Cascade Heights StrongStart

learning in the spirit of wonder and joy

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Goodbye for Now…

Please join me in the last video before we say our goodbyes for Summer break.

Click HERE to sing a long with me:)

Felt Story:  Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? is written and illustrated by Eric Carle and Bill Martin Jr.  Published by Doubleday & Company.

(The blog posts with “Storytime” videos will be only be available to view until June 30th.)

 

Dearest StrongStart Families,

Wow, it is the end of the 2019/2020 school year already.  What a year it has been.  It was a strange year indeed and an even stranger way to say goodbye to you, my wonderful StrongStart families.

Firstly, I would like to send my best wishes to all the children graduating from StrongStart and moving on to Kindergarten in the Fall of 2020.  It has been an honour all these years of watching you learn and grow.  This is the best and sweetest part of my job, being part of this process and your journey.  Thank you.  Thank you for letting me be a part of it all.  I know you will be AWESOME in Kindergarten.  I know you will make friends, learn lots and enjoy your first year of school.

Secondly, I want to thank all of you, the parents, caregivers and grandparents for attending StrongStart with your children.  I love that, not only do I get to know your children, but you as well.  I have learned so much from you all and for that, I am grateful.  So many relationships have been built in our classroom.  We have built such a welcoming and supportive community and it’s all thanks to you.

Thirdly, please stay connected with the Burnaby School District website for all updates pertaining to StrongStart and when we will be opening.

 

I sincerely wish you all a most wonderful summer.  Enjoy spending time outdoors and connecting with nature.  Take advantage of all that the great outdoors has to offer.  I look forward to lots of hikes with my own boys and exploring our beautiful city with new eyes.  There are so many things to be grateful for.  Big or small, I hope it brings you joy this summer!

 

Stay safe, be kind and have fun!

With love and a big virtual hug,

Ms. Elizabeth

Stand Up and Sing!

Let’s all stand up and sing together.

Click HERE to sing and move along with me.

 

Sensory Bins:

Here are some simple ideas to try at home.

Use a large food container, a tray, shoebox, rubbermaid container or even a large stainless steel bowl.

Add some spoons, smaller containers such as medicine cups, laundry cups, cut up egg cartons, fruit/yogurt cups and lids.  I’ve also added tweezers and measuring cups.

The ice tray is another great medium to add to promote sorting, classification, counting and pattern making.

Use natural materials such as pinecones, sticks, seashells and rocks.

Seashells, clasps from bread packaging, buttons, pompoms are other ideas to toss in for sorting.

 

Filler ideas for Sensory bins:

Small rocks – I purchased these from the Dollar store.  Use larger rocks found on your walks or garden.

I added dinosaurs, pinecones, sticks and greenery to make this playscape.  You can also use potting soil or sand instead of the rocks and add farm animals, bugs, small cars/construction toys to change it up.

 

Here I used black beans in one and corn kernels in the other.  You can use these over and over, just make sure to store them in an airtight container/bag.

With the black beans, I added a scoop, mini gardening shovel, and a wooden spoon (all from the Dollar Store).  These are a great investment as they can be used over and over for other activities.  Add some paper pots and a mini clay pot with some artificial flowers and greenery for another experience.  Giving children the opportunity to scoop and pour different types of materials helps with their fine motor skills and eye-hand coordination.  If you come up with other ideas you’ve tried at home, please share!

 

Dearest Daddies,

May you have a wonderful, special day full of deserving love, hugs and adoration!

The job of being a parent is never ending but so gratifying at the same time.  You get to witness your child as they learn, grow and thrive under your guidance, love and support.

 

Much love,

Ms. Elizabeth

 

A Little Peace

 

Click HERE to join me in reading “A Little Peace.”

Written by Barbara Kerley

Published by National Geographic Society

We will also be singing: “If You’re Happy and You Know it!”

and “Cock-o-doodle-doo!

 

Prints Using Toilet Paper Rolls:

Try using your toilet paper rolls as a medium for making prints/stamps.  Here I shaped one into a heart and an oval/leaf.  I used scissors to cut thin and thick strips into the other two rolls to make a starburst/flower shape.

 

 

 

Dip the rolls into the paint.  You may have to gently press each petal down into the paint before printing with it.  Here, I purposely poured my paints into circles using the colours from the rainbow.  Try other patterns, dots, lines, or squiggles.  You can even use one colour for each toilet paper roll.

 

Experiment making prints on different surfaces too: try newspaper, brown paper bags, aluminum foil, cardboard boxes or fabrics. Have fun with it!

 

 

“Ishi”

 

 

Today I will be reading a story about “Ishi simple tips from a solid friend”

Written by Akiko Yabuki

Published by POW!

We will also be singing, “One Man Built His House Upon a Sand & a Rock.”

Click HERE to read and sing-a-long with me.

 

How about making your own Ishi.  Here are the rocks that I collected over time on my walks or trip to the beach.  I made them all into “Ishi’s.”  I love how Ishi’s smile makes me smile.  You can use felts, paint, pencils or crayons to make your own.

Remember, smiling helps us feel better.  If you see someone sad, try giving them a smile.  Smiles are contagious.  Help spread happiness with your beautiful SMILE!

 

Tiny Tim & A Hunting We Will Go!

Welcome back to Wednesday Sing-a-long!

Today we will be singing with our hands again to the song, “Tiny Tim.”

We will also be practicing our rhyming words with “A Hunting We Will Go!”

Click HERE to sing-a-long with me.

 

***StrongStart Update

With the re-opening of schools starting on June 1st, StrongStart will remain closed.  Ms. Elizabeth will be back at Cascades to support our teachers.  The blog will continue with Wednesday posts so please continue to check back here for updates and Sing-a-long videos with me.

Please comment here or email me if you have any questions.

elizabeth.jung-liu@burnabyschools.ca

 

Nature Prints

On my walks around my neighbourhood and garden, I am inspired by all the beautiful colours that surrounds me.

These are just a few items I found in my garden.

What can I do with these?  Look at all the bright colours and all the different shades of greens.

I chose a few of the items and placed them between two pieces of paper.  I used a rock to rub and hammer on top of the paper.

I took the top piece of paper off to see what I would find.  I love the bright green and orange pigments left behind.  I even used the rock directly on top of the flowers and greenery to get more intense colours.

Try making some rubbings/prints using the leaves.  I placed a piece of paper over the leaves (back of the leaves facing up to take advantage of the veins) and then used the flat side of a pencil, crayon or chalk to gently rub on the paper, over where the leaves were.  It’s like magic watching the image of a leaf appear before your eyes.

What other things could you find to make prints or rubbings:  wooden fence, sidewalk, bark of a tree, coins?

Have fun exploring what surrounds you and see what magic appears for you.

Slippery Fish!

Today we will be singing, “Slippery Fish!

Click HERE to sing-a-long with me.

 

Update on the “Planting with our Veggie Scraps.”

Have you experimented with your own scraps?  The garlic, green onion, carrot and lettuce stump had the most growth!  Look at the roots coming out of the carrot!  The roots for the garlic and green onions also got longer too.  Nothing happened with the squash seeds and the red onion.  The potato got a bit stinky so I put it in the compost.  However, I found out that if you put the potato and the red onion straight into soil, it will grow better that way.  As for the garlic and green onions, I transplanted them into my garden.  I will continue to grow the lettuce and carrot on my counter in water.

Frozen Exploration

Making your own Ice Exploration activity.  All you need is a rubber container, some of your child’s toys (avoid using “delicate” items) and water.  Fill a container with water and the toys.  Do not overfill with too much water.  Leave at least 2 inches from the top, giving enough space for the water to expand when it freezes.

 

How are we going rescue these creatures out of the frozen ice?  We used paintbrushes, toothbrush, salt, tweezers, eye droppers with warm water and our hands to get them out.  It was a lot of team work and patience.  It was hard work.  The children (in the above photos) spent over a half hour working together to get them out.

Some questions to ask your child during the activity:

I wonder how are we going to get these out?

How did they get stuck in there?

What is happening to the ice?

What happens if we add warm water or salt to it?

Can you see more with a magnify glass, look closely into the ice, “What do you see?”

How does the ice feel?

Asking open ended questions invites children to use their own imagination.  There are no rights or wrongs.  Let them explore freely with all of their senses, touch, taste, smell, sight and hearing. (with supervision of course!)

Together with your child, have fun exploring and experimenting with ice!

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