​On September 29th, the Pine Tree group helped show awareness for Truth and Reconciliation Day, also known as Orange Shirt Day, by making an orange flag and hanging this proudly on the fence in front of the school.  In big letters the flag reads, “Every Child Matters”. We filled the flag with words that express what we are grateful for within our program. Children also wrote how they are grateful for the love and care they receive, the friends they’ve made, and the lessons they have learned. After writing their thoughts, they added their handprints and invited leadership and the educators of Dawn and Dusk to add their handprints as well. 

Pine Tree took pride in the flag they made and decided to make a shirt to fit onto the baby dolls we have at Dawn and Dusk.  We worked together to tie dye a shirt orange, and then once dried, we filled the shirt with more words to show our knowledge and support to those affected by residential schools.

The Pine Tree kids invited the Oak Tree group to come sign the flag and shirt they made while sharing  things they've learned in school. In Indigenous culture, sharing stories and knowledge to younger generations is an important practice in keeping history alive throughout the years. Sharing this piece of my culture with the students of Dawn and Dusk was a heartwarming experience, and was a proud moment to see our children take a leadership role and have fun while doing so. 

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

As the weather gets warmer and warmer the Oak Tree children have noticed an increasing amount of animals that have decided to make home in the school yard.  Going on nature walks and observing the wildlife has sparked an interest in bird watching amongst the children!

The educators of Oak Tree have been teaching our bird watchers about habitats and birdlife, which has lead us to making our own bird feeders to take home so the kids can continue to bird watch from the comfort of their house.  

Some kids wanted to make their bird house especially unique by adding wind chimes made from spare keys, lots and lot of bright colours to get the birds attention, and extra cushion so the birds have somewhere to relax when they go home.  

The Educators at Dawn and Dusk know how important it is to have an outlet for all the energy the children bring, so we get creative with different ways to get them moving & shaking!

Recently our Pine Tree group wanted to play indoor soccer, so we gave them half of the gym and the freedom to set it up how they saw fit. Using gym matts, they built an "arena" before squaring off in a game of soccer that lasted over an hour!

Sometimes we have basketball available in the morning, which a few children really enjoy. Nothing quite wakes you up like a shooting a few hoops before heading to school!

And for some low-key morning movement, we've introduced yoga, guided by Cosmic Kids Yoga on Youtube. 

For those who are bursting with energy when the sun comes up, we want to be able to match those vibes and provide opportunities to shake it out. The Educators know it can be hard to sit and concentrate in school when our bodies just need to move (that's why recess breaks are so important to a child's day of learing!) and we're committed to finding new, fun, and interesting ways to exert that morning energy. Thanks for stopping by and checking out what we've been up to!

There's something fascinating about miniature worlds, and the Oak Trees dove right into this tiny land of animals & the elements. There were bins of mud, snow and water available for exploration & sorting of the animals. 

They got right to work sorting the animals into their "preferred" environment. This opened up a discussion on food chains, climates, and the unique way each animal contributes to the environment through everything from their dung to their migration patterns.

More than just pretending to be in an itty bitty land, the Oak Tree group had a more scientific approach to this set up, provoking questions and answers from each other and the Educators. A fine example of playing to learn and learning to play.

As our backyard here at Dawn & Dusk thaws/dries out, we'll have first hand experiences with our own wildlife and their habits. With all the nests and coccoons throughout our forests and bushes, we will have endless opportunities to  continue exploring this very interesting subject!

Hi everyone! It's hard to believe it's the end of April. We have been looking forward to the snow finally melting away. As always, Mother Nature has other ideas.  Speaking of other ideas, the Maple  Tree group were eager to make creations that interested them as they have been making popular characters, food, and shapes using plus plus blocks.

So an educator brought forth air dry clay in which they would be able to create anything their hearts desire. The children were incredibly excited when they learned they would make something out of clay. Each child quickly sat down at a table and were given a sizeable chunk of clay. Their eyes sparkled when they finally decided what they would make.

There were a lot of details involved. Everything had to be just right. One child decided to make an animal sculpture - a koala. She carefully rolled pieces together and used popsicle sticks to make indentations. While she was creating her koala, she went on to tell the other children funny stories about her dog and how much she loved her. 

Two of the children decided on a collaborative effort. They instructed each other on how to create a basketball hoop. They pounded, squished, squeezed, and formed a miniature basketball hoop with a tiny ball to go with it. They even played a game which brought about much laughter as certain parts started falling off here and there. However, the children took it in stride and quickly stuck pieces back on. 

The children made all kinds of sculptures. There was a rainbow, a snake, an octopus, even a video game character called Kirby. One sports-minded child made several hearts. He explained he would give these hearts to special people he cared for. How sweet and thoughtful. 

After the clay sculptures dried, it was time to paint! The children picked various colours. Pink, blue, black, red, and yellow hues were popular. They proceeded to carefully brush their sculptures stroke by stroke. It was wonderful to hear them make comments about their sculptures while painting. What artists! When the children finished painting, they smiled in satisfaction as their sculptures were laid out before them to dry. The children remarked at how cute the koala and Kirby character looked.

Each child remarked how much they enjoyed creating and painting their sculptures. They couldn't wait until they could bring the sculptures home and show their loved ones. It was fun!

​- Leilani

We closed off our outside day by all coming inside with soaked boots, and many many pictures. Our oak tree friends helped to clean up the toy wagon and we ventered to the film room. We walked inside, while chanting a few songs. The songs continued right until the film room.

All in one day our Oak Tree friends learned how to use cameras, they creating a chanting song, went on a very long nature walk, posed with their frieneds, shared with each other, helped to clean up and so much more. Oak Tree is so excited for even warmer weather to get to do even more fun things.
Summer please come quick!!
​
Pictures taken, Adventure led, and lot of fun done by your very own Oak Tree Group
-Ally 

​During spring break the kids of Dawn and Dusk got to experience many different activities that challenged them to use skills they may have never known they had.  The Maple and Pine tree group got to spend the morning learning freeze frame techniques to create movies of their own.

Dawn and Dusk's very own directors started off on edge about the process of filming and if they could do it.  Other groups had difficulties with agreeing on movie ideas.  Although our directors had a nervous start, after a few minutes of trial and error the groups found their groove and realized how fun and cool legomation can be! 

The directors and producers got into 3 different groups and came up with their own unique ideas!  The films are “Race /N/ Relationship” “Beach Adventures” and "Lego Movie 3" each groups had their own problems that they overcame together as a team and ended the morning proud of themselves and excited.

Our movie makers took inspiration from a variety of things, Race /N/ Relationship was influenced by a shared favourite movie, Fast and Furious.  Beach Adventures was inspired by the upcoming summer season and the final group was inspired by 
The Lego Movie but wanted to add their own twist to it. 

The following day staff heard comments from our movie makers asking to watch their movies again and if they can show them to other kids in Dawn and Dusk.  Overall, the kids of Maple and Pine tree got to explore their creative side as a group while adding their own interests to their movies. I hope we get to do this again!