Month: April 2021

Hi StrongStart families,

We started our first SSC outdoor day by our StrongStart portable looking and finding what gifts nature left for us: branches from nearby trees, some of which were broken by intense winds, and smaller twigs. We could not resist picking a few wild flowers, blew on our first dandelions of the season, and found some leftover pine cones and chestnuts we had played with before. We brought our finds back to the centre and used some colourful yarn and pipe cleaners to attach them to our porch fence to decorate our outdoor space.

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We  started with weaving the yarn on the fence, and moms helped. At that point, A. was much more interested in exploring the length of his bundle of yarn, feeling it first, finding it stretchy and unfolding it to see how long it is. What a hands-on way to learn about math concept of length!

In the meantime C. and her mom were busy creating a nature web on our fence, attaching cones, twigs, appreciating the colour and shape of flowers and bendable pipe cleaners along with recycled tart shells. They were supplied by me as a way of displaying some delicate flowers  and chestnuts she cherished.

A. had the idea to explore one of the big pine cones by throwing it on the ground. When he observed that some seeds were falling from the cone, this  kept him  engaged for a very long time. Over and over he was throwing the pine cone. He was mesmerized by watching the falling seed petals and he started changing the height from which he threw the cone and varying force.  I knew that he was engaged in both transformational and trajectory schemes when children study, carefully and intentionally, the interesting changes that happen because of their action. That is why I was not encouraging him to go back to the original plan and why we continued with this explorations, abandoning all the rest of planned activities.

For privacy reasons, those photos do not include his face, but I can assure you he was so focused and engaged in his exploration.

Something of the experience reminded A. of making nests and birds, and he started talking about it. I asked if he would like to build a nest. After seeing his interest piqued, I provided a small wicker plate. I had some play dough we played with earlier at hand. Sure enough, the idea of making the eggs for his nest out of play dough soon came to him (this play was taking place shortly after lived experiences with eggs at Easter). He enjoyed adding to his nest by gifting bird with flowers and blooms and some seed petals from the pine cone.

C.  overheard that we were talking about making bird’s nest and she liked the idea. She got her ‘nest’ dish and asked for a bird. The idea of making eggs was so exciting that little ‘egg gifts’ were soon attached to other objects.

In the meantime, A. continued to have fun with making eggs too and started decorating them with some seeds and wood chips.

The next day, the first thing L. noticed when he arrived on the porch for his indoor visit was the intricate nature web on the fence. He loved it! I promised that instead of outside storytime we could continue to add to our nature web.

L.  was enjoying looking at the objects, touching everything, feeling the textures, soft and stretchy yarn. Baby R. was learning though his senses too!  Seeing how much he enjoyed his sensory exploration, I provided L. with some leftover materials. He was ready to start creating and enjoying new textures.

When we slow down and observe closely, we are able to see children’ s curious minds at work.

Please feel free to send me pictures of those special moments.

Take care,

Ms. Lillian

Dear families,

I hope you are enjoying cherry blossoms and nice weather! Here is a compilation from Anita Olsen’s Newsletter, thanks Anita!

Click here: FREE Burnaby Programs and More FINAL Spring 2021 Master Burnaby (1) to check out the family program list compiled from The Burnaby Early Childhood Development Table! This comprehensive list has up-to date programing, links to registration and lots of choice for families this spring. Choose from circle times, parenting programs, workshops and more!

Family Services of Greater Vancouver is offering some great virtual community programs – click here: NewWest_CEDS_2021_SpringProgramFlyer to check out all the details. Children’s programing , parenting groups and single mom’s group – if you are interested and would like to register call 604-368-2154 or email ceds-nw@fsgv.ca

•   www.vroom.org is a Harvard based child development resource for families filled with information about and how to foster your child’s development through games and play. The simple games offered are backed up with “Brainy Background” quotes to provide parents and caregivers more context of what type of learning is engaged. Here’s a little example:

  Anytime anywhere

  Sing, Read, Repeat

  Your child probably enjoys listening to their favorite stories and songs over and over again. After singing or telling stories with them, ask if they want more. How do they respond? Do they nod or squirm away? Talk about their actions like, “You said yes!” or “You look like you’re all done.”

  Brainy background

  Children learn through repetition and shared back-and-forth conversations. Repeating stories and songs helps your child understand the meaning behind words. It sets the stage for talking, and eventually reading. They’re learning the basics of communication!

  Here are a couple of ideas for Spring art.

  

• April showers bring May flowers! If you are feeling crafty this morning and have a glue gun, a paper grocery bag and some artificial flowers on hand, you have all the fixings to make a Paper Bag Tiara! First cut off the bottom of the paper bag and carefully roll it outwards all the way down – you will end up with a paper circle. Use the glue gun to tack the bag closed. Have your little one choose which flowers and where to attach them on the crown, glue in place. An easy and beautiful spring crown for your little princess or prince! For a visual tutorial, check out happyhooligans.ca

•  I hope you’ve been able to take in the beautiful cherry blossoms while they last. There are lots of cherry tree art projects for children to engage with and for a more sensorial experience, you can make your own 3-D  bouquet! With a few gathered sticks from outside wrapped together with yarn or another string, stick this into a clay or playdough base. Using torn up bits of pink tissue paper, dipping them into a little dish of white glue and attaching them to the sticks, your little one can create a 3-D likeness of these beautiful blossoms. Easy and fun! Check out howwelearn.com for step by step pictures.

  Here is Anita’s info: If you are interested in a free one-on-one consultation about your child’s development, behavior, parenting tips, tricks and education please email, call or text Anita, to set up either a virtual appointment or a socially distanced visit in one of Burnaby’s many parks. Her contact is: aolson@fsgv.ca or 604-723-9548.

  Enjoy the Spring and stay healthy and safe!

  Ms. Lillian

Dear StrongStart families,

We have been visiting Ernie Winch park for many months now as a part of our outdoor explorations on Fridays. Now that the weather is getting warmer, the park is getting busier, and it would be getting harder to find a spot where our small group would be in a bubble. So many children want to join in!

So, from now on, we will be meeting on Fridays in front of our centre and exploring the area and nature around it, close by and further away. Please let me know if you wish to book a Friday exploration visit.

As we say goodbye to Ernie Winch Park, let’s revisit some of our explorations.

We looked around and spied with our special “eye”!

If you look closely, you can spy Grandma M’ s eye too.

We carefully looked using the magnifying glasses for things to observe up-close.

Sometimes we found unexpected, wonderful surprises. D. said delighted “I found a feather, look here!”.

We explored all nature’s presents found in the park. We collected chestnuts and made chestnut stew.

We discovered where we can find seeds and look for more.

We enjoyed using nature’s gifts and our imagination.  L. made a caterpillar and a bumble bee and all made special pinecone ornaments.

We have had so much fun with bubbles!

We wondered what made some bubbles burst fast and some stick for so long? What happened to bubbles when there are strong winds or when is so cold?

We have so much fun playing actively and enjoying the stories.

I wonder what discoveries we will make while exploring the nature around our centre, using our eyes, senses and thinking deeply? In what ways will we discover our creativity and our relationship with new materials? How we will be using our bodies while finding joy in nature and making new friendships?

See you there,

Ms. Lillian

Dear StrongStart friends,

Many families celebrate holidays during spring months – Nowruz, Persian New Year, just passed, Passover, Easter and Ramadan are upon us. Maybe you just celebrate Spring and new beginnings. We are still living in challenging, emotionally charged times, but there is a HOPE in new beginnings which is the essence of Spring. Hope holds a central space in all holiday celebrations.

I am wishing you a lot of happy, joyous times together during holidays you are celebrating, even that we have to celebrate with your immediate family. Whether you are celebrating religious or secular holidays, holidays are always about love and HOPE!

My wish is that we all find ways to make happy memories with our family, filled with light, love and HOPE!

Here are few pictures from our art explorations at StrongStart today. Easy art: you can use electrical tape or masking tape and paint over it.

When done, peel the tape off and a nice design appears- just like magic!

E. was very proud of his art!

You can also use Q-tips to decorate the egg cut-out,  just like artists used to do (pointillism) or use feathers to make some marks on the paper.

We used egg shells (desinfected, of course) for our sensory exploration today.

Stay safe and healthy, following all the health recommendations.

Much love,

Ms. Lillian