This past Friday marked the start of a new and exciting chapter in our program: "Forest Friday's!" After the incredible learning experience last Spring as part of the Ministry of Education's Pilot Project entitled "A Week in the Forest," (click here if you have yet to read that post), I couldn't help but get excited to launch this part of our program every Friday! 

Our students' love for the outdoors is contagious and we are so fortunate to have our magical forest within walking distance from our school. It truly has become a "magical" place for learning and one that our students have a genuine love and care for! 

As a teaching team, we want our "Forest Friday's" to be an opportunity that extends on the learning happening within the walls of our classroom while at the same time, help our students foster a loving connection with nature. From "Sit Spots" and experiments to exploration and more, our "Forest Friday's" continues to be a natural recipe for fun! 

Chapter Three of "We Can See" has begun!

 Our "We Can See" Project continues with this exciting new chapter of learning! 

The slant this year is to harness the outdoors and to take our learning beyond the four walls of our classrooms! We encourage classes to go outside and look closely at their natural environment and take photos of their outdoor areas since they too are a canvas for learning. 

Do you have an outdoor classroom? 

Is there a forest nearby? 

Do you walk to a local pond? 

Can you see a lake from your yard? What can you see?

We invite you to meet with your class and share the ways you use the outdoors as a learning space! The opportunities are truly endless. We have a Google Drive Folder available for sharing and we will post some of our new books on this blog.

"Curiouser and Curiouser": Favourites for Classroom Beginnings

September is always a month filled with new possibilities, new challenges, growing "to-do" lists, and excitement for what lies ahead with the onset of a new school year! That being said, the ladies of #4EverInspired decided to host another giveaway! This one in particular highlights the perspectives of each one of us when it comes to classroom set-up, inventory and our personal passions with hopes to inspire you as we make our way into October!

The nature of our lists are by no means exhaustive and are not meant to be perceived as a "must-have" guide to every classroom. Just as Alice fostered a intrinsic sense of wonderment and curiosity when stating "curiouser and curiouser" in Alice in Wonderland, we thought these classroom favourites would shed light on what each of us finds personally essential to our individual practices when designing and setting up a classroom.

#4EverInspired Reunites at Louise Kool & Galt

With the onset of another school year quickly approaching and another summer almost behind us, I always find myself getting excited to plan my program and design my classroom environment after much dialogue and reflection! I like to look at each new school year as a blank canvas and thus, I often find myself making a handful of "wish lists" for a variety of new materials, opportunities, and ideas that I'd like to bring forth into my program in the Fall. 

When Joanne Babalis invited #4EverInspired to reunite and visit the amazing showroom at Louise Kool & Galt, I didn't waste anytime ensuring my busy summer schedule was free so I could attend!  Having browsed through their catalogue many times before, I knew this was going to be an exciting opportunity for all of us and we couldn't be more excited to share our discoveries with all of you!

Once we arrived, we were greeted by Cathy Elliot and Sonia Polak, two wonderful sales representatives that share a passion for creating classroom environments that ignite every learner's imagination, creativity, thinking and learning. 

They kindly lead us through their Showroom and highlighted a variety of different catalogue items from new furniture pieces and open-ended manipulatives to magnetic blocks and outdoor play materials. As we were tinkering and messing about, it was evident how versatile and engaging their materials were!

Here is a list of my top ten "Wish List" items for back to school (even though I could've easily shared over 100)! Each item title is linked directly to Louise Kool & Galt's website to provide you with more information: 

Item images are from www.louisekool.com

1. Nature Wooden Disc Set

These wooden discs are the perfect natural material to bring learning outdoors! Not only are they incredibly versatile and cross-curricular (bug hunts, sorting, matching, counting, etc), but they would add much excitement to any outdoor learning environment!  

2. Tree Blocks (set of 36)

These natural building materials make a great addition to any building and construction area! They would also be great to take outdoors since they are light weight and come in an easy-to-carry cloth bag. 

3. Wooden Dominoes

Math is everywhere and I can only imagine the possibilities of bringing a simple material like these large wooden dominoes outdoors! 

4. Sheet Magnifier

This simple tool could excite many when exploring the natural learning environment around your school! While magnifying glasses are fun, this easy to use magnifying sheet makes it fun to look closely at a variety of different objects! 

5. Wooden Uppercase Letters (set of 29)

I love the versatility and tactile experience of these wooden letters! From play-dough and pipe cleaners to using beads and even your finger, this would make learning the letters of the alphabet fun for all the senses!

6. Round Sand Tray

This sand tray provides students with the wonderful opportunity to practice pre-handwriting skills, promote concentration and creativity! I love how it also has a built-in slot underneath the glass base where coloured paper and other materials can be inserted for added effect! 

7. Luxy Luminescent Building Blocks

These small but versatile building blocks could be added to any area of your classroom! From the light table to open exploration, they would be a wonderful add-on to any structure or design!

8. Rattan Sorting Trays

These incredibly sturdy trays can be used in a multitude of ways! From storing materials on a shelf to bringing them outside! They come in a round or square framework however, both have four sections allowing for a variety of materials to be on display. 

9. "The Great Outdoors" by Mary S. Rivkin 

I actually won this professional resource during an outdoor education workshop this summer and couldn't put it down! I was so happy to see that it was available for others to purchase through Louise Kool & Galt since it truly explains how children benefit from learning and playing in outdoor environments. 

10. Outlast Ramps, Blocks and Flow Pan

These outdoor learning materials would be an amazing addition to any outdoor learning environment when exploring water and different liquid materials! Problem-solving, experimentation and open-ended play are only some of the many opportunities that I can foresee when using these materials!

Not only did we get to see firsthand all of their incredible products, but it was also a wonderful opportunity to dialogue with the ladies of #4EverInspired once we left around how the materials at Louise Kool & Galt reflect the importance of creating strong foundations for student learning. 

Every corner of their showroom made visible their strong value and beliefs around creating spaces for child-centred, innovative learning experiences and we couldn't help but feel inspired! Don't forget to check out the other ladies of #4EverInspired to read about their top ten "Wish List" items by visiting their blogs:

For Vanessa's Top Ten list: "Too (Louise) Kool for School"

For Joanne's Top Ten list: "Royal Treatment at Louise Kool & Galt"

For Trista's Top Ten list: "Louise Kool for Back to School"

As a way of sharing our experience with all of you, Louise Kool & Galt generously donated four $50 gift certificates to give away with hopes of inspiring your classroom design and program planning for September! Be sure to check out our Instagram pages to read more about contest details and enter for your chance to win! 

Vanessa's Instagram: follow @evolvingeducator

Joanne's Instagram page: follow @joannebabalis

Trista's Instagram page: follow @kindiekorner

Jocelyn's Instagram page: follow @ourkindergartenjourney

A sincere thank you to Cathy, Sonia and Louise Kool & Galt for opening up your doors to #4EverInspired and giving us the wonderful opportunity to share your products with our readers! We truly can't wait to reveal the many exciting things in store for #4EverInspired this coming year!

Reflectively yours,

#4EverInspired xoxo

"A Week in the Forest" ~ Inspiring Learning Outside

"It's a good thing to learn about nature in order to share this knowledge with children; it's even better if the adult and child learn about nature together. And it's a lot more fun." 

~ Richard Louv

This quote sums up beautifully the amazing experience and positive impact of the Ministry Pilot Project our class was fortunate enough to be a part of last week entitled "A Week in the Forest." This project was founded by Tanya Murray, an Outdoor Education Teacher and Specialist with Sibbald Point and Forest School Practitioner, with hopes that every child and educator alike could feel inspired to learn outside! Part 1 of the Pilot took place at Milliken Mills Public School in Markham and focused more on the urban school setting. Our school was Part 2 of the Pilot since our landscape was one that promoted a more rural environment and something we will now always call the "magical forest." 

Curious about Caterpillars

Here is a snapshot of some of our documentation about our most recent and exciting inquiry! This is a very exciting time because next week we will begin a Ministry Pilot Project called "A Week in the Forest" which will allow us to embrace the outdoors in our learning and we are excited to bring this inquiry into this wonderful opportunity! Stay tuned for more posts to come!

A visit to the aquarium...

Last Friday, we had the wonderful experience of visiting Toronto's new Ripley's Aquarium. As a teaching team, we thought this was the perfect opportunity to use a field trip experience to support and enhance our current inquiry into oceans since students would see firsthand, all of the ocean life they've been inquiring about over the past month and a half.

When planning for a field trip, Heidi and I truly believe that it has to either support, enhance and/or celebrate the learning going on in the classroom. In this sense, we do not plan field trips unless they are relevant to the learning going on.

What do you see?

With this mentality, we feel like the experiences thus far that have supported our class inquiries both this year and in previous years, (e.g. visiting Buttonville Airport to support our Airplane/Airport inquiry, visiting McMichael Art Gallery's Tree Exhibit to support our Tree Inquiry) have truly made for meaningful learning opportunities before, during and after each experience for our students and us as a teaching team. 

Sea anemones, clownfish, puffer fish and more!

Students engaged in an Aquarium Scavenger Hunt using the riddles they
came up with in class as clues!

We hope you enjoy the captured photographs from our most recent trip to the aquarium and we look forward to sharing with you how this experience has pushed our thinking back in our classroom! Stay tuned!

"What kind of shark is this? It's not a great white because it's not as
big as a great white shark." - T.B.

"I see the sharks' gills and big teeth!" - E.S. 

"The stingray has a long stinger and uses its flaps to swim in the
water. How come some are big and some are small?" - R.K.

The diver was not only giving away high 5's, but he was also feeding
the stingrays!

The jellyfish were most certainly the highlight of the trip!

"I see all the tentacles and I wonder how they change colour
and swim with no eyes?" - C.S. 

"The starfish have their mouths underneath but they have no eyes.
I wonder how they stick on the glass?" - V.D.

Students even got to touch Horseshoe crabs and see what they feel like.

Do you see the sea horse? Do you see the pacific kelp?

Up, Up and Away: A Celebration

Last Friday, our class had the wonderful opportunity of visiting Pilot Ryan at his airport! Not only was this a great way for us to see a real airport and airplanes in action, but it was a wonderful way to celebrate all of our learning as this incredible inquiry comes to an end.

Leading up to our visit, our students began to make predictions about what they think they might see at Pilot Ryan's airport based on what they've learned throughout our inquiry. One of our SK students (J.S.) decided to look up Buttonville Airport on Google Earth and inspired his peers to do the same. What came out of this learning opportunity was a chance for our class to create checklists for our special visit and what we hope to see when we're there:

When the day finally came, our students were beyond excited and we were happy to also have the company of our Community Class join us on our excursion! Smiles, songs and excitement filled our school bus and to top it off, the weather was absolutely perfect! 

Once we arrived, Pilot Ryan greeted us at the front doors and our adventure began. It wasn't long before "ooh's" and "ahh's" filled the building as we made our way to our "Classroom" for a Morning Meeting. This classroom was pretty neat - filled with pictures of airplanes, helicopters, maps and a real propeller! Pilot Ryan taught us about safety when we go out on the tarmac and had a few other Pilots come and assist us as we started our tour. 

Some highlights of our trip:

1. Students were able to make connections to various parts of the airport, airplane and job roles at the airport.

2. Students got to go up into the Weather Tower, talk and learn from a real Meteorologist and listen to the radio commands being given to pilots up in the air! 

3. Students learned how the Weather Tower measures how high the clouds are in the sky! A special machine shoots a laser into the sky and once a cloud passes over it, it bounces back down and tells the computer how high the clouds are!

3. Students got to see the flight simulation room where Pilot Candidate's practice how to fly.

4. Students got to sit in the cockpit of a real airplane, turn the yolk (steering wheel) and see what happens to the wings.

5. Students got to watch airplanes and helicopters taking off and landing every few minutes! They also learned that helicopters take off and land by going up and down and airplanes need to "zoom" down the runway to lift off!

For the "grown-ups" on the trip, we learned that Tom Cruise trained to be a pilot at Buttonville Airport and that John Travolta visits often (too bad we missed them during our visit)!

The pictures below are only a snapshot of all the wonderful things and conversations had while visiting Pilot Ryan at the airport! 

Flight Simulation Room

We would like to take this opportunity again to thank our wonderful Parent Volunteers who assisted us on our trip and to Pilot Ryan for hosting! Our students will always remember this visit and it truly was an authentic learning opportunity for them!

Pilot Ryan, we hope you enjoyed your "Thank You Book" from our class and we hope to see you again soon or maybe even up in the sky!