This week we honoured the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. We learned about various Indigenous cultures, what Orange Shirt Day means at an age-appropriate level and what it means to accept and celebrate others for who they are. I was very proud of the children on Orange Shirt Day when they were able to tell passers-by why they were all wearing orange shirts.
There are many wonderful resources out there that give us information that is suited to early learning ages. We really enjoyed CBC Kids two-minute-long videos about various aspects of Indigenous cultures. These videos helped put images and action to what we were learning about each day. Learning about Pow Wows, Indigenous regalia, Inuit Throat singing, and how drums are made and played was very interesting to us. We also had a lot of fun learning the Metis Jig, the Seal Dance and Fancy Shawl dancing.
Learning about teepees was exciting too. We know what the shape of the teepee represents and how the “grandma’s arms” allow for fire smoke to escape out the top. We know that it is made from animal hides, that it has 13 poles, and the fire is placed in the middle of the teepee while the bedding was placed around the circle. We really liked that stories were told around these fires too.
Now we didn’t have any poles, but we really tried to figure out how we could build a play teepee with what we had. There was a lot of trial and error, but together we figured out how to make the top pointy, while allowing the sides to drape. The kids then coloured and cut out paper fire so they could have a fire in their teepee. Once the paper fire was done, we all sat around it and took turns telling stories. This afternoon long activity allowed us to learn something about Indigenous culture, helped exercise those fine motor skills, taking turns and listening respectfully to others’ stories, and literacy skills such as how to tell a story with a beginning, middle and end. Learning through play is so much fun!
Count Me In by Sesame Street was a wonderful song/video that we listened to, watched and sang along to each morning this week.
Our books of significance this week include
- The Big Umbrella by Amy June Bates
- It Takes a Village by Hillary Rodham Clinton
- Phyllis's Orange Shirt by Phyllis Webstad
- Strictly No Elephants by Lisa Mantchev
-You Are Enough by Margaret O’Hair and inspired by Sofia Sanchez
In their journals, the kids made a drawing inspired by The Big Umbrella. The umbrella represents them and their hearts. This umbrella can stretch to include and show kindness toward all sorts of beings.
We built a block clubhouse that was inspired by the story Strictly No Elephants. The important thing about this clubhouse is that anyone was allowed to play in it at any time, whether that be toys animals, toy cars, various toy people, etc. This book taught us that everything is better when we are in a community that includes everyone no matter their differences. The kids' clubhouse had some neat features including a treehouse, a pool, a climbing wall, and a train that would take you to and from the clubhouse.
At rest time we enjoyed watching Molly of Denali (based in Alaska). This kids’ show gently touches on parts of Indigenous cultures that were taken away and partly forgotten and how research/learning heled these kids embrace that part of their culture. This show it much more that what I have written, and I encourage you to check it out!
We also embraced Fall this week, by exploring different gourds. So many neat colours and textures! We also worked with the concept of big, medium and small, and sequencing sizes in different ways.
We spent a few of our days this week out on Nose Hill. We went on a hike and were lucky enough to see deer! We also went “rock climbing” twice!
The big kids practiced writing their names in uppercase and lowercase letters and taught the new ones how to match uppercase and lowercase letters. One partner would choose a letter and the other would find the matching letter and tell them what it was called. This activity helped to teach newbies, reinforce this skill in other children and practice leadership skills. I loved the little celebration when they finished their task
There are many wonderful resources out there that give us information that is suited to early learning ages. We really enjoyed CBC Kids two-minute-long videos about various aspects of Indigenous cultures. These videos helped put images and action to what we were learning about each day. Learning about Pow Wows, Indigenous regalia, Inuit Throat singing, and how drums are made and played was very interesting to us. We also had a lot of fun learning the Metis Jig, the Seal Dance and Fancy Shawl dancing.
Learning about teepees was exciting too. We know what the shape of the teepee represents and how the “grandma’s arms” allow for fire smoke to escape out the top. We know that it is made from animal hides, that it has 13 poles, and the fire is placed in the middle of the teepee while the bedding was placed around the circle. We really liked that stories were told around these fires too.
Now we didn’t have any poles, but we really tried to figure out how we could build a play teepee with what we had. There was a lot of trial and error, but together we figured out how to make the top pointy, while allowing the sides to drape. The kids then coloured and cut out paper fire so they could have a fire in their teepee. Once the paper fire was done, we all sat around it and took turns telling stories. This afternoon long activity allowed us to learn something about Indigenous culture, helped exercise those fine motor skills, taking turns and listening respectfully to others’ stories, and literacy skills such as how to tell a story with a beginning, middle and end. Learning through play is so much fun!
Count Me In by Sesame Street was a wonderful song/video that we listened to, watched and sang along to each morning this week.
Our books of significance this week include
- The Big Umbrella by Amy June Bates
- It Takes a Village by Hillary Rodham Clinton
- Phyllis's Orange Shirt by Phyllis Webstad
- Strictly No Elephants by Lisa Mantchev
-You Are Enough by Margaret O’Hair and inspired by Sofia Sanchez
In their journals, the kids made a drawing inspired by The Big Umbrella. The umbrella represents them and their hearts. This umbrella can stretch to include and show kindness toward all sorts of beings.
We built a block clubhouse that was inspired by the story Strictly No Elephants. The important thing about this clubhouse is that anyone was allowed to play in it at any time, whether that be toys animals, toy cars, various toy people, etc. This book taught us that everything is better when we are in a community that includes everyone no matter their differences. The kids' clubhouse had some neat features including a treehouse, a pool, a climbing wall, and a train that would take you to and from the clubhouse.
At rest time we enjoyed watching Molly of Denali (based in Alaska). This kids’ show gently touches on parts of Indigenous cultures that were taken away and partly forgotten and how research/learning heled these kids embrace that part of their culture. This show it much more that what I have written, and I encourage you to check it out!
We also embraced Fall this week, by exploring different gourds. So many neat colours and textures! We also worked with the concept of big, medium and small, and sequencing sizes in different ways.
We spent a few of our days this week out on Nose Hill. We went on a hike and were lucky enough to see deer! We also went “rock climbing” twice!
The big kids practiced writing their names in uppercase and lowercase letters and taught the new ones how to match uppercase and lowercase letters. One partner would choose a letter and the other would find the matching letter and tell them what it was called. This activity helped to teach newbies, reinforce this skill in other children and practice leadership skills. I loved the little celebration when they finished their task
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