The high wind gusts kept us from the forest on Tuesday but the kinders made the best of the circumstances. We came together to talk about the change in plans and to create a new plan for our morning together. Collectively, the children opted to take a walk offsite to see what we notice and to play amongst the white pines just outside of the forest. We headed off on this new type of adventure and it wasn’t long before we began to notice animal evidence in the neighbourhood. We began to spot nests of different sizes in the trees and, once we noticed one, we noticed many! There were bird nests i ..read more

WHY:  Gardening with children can be a fun and educational activity that provides numerous benefits. Here are some reasons why gardening with children is important: Educational benefits: Gardening provides children with a hands-on learning experience about the natural world. Children can learn about plant growth and development, the role of pollinators, and the importance of soil health.  Encourages healthy eating habits: When children participate in gardening, they are more likely to eat fruits and vegetables, which can help establish healthy eating habits that can last a ..read more

The kinders have been rediscovering the wonders of gardening even as the earth rests for the winter. While exploring outside together, BW, HV and CL found some white little “things” near the end of the skating rink, under some brush.  “I found Something!” called BW.  When April ventured closer to see what they had discovered, she wondered aloud what they now held in their hands.  They were small, white and a little bit hard.  The first guess the children had was that they may be rocks.   As they continued to search for more together, they made their way to the fen ..read more

The kinders were really excited about the fire and storytelling that was planned  as part of our Walk for Wenjack. We noticed though,  that we had gotten a little low on kindling for starting the fire and wondered about getting some from the forest (just enough) to help us with this problem.  The children shared their ideas about what they know: “Every stick is a home for a bug” and “Things in the forest should stay there because that is where they belong”, before we introduced the concept of reciprocity.  The children were right.  Things from the forest do belong ther ..read more

Jessica Holder RECE, BSc, Forest School Practitioner & Karen Eilersen RECE, Forest School Practitioner Given that this article focuses on the outdoor natural environment, it is important to acknowledge the land our Discovery childcare centre is situated on. “This land was occupied by the Huron-Wendat Nation. Huron was a name given by the French meaning “boar’s head” in reference to their hairstyle. Wendat is how they called themselves meaning the “People of the Island.” The Huron Wendat families and strong clans were guided by great diplomatic tradition and their ability to achieve compro ..read more

The Kinders have experienced their first harvest of the season!  We were delighted to discover just a few ripe strawberries in our very hot and very humid  patch but, as you’ll see, this isn’t really about the strawberries but, rather, where the discovery of exactly seven ripe strawberries combined with emergent learning can lead our program to go and grow over just a small portion of our day. Naturally, it began with a visit to our garden after a trip to the forest.  It was hot, the air was sticky and we only intended to pop in to have a look before heading indoors to cool off ..read more

A stick, a branch, a log.   These parts of trees that once stood tall and mighty are some of the natural loose parts our Kindergarten children have been drawn to over the course of our time together.  While the children are very unique and have a unique array of skills, ideas and interests on any given day, the use of these three things has remained constant for as long as I can recall.  After observing the children in the forest one particular day, I really considered this. The play, the learning, the wonder, the experimentation and the joy (and the sheer amount of these ..read more

The  children have been delighting in their reciprocal relationship with winter birds.  The children sing in the forest;  the birds sing back to us, the  children offer nourishment to the birds in the form of sunflower seeds; they, in turn, nourish the curiosity of the children and their desire to be closer to the birds by gracing us with their presence and filling our senses as they accept our offerings.  I have been really in awe, watching this relationship seemingly naturally take root and flourish and I have also been gifted the opportunity to observe the many ways ..read more

I was inspired to share a recent experience that I had while observing children engaged in playful learning experiences in our kindergarten program. I am always amazed at the lessons we can learn about ourselves when we are co-learning with children. I am always amazed at the lessons about life and the world we hope to create when we listen to and notice the wisdom that children innately have to offer us. In this experience I noticed how the children naturally exhibited what we grownups call democracy. This experience had me reflecting on the dispositions we wish to model for our children and ..read more

I have been privileged enough to spend the week of November 30-December 4, 2020 in the preschool program. I spent the days working, learning, and noticing alongside Angie, Lisa, and Sam.  I noticed how the educators have a passion for connecting children with their space. We had conversations about creating engaging, magical moments for all of the children while they are here. When I sat with the children the values of wonder and awe were evident when I heard children using language such as: I wonder, and I noticed… It became glaringly evident to me how passionate the educators are about ..read more