This summer was full of joy, wonder, learning and building new friendships and connections for the children and teachers. We not only made new friends but we added new experiences to our lives that we might not have had before, by doing many fun experiences every week. “At the heart of play-based learning is the freedom for children to explore their creativity and imagination” - Akiane Kramarik.
From searching for clues at our annual RisingOaks Amazing Race, getting entertained by the puppets at Elora theatre, creating fairy doors with play with clay, flying rockets with tinker truck, splashing at McLennen park splash pad, learning about electric and magnetic energy with messy labs, learning new dance moves with cardio drumming, visiting marshmallow island with mystic drums, walking through Huron natural Park and exploring nature, looking at rainbow prisms with mad science, swimming at Kiwanis park, visiting the reptiles with Little Rays, picking blueberries at the farm and making smoothies at the centre, exploring the exhibits at the children’s museum and having a BBQ at Waterloo Park. We enjoyed every single minute of the fun and adventures that we had each and every day.
During the month of July, we did many special activities that focused on nature. We were so happy to get out for walks and explore the elements. The sun was hot so we filled up our water bottles, put on our sunscreen and hats and explored the outdoors. We collected materials like sticks and flowers in the forest and at the school, and made nature pictures with them. We made fairy wands, and used the items to make bug habitats. We spent a lot of time catching and exploring the bugs outside. We were so amazed to see bright blue, green, gold and yellow dragonflies. We enjoyed doing water play every week and had fun playing with the gems, plastic eggs, toys, buckets and running through the sprinkler. We even made everlasting bubbles with sugar, water and dish soap. We were happy to go around doing scavenger hunts in our neighborhood and on our field trips to find and identify nature items.
In the month of August, we did a lot of sensory and science exploration. The children did a lot of colouring pictures with markers, paints, crayons and pastels. They were colour mixing and making discoveries. We did fun lava experiments with baking soda and colourful vinegar, we created play dough, moon sand, cloud dough, shaving cream and blocks, we also did a fun messy experiment lab using different textures liquids and foams. All of these science experiments led to making discoveries, exploring textures and chemical reactions.
We had a great summer!!! Now it’s time to head back to school and before and after school programs, and we wish everyone a great new school year!
