Week One: Beginning our Journey Together

On Wednesday morning, four curious young girls walked into the Early Learning classroom and became Linden girls. These girls were excited to look around their new environment, talk to each other about the things they had in common, and explore the inviting materials. The girls quickly immersed themselves in learning through play at each of our learning centres - Drama, Math, Communication, Art, Nature, and Building. When we met together at the end of the day on Friday to discuss our "Special Moments of the Week", the girls shared some memorable experiences. GM said that she enjoyed the park and climbing. GK noted "I liked doing the adventures with me (and Gidgit) and my friends from the class. I liked playing with my friends." Z informed us that she liked the learning centres and going outside, and added, "I had fun at the Math Centre and having a snack and all of the other centres". Last but not least, M shared that she liked the Drama Centre and also playing with her friends. As you can tell, the girls saw each other as friends by the end of the first week, and that their memorable moments included many diverse experiences.

Please enjoy our photo story of the wonderful first week we had together below. 

Z is using name cards to write each person's name in the Communication Centre. She followed this up with adding colour to her letters, and leaving copies in the girls' mailboxes.

G is focused on stacking the dowels and wooden rounds. As she stacks them she is also counting how many can fit on one stick.

G is using the magnifying glass as well as her eyes to look closely at the leaves that we gathered from the park that are now displayed in the Nature Centre. She notices that the leaf is a different shape from the other ones, and has lines on it too.

Z is spending her time in the Drama Centre, using a variety of costumes to help her take on different roles. She has settled back into her "casual wear," and is exploring the cash register and credit card.

M is working at the Math Centre. She chose to make a pattern "orange-yellow-orange-yellow" out of linking cubes. When she had finished her pattern, she found the colours she needed to draw her pattern as well.

Z is also working with new materials at the Math Centre, but has chosen to mix them all together into a "soup" and then to sort them out back into their respective containers. She has named some of the items her "secret ingredients."

M is exploring the diverse and inviting materials available in the Nature Centre. She has chosen to incorporate the shapes of rocks and shells into a picture. First, she traces the outline of the objects, and then she observes them closely to add details to her drawings.

M works on a watercolour and oil pastel piece of art with her name on it in Brie's art class.

M and G are playing the parts of "princess" and "mom" in the Drama Centre. They are negotiating the roles that each girl has.

Z is engaged in our morning reading routine: as the girls enter the classroom in the morning, they first "check in," and then find a book to read (the words or pictures) independently or with a friend. Sometimes we read stories together as we wait for all of the girls to arrive. Z is looking through Where the Wild Things Are. 

G is responding to the prompt "Can you create beautiful letters?" Here she is working with pink and purple pompoms to cover the letter B (upper case and lower case).

G spends time in the Drama Centre exploring the cash register. She eventually made "fruit soup" and was selling it to other members of the class.

Z and M work cooperatively to move the writing cart over to the Nature Centre. Z is interested in adding colour to her sketches of the leaves and shells, and needed an extra hand to navigate the cart around the carpet. 

G, Z, and M hold the railing as they walk across a human-made bridge in the Rosehill Reservoir ravine. G and I are following them, ensuring that they are moving safely.

The girls are using their magnifying glasses to get up close to the flowers they found in the ravine, and are observing the finer details. G finds it extra helpful to keep the magnifying glass close up to her face, while Z prefers to hold it farther away to get a good look.

Thank you for a wonderful week!

Savannah