When the Pine Tree kids roll in every morning most of them have already had breakfast, but their minds are hungry for something interesting, creative, or curious to take in before a full day of learning at school.

Here's a peek at some of the ways the Educators help feed those foggy morning minds;

​First, a popular game called Apples to Apples. A green card is drawn and placed in the center of the players, then each player picks one of the red cards in their hand that best describes the green card.

This is an excellent game of comparison and can get quite silly - but it also challenges the players to carefully consider their choices and assess which red apple card is actually going to win them the green card. The player with the most green apple cards wins the game!

Another provocation was recently set up after someone suggested we bring the Hot Wheels cars outside to race down the slide. 
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Since it was rainy the next morning, we set up a little something indoors, keeping with the theme of tragectory.

Just a few simple items were offered in an effort to spark a little inspiration, and was a big success.
​A basket of cars, a basket of small wooden planks, a small table, and cardboard tubes.

The children were immedietly drawn in, making crash walls, bridges and ramps. They explored which way to position the tube for the little cars to get the best velocity, and which cars made it the furthest after crashing through a wall.

Another way we challenged their before-school brains was with this difficult skill puzzle.
The object is to successfully hang and balance every single metal rod provided off of a main standing rod & platform.

We quickly learned that this particular puzzle required a lot of patience and planning, as well as a steady hand. Most of us gave up after failing time and time again, but one Pine Tree was determined to conquer it - and she did!

  
It took almost the entire morning to accomplish, but her perseverance and critical thinking made this frustrating challenge a really big success! Check out this quick clip of the finished product to see just how complicated this really was:

These three examples of morning play demonstrate the little ways we help the children mentally prepare for the day ahead. Playing a card game to learn decision making skills. Playing with cars and ramps to learn the science behind speed and angles. And lastly, playing with puzzles to learn patience and problem solving skills. Each of these activities encouraged critical thinking, hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills, patience, and cooperation. We love a good mental warm-up to prepare for the day ahead!

​Thanks for stopping by!

We took advantage of the heat recently with a small, simple science activity involving fizzing ice cubes.

Educator Jen whipped up some fun and colorful ice cubes with an extra ingredient twist: baking soda! She then provided vinegar and eye droppers. That's it! (If you'd like to try this at home the ratio of water to baking soda is 50/50)

​Just a simple little activity brought a lot of questions and a lot of focus on what was happening with the ice when they dropped vinegar onto it versus dropped water. Each participant had a unique way of "melting" the little fizzers, determining the best way to completely disolve their ice faster than their friends can.

They began to mix colors, stack the ice shapes, and race the trickles from the melting shapes. Their fine motor skills, concentration, and curiosity took this activity from just kinda fun to pretty interesting. Yeah, its just ice, but its pretty cool! Thanks for stopping by!

The grade 4/5 group (Pine Trees) really enjoys extreme challenges and games, so the educators surprised them one Thursday afternoon with the grossest game they have have ever played.

Each player was given a card that they could use if their spin landed on something they simply could not bear. However, the card could only be used once - after that the player had to taste whatever fate handed them.

​Facing an opponent, the children had to solve a riddle in one minute or less to be "saved" from having to spin the grossest wheel EVER and tasting some interesting items. Each player had their hands poised over a bell, ready to ring it. If they solved the riddle first, they were spared a spin.

If the riddle wasn't solved in time, or the player gave an incorrect answer, it was off to the wheel!

To add a little extra excitement, we included a spot on the wheel that said "NOT GROSS". And if they were lucky enough to land on it, they could either take a piece of candy OR take their chances on a Beanboozled Jellybean!

Here's a few action shots:

When everyone had a few turns and we had run out of riddles to solve, the group decided to challenge each other with rock/papr/scissors, to keep the fun going.

Finally, they began to challenge the staff. Team Leader Amberly was the first brave adult to get into the fun! She landed on "Mystery Mush" and judging by the photos, it was really, really gross!

We even had a very special guest pop in for a few rounds! Mr. Moore, our school Vice-Principal, challenged his son - and LOST! How was that jellybean, Mr. Moore? Looks like maybe it was kind of....gross!​

Despite the sour faces in these pictures, we had a really great time exploring flavours and textures we may not be all that familiar with. Hidden in the fun of this afternoon was a subtle lesson in being brave and venturing outside of our comfort zones to have new and interesting experiences. Many of the participants found they quite enjoyed some things that they initially thought were probably pretty gross, like soft tofu, black olives, and raw ginger. Heads up parents and guardians, your child may have developed a new love for a new food after this. 

​Or not.....

Wheel 1 Ingredients: Raw ginger paste, soft tofu, cocoa, black olives, Mystery Mush (mashed chickpeas & Kala namak), raw onion, guacamole

Wheel 2 Ingredients: Lemon juice, vinegar, lime juice, pickle juice, olive juice, Mystery Mash (mushed bananas), Pea Water (from the chickpeas in Mystery Mush)