The Great Gummy Bear Hunt!

A couple weeks ago I noticed a couple children sitting in our art area coloring pictures. I sat down with them and before I could ask a child looked at me and said, "This is water, this is me, this is where treasure is." They asked me to draw a picture with them so I grabbed a purple marker and drew a random bear. Soon an entire story evolved from my bear. "The purple bear steals all the treasure and we have to go find it before he got to it!" The excitement caught the attention of a few more children who quickly asked to join. 

We spent the rest of our morning running around the playground collecting rocks, sticks and toys (aka treasure) and protecting it from the bear. When we came across this sign the child ran her finger across the words and told her friends what it said. "Be quiet bears are here and children have to tip toe." We then continued on by tip toeing through the yard only whispering. 

The next day the children continued to talk about maps and needed to make more. We gathered up some supplies so they could work together and create a big one to show our families. We used different shapes to represent roads,  our sandbox, houses and trees. (The other shapes were for decorations so it would be a beautiful map.)

Earlier this week we took the children out to the woods to help clean it up. We told them if we take care of our woods we would be able to use it more. After working together to clean it up, our woods were ready for something really special; a GREAT GUMMY BEAR HUNT. Wanda filled little baggies with gummy bears and labeled them with each child's name. The children mapped out their route to where the gummy bear treasures would be!

We all headed out into the woods to find our treasure, but we could only grab the bag with our name on it! 

The munchkins were very respectful of each others treasures and even helped some of their friends that couldn't find theirs! 

WHY THIS MATTERS:

-Fine motor skills (drawing maps)

- Math skills (shape recognition, counting out their gummy bears)

- Literacy (name recognition)

-Team work & Cooperation (working together to create their class map, helping friends find their treasure)

-Large motor skills (treasure hunt! running through the woods, balance/coordination)

-Imagination/Dramatic Play 

From the Ground Up (Part 3)

The final touches are being made on the clubhouse and there's just a couple more weeks before we're ready to be "moved in"! The last blog post ended with the doors and windows being installed and the dry wall being put up. Fast forward just a little bit and we have floors put down, fresh paint on the walls, lighting fixtures up, and ceilings and toilets in!

New wooden stalls for our bathroom.

  

With all the construction going on our "Littlest Munchkins" have taken a great interest in tools and construction. We've also spent a lot of time on our patio watching the men work, answering a lot of questions and admiring all the trucks that have been in and out of our driveway. 

We brought in different tools, blocks, and other building materials to help extend their play. 

We noticed after they had observed the cedar siding being put on they would take our flat boards and hammer them to the wall. (It hasn't been the quietest around our room lately!) 

Because the children were hammering everything they could find (tables, walls, chairs, windows) we decided to borrow some of the cedar scraps from the construction site and begin a few nails in the boards. We set the pieces of wood on the table with a few hammers and let the kids go to town. 

They hit the nails for quite some time and actually got the nails all the way in. Some were a little crooked but they seemed to really enjoy it so we decided to try screw drivers the next day! 

The screw drivers were a bit more complicated then the hammers but they took their job at "fixing the chairs" very serious. They were careful, took turns, and were helpful to the other children if they needed help. 

 After they fixed their chair they would sit in it to see if it would pass their inspection. We had a few screws removed during the process so we made sure they were tightened properly before lunch. If someone came in our room they made sure to tell them they fixed all of the chairs.

The clubhouse construction has been such a learning experience for all the children.... literally from the ground up!  

Keep an eye out for our final blog post coming soon with the fully completed clubhouse!

From the Ground Up! (Part 2)

We're into the third week of our clubhouse construction! We finished the last blog post with the roof being put on. We've seen many different skilled workers come onto site recently to help with the construction. Electricians, carpenters, and people to install dry wall are some of the important people that we've observed.

Each new visible step has been equally exciting for everyone. "They need to be careful with that window, it could break." "Wow they are strong!" Were a few of the comments overheard from the children.

The  electrician came in with lots of wires to make sure we could have power! Although we really couldn't see him doing a lot of his work we were able to look at pictures that were taken 

Once the electrician had finished what he needed to do a big truck came with a large stack of drywall on the back. When we asked the children what they thought the big pieces would be used for they confidently said "the walls!" 

                                      

After the dry wall was put up I went into the building to get some pictures and get my first look inside. The building has so much natural light that pours in from all our windows and is much bigger than I anticipated! 

With all the doors and windows in the clubhouse is safely secured with a lock and key when the men are done working each night. Every day it's exciting to see the big trucks pulling in and wondering what the next step is and what materials they have. 

From the Ground Up! (Part 1)

     

 There's been a lot of excitement around Little Munchkins the past couple of weeks with the construction of our new Munchkins Clubhouse! The children have been able to watch the production from the very beginning and have even been able to get up close to some of the materials being used.

                                          

The first step was welcoming in the giant cement truck that poured down the slab! The children got to see the special machine being used to smooth out the cement.

The following week started the deliveries of wood to start the construction. 

After the truck left we all ran outside to check out what was delivered! 

Once the materials were delivered the carpenters were able to start putting up the walls! 

                      

After the walls were up it really started to come together quickly. The after schoolers have been running off the bus to see the progress that has been made and cannot wait to get into their new clubhouse!

Next step, trusses! It was exciting as well as a little nerve racking watching the carpenters pass up the big pieces of trusses to someone that was on top of the roof!

The most current stage of the construction has been putting the shingles on the roof! The big truck pulled in with a special crane with roofing materials. 

It is amazing how quickly the clubhouse is being built! On Monday morning we had a cement slab and by Friday afternoon we have the structure built and shingles being put on! We are so excited to continue watching this process and  to learn a bit more about the machines and tools being used.

The Munchkins Clubhouse will be opening at the end of June just in time for our Summer Camp program for grades 2 - 5! Spaces are now available for our Summer Camp program along with Fall Registrations! Visit www.littlemunchkinspreschoolcenter.ca for more info!