Your challenge for this weekend


Anyone who knows me well, knows I love going for a walk and watching the sunset.

So my challenge for you this weekend is to go outside and take some pictures of the sunset.  Talk with your child about what they see.  Share what you notice and enjoy your time together outside 😊

Send me your pictures and I will share mine from this weekend too🧡

Jessie’s outdoor adventure

The sun was shining so Jessie, my daughter and I went outside to see what plants we could find in our neighbourhood.

We noticed this plant had both red and white berries.

This plant grew very long and was very interesting.

We saw this plant had drops of water on the leaves.

Jessie really enjoying sniffing all the plants and also had fun digging in the dirt!

Kenziah’s Outdoor Exploration

Thank you to Kenziah and her family for completing the first challenge and finding some beautiful plants.
Here is what Kenziah saw while playing outside.

Please keep sending in your pictures and I will go play outside too and see what exciting plants I can discover 😊

Your First Connecting to Nature Challenge

Over the next few days I am going to post a few challenges.

I would LOVE to see your pictures of these challenges, so If you send me a picture of your child doing the challenge- I will post it on the blog for others to see!  Please don’t capture your child’s face in the picture (so maybe take the pictures from behind your child or crop out their face )

If I receive your picture, I will also share a picture of me doing the challenge 😊

Today’s challenge is go outside and find 3 different plants and take pictures of them.

When you are out searching for the plants – look closely, talk about what you see, how are the plants different, what do you like about the plants, what colours do you see?

Please send your pictures to Lisa.parr@burnabyschools.ca

I look forward to seeing what you discover 😊

The Many Reasons to go play Outside

Although it often seems so much easier and warmer and more comfortable to stay inside, there are so many reasons to play outside.  It has been reported that in today’s society children spend an average of 4-7 minutes playing outside per day and over 6 hours in front of a screen (I Pad, T.V. Phone etc).

Research has shown that children who spend time playing outside are happier, better at paying attention,  smarter and less anxious.  Spending time in nature builds a child’s confidence, and encourages creativity and imagination.  When children play outside they have lots of room to run and exercise.  Exercise creates greater focus and less stress.   Being outside even sparks a sense of curiosity and wonder that makes a child think in different ways.

I hope this encourages you to put on your warm jacket, mittens and toque and go play outside!

Stay tuned for some fun challenges to encourage connections to the outdoors.

 

 

Indoor Activities using a roll of painters tape

If you are looking for something to keep your little ones entertained, head over to the dollar store and buy a few roles of painters tape.  You will be surprised at how long it will keep your child focused and also how many ways you can explore with it.

For the younger babies, simply put some tape in various lengths on items so they can use their fine motor skills to pull the tape off.


The toddlers and preschoolers can follow lines and roads with their toys, and together you can create a little city.

If your child has lots of energy you can create a jumping game.

You can also create an obstacle course.  Try to get through without getting stuck to the tape.

Or create a spider web and see what you can throw to get stuck in the web.

You can even use the tape to create shapes or letters and see what your child does with that.

I would love to see how you explore tape at your house.  Please send me any pictures you would like to share 😊.

Just a reminder that ….

Burnaby Strong Start Centers will temporarily shift to virtual programming from January 10th to January 21st, to provide additional time to learn more about the potential impacts of the Omicron variant on communities and schools. On January 21st the district will reassess the spread of the Omicron variant in the community and decide if it is safe to return to in person sessions.

I will be in touch with you to share more information, but if you have any questions please email me anytime, I look forward  to hearing from you and hopefully seeing you soon too💗

 

 

Welcome Back to Strong Start

I am very excited to share that Strong Start will be re-opening soon!

If you haven’t already, please register at https://registration.sd41.bc.ca/Forms/StrongStartRegistration

You are required to register each school year, so even if you registered last year you will need to register again for this school year.

The registration department is extremely busy processing the hundreds of registrations that have already come in.  Once I receive confirmation of your registration, I will be in contact with you to book your first Strong Start session.  For more information on what the program will look like please refer to https://burnabyschools.ca/strongstart/

I can’t wait to see how much the children have grown over the summer and to hear all about your exciting adventures.  😊

💓Teacher Lisa

☀️Happy Summer☀️

What a year it has been!
With all the uncertainty and newness this Strong Start year, I have to say I greatly enjoyed our time together! All the special moments we shared were definitely a highlight of my year.
I wish you all a safe, healthy and fun filled summer, hopefully with lots of opportunities for outdoor explorations and fun.  I look forward to spending lots of time at the beach with my family and can’t wait to see you all again in the fall to share all our fun memories.

Updates about Strong Start in the  fall will be posted to  https://burnabyschools.ca/strongstart/  So please check back around mid / late August for new information about fall registration.

If your looking for some organized outdoor activities for the summer check out https://bflgrowscommunity.org/together-at-the-park  
The Burnaby Family Life is offering activities at parks during the summer.

Lastly, thank you for great year we shared and have a wonderful summer.  ❤️Ms. Lisa

Feelings First

I found a very informative and meaningful website that is full of great resources.

https://www.feelingsfirst.ca/

Feelings First is a campaign to introduce important concepts around Social and Emotional Development in the early years, to parents and caregivers across British Columbia.

It covers a large variety of topics listed below

I would recommend taking a look at this website, as I found it quite informative and it also directs you to other great resources from many other associations.

Have a wonderful day 😊