Kitchener StrongStart

Learning in the spirit of wonder and joy

Welcome back

Welcome back everyone!  Kitchener StrongStart is open for indoor in person session this year.   Safety protocols for StrongStart are still in place. You can find the on-line registration and more information on the protocols with this link:  https://burnabyschools.ca/strongstart/.

If you have any questions about registering for in-class sessions, please email me at lan.huang@burnabyschools.ca

Potato Update and Good Bye

Dear StrongStart Families,

Wow, what a year it has been.  It has been a year of many changes and challenges which we all embraced and persevered.  I can’t believe that the end of the school year has wind down already.   I just want to say that it has been a pleasure working with you all both virtually and in person.
I also want to wish all the children that are going to kindergarten in September all the best.  I know you will have lots of fun and make new friends.  I wish you all a wonderful, safe and fun summer.  I hope you have many opportunities to re-connect with loved ones, and friends and find time to refresh, recharge and celebrate all your accomplishments this year.
Please visit our website at the end of August/beginning of September for the latest updates and registrations for September 2021 –  https://burnabyschools.ca/strongstart/
Here are some free programs that are available in the summer for you and your child.
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An update on our potato
We harvest the potatoes at the end of the school year.
We made estimations on how many potatoes we harvested.
There were a total of 273 potatoes.
Have a great summer everyone.
Ms. Lan

Community Programs

Anita Olson, our Early Childhood Community consultant – community partner has shared what is happening and available throughout our community.

Outdoor family programs are back at Burnaby Family Life! Check out the attached poster for all the times, dates and locations. Registration is required and can be done herehttps://bflgrowscommunity.org/together-at-the-park

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The following message is from Anita Olson

Rather than strive to be perfect, the greatest gift you can give to a young child is your time. Strong secure relationships are critical to a healthy, happy life in childhood, throughout the teenage years and into adulthood (source: Heart-Mind Online). Learn more @ www.feelingsfirst.ca.

What does being present mean to a young child?

o   Increased self-control

o   Higher levels of resiliency

o   More hopeful attitudes

o   Better mental health

o   More prosocial behaviours

o   More positive feelings about themselves

Every child needs a trusting relationship with at least one dependable adult in their lives, so they can grow and develop in a healthy way as family and community members, friends, thinkers, and discover their connections to the natural environment. You don’t have to be a childcare expert – just being present to provide love, safety, security, joy, and paying attention to them is enough.

Anita

Anita Olson (she/her) ECE, BA, MEd

Early Childhood Community Consultant

T 604 525 9144

M 604 723 9548

3rd Floor – 321 Sixth Street, New Westminster BC V3L 3A7

www.fsgv.ca

Bug Hunt

Many researches have shown that there are many benefits of being outside, such as reduces feelings of stress and anger, boosts your energy, boots your immune system, children are more engaged in their activities, is good for your vision and much more.  So I encourage you and your the child to get outside more often.

Here is a fun activity to do together while you are outside.  Children love to look for little creepy crawling bugs and there are a lot of them now.

Materials:  magnifying glass, bug sheet, marker

               

While you are enjoying this activity together, you can talk about where would you find these little creatures, where do they live, what they like to do, can you hear them, can you smell them?  Simple interactions between you and your child encourages language development, problem solving, creative thinking, bonding and more…

Have fun bug hunting

Potato Plants Update

Wow, look at our potato plants.  The have grown so much.  There are lots of leaves.  The leaves are absorbing the sunlight from the sun to make food for the plants.  I wonder how many potatoes are there…how big are the potatoes.  Can you guess?

Happy Mother’s Day

I want to wish all the mothers a Happy Mother’s Day.  Thank you for all the things you do.

At StrongStart, we made a bouquet of flowers to celebrate Mother’s Day.

Materials:

a piece of cardboard

flowers

Direction:

Poke holes on the cardboard

pick some flowers during your walks together, or in your garden

put the flowers into the holes

Enjoy the bouquet

         

 

 

Bubbles, Bubbles, and more Bubbles

We have been doing many bubble activities during our outdoor sessions.  Both the children and the parents were very excited about bubbles, especially giant bubbles.  You and your child can make bubbles together or they can do it themselves.

 

Here is a link to how to make wands that make giant bubble – https://rhubarbandwren.co.uk/giant-bubble-wand-tutorial/

 

Recipe for Giant Bubbles:   

  • 6 cups of warm water
  • 1/2 cup of blue Dawn original dishwashing detergent
  • 1 TBSP of corn syrup (or glycerin, if you happen to have some)

 

Mix all of the ingredients gently. Here is the secret: The bubble liquid gets better the longer it sits! It should marinate overnight at least.  Tip: Just dip wands into the solution don’t stir or swish. It creates small bubbles and stops working. Enjoy!

 

Planting Update

Our potatoes are growing very tall.  They are ready to be moved outside.  Do you notice how tall the potatoes are?  There are also lots of leaves.  We had to hill around the plants because the plants need more nutrients.  Did you do any planting?  How are your plants doing?  You can send me pictures of your plants

Planting time

Spring is here, so it is planting time.  Normally, at StrongStart we would plant beans, corns and herbs.  Unfortunately we are not able to that this year.  However, with the Kindergarteners’ help, we have planted potatoes before Spring Break instead.    Amazing, they have sprouted already.

mixing the plant food with the soil

 

Then planted the potatoes in the tub

cover the potatoes and watered them with some water

2 weeks later, the potatoes have sprouted

There are always lots of learning opportunities with planting, such as how foods are grown, where foods in the supermarket come from.  You can keep a chart of how your plants are growing.   At harvest time, you can cook and eat the foods that you have grown together.  The more kids know and feel connected to their food, the more curious they are about how things grow or taste, and the more  they are willing to try new foods.  I hope you are able to do some planting with your child this year.  If you are, you can send me regular updates of your plants and I will post them on the blog.  Happy planting everyone.

Click hear to listen to “The Carrot Seed” by Ruth Krauss

 

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