Our Snazzy New Pavement Hop Scotch!

Something popped up in our playground over the weekend! Something super and ready to play on!!

Our new smooth pavement that was installed in the Fall was calling for a colourful addition. Perfect for games of hop-scotch, jumping games or even outdoor alphabet games. We love the new addition to our gross motor play area.

The kids simply love our colourful new addition and so do we!

Happy Mother's Day Memory Plates

It sure is hard to create a special surprise for you moms! Especially when you're in the classroom but we know our magic spell worked and no duty parents caught a whiff of our awesome Mother's Day Plates (did you??).

The children were so excited to give their moms their special Mother's Day Plates - we hope you enjoyed your special surprise on Mother's Day.

We had fun encouraging the kids to create a special picture for mom on their plates. Most of our classroom friends actually did a very good job of keeping the markers mostly on the plates instead of themselves.

Thanks to the moms for your kind comments you shared on our Facebook wall about the plates - it's so wonderful to know they were a success!

"Thank you for making another special occasion that much more special - just like my Christmas present from the Santa Store! Loved it." Amy

 "Awesome idea! I'll treasure it always." Jen

"Yup Katie was excited!! She said one of the happy faces is me, whereas the other one was Daddy and she had to scribble over it!" Liz

"Loved it!! Remy said 'oh no mommy. I forgot to draw your socks!' Haha" Alyssa

This is a great craft to do at home for other special occasions. Maybe we shouldn't tell you how simple it was in case it takes some of the amazement away??

All you need is:

• Ceramic plate (or mug would be fun too)

• An array of colourful permanent Sharpie markers

• Oven – set at 350 degrees

Wash and dry the plate, remove any stickers or labels from it.  Then, get decorating and designing the plate.
Once dry and complete, pop into the oven for 20-30 minutes to ‘set’ the ink so they can be washed. One note, the oven zaps some of the vibrancy out of the colour so make sure you really colour in your plate beforehand.

Once cool, your plate is done. We loaded with homemade goodies and delivered as gifts!

Great example of a holiday plate here.

Green Thumb's at Pearson Nursery School

This week the children got a chance to dig in the dirt and do some planting. What starts out tiny,  grows really tall, is a beautiful yellow colour that turns to the sun and the squirrels love to eat the seeds? The children guessed it a SUNFLOWER ! They thought it was funny when I told them that it may grow taller than their Dads if they plant it in a sunny spot in their garden. The seeds are having a sleep over at the school while they start to grow. Once they are have sprouted we will send them home. As you can see they have started to grow already.

Play is Work for Nursery School Children

Play is work at nursery school. The magic happens when those brilliant minds are left to play, build and create with their imaginations. Our caring staff and group of committed volunteer Co-op parents are always an arm reach away from all play and can help guide if needed. However, often the best learning moments happen when our studens are left to discover something on their own.

Carpet play is just that time. So much creativity happens on the carpet. Our learning toys are available to pull out and play with during our free play time and we love watching the ideas spread out on the carpet. Anything from building and stacking to pretend play with a dollhouse -- all this playing is hard work for a preschooler! We're not just playing - we're working & learning!

Need Snack Ideas for Nursery School?

Are you the Duty Parent in Snack? Are you stumped for ideas on what to bring? 

Here are a few snack ideas other than the usual fruit and veggies or cheese and crackers (we know that's an easy go-to..). Have fun, be creative. If you have an idea and are not sure if it’s okay just ask one of the teachers. Remember to have food from 2 food groups and be as Healthy as possible!

Trail mix, can include some or a variety of the following: Cheerios, shreddies, fishy crackers, pretzels, raisins, cranberries, mini marshmallows. Be creative as long as it is nut free.

• Bagel (Plain or cinnamon raisin) cream cheese & apple butter.
• Cinnamon toast (marg /butter /brown sugar /cinnamon)
• Apple sauce, plain or fruit flavoured.
• Rice cakes
• Graham wafers
• PC Mini chefs brand of cookies or crackers.
• Mini-go yogurt, yogurt tubes frozen,
• Vanilla yogurt with fruit for dipping.
• Fruit kabobs. Cut the sharp end off the sticks
• Bread sticks, ranch dressing for dipping.
• Tortillas roll ups. Use a variety of fillings
• Salsa & whole wheat chips.
• No sugar fruit cups /canned fruit
• Melba toast, cream cheese/cucumber
• Fruit salad
• Pickles
• Nilla wafers
• Apples & raisins
• PC mini no nut muffins
• PC mini bite pizzas
• English muffin pizzas
• Cereal & milk, oatmeal with chopped apples and raisins
• Pretzel sticks, fishy crackers  with cream cheese..Go fishing!
• Pancakes (use complete pancake mix)
• Bake Muffins in the kitchen (buy a no nut mix and bring it in)
• Fresh Vegetables with dip
• Smoothies 
• Melon balls and cubes

Our Kitchen is well equipped so duty parents can mix, bake, cook and prep. We encourage you to think beyond the cheese & cracker combo and have fun! If we have a special theme day (ie: Blue day - challenge yourself to bring a blue snack etc).  

As parents you know - the more fun your child has the more they will eat!