Pa rum pum pum pum!

‘Tis the season of Bing, Dolly, Sinatra and of course Bieber!
The Christmas music is on high volume, the smell of Douglas Fir is in the air, and the lights are all a glow.
We are just 21 days away from the most wonderful time of the year!

Until then, we will be busy just like Santa’s elves decorating the classrooms, preparing a special Christmas surprise for each of you, and of course packing in all the learning we can while at play.

The Christmas songs that have been on repeat include:

  1. Santa Claus is coming to Town

2. Oh, Christmas Tree

3. T’was the Night Before Christmas.

4. Frosty the Snowman.

And 5. Walking in a Winter Wonderland.

Hit pause for a second, because you’ll have to hear this, actually better yet, you get to see it! When a toddler is building a tower, stacking blocks one on top of another, it’s not as simple as it may look – they have to create a hand-eye connection, while using their fine-motor skills to grasp the blocks, control the speed in which they stack, and then carefully snap the block into place all while solving any problem that may interrupt the construction. Building a block tower, takes the whole body and mind of a toddler!

The focused continued in the Preschool classroom where they Bill Nye’d this science experiment, creating a rain cloud in a jar!

Science rules!

So do Fridays!

Enjoy the weekend.

The Chartwell House.

December is coming to town.

The first snowfall coated most of the yard, and the Preschooler’s were the first ones to leave their prints! There’s always something magical about the first snowfall of the season!

The snow may have melted faster than it landed, but we kept the feeling of winter indoors as we slowly started decking the halls.

While the weather outside has been unpredictable the fire outside has been oh so delectable!

Back indoors, the toddler’s exploration of puzzling has been shaping up nicely.

Not only are the toddlers learning their shapes while finding the puzzle pieces, they are working with colours, tuning their fine motor skills, and working on their language and vocabulary as they hear and see the shape they place.

Working with shapes and colours continue as the child grows, the ways in which they work with them however, will become more and more challenging.

A child’s imagination is powerful, and to encourage them to use this superpower, loose parts has been the answer. Loose parts mean alluring, beautiful, found objects and materials that children can move, manipulate, control, and change while they play. Children can carry, combine, redesign, line up, take apart, and put loose parts back together in endless ways.

Now, I’ll use my own imagination to shrink down my Christmas shopping list…bibbidi boddidi boo!

That’s the happenings at the house this week! See you next week!

The Chartwell House.

Think. Happy. Thoughts.

The outdoor play continues…where fun and friendships happen!

Now, more than ever, we need to be in this together!

It’s hard to ignore the news, the numbers, the masks, the new protocols, but while scrolling through the photos here, just for a moment, look at what happens during your little one’s day. They work hard, and play even harder! And for them, it’s just another day at the house with their closest pals 🙂

These little educators are constantly learning new things, conquering new experiences, and building confidence, and they are doing so without even realizing it. The environment they are in is set up to challenge each of them, and reward them with accomplishments. Whether it be successful toilet training, taking a first step, writing their name for the first time, zipping up that jacket, or climbing the stairs all the way to the top, each goal they crush they learn from and take with them. We capture these moments in documentation, you see these moments live, and we take each of these small moments and turn them into big, huge moments that need to be celebrated. Because why not celebrate the little things?

Make each moment, teachable.

Here’s to the weekend, and to making even more memorable moments!

The Chartwell House.

Confession: The Christmas Music has started.

It went from Summer, to Fall to Winter all in one week – Oh Canada!

And the Toddler One’s were intrigued! They discussed the weather from sun, to rain, to snow, whatever was in the forecast they wanted to know!

Speaking of the weather, Toddler Two made it rain!

Then by using their fine motor skills, they brought out the sunshine!

When the sun is shining, you can find us outdoors! The Preschool class rounded up the troops to take a walk to the river. And before the temps dropped again, enjoyed snack and discussions on the front yard.

Outdoor play is just as important as play within doors – while outside the children are able to explore the natural environment, take risks, seek exercise, and breathe in that fresh air.

With all going on in the world, we could all use just a little more fresh air. Getting outdoors offers a ton of benefits for your little scholars – exposure to Vitamin D, stronger lungs, improved eyesight, less stress, more social skills and that fresh air will improve their immune system. Check, check and check!

If you need us, we’ll be outside!

The Chartwell House.

Lest we forget.

In Flanders Field the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row

That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days away
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow.
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders Field.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high
If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders Field.
– By. Dr. John McCrae

It’s beginning to look a lot like….too soon?

49 days until Christmas. But in Preschool…Oh, Christmas tree!

Before Santa comes to town, we had to continue the pumpkin fun by exploring the inside of our pumpkins while saving the seeds for the teachers too!

From the youngest to the oldest of the house we’ve got all areas covered!

Sensory play – check!
Water play – check!
Creative play – check!

Letter, colour and number recognition, reading and puzzling, gross motor play, fine motor skills, self help skills, mathematics, science…it all happens when you let them play!

And then during play, children will begin to express interest, they will let you know however way they can if they want more, they may repeat the same movements, go down the slide over and over, they may sign, ask questions, and or show by engaging – when this happens, this is when the teachers will start to make changes to the classroom to meet the interests, the needs, and the wants of their students. Observe, provide, engage, and document.

With Remembrance Day next week, we are exploring the Poppy and making some of our own too!

The sun is out, the temperatures are up and it’s Friday! I’m joining these two and enjoying the view!

Enjoy the weekend!

The Chartwell House.

This is Halloween.

“Boys and girls of every age.
Wouldn’t you like to see something strange.”

“Come with us and you will see
This, our town of Halloween”

“This is Halloween. This is Halloween.”

“Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! Halloween!”

“Aren’t you scared?”

“Everybody scream, everybody scream! “

“In our town of Halloween!”

(This Is Halloween lyrics © Walt Disney Music Company)

From all of us here at the House, we witch you a very Happy Halloween!

8 days till Halloween.

And it feels like summer.

Fall has been put on hold for the day as the sun is shining and the temperature rises outside, but inside we are sticking to all things Autumn with Halloween in the forecast.

From the youngest of the House to the oldest, fine motor skills are a must. Fine motor skills go hand in hand with hand-eye coordination – the ability to do activities that require the simultaneous use of our hands and eyes to guide the concepts of reaching and grasping. Check these fine motors below…

Research shows that sensory play builds nerve connections in the brain’s pathways, which can lead to children’s ability to complete more complex learning tasks. Sensory play helps support – language development, cognitive growth, fine and gross motor skills, problem solving skills and social interaction. With each child having their own individual sensory bin, they are able to explore different sensations -such as, water, dried pasta, shredded paper, play-doh, slime and more, and learn what happens when they scoop, pour, dump and transfer the items within their bin. Learning and adjusting as their curiosity allows.

There’s just a few steps before learning how to read, and one of the fundamental parts is letter and number recognition. Learning the shape, size, and sound of the letter or number will help support a child’s journey of learning how to read.

With the sun still shining and it being Friday – that’s wrap for this week’s happenings at The House. It’s time to get outside.

Enjoy it!

The Chartwell House.

ECE Appreciation Day!

It’s not an easy job. It takes just a little more passion, a little more heart and whole lot of patience. It can be long days, there can be germs and there can be tears, but at the end of the day after an ECE removes their cape, they can know they continue to impact many children’s lives. They create environments and learning opportunities that shape these young children’s minds to give them confidence, courage, and the skills to take on the big world. It just takes a little bit more!

We could not be more grateful for the Chartwell House Educators – we appreciate each one of you!

Happy ECE Appreciation Day! and Thank you!