may 2023
Weaving nature into our days...
As the seasons change, our experiences with the outdoors change. The air is warmer, the sun is brighter, the snow disappears and soft warm sand is available to manipulate again! Leaves are popping up, as is grass and dandelions. Bugs are alive and the birds are singing outside of our windows again. These are all observations made by the toddler children. And we have responded by infusing natural materials into our daily programming!
Because of spring a special moment inspired our day. This morning H had brought in a pinecone which he found outside with his dad. This inspired some conversation at our morning snack table. The children were curious about poking it, smelling it and listening to it when I shook it. We continued our exploration of the pinecone with a painting experience. Using brown, black and white colours the children reflected on the colours of the pinecone and created markings on their papers. Other pinecones were added and we discussed the differences as some were big and others were small. H noticed that the one pinecone had a pointy end, "a tail" he called it! What an interesting observation! I wondered about what he new about tails!? Outside, we hunted for pinecones and found a different kind! We brought this in with other items to add to our indoor environment so we can continue to revisit these materials.
All this was inspired by a child bringing in a pinecone!
Selena Martin, Leila Nagy RECE
