Hello East Plains Co-op Preschool families! I just wanted to post a quick blurb about the changes happening here at East Plains. I appreciate everyone’s patience and support during this transition time. My name is Miss Elizabeth and as you know I am the new teacher here and I am so excited for the rest of the school year. With that being said, I am also still learning where everything is and getting to know all of you! I will be posting on this blog as often as possible but I will get into it more after the March Break. That way I have some time to settle in! Like I said, I appreciate all of the support and patience you have shown. I look forward to a great rest of the year! Thank you!
Time Flies When You are Having Fun
It has been a while since I last updated the blog. My sincere apologies. The children and I have been having so much fun exploring Dinosaurs, that I have lost track of time.
Dinosaurs have definitely been a very exciting focus for us this month. Over the last few days we have become junior paleontologists as we have been searching for and discovering dinosaur bones and fossils. We also have been hatching dinosaur eggs, and today the children were very excited to discover that our eggs had hatched and we now had a baby Brontosaurus and Anklosaurus in our classroom. They are excited to start exploring our dinosaur dig area as well as some dinosaur bones.
The great block experiment.
What a creatively busy morning. The children were very involved in sculpting, building and creating today. Whether they were working at the playdough table the easel or in the block area, there was a lot of problem solving, co-operation and team work to be seen. In the block area especially the children enjoyed building towers and then experimenting with different ways to knock or blow their towers down. Working together, we discovered that waving a book created a breeze, and the blocks would wobble back and forth slightly. We also discovered that by moving the block on the bottom of the tour, the whole tower would come crashing down. We had lots of fun building and experimenting. 
Dinosaur Invasion
The dinosaurs are taking over the classroom here at East Plains Preschool. Not only are they hiding on the toy shelf, but also on the book shelf and in the sensory bin. Today they even invaded the creative table and were playing in the paint!! The children have been having lots of fun exploring with the dinosaurs, reading and talking about them. Today they really enjoyed making dinosaur footprints using the dinosaurs in the paint.
February 3rd, 2015
I am very proud of the children today. We had a little change around snack time today, and they all did so well. Everyone enjoyed the strawberries, cucumbers and pita bread with cream cheese. They remembered to use their manners when asking for more, and when they were done they handed my their dishes before going to find book. They are all growing up so very fast, and they amaze me every day.
At circle time we starting talking about the letter Mm. I call the letter Mm the delicious letter, as it makes the ‘mmmmmmm’ sound. Please encourage your child to find things around them that begin with the letter Mm. We also played Alphabet Bingo this morning. This gave us the opportunity to review letters we have learned. It was quite a wonderful sight to see the letter recognition and matching skills of the children.
I will be emailing the February calendar and newsletter out to everyone this afternoon.
See everyone soon.
Miss Joanne
Playing in the snow
The children had a lot of fun this morning playing in the snow. We took out pails and shovels to dig and build, and spray bottles with paint so we could paint the snow. The children really enjoyed rolling, running and digging. We also went on a track hunt, finding various tracks in the snow, including an elusive bird who kept leaving huge footprints all over the field. Everyone had such a wonderful time.
Playing in the snow
The children were very excited today, when I brought in two large bins filled to the brim with the white, fluffy snow. We put on our mittens, and using scoops and shovels we were able to dig and play in the snow while staying warm and dry indoors. We were hiding dinosaurs, blocks, and other items, as well as making snow balls and building snowmen. Everyone had a wonderful time in the snow. Tomorrow, I hoping to take the children outside, so we can play in the snow behind the church. I have a couple different activities we can try out in the snow as well.
January 23, 2015
It was great to be back today after being off sick for a couple days. The children were happy to see me, and I was definitely happy to see them. We had a lot of fun building, creating, and discovering together today. In the gym, we worked on our balance with the balance beam, wobble boards, and climbing arches. We also had a lot of fun playing hockey and riding bikes and cars.
At circle time this week we have been learning and practicing our shapes. We have been talking about circles, squares, triangles, diamonds and rectangles. Please encourage your child to look for these shapes around the house. We will continue with these shapes next week as well and will be incorporating them into other areas of play.
Wishing everyone a fabulous weekend. See you all on Monday.
Miss Joanne
January 19th, 2015
Tell me, what do you know about ice?
RS: It’s slippery!
C: It’s Cold.
RP: It’s slides like a hockey puck.
Today we explored and painted a large block of ice. Using paint brushes and water colours we made rainbows and other designs on its slippery surface as it slid across the tray. As it melted, we found we had to keep adding more colours and designs. We even had a small hockey game form with our slippery art project. It led to lots of great discussions about ice, cold, and sports.
We started talking about the letter Hh today. In our discussion, we learned that hamburger, hat, and house all begin with the letter Hh. We also practiced our colours, and learned some new shapes today at circle time as well.
Have a wonderful afternoon.
Miss Joanne
The real January 15th, 2015
It looks like I have to learn to read the calendar, as I was convinced yesterday was the 15th!! Oh my!!
Today was such a great day. It was especially nice to be able to get outside and enjoy the sunshine and the snow! The children seemed to have enjoyed it too!! We were all busy running, rolling, and stomping in the snow!! I love being able to get outside and enjoy the fresh air, and it always brings a new perspective to the day! Something I was definitely in need off today!
Inside, the children were having lots of fun building with blocks, doing puzzles, and having a tea party. It was a very constructive sort of day! There was a few little twists, with having circle right after snack, and ending the morning listening to stories in the hallway, but everyone took the small changes like pros!!
Hoping everyone gets out to enjoy the sunshine. I think I may head out for a walk this afternoon when I get home.
See you soon.
Miss Joanne
Classroom Happenings 