of them when we return to the forest.

Popsicle Stick Ice Cubes

Steph froze water with food colouring and popsicle sticks. Once they were good and frozen, we took them out into the Nature Classroom. Once outside, the preschoolers were able to explore these interesting ice cubes in the freshly fallen snow!

We were pretty excited and eager to get a turn. The ice cubes started to melt after they came out of the freezer, so the color began to melt off. O.G noticed the color started melting as she rubbed the cube in the snow.

Meanwhile, B.F said, “Look Steph! I’m making music!” as he banged two ice cubes together. The Preschoolers took turns with all the different color ice cubes, rubbing them on the snow, using them as shovels, making music, stirring snow and attempting to colour the shed with them. S.M observed her ice cube and asked, “How did it turn orange?” We wondered if this activity will spark a new curiosity with the Preschoolers about flavors.

One day, we thought we were having green apples for snack, but they were actually green pears. We’re hoping to do a science experiment with the Preschoolers about similar looking fruit. grapefruit vs orange, red apple vs yellow apple, lemon vs lime and green grapes vs red grapes…who knows…maybe we will even be able to find the grapes that taste like cotton candy! Stay tuned!

International Kindness Day (BBP)

Yesterday was International Kindness Day! We took this opportunity to talk about what kindness looks like to us at daycare.

In the morning the children in both classrooms decorated signs and love notes with examples of how they are kind. We went on a Kindness parade outside and the toddlers marched with their signs proudly!

We are going to continue to talk about Kindness and how we see kindness in our communities and in our homes. It’s a good day to do something for someone for no reason ! Spread Kindness today and every day! <3

A snowy week in Kindergarten!

The Kinders were so happy to see all the snow we got last week. We could not wait to get out there to play in it. We bundled up nice and warm and made our way out to the Nature Classroom, grabbing a couple of sleds along the way.

The Kinders were amazed at how much snow was out there. It was a little hard to maneuver around but that didn’t stop them. Some of our friends started to “snow plow” their way through all the snow using their hands and feet as the plow. E and P started brushing the snow off of the house, as well as the big rock and stumps. They worked very hard to remove all the snow. S and R were trying to pull each other in the sleds. D noticed that they were having some difficulty because the snow was so deep, so he went over as well as some other friends. They all grabbed a section of the rope and pulled with all their might to get the sled moving.

Our friends worked together as a team and got it moving with lots of laughs along the way. Our friends were having so much fun playing in the snow, we decided that we would bring some of it in the classroom after lunch. We put snow in the water table along with some shovels, pails, scoops, and cups. We added some squirt bottles with coloured water. The Kinders really enjoyed colouring the snow and mixing and making new colours. They made snow castles, and ice cream cones adding different colours to their creations.

We came out to a light snowfall one morning and noticed a wonderful surprise-bunny tracks!!! Chelsa and some friends went for a walk around the box and stumbled across some bunny tracks. They followed the tracks to see where they were going and came across some bunny poop and a sumac that had been chewed. Our friends also noticed a small hole right by the fence. They wondered if that’s where the bunny got in and out. S was so excited she came back around to get Lisa and some of her other friends to show them. While we were looking at those tracks, Chelsa hollered over that she and some friends had found lots of tracks by the tennis court fence. There were so many of them going in all directions. What an exciting find. We can’t wait to see what other tracks we come across this winter.

Toddlers explore snow!

Last week the Toddlers got their real first taste of winter weather. It always seems to come as a big surprise. It’s like learning to walk all over again as they navigate their bodies through the deep snow. It’s also a big challenge for them to gain their sense of equilibrium as they walk on a variety of snow covered surfaces. Good thing they will get lots of practice in our typical Canadian winter weather!

The toddler’s did enjoy being pulled in the sleds. They also enjoyed sitting in the sleds and going down the hill. What fun!! Although the toddlers had difficulty using their hands to pick up the snow, they did compensate and used a scooping motion to gather snow. This works!!

C.Er, J.F, A.S and L.B talked about making a snow castle. They worked together to fill a crate with snow and then dump it out. They enjoyed watching the big block of snow slide out of the crate. In an instant, all the toddlers came stomping on the block of snow and just as fast it was gone! In an effort to support their desire to touch and explore the snow we brought it inside. The toddlers each had a tray with spoons, scoops and several transparent containers of varying sizes. We added a few drops of food coloring and let them go at it.

Of course some of them ate the snow! Who hasn’t eaten snow as a child? And we are all still alive! C.K used a scoop to fill a cup with red colored snow. She piled it up right to the top of her cup saying, “I made ice cream.” She made one for Pietra and then one for herself. I asked her what flavour of ice cream she was making. She said, “I making a strawberry one.” Yummy!! C.K and I gently tapped our containers together and said, “Cheers!” N.E used her fingers to push the snow down into her container. I guess the sensation startled her as she looked at her fingers and said, “Cold….cold!” It’s funny because she kept doing this and repeating the word cold over and over.
Join us next month for our festive activities! If you’re interested in one of your children joining Discovery Child Care, feel free to book a tour or contact us. We’re excited to meet you!