A BIG 'Surprise'

Most things the children say make me laugh, especially lately with the obsessive 'knock, knock' jokes, and then there are times when I laugh because they are.... just random!

Last week I sent the eager beavers out the door to the yard while helping some of the straglers with their shoes and zippers. So the children had seen the 'surprise' long before I did. 

So of course I had to race to see what all the excitement was about when I heard the eager voices yelling, 'MISS J, LOOK!!! LOOK!!!' I ran out to see that the 'underconstructionforthelastsixmonthshousenextdoor' had reached the wrapping stage. The house that has been solely made out of wood, and we have been there for EVERY stage of construction, and have sat countless hours watching the big machines transform the space into a monstrous home, has now been wrapped and taped with the waterproofing paper (note to self... learn what this is called, because i'll be asked that question pretty soon)

Simultaneously six little voices yelled out, 'IT'S A HOUSE!!!' 

It was as though, for the last six months the wooden structure was still a mystery as to what it would eventually become, and on that day it had finally revealed itself. What a clever disguise! Ah-HA!!

On another note, we are so excited about the early start summer has had! Today we enjoyed a little badminton/volleyball. 

Caterpillars!

For the second year in a row we have adopted caterpillars. This time around we have quite a number of them, and we are doing it 'by the book'. Last year we let the caterpillars wander around in the enclosure, and it worked fine. This year I thought we'd try it the 'textbook' way. So they are all in their own little container, happily munching away at their food.

It was also truly wonderful to find that, while we are observing our 'class set' indoors, we discovered a little Chrysalis had set up home outside of our classroom door... in the wild, out in nature! What a truly wonderful connection!

Go Ahead... give it a go!

Over the last few weeks I have been feeling like someone has been watching me. It happens everyday at lunch time. It's actually not a feeling at all, it's reality. The children have been salivating at my lunches, at first I thought they have been just curious, but i'm getting the sense that it's actual salivating. It's not like i'm having something they have never seen before. It's a salad, just a salad, that's all. Without describing my delicious salad I will just say, they are yummy!

So it comes as no surprise that the children have taken a large interest in my food at lunch time. They ask me about each ingredient. The interest has become so intense, that we've decided that in the summer we will plan a salad eating day, where we can create our own yummy dishes! 

In the meantime though, there is one ingredient that comes up in conversation a lot. It's avocados. Myself and another child have avocados in some form or another nearly every day. It's caused quite a bit of curiosity. So today I decided to bring one out for us to check out and taste. It's been interesting listening to the theories of what an avocado is. Many felt that it was orange and round, and were surprised when out came this dark green, egg shaped fruit. When I cut it open it roused a squeal of delight, as the children right away noticed the GIANT seed in the middle (which is, of course, balancing nicely over a jar of water on our window sill)

The greatest part of the whole thing was FINALLY getting to the good stuff, and tasting the delicious fruit. Because many had obviously never seen an avocado before, I was wondering how they would respond to the taste. I was quite surprised when 95% of the children were all about having thirds and fourths, and would have had more, if it wasn't for the fact that we had run out of our avocado supply!

So go ahead... give new things a go!

Dear Earth... Feel Better... From Us.

Today is Earth Day! While we celebrate the fact that we live on this beautiful planet daily, and try our best to take good care of it, we still like to be reminded every once in a while.
So today we celebrated Earth Day by tilling our garden in preparation for veggie planting. The weeds have set up residence in our planter boxes over the last few months, and today they received their eviction notice.

It was hard work, and we all contributed to it (even the puppy helped with the weeding), with the odd break in between to examine a worm, bee or a slug or two.

So we are pleased to say... we came, we saw, and we conquered. We just need to put the weeds in the compost and we're all set.

Shortly after the 'toil in the soil' I remembered a gift that my dad had brought us from his farm. A robin's nest had blown out of the tree in the high winds recently, and in it were two lovely blue eggs. So we have been blessed to have it on our science table, along with the sparrow's nest he found a few years ago.

Happy Earth Day everyone!

Hatching Time

I spotted this today!

 Upon a closer inspection, I could hear a little 'cheep, cheep, cheep' coming from inside the tub. I was curious. I stood there and watch as the 'momma' hopped off her perch and out hatched her little 'baby'

What I missed documenting was the moment the 'baby' followed his 'momma' and crawled behind her as she flapped her arms and ran around the yard shouting, 'I'm a Canada Goose! Fly little one, fly!' And just like a baby Canada Goose, the 'baby' stumbled a few times, but quickly got the hang of it and off they flew!

 

Life's Hard Questions

This week we've been taking a closer look at this book:


The conversations surrounding this book has been so interesting. There is definitely a bit of a divide in the group. Some children are on the side of 'first the egg', and some are on the side of 'first the chicken', and some are on the fence. There has been quite a debate.
It's interesting their logic behind the answers, and just like the rest of the world, the children have discovered that their initial answer was simple and easy, but once they took to explaining their answer, they became stumped. Although one child was adamant about his reply, and just stated, 'the egg came first because it just did.' Sometimes that's the best answer, just straight up, because it just did.
Which side of the fence are you on?

Those Precious Moments....

The thing I wake up for each morning is the wonder of what is going to bring a smile to my face during the day! Usually it's a funny thing that a child says or does. This is why I love my job. The children are a delight and make me laugh at least 20 times a day! I really would love to write down all the funny things I hear each day.

Today I will share a funny moment. It's a moment of mistaken identity! It caught me off guard. And it made me laugh!

While walking past the local CASINO the conversation went like this: 

Child- "I've been there with my mommy."

Me- "Really?"

Child- "Yes, I went there for stay and play."

Me- (knowing there is a program called stay and play for children in the community... but still naive and thinking there is something called 'stay and play' at the casino) "Are you sure?"

Child- "Yep, me and my brother went with mommy last week"

Me- (Taking a moment to look at the building and make the connection that the rec centre looks similar to the casino) "Oh, you went to the REC CENTRE!"

Child- (by this time quite finished with my confusion) "Yes, FOR STAY AND PLAY!"

The pictures below show that there is some similar curves in the building. Also, the buildings are close together, so the race track can be seen from both buildings.

It makes me wonder if I have any 'mistaken memories' like this from my childhood?