The landscapers were very focused as they began to design their islands.

"The mirror is like the grass!" said one,

​"This is my island, do you like it?" another landscaper asked.

"I love it! It is very beautiful" the educator replied.

As the landscapers were building, they noticed that if you looked at the mirror grass from certain angles, it changed the scenery that reflected onto it. 
"Look at how beautiful it looks!" exclaimed one of the landscapers.
When they were finished, they proudly showed off their designs for everyone to admire.

As the engineers were crafting their battleships, they began to describe what they were adding to their ships.
"This is a battleship, it has cargo on it. The cargo is bombs and the pinecones are the cannons!" said one engineer 
"We need all the things we can get!" said another as they began to add stones and woods to the ship.

Once the battleship was finished, one of the landscapers decided that it needed a place to stay when it was not being used. They began crafting an area filled with lights and wooden structures to keep the boat secure and ensure the boat would see everything to avoid crashing 

The engineers docked their boat and then went to rest for the day and prepare for their next mission while the landscapers left their islands to begin their next design.
-Leah

This week in the Pine Tree group we explored all things spooky and slimy by creating our very own magic potions. Things got a little messy, but our scientists and witches created some very interesting concoctions!

There were so many different ingredients to choose from; from shaving cream and hair gel to food coloring and spices, and they mixed together absolutely everything! One of the most exciting parts of potion making was watching how the ingredients reacted with one another, most notably the Alka-Seltzer tablets mixed with water and baby oil. These ingredients produced an unexpected but very welcome fizzy reaction!

Once most of the chemists had their fill of spooky and slimy fun, I noticed that a few of them were especially intrigued by the fizzy reaction and wanted to see just how fizzy and explosive their potions could become. I grabbed the baking soda and vinegar and we headed outside to observe their bubbling cauldrons of magic.

Hope you had a fun and spooky weekend!
​- Katie

October 22nd was a big day for some children of Dawn and Dusk as we channeled our inner extreme warriors!  As the day begun, the kids arrived one by one, each completely ecstatic to begin their warrior training.  The educators in charge ensured that each station would be an essential  part of training. 

Station one tested the children's strength, kids were to swing across the gym on a rope and land in their coolest ninja poses! 

Station two tested their agility and allowed them to showcase their own secret ninja moves by running over an obstacle course made out of mats. Our warriors in training were to run over mat ramps and show us their best in air tricks and kicks! 

Station three looked at the kids stealth and sneakiness abilities by participating in a red light, green light styled game. 
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Station four was a slip and slide with a crash mat. Educators encouraged kids to use this station in a creative way by asking them to use their ninja minds to work together to created their own moves.  

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​As the day went on, ninja kicks were being seen left and right, and the gym was booming with screams of excitement.  While doing warrior training the kids were eager to show the educators their progress often yelling "look at this kick!!"  One child even dedicated his morning to perfecting his secret ninja moves and was so ecstatic to show everyone, "watch me swing from this rope and jump into my secret ninja pose!"  

 After a big morning of training, our warriors were hungry!  Scattering to get their lunch kits and have their snacks, the kids were asking what the afternoon would look like.  Educators then asked the kids if they wanted to create their own extreme ninja warrior attire. When educators mentioned this the children eagerly wolfed down their snacks and ran to make their swords, headbands and any other ninja accessory their creative minds could come up with!  

Once our warriors were full and had all their ninja attire, they were back in action swinging from ropes and flying across the gym while their laughs and screams filled the school with joy.  The kids of Extreme Warrior kept telling educators how good of a day they were having, which is always the goal for Dawn and Dusk educators.  I can officially say the children have passed their warrior training and are ready to become true ninja warriors!!

As we were approaching The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, we took out the paint colours of the Indigenous flag; red, yellow and black. Yellow represents the sun, red represents the land, and black represents Indigenous people. The activity was left open-ended so the children could use their creativity, and also take the time to ask questions and have conversations about the colours and the significance they have to Indigenous people and their culture. 

"Why are you painting your hand black?", one artist asked the educator. The educator replied, "I want to put handprints on my paper. Do you want to try?" They thought for a moment before using their handprints to start creating their painting. "This is my bird!", the painter said proudly.

"Look, I painted mine all black! I don't want to use any other colour!", another artist exclaimed.

"That's okay!", said the educator, "You don't have to use all the colours. This is your art."

"Does anyone remember what the colours of the indigenous flag mean?", the educator asked all the artists. 
One artist replied "Yellow is the sun, red is the land, and I forgot what black means...maybe orange shirt day?"

"Yellow does mean the sun, and red does mean land and black represents all indigenous people",  the educator replied. 

"Ohhh" said the artist, "I am going to show my mom my painting and tell her about the colours!" 

As one of the painters was going home, the educator overheard them talking to their parent excitedly. 
"Look at my painting! The yellow is the sun, the red is the land and the black means indigenous people!", they said as they held the painting up for their parent to see.

-Leah

One afternoon while at the Forest a builder had looked up, high into a tree and noticed a huge bird nest that some birds made. The builder asked an educator, " How are bird nests made...hmmm?"
The educator replied, "How do you think they're made?" The builder said," Leaves, sticks, grass. Another builder answered, "Maybe some string or yarn found on the ground. Or some straw."

The educator shook their head and agreed with all of their answers. Next the educator asked, " How would you make the base of the bird nest?" The builders didn't have an answer. 

A couple of days later, the instructor gathered some plastic containers, glue, water, and strips of newspaper to make paper mache for the builders to create their own bird nests.

The first part was to cover the whole container with paper mache and to let it dry fully.
" This is so messy and fun!" giggled one builder.
"The glue is flying everywhere!"  exclaimed another builder, due to it being very windy outside.

After a few days of letting it dry, the builders were asked to gather however many leaves, sticks and any other materials they imagined their bird nest to look like.

Two builders made theirs look camouflaged how a bird would do it in the trees, and another builder made theirs camouflaged like the ground using dirt, grass and leaves of varies colours.

The final step was for the builders to add all their materials to how they imagined their bird nests to be. One builder replied, " I got the perfect spot on the ground by my one tree to put it."
Another builder excitedly said, " Can I take this home? I have the perfect tree to put it on!"

​Overall, they had a lot of fun building their nests using nature as their materials and learning how a bird lives. I foresee some amazing builders in Oak Trees near future!