A Picture Says a Thousand Words.

A look into the happenings of the House this week…

We will start in the Preschool classrooms:

Just a few thousand words more….brought to you by the Toddler Two’s:

The Toddler One Classroom were focused on the power that words and voices have:

Snow eh?

It may have been short, but the week was sweet! After Family Day and a Snow Day extending the weekend we were happy to be back and geared up for an action packed three-day week at the house.

With the grounds covered in snow, we couldn’t help ourselves. After the long haul of bundling up, we eventually got to the outdoors and dove right into the fresh powder.

With the temperatures well below zero, and travel out of the question the Seniors of the House decided to bring the beach to Chartwell! While the snow was falling outside, the Seniors had their hands in the sand, swim suits on, and the Beach Boys blaring in the speakers. It was HOT HOT HOT in the Coach House, and the only way to cool down was to purchase a fresh glass of lemonade at the local stand, or dive into the water play.

There must have been heavy traffic at the beach, because the youngest of the house worked on patrolling the roads by producing traffic lights. They worked all morning constructing the lights by using their fine motor skills to glue, pat and place the red, yellow and green lights.

Before I go, let me stop and slow down for a second…(see what I did there?)

Let’s talk about how we got a whole extra day to spend with Family this past weekend. Now, more than ever we have realized just how important it is to spend time with loved ones, whether it is virtual, over the phone, or distanced spending quality time with those you call family is the best feeling, and medicine going! The Toddler Two classroom kept Family Day going for the week as their main focus was all things Family.

The Preschool classroom had their creative juices flowing all week, as they used eye drops, salt and paint to create neon-coloured paintings, and crafted designs with chalk.

A lot of letter recognition has been seen in both Preschool classrooms – all different activities but all the same objective – to learn and conquer those 26 letters. Tracing the letters, choosing the letters, matching the sound of the letters and tracing over names or words all to work on letter recognition. But make it fun!

And that’s a wrap on the action packed short week!

See you back at the House next week – enjoy your weekend!

The Chartwell House.

CELEBRATE good times!

Lunar New Year, SNOW, Valentine’s Day and Family Day! What a weekend! Lots to celebrate, and no where like home to do it!

Before we pack up for the long weekend, let’s take a look at what happened this week inside the House. And I say inside, because outside we have been dealing with an ice age!

A lot of letter recognition, and loose parts play with the Preschoolers.

Oh, you are wondering what I mean by loose parts? Well, let me explain!

Loose parts are materials that can be moved, carried, combined, redesigned, lined up, and taken apart and put back together in multiple ways. Loose parts can be used alone or combined with other materials. There is no order, or direction, it is only the child who is in charge of what happens to these loose parts. Okay, I’m guessing your next questions is, “why are loose parts important in my child’s development?” I’ve got this covered too…loose parts are important because when a child interacts with loose parts they enter a world of ‘what if’ – they are taking on problem solving skills, and theoretical learning. The use of loose parts will enhance the child’s use of imagination, and motivate the child to find solutions. Loose parts will bring a sense of adventure and excitement into the child’s world of play, and that alone is beneficial.

With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, the classrooms showed their love while crafting, gluing, sticking, and creating.

Roses are red
Violets are blue
The blog may have been short and sweet
But the weekend will be long
And that is really really neat

Happy Valentine’s Day Chartwell!

And enjoy your Family Day long weekend too!

Early Spring is trending.

Wiarton Willie predicts early Spring, and we are all here for it! It’s been fun Winter, but 6 weeks is a long time!

The oldest of the House agree, Early Spring for the win!

With the temperatures dropping way below zero, we have seen lots of extra music and movement in the classrooms! We have seen the sillies being shaken, the head-shoulders-knees-and-toes in slow and fast motion, we have hokey’d and pokey’d, and we have danced until we’ve dropped. We have virtually welcomed back Movin’ & Groovin’ with Ms. J and music with Suzie Sunshine, even with technical difficulties being on the rise, we were happy to see them back!

In between the dance parties, it was all business…

Both Preschool classrooms focused on their tracing, writing, and word recognition along with working on that pincer grasp.

With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, we have been prepping and decorating! Spreading a little extra love around the House!

And there is nothing like a Crazy Hair Day party! Check out these do’s —>>

Drum roll for the Educators………..(insert drum roll)!

It was a busy week at the house, but FRIDAY is here and it’s Super Bowl weekend! We hope you enjoy it!

The Chartwell House.

PS. Mahomes > Brady

Don’t worry – Be Happy

Was it just me or did this week just fly by?! We are already heading into the last week of January, but before we do, here is a closer look inside the house this week.

We are continuing to cover all the basic bases – colours, numbers, letters and shapes! Oh my! And a little science on the side with a house Skittle experiment, and Preschool volcano eruption!

The Preschool volcano that was once dormant has finally erupted, and they were lucky enough to see it happen live.

The obsession with the volcano eruption continued into the art of the Preschoolers.

This week we introduced Skittle Day, where we wore the colours of the rainbow and saw the colours of a rainbow come alive in front of our eyes!

The Skittle experiment was brought to each classroom for each child to see what would happen if you added warm water, cold water, an ice cube or even vinegar to a plate full of Skittles. Any ideas? Let’s look at what the oldest of the house thought would happen, and what actually happened…

Here’s the Skittle Experiment taking place in each classroom…

It may not always be rainbows and butterflies, sometimes you just have to make your own 🙂

At the end of this rainbow….is the weekend! And that’s golden!

The Chartwell House.

Essential.

Before I dive into the happenings at the house this week, I want to take a quick minute to give a shout out to the Chartwell educators. The “stay at home” order was issued, but we have proven to be essential, and so we continue to open our doors and provide a home away from home for each of our families. We are following the appropriate measures, we continue to adapt to each new restriction and rule, and we continue to do so because we are here to provide care for your little scholars. Educators – You are doing great! And we thank you for providing a space where a mix of learning and fun happens Monday to Friday. Here’s to being essential, and here’s to each one of Chartwell’s educators! THANK YOU.

One more thing – to all the parents who are juggling their own work schedule, zoom meets, lunches, online learning, pick up and drop off times, and even sleep – you are doing great! It may not seem like it, but you’ve got this! We have all got this.

That’s it, promise. Now, on to the good stuff…here’s a closer look at that learning and fun combo in action.

We’ve got the basics covered! Colours, letters, numbers, name recognition and shapes are being worked on and recognized in all classrooms. The end goal may be the same, but the journey to get there is determined by the child’s development, age, and over all goals.

During free play, children have a choice when it comes to their creative expression. They have an opportunity to paint, glue, construct, build and use different materials to create a masterpiece that is designed just how they want it to be. Creative expression helps children articulate their feelings, emotions and thoughts. They think critically about their world and practice visual communication. Children will learn and use their colours, shapes and sounds during creative play. And so with the learning that was happening in the photos above, they will use and express during free play.

Creative expression can also be found when children role play. They become a character, pretend play happens, and when the teachers provide the opportunity by bringing real materials in to enhance the role playing, their imaginations take off!

The photos above are taken of the Kinder Ice Rink, where you can skate and order from the snack bar. It’s an essential business, as it serves exercise and coffee! Order your coffee, or hot chocolate, and grab your skates, the ice has been zamboni’d and is ready to use!

We got our Bill Nye on when using different ways to melt ice to save our arctic friends from being trapped in ice. Warm water, salt and patience did the trick!

The Arctic has been a hot topic in the house…

After the work is done, we PLAY! And the best place to play is OUTDOORS! Bring on the fresh air!

That’s a wrap on this week’s happenings. Enjoy the weekend, we will be back at it next week!

2021. Let’s do this.

“Another year over, and new one just begun” well said Mr. Lennon.
2020 is in the rear view, and there is no looking back! 2021, here we come!

There was no slowing down after the holidays, we got right back into things here at the house, and it all started with a roar up in the toddler district!

You might have thought dinosaurs were extinct, but if you were to venture through the toddler classroom you’d hear otherwise! With a roar roar there and a roar roar here, there is definitely roaring everywhere! Dinosaurs are back baby! Let’s let our little paleontologists show you what they have been digging up…

This is just the beginning of their journey through the great valley. The toddlers cannot get enough of all things dinosaurs, and so the environment, planning, and learning will turn into Jurassic Park until the interest fades just like the dinosaurs themselves.

Let’s continue this journey through the first week of 2021….next up, the Preschool scholars take on the four components of letter recognition.
1. Letter Recognition: the ability to recognize the shape and size of the letter.
2. Letter Name: recognizing that the shape of the letter is associated with a letter name.
3. Letter Sound Knowledge: determining what sound corresponds to the shape or name of the letter.
4. Letter writing: the ability to trace or write the letter with a pen in accordance with its shape and direction.

Along with their letter recognition, they named their favourite animal, found their favourite animal and kept the letter recognition going, as they guessed the first letter of their favourite animal too!

What a zoo! Let’s head to the Coach House to check in on what these scholars got up to!

A whole lot of fine motors skills were to put to work this week – from painting, to puzzling to practicing with a pair of scissors.

The first week back in 2021 is a wrap! Here’s to a new year, where there has got to be way more cheer!

The Chartwell House.

Merry Christmas to all.

This year may have been different – it may have challenged us, and knocked us down, but it forced us to be creative, to think outside of the box and to get back up. We have been forced to mask, to be patient, to follow rules, and we have been forced to stay apart. But at this time of year, more than ever, we need to stay together. And yes, this may look different, but it is important to communicate with your loved ones, spend time with those who matter most and if that’s over a Zoom chat so be it, it’s coming together in unique ways that will help us get through this together…even if that is 6 feet apart.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!' Card | Noteworthy Cards

From all of us at The Chartwell House – We want to wish all of you, a very safe, but very happy,
Merry Christmas.

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:

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!