We are in this together

With all that is happening in the world, I thought maybe a little piece of normal midway through the week would bring just even a little smile on yours and your little’s face. For all of the staff, Chartwell has been like a second home, and being away from the comfort of Chartwell, and all of you families has hit us hard! We miss you all, and we hope you are all staying safe and healthy as we go through this together!

Your lovely Chartwell teachers have been keeping busy at home and wanted to share a little bit of what they have been up to with you.

Here are a few words from some of your Chartwell teachers…

Family isn’t always blood.
The saying is very real in times like this. Being away from the school for weeks now has made me realize how much everyone at Chartwell is family. I miss everyone so much and hope everyone is staying safe and sane in the comfort for their own homes. I can’t wait to be back to normal, hopefully its sooner rather than later!
Lots of Love, Mrs. Bialy “TiTi”

**MS. HILLIS SHOWS OFF HER PUZZLING SKILLS, FINISHING A 2000 PIECE PUZZLE!**

HELLO MY KINDER KIDDIES
I MISS YOU AND ALL YOUR FAMILIES. I HOPE YOU ARE GETTING OUTSIDE ENJOYING THE SUNSHINE AND BIRDS SINGING!
I’M KEEPING BUSY BY TRYING TO IMPROVE MY GREEN THUMB AND KEEP MY NEW PLANTS ALIVE! I’M ENJOYING SPENDING LOTS OF TIME WITH MY DAUGHTER; MAKING CRAFTS OUT OF RECYCLED ITEMS AND HAVING LOTS OF FUN OUTSIDE.
I HOPE YOU AND YOUR FAMILY ARE KEEPING SAFE. I HOPE TO SEE YOU SOON!
MS. SHANNON

**I HOPE EVERYONE IS STAYING HEALTHY AND SAFE. MISSING THE SMILES FROM ALL THE CHILDREN! WE WILL GET THROUGH THIS. ❤️ MS. BENNETT**

From all of us, to all of you – Stay home to stay healthy!

We hope to see you all back at The House soon!

The Chartwell House.

A slow March to Spring.

And to do that…let them play!

Play benefits all area’s of child’s development. One of the most important aspects at this time and with this age group is, unstructured play – aka “free play.”

Free play allows the child to explore freely, create and discover without a set of predetermined rules or guidelines. Free play has influence on cognitive development, increasing physical, emotional, and social development. It helps with creativity, imagination and problem-solving abilities, and social skills.

Creativity and Imagination:

Mathematics and Problem-solving abilities:

Fine Motor Skills:

Reading, writing, and letter recognition:

Physical Activity and Gross-motor:

Music and Dance:

And language….en Francais!

A lot of hidden learning happens during free play! So I repeat, let them play!

Happy Friday!

The Chartwell House.

We’re one LEAP away from March.

It was the last week of February, and oh what a week it was! It was action packed with Funkey Kids, Movin and Groovin, the Animals, Mother Goose, French and Kindermusik all visiting the house. We danced, we sang, we nursed some rhymes, moved and grooved, faced fears petting snakes, and we learnt different sea creatures en Francais! Yes, this was all in just five days! And I haven’t even mentioned the fun in the snow, or learning we did!

And to keep the photos going, we’ll start up the stairs in the Main House, here’s a closer look at what the two toddler classrooms got up to.

Toddler One had an interest in the classic, Cat in the Hat, when they were creating Thing 1, and Thing 2 inspired art.

Across the way in Toddler Two they focused on feelings, and their emotions. What makes you happy? Sad? What happens when you’re anrgy? Name that emotion with Ms. Reid.

With snow piling up on the roads, we have seen a lot of snowplows passing by as we are out in the yard. And so the Toddler Two’s took pretend play serious as they plowed the snow in their playground, going above and beyond to get all the snow.

As we step back inside, we’ll take a closer look into the Preschool classroom – where they worked on letter recognition, puzzling, and their math skills when filling up the buckets with marker lids. The concept of less and more, and counting come into play with such a simple activity.

With the small world play, the Preschoolers were working on their driving, and parking skills as they controlled the cars, maneuvering them on the roads and into the parking spots. Number recognition is also happening as they pick and choose the number when parking.

And to wrap up the photos, we’ll finish in Senior Preschool – where they have been working hard on their hand-eye when it comes to printing, and letter recognition.

They continued mastering their fine motor skills when getting a head start on St Paddy Day’s decorations.

That’s a wrap from what happened in the house this week! From Ms. Hillis, her Mom, and all of us we hope you have a wonderful weekend!

“I choo choo choose you.”

Love is in the air. And so was a fresh coat of snow!

Roses are red.
Violets are blue.
Cupcakes are sweet.
Preschool thinks so too!

Funkey Kids, Movin’ and Groovin’ with Ms. J and Crazy Hair Day!

That’s this week in photos.

From ours to yours, Happy Family Day long weekend!

The Chartwell House.

Look who’s back! Back again.

And we are ready to show you what we all got up to this week at The House.

It all started just a few days again when Suzie brought the sunshine we have needed into each classroom. With smiley faces on her pants, a bright t-shirt, and smile…there’s no winter blues happening when Suzie is in the house.

When Suzie left, we were back to fighting the winter blues, but not for long because Mr.McCoy came only a few days later to kick those blues.

By the end of the week, we went English to French real quick when Madame S entered the classroom. Singing the days of the week, and then playing a matching game. Can you find me the “le taxi?” Ah, oui, formidable! Madame S introduced all things that go, talking about transportation en francais.

Colour and shapes: two of the most noticeable attributes in the world around us. When you look out a window, without even noticing it you are taking in the green grass, blue skis, bright yellow rays of the sun, the rectangle picnic table, and square sandbox. Colours and shapes allow children to observe and categorize items, the recognizable characteristics encourage children to define and organize the diverse world around them.

Manipulatives: are learning tools that can do just that – they can grab attention and keep children engaged. Learning through manipulative play requires that a child use objects to build, weigh, move, order, turn, or arrange to fit. They can also improve a child’s spatial awareness. Through manipulative use, and block building activities, children learn how things can fit together, or challenge them when they don’t, they promote problem solving skills, and creativity.

When children are drawing, they go through stages of artistic development. Each stage is just as important as the next. Starting with scribbling, what may just look like a bunch if lines, is actually a learning process of hand-eye coordination, fine-motor skills, and control. The next stage would be the preschematic stage, when the first conscious creation forms and the child’s thinking process is being recorded. The first representational attempt is a person, usually with a circle for a head and two vertical lines for legs.

Fact: Winter fresh air is actually good for everyone! Especially to get rid of those germs! That old saying, “you better bundle up or you’ll catch a cold,” is wise, however, the indoor circulation of germs and bacteria is much more harmful to your child than playing outside.

On that note…it’s Friday and it’s time to get outside! Stay healthy!

The Chartwell House.

Knock, knock!

We’re here! And we are back for another glance into the week at The House.

Before we take a closer look into what the children were exploring, and diving into this week, let’s talk about PLAY, and what is means when it comes to learning.

Play-based learning provides opportunities for children to develop a sense of world around them through inquiry, exploration, interaction, and problem-solving. Allowing the children to play, you are allowing them to bring in language , customs and culture into the classroom as they start to reveal themselves.

Below the Preschool classroom has showed an interest in Arctic animals that has taken over the small world play. Small world play is creating a life scene the children can explore and act out ideas from real life or reenact stories that know of.

From the youngest to the oldest of the House – letter, number and colour recognition will take place during play. Without even knowing it, the children are constantly looking at and viewing letters, colours and numbers around the classroom and over time they will begin to recognize and bring what they know into their language.

Sensory play includes any activity that stimulates your child’s senses: touch, smell, taste, movement, balance, sight and hearing. Sensory activities facilitate exploration and naturally encourage children to use scientific processes while they play, create, investigate and explore.

Free-art, structured art, any type of art allows for the children to explore their creativity and imagination. Fine-motor skills are tested as they hold the paint-brush or move their tiny hands to push the paint across the table.

The best part of play? It continues on even when it’s the weekend! And with snow on the way, let them play!

The Chartwell House.

Twenty-twenty vision.

New, year, new decade, same blog.

We hope you all enjoyed your holidays! With another year over, and a new one just begun, it has been a busy first full week back at the house. And so, I present to you….a week in photos.

From the youngest, to the oldest it is important to master your fine motor skills. These look mighty fine!

We were happy to have Suzie, Mr. McCoy, and Madame S back for music, karate, and French!

When Madame S is not teaching Francais, or prepping the food for the House, she is running the Mother Goose program for the toddlers. She introduces those classic nursery rhymes, with actions, song and Mother Goose herself.