On June 3rd, Oak tree celebrated National Donut Day. Together we learned that this holiday started when the Salvation Army ran out of food and started to make donuts to feed the service workers in 1917!! After learning this little piece of history, Oak trees were inspired to make a donut shop of their own. All donuts were created by the Bakers of Oak and given out to peers for free in a takeout box that the store owners designed themselves. 

The store had a beautiful blue countertop where the bakers were hard at work with an amazing outdoor patio and walk-up window service.  I would recommend this donut shop to anyone looking for creative donuts like the "Moose Donut" , "DQ Donut" and the "Rainbow Donut."  Oak Tree's Donut Shop treated their customers with nothing but kindness and put love into each and every donut box made.  

One day while some children from the Maple Tree group were being creative, one child and an educator gathered 2 big boxes. They placed the 2 boxes on the gym floor filling them with loose parts of different sizes of sticks, acorns, seashells, small wood cookies, small square blocks and small colourful shapes.

 Another child saw what the other child and educator were doing and came to help out making a sheltered area with sticks and fabric.
​In the corner, the child made a fire pit with acorns as benches and after some deciding, added a walk way to and from the fire pit to get around safely.
Even some monsters came to join the party around the fire.

The educator suggested to the child, "What about using pictures of nature from old calendars?" "Sure!" answered the child.
The child cut out pictures of trees, bushes, butterflies, flowers and a gazebo which made the surroundings look amazing! In the relaxation, calming area, the child thought that it needed a pool and so they sorted out small coloured shapes of light green and blues. Then placed it in a quiet corner.

A monument of kind words was displayed by the fire pit for all to see.
All-in-all, the children had a great time creating Fairyland and can't wait to see what Maple Tree comes up with next.

-​Crystal

It's June! The end of the school year is fast approaching, summer vacation is about to begin and sizzling hot, sunny days are ahead! How exciting!

​The children have taken an interest in constructing "homes" out of colourful, magnet tiles and wood patterned puzzle mats. These "homes" were created for tech decks (mini-skateboards) or rather, a skateboarding park which turned into a garage for superfast cars! 

Upon seeing the magnet tiles, one child decided a home was necessary for the tech deck. She carefully placed the tiles in a square formation and said it was a skateboard park. She looked at her skateboard park and she said it lacked something. She realized a ramp would make her skateboard park look complete. With a smile on her face, she rolled the tech decks down the ramp and exclaimed to an educator. "I think little ants would like skateboarding here!"

Another child was watching from a distance and asked if he could join her. She agreed and both children added more magnet tiles to the skateboard park. They laughed as they took turns rolling tech decks down the ramp. 

Afterwards, the other child announced, "I think I should make a garage beside the skate park so it looks even bigger". He took different-size magnetic tiles and created a box and said it was a multi-level garage so more toy cars could fit in. When he was done constructing his garage, he stated matter of fact, "The skate park is better now because there's more room for the cars and tech decks!"

On another day, two children made a collaborative effort to put wooden-looking puzzle mats together to create a condo. Both children joined puzzle mats piece by piece. The condo was starting to take shape. According to one child, he proceeded to  make a hallway so that the rooms for the condo look separated. He then went on to build a smaller room so that the other child he was building with and I quote, "Wouldn't get on his nerves" Haha! As an educator, I explained that it was okay to take some private time for yourself if you feel you needed space.

The other child was quickly piecing the puzzle mats together to build a large living room. He said, "My living room is bigger than this but it's big enough to put toys in". He brought some toys inside the condo and started playing with them. A couple more children asked if they could join and the builders suggested they needed security guards for this "expensive" condo. The security guards were very good at their jobs. They cautioned anyone who entered the condo to be respectful and to fix a puzzle mat if it came apart. All in all, the children had fun and they learned that a home was more than just a home, but a place you make memories.

- Leilani