Week Thirty: Nature Walks and Flower Shops
It is finally starting to feel like spring out there, with warmer temperatures, plants starting to bloom, and birds singing in the sky. We were so happy to get outside this week for Outdoor Ed., recesses, and an end-of-week ravine hike. This week there were also outdoor weddings, rooftop chalk drawings, and multiple birthdays celebrated. We took a trip to Yonge Street to buy some plants for the living window, and the girls ended up receiving a surprise gift. Enjoy the pictures from our wonderful week together.
AB and AK collaborate at the Building centre to make a marble run. They realize that the marbles keep bouncing out at the end and find some creative ways to keep the marbles from spilling all over the classroom.
N spends time at the beginning of Outdoor Ed. on her "sit-spot" observing her surroundings. The girls have the options to write or draw in their notebooks about the things they smell, see, hear, and touch while they spend time on their spot. It is a mindful moment that we start most of our O.Ed. classes with.
N offers around cupcakes for her birthday while we are in the ravine. The girls enjoy her tasty treat while listening to a story and breathing in fresh air.
We made it back to the stairs on our hike out of the ravine. They pose in their power poses while we wait for everyone to catch up.
O uses the template as a model and tries to replicate the design on the mirror surface.
N is building a long, long subway train, similar to the TTC subways. After building all of the cars, N fills each one with animals going about their daily business.
A finishes adding feet to the spider she is designing using pattern blocks. She explains to us that a spider has eight legs.
After our trip to the plant store, the woman working there gave each of the girls a rose to take home. Thank you for this act of kindness!
The girls wanted to sketch and paint pictures of their roses. O observes all of the details on the petals and leaves and adds them into her sketch with fine-tip Sharpie.
A paints the cover of the card she is making for her parents. She wants to express her love and gratitude to both parents with this handmade card.
A is the caller for a spontaneous game of Sight Word Bingo. One word at a time, she calls out the sight word and then matches it on her tracking board.
O and N cover the sight words that A calls out, hoping to fill up their entire cards. This game is so much fun to play at this time of the year because the girls are confident reading most of these words by sight (or memory).
G (grade 1) traces A's body and then makes the tracing into a butterfly. Everyone is so happy that the temperatures are warmer and the weather has been dry enough to bring the chalk outside at recess.
A is making her own hopscotch game on the roof for her friends to use while they are at recess or outdoor learning time.
Z (grade 2) officiates a wedding between O and C (grade 2). The aisle is scattered with beautifully-drawn flowers, there is a welcome sign, and the audience is all there.
N enjoys some creative learning time at the Light Table this morning. She has all the kids at school and they are getting presents for Mother's Day.
A stacks up the pattern block designs that she is making, one-by-one. She tells me that this way you can look in and see all of the patterns, but they're also on top of each other.
A is creating a house for babies while she spends time at the Art and Light centre. First she attaches the cardboard, and then she adds paint to the exterior.
O peers through the tube to see where the marbles will end up when she drops them through the tube.
We are off on our ravine hike and the girls are feeling strong as they climb over the uneven rocks. There is nothing better than getting outside on a Friday afternoon and spending time surrounded by nature.
A feels the soft moss covering the ground. We notice that there is moss growing in a lot of different spots: tree trunks, rocks, the ground, and more. The common theme is that everywhere that moss is growing feels damp.
The Early Learners sketch the Yellow Creek from the vantage point of the small bridge that goes across it.
Their chalk pastel sketches are coming along beautifully. AB's and N's both show the Yellow Creek and the rocks, while AK's sketch is a picture of the sprouts and moss we have seen along the way.