Snow in April?! No problem!

Posted on April 26, 2016 by emeleca

Our Junior Kindergarten students surprise us every single day. When I woke up on a snowy April morning, I arrived to school with a gloomy grin and looked at my teaching partner with rolling eyes. “Are you kidding me?” we said to each other. But rather than projecting our disappointment, we simply asked the students in our morning message how they felt about the snow. To our surprise every single one of them could not be more excited. “It makes me feel happy”, “I want to play in it”, “I’m so, so, so, so, excited”; were some of the many messages we heard. The Outdoor Classroom was snowy, but let’s not forget it was still April and the weather was somewhat warmer; the result: a snowy, wet, muddy sandy surprise! “Ew” you might be thinking? “What a mess” perhaps? “WONDERFUL” thought the JKs. The imaginative play, collaboration, creative thinking, and utter joy each child displayed surprised us more than usual.

PAINT INQUIRY
How can you use water colour paints without water or paper? The JKs figured it out! Bringing out only paint pallets and brushes we asked the students how they can use the materials to paint in the Outdoor Classroom. They shared their ideas, tested their theories, and certainly tried their best. They became problem solvers as they dipped their brushes into puddles to wash it before changing colours. Talk about creative problem solvers! As they swished their brushes in melting snow, ice, and water, they began transforming large chunks of ice into colourful works of art.

MARBLE RUN or WATER RUN?
The rainy, snowy weather left for an interesting discovery at the marble run. One student wondered if the water would move the same way the tennis balls did. To figure it out, he went into the sand box to get a shovel small enough to collect the water from the bottom and bring it to the top. He discovered it did move along but it stopped early. He learned the wood absorbed the water. The student shared his learning with the class thereby inspiring others to explore the marble run in new ways.

MUD AND MUCK
In the sand box the students used scoops and shovels of all sizes to make their own mud! They collected water from little puddles all around and mixed it with the sand turning it into dough as they began making fresh pies. The students were collaborating as they took on various roles, and engaged in meaningful conversations. The shovels turned into serving platters, and rakes became forks, as they shared their homemade pies with one another.

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In just one hour of play the students hit on multiple areas of the Full Day Kindergarten Curriculum. The big idea stating “Children are curious and connect prior knowledge to new contexts in order to understand the world around them” was demonstrated on this snowy April day. The students experimented with new materials on a familiar marble run, used a familiar paint pallet in a creative new way, and transferred their learning from home as they recreated a kitchen at school.

After one hour in the Outdoor Classroom the students so clearly demonstrated how much they embrace learning, we were reminded of What Really Matters in Life! When you give children the time they need to play and explore their environment they will amaze you! And you know what Albert Einstein said…”Play is the highest form of research.”

Elissa Meleca
Junior Kindergarten Teacher

Stories from our Beloved Outdoor Classroom

Posted on November 25, 2014 by SFreeman

We are very excited and proud when we talk about our new outdoor classroom at KCS. Over the summer of 2014, there was a major transformation of one of our early learning playgrounds by Bienenstock Natural Playgrounds. After consultation with staff members and administration, the aged climbing structure, artificial surface and cement stairway were all removed and replaced with a much more natural and inviting setting.

Surface for play and discovery was significantly increased by developing a previously unused upper portion of the playground. This unused area was replaced by a central, gently-sloping Durolawn-covered hill, shrubs, and several upright posts and saplings. Students entering the playground from the spider gate, can choose to explore the upper tier beneath the mature pine tree and navigate its obstacle course of embedded logs and round, wooden slabs. Or they can choose to curl up in a log-carved chair or couch and wait for their friends to arrive. When they are ready to engage in more active play, students can follow the downward pathway defined by horizontal cedar logs, take the option of the embedded, double hill slide, or negotiate the rows of log seating in the adjoining amphitheater, using them as balance beams or hurdles.

The lower portion of the outdoor classroom is dominated by a very majestic-looking log fort. Here our students congregate to make plans, stop to catch their breath after running games, and to practise their skill of climbing. Early in the year we discovered a cooperative game of rolling tennis balls over the very high roof and trying to catching them as they fall from the other side. Teachers have been spotted having fun with this activity as well!

Next to the fort is a fabulous open sandpit complimented by an adjoining log tunnel, a mirrored wall, a large sunken stump table, and a portable water pump. Younger students spend extended periods of time digging holes, burying dinosaurs, making pails of “soup”, and creating sand castles. Water from the pump helps to extend the activities even further as glorious mud adds a new dimension to play.

The southern perimeter facing Dundas West is defined with wooden panels, a huge chalkboard, mirrored panels, and some Plexiglas which embraces the action beyond the playground: a mature tree, a hedge (home for insects), and the bustle of vehicular traffic. The chalkboard is often the object of water painting which is a good way to clean the surface in a fun way and also to keep cool on a hot day.

The lowest section, hugging the walls of the school, is built on a surface to accommodate bouncing balls, a portable ball run, a staging area for the amphitheater, and a calmer creative area. Our students love to send multiple tennis balls down the ball run, watching as gravity does its work in a zigzag formation. Tucked in the corner, multiple stump tables and seats accommodate outdoor classroom activities, afternoon snacks, and creative work.

Curriculum cabinets and shelving units have been placed in strategic locations to house accessories for the enhancement of play and discovery. One cabinet houses dramatic play fabric, sand toys, sand accessories, paint brushes, paint trays, and chalk. Another cabinet has been stocked with clipboards, paper, watercolours, paint brushes, pencil crayons, pencils, and assorted balls. The shelving units in the upper discovery centre are stocked with seasonal bubbles, insect containers, magnifying glasses, measuring tapes, sandpaper, and cedar slabs.

When the SKs were asked what they liked best about the outdoor classroom, many of them highlighted the space to run, the wonderful sandbox, and the amazing fort. They thanked Adam Bienenstock, CEO and principal designer of Bienenstock Natural Playgrounds, in personal letters for this exciting space where they can have fun in so many ways while interacting with nature and learning in this enriched landscape!

We look forward to many more new adventures during the winter season.

Sharon Freeman, RECE
Senior Kindergarten Teacher
Kingsway College School

Big Steps with our Little Ones

Posted on January 31, 2014 by Andrea Fanjoy

It’s been almost six months since KCS’s first-ever PK, JK and SK classes began. You may recall that when you’re that young, six months is a very long time. Between everything our youngest students have learned and all that their teachers have accomplished, it’s time to step back, take note and celebrate.

All good teaching starts with learning. Discussions on how to align the Early Learning Program (PK-SK classes) with grades 1 to 8 began in January 2013. These discussions were promptly fuelled by external professional development throughout the spring and summer at a kindergarten conference, a reading institute and at workshops on play-based learning.

Since September, professional development hasn’t let up. More external workshops, online courses, internal guidance on emergent curriculum and technology, iPad workshops, plus visits to observe and learn from kindergarten teachers at another independent school have also taken place. Without question, the newest members of our KCS faculty are exemplary models of our KCS Habit Embrace Learning. Commitment to ongoing learning and improvement is an inherent part of KCS from PK to grade 8.

Reading Mastery is a Direct Instruction program that is now established at KCS from JK to grade 6. First introduced at KCS two years ago, the small-group, research-based instruction is proving exceptionally effective in ensuring all students master the fundamentals of reading, from phonics to making inferences. Our kindergarten students get further opportunity in reading through take-home readers, regular get-togethers with KCS Reading Buddies, the excitement of guest Mystery Readers, teacher read-alouds and multiple other opportunities to learn the power of print.

Project-based learning (PBL) is another school-wide area of focus embraced by our kindergarten classes. PBL is a method of teaching that optimizes both learning about the world and also development of the KCS Habits of Mind, Body and Action. Through a tantalizing question or challenge, curiosity is piqued, and students are ready to engage in a wide variety of learning related to the topic at hand. The Emergent Curriculum practised in our PK classes and play-based learning also practiced in kindergarten are the age-appropriate ‘cousins’ to PBL. This excellent foundation aligns with the learning that awaits in grades 1 to 8 and indeed, the rest of their lives.

Incoming young students can also look forward to much more. iPads are being leveraged to help support skill development in our kindergarten program. The program ‘Handwriting Without Tears’ is being used to teach fine-motor skills, printing and eventually cursive writing from PK to grade 3. Math is being taught according to best practice with small-group instruction, a wide variety of hands-on learning experiences and engaging games. Music and French are taught by passionate specialist teachers who have aligned their efforts with the program in grades 1 to 8. Social and physical development have dedicated time with daily outdoor play and physical education classes in our full day program. Community service included a PK-SK partnership with the George Hull Centre collecting gifts for families in need. And exciting field trips to the Humber Arboretum, Aquarium, Toronto Symphony and more allow our students to learn from the many opportunities within the GTA.

While our half-day and full-day programs both offer all of the above, our full-day program provides the time needed to make the most of a rich learning program. Deep learning comes when students take their time, engage in activities until their natural conclusion and pursue ideas until the mind, not the schedule, tells them to stop. Long uninterrupted periods of learning not only support skill development but are also when habits of persistence, curiosity and creative thinking take root.

At the six-month mark, we’re very grateful for the twelve new faculty who collectively bring more than 170 years of teaching, from not only the former St. Georges Nursery School but also other highly regarded schools. Their learning and dedication to our youngest children has made for a very special first half year. With ongoing learning and unwavering dedication going forward, our Early Learning Program can look forward to many more happy half-years to come.

Andrea Fanjoy,
Assistant Head, Academics
You can follow Andrea on Twitter @afanjoy.

Summer Learning

Posted on June 11, 2013 by Andrea Fanjoy

Cubbies are cleaned. Lockers lay bare. Papers have been sifted through with favourites kept and the rest thrown out.

Summer holidays have arrived, and the weight of the academic world has been lifted for another year.

I’ve been guilty of thinking that children have it relatively easy. I can remember once pointing out to a group of teens how hard their teachers are working, leading extra-curriculars, teaching all day, marking and planning every evening. I deserved their immediate challenge. They reminded me that, in fact, students also have a lot of demands on them. They’re involved in those school extra-curriculars and more, they’re in those classes throughout the day, and they’re doing homework every evening. They have endless expectations on them for managing themselves and their work. Many regularly face misunderstanding, mistakes and reprimand in both academics and social relations. They navigate this world with the vulnerable self-esteem, self-confidence and skill set inherent in being young. Even in the best schools, the days are not easy.

Many parents and teachers bemoan the long gap between June and September. It’s true that some academic learning can take a hit. Having said that, other learning should be savoured in the summer. Because the school year doesn’t always make enough time for it, here is some of the summer learning I hope all children work hard at this holiday:

Learning through play
Learning through mistakes
Learning within one’s strengths and passions
Learning and relaxation in a healthy balance
Learning what and how you want, just for the love of it

Lots of important things are learned at school. And lots of important things are learned outside of school. Like students, teachers also learn a lot over the summer. Maybe, as a result of all their learning, more of this summer learning will work its way into the school year.

Have a wonderful, learning-filled summer.

Andrea Fanjoy,
Assistant Head, Academics
You can follow Andrea on Twitter @afanjoy.

This article will be published in the July 2013 edition of SNAP Etobicoke.