All Early Years – Groups

Landmark 8 (Nature Art Weekly)

I noticed the snow was flat and smooth on the playground and wondered if we could draw on it with chalk. I set some chalk on the snow and together we drew pictures on the snow. The children were surprised that the chalk worked on the snow and used it to make their own pictures. One child used yellow chalk to make a sun.

Peterborough Daycare – February 1, 2023

Landmark 14 (Five New Outdoor Activities)

With all the fresh snow we’ve received, it only seemed fitting to make use of the snowshoes available in our Toy and Resource Library!!! Some of the children strutted around like it was nothing new, while others put the snow shoes on and said “too big!! Off” as they can be difficult to adjust to. We noticed how different our tracks were when we had snow shoes on and were surprised to find tracks of another sort of snowshoe that were different than ours.

PCFC Programs – January 27, 2023

Landmark 1 (Explore Together Weekly)

During outdoor play I asked the children if they could help me discover what type of clouds were in the sky today. I brought out a looking window to narrow their focus and also a chart to help match what we saw. One child noticed they could see some blue sky and the sun peeking out behind a cloud. I noticed the clouds were moving and wondered out loud why that was happening. One child quickly answered by saying the wind was blowing them. A lot of the sky was filled with low, flat, grey-looking clouds and we thought maybe they were stratus clouds. It was interesting to get educators and children working together to make their best guess.

Peterborough Daycare – February 1, 2023

Landamrk 3 (Exercise Senses Daily (1 pt/wk)
Our Fleming College Placement student brought in scoops and measuring cups to make a snow picnic.

Strath MacLean Toddler – January 26, 2023

Landmark 6 (Play in Nature for a Full Hour)

The Strath-MacLean Toddler’s completed Landmark 6: Play in Nature for a Full Hour. We have been enjoying all the snow building up in our playground. We grabbed our toboggans and played outside as the snow fell around us.

Strath MacLean Toddler – January 20, 2023

Landmark 14 (Five New Outdoor Activities)

As a class we listened to the story Over and Under the Snow. We had a discussion about whether we thought it would be warmer, colder, or the same under the snow. I connected the activity to grade 1 science. We are talking about natural materials used in structures. We discussed how snow is a natural material, and we can make a structure out of it. Students checked the temperature of their water inside (about 23 degrees), then we went outside and the students made little holes or caves for their water cups to go in. We left them outside the whole middle block, and then at the beginning of the third block, we returned and checked the temperature of the water. Some students had slush, some still had water. None froze. The temperature outside was around 0 degrees, and our water/slush was also around 0 degrees.
We talked about what would happen if we left the water outside overnight. I said they could continue this experiment at home. The students who still had water are the ones who made the caves, and those who had slush made just a little hole. They definitely enjoyed the experiement.

Keith Wightman Gr 1 – January 27, 2023

Landmark 7 (Books, Songs, Games Weekly)

We read Sadie and the Snowman together and talked about what the animals did to the snowman’s face. We also discovered how many times you can build a snowman once it melts and snows again and how to save it when spring comes.

Kawartha Heights Kinders2 – January 27, 2023

Landmark 2 (Animal Friends Monthly)

At the Roots of Discovery Program, we regularly leave gifts in the woods in appreciation of our time spent there, and today had the pleasure of coming close to some of the woodland creatures that benefit from our gifts! Chickadees and this little grey squirrel came to say hello to some very patient children. There is a great deal of self-regulation and control that a child goes through in order to be still enough to witness such a sight, of these creatures coming so close to receive the gifts we’ve laid out for them.

PCFC Programs – January 27, 2023

Landmark 1 (Explore Together Weekly)

Toddlers love Roots of Discovery just as much as any!! Winter is a great time for toddlers to get out and explore the snow while also building the muscles needed to master walking and developing spatial awareness. Not to mention how much thinking, processing and planning happens in their brains as they learn how to navigate different surfaces, levels and textures in the snowy woods!

PCFC Programs – January 20, 2023

Landmark 8 (Nature Art Weekly)

When we returned from winter break we spent time talking about what we love about school and what “wishes” and goals we have for the remainder of the school year. Using the story the “wish tree” we explored what makes us happy, how we have the power to reach goals and bring joy into our lives. Students recorded their wishes on paper hearts and selected an “on the ground” branch from our nature area to paint and display our classroom. We has so much fun exploring outside and picking the best branch for our wishes.

Otonabee Valley JK/SK – January 9, 2023

Landmark 6 (Play in Nature for a Full Hour)

Now that we finally have the snow we have been waiting for we were quick to act on the opportunity to explore “snart” (snow art). Students spent extended time outdoors colouring the snow, mixing colours, and thinking about how they could work together to make snow art.

Otonabee Valley JK/SK – January 26, 2023

Landmark 3 (Exercise Senses Daily)

The children were excited to see the snow falling from the sky as they played outside this morning. The children like tasting the snow so it was special to be able to catch the fresh snow right onto our tongues. When we were back inside we noticed a dinosaur that was left on the toddler yard. The way that the dinosaur was positioned it looked like it was also catching snowflakes. The children were excited to go back out into the snow to play with the dinosaurs in the afternoon!

Peterborough Daycare – January 23, 2023

Landmark 8 (Nature Art Weekly)

Today we brought out coloured water in spray bottles for the children to colour the ground. It was so nice seeing the bright colours mixing together to make designs on the icy ground.

Peterborough Daycare – January 25, 2023

Landmark 7 (Books, Songs, Games Weekly)

We read How to Catch a Snowman, then the children had to come up with other clever ways to catch a snowman.

Kawartha Heights Kinders2 – January 25, 2023

Landmark 8 (Nature Art Weekly)

In our Loose Parts in the Park program, we brought out some bright colors for such a snowy day. This toddler builds the skills to transform the snow with his paintbrush.

PCFC Programs – January 25, 2023

Landmark 21 (Meet Other Cultures)

Our toddlers and preschoolers were so excited to celebrate the Chinese lunar new year. It was fun to get to know different cultures and traditions. We read the book with our children about the Chinese new year which has 12 animals of zodiac signs. As per the book, a rat was the winner of the race between all animals and they all had a party at the end. We also ended our story time with the tea party.further, we had zodiac signs for families and children to see on our entrance. It was fun to find our zodiac signs and talking about different animals accordingly. We also discussed how 2023 is the year of the Rabbit, which is a symbol of peace and hope. We also practiced saying Hello by saying nǐhǎo or nínhǎo.

Pearson Child Care – January 24, 2023

Landmark 14 (Five New Outdoor Activities)

Harvey, Easton, and Cole worked so hard on their snow fort. They hollowed out an area to sit inside and then worked carefully to create a tunnel out the other side. They had the idea to use the handle of the shovels to get the new hole started so that it was small enough to manage, then started gradually widening it with the blade of the shovels. Eventually, the tunnel was wide enough for them to fit through. Once they had the two entrances, they started on a third! Cole said, “We’re going to dig through the whole snow hill!”

Strath Maclean Child Care Centre – Junior After school – January 23, 2023

Landmark 1 (Explore Together Weekly)

Georgia and Olivia were cloud-watching last night. They laid down on their backs and took advantage of the little bit of sunshine we had.

Georgia: That one looks like a rhino with wings! There’s a dragon touching his chin with a finger.

Olivia: There’s a bunny looking that way. I wish I could touch the clouds.

Cat: What do you think they feel like?

Olivia: Like fluff! Actually, I want to sit on top of the clouds and have a picnic!

Strath Maclean Child Care Centre – Junior After school – January 24, 2023

Landmark 5 (Garden/Care for Animals)

Today we made bird feeders out of biodegradable items. We used toilet rolls, pine cones, jute and egg cartons. Tomorrow we will put them in our forest and meadow for the birds and other animals. (We included some corn, popcorn, cereal, apples and grapes for other animals).

Room 194 Millbrook SC – January 19, 2023

Landmark 7 (Books, Songs, Games Weekly)

Animals are so interesting! Every few weeks, we choose to study one animal and learning about that animal makes us even more interested and have more questions. This week we have been learning about beavers, which inspired the reading of the book North Country Night by Daniel San Souci. In this book we get a glimpse of all the animals that are out and about in the night. The beaver is in the water swimming back to its lodge to stay safe. We also see an owl, a porcupine, and a deer, amongst other creatures, quietly moving through the forest.
<>br>Queen Elizabeth K1 – January 18, 2023

Landmark 7 (Books, Songs, Games Weekly)

We had a wonderful, peaceful morning with our visit from Melody Crowe. She read us a story titled, Snow Tunnel Sisters by Leah Dorion. The children could relate to the sisters in the story, being so excited about a snowfall, and then going out to make tunnels, forts, and snow angels. Melody taught us some winter words and a welcoming song in Ojibwe, too.

Queen Elizabeth K1 – January 20, 2023

Landmark 5 (Garden/Care for Animals)

Our classroom quail birds came back after the winter holiday and started laying eggs again. The children were really excited to find eggs in the cage and so we took them out to investigate them. We had lots of great questions and discussions about quail eggs as well as chicken eggs. Today we made apple muffins with lots of yummy ingredients, including three eggs. The children got to see the inside of the eggs and got to eat some (baked into muffins) too!

Queen Elizabeth K1 – January 20, 2023

Landmark 1 (Explore Together Weekly)

After our ice melting no experience we decide to put the rest of the ice cubes into a jar in the morning and estimate how long it would take to melt by using our daily schedule. We put the jar on the science counter to be observed throughout the day and revisited it at all estimated times.(After water started to form…) Some children guessed at how much water would be there once it completely melted.

Kawartha Heights Kinders2 – January 19, 2023

Landmark 7 (Books, Songs, Games Weekly)

We read The Jacket together as it is a shared reading book. It leads to a conversation about dressing properly for the winter weather and keeping warm.

Kawartha Heights Kinders2 – January 20, 2023

Landmark 8 (Nature Art Weekly)

The children were given a prepared sheet to work on where they were encouraged to add pictures of what they see outdoors and things they can do outdoors.

Kawartha Heights Kinders2 – January 18, 2023

Landmark 1 (Explore Together Weekly)

Providing shovels in the winter opens a whole new door for exploration and imagination while digging and playing in the snow. Max and Easton created a hot tub out of the hole they dug out and had a place for them to relax after their hard work was done. Max started digging a hole in the snow and Easton came over and asked, “what are you digging” and Max responded with, “can I help dig your hot tub?” Max said, “of course you can, the shovelled snow is going to be the water after it’s dug out”. Easton said, “okay, I’m helping with the hot tub”. Easton continued to say, “do you want to make it bigger?”. Max said, “yes, let’s make it the biggest hot tub, but we’ve got to dig it out a lot”. I asked, “how much water is your hot tub going to hold?” Max replied with, “10 pounds”. Easton said, “whoa, that’s a lot of water”. I noticed the hole they were creating off to the side and said, “oh what’s that hole for in your hot tub?”. Easton replied with, “the under water cave in the hot tub”. Max begin filling up the hot tub with the snow he just mashed up until he felt his hot tub had enough water in it. He said, “okay, filling up the bunker now and then I’m going in for a tub and relaxation”.

Strath Maclean Child Care Centre – Junior After school – January 20, 2023

Landmark 11 (Celebrate Each Season)

We discovered the rocks that were frozen under the ice that they couldn’t grab which inspired a learning opportunity and theories. A, Ava and Adeline discovered when A tried to pick up her toys out of the water after washing them, that there was rocks under the ice that they couldn’t reach. A stated, “look it’s see-through!”. Ava said, “it’s clear but frozen”. A followed with, “it’s water that froze and water is clear so ice is clear”. I asked, “how or why does the water freeze?”. Ava replied, “the temperature drops, and snow melts”. Adeline said, “it becomes slippery so you can skate”. A said, “things are under ice like pinecones”. I asked, “what may live under the ice in other places”. Adeline was trying to scoop the water up to see if she could reach the bottom or chip the ice away to reach the rocks underneath but there was a thick layer. Ava said, “dirt”. A said, “rocks” and at the same time they said, “fish!”. I asked, “where do you find fish under the ice?”. Ava said, “in the ocean where the water freezes and the fish live under there”. I said, “do you think the ocean freezes?”. A replied, “it doesn’t freeze in Turks and Caicos 🇹🇨. Ava said, “well there are no winters there so it wouldn’t freeze” and continued to say, “but lakes do though, and there’s fish in there all around here”. A said, “but snow is above the ice and under to make it freeze”.

Strath Maclean Child Care Centre – Junior After school – January 19, 2023

Landmark 14 (Five New Outdoor Activities)

The girls were saying how eager they were to jump in the puddle because they haven’t jumped in puddles in the winter. We discussed if their socks become wet or feet became cold to let us know and we will go and change them. We discussed all of this before going into the puddle. Audrey, and Amelia said their boots were water proof and they’d be okay because they go in puddles all the time.
Georgia said, “ I can’t wait for the snow to melt to make more puddles to puddle jump in!”.
Audrey said, “puddle jumping in winter is colder but so much fun!”
Aubrey said,”the water is cold but thicker … I’m adding more snow to refill the puddle and it feels mucky”
Amelia said, “it’s not as muddy but it’s still fun…Watch me jump”

After they took turns jumping in the puddle we checked our boots to make sure they were dry to continue playing outside but to still be mindful if their socks became wet to notify us. They had so much fun and thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to jump into puddles during winter!

Strath Maclean Child Care Centre – Junior After school – January 17, 2023

Landmark 7 (Books, Songs, Games Weekly)

On Mondays we sing with a variety of song stories – these all involve winter and the outdoors.

Kawartha Heights Kinders2 – January 9, 2023

Landmark 2 (Animal Friends Monthly)

We are currently engaged in an inquiry on winter birds in Ontario. Students have been researching how birds survive in the winter and what we can do to help. We have built bird feeders, ice feeders and painted wood feeders that are hung in both our playground and outdoor classroom. We have enjoyed drawing different birds, looking for birds and looking for signs of their presence!

Otonabee Valley JK/SK – January 20, 2023

Landmark 3 (Exercise Senses Daily)

In our Roots of Discovery program, families get together weekly to explore the outdoors together. In this submission, I’d like to highlight the efforts that our families of children under one-year-old have made to come to our program through the seasons! Each season provides their children with an immense amount of opportunities to exercise their senses. In our programs, not only children were able to do this, but parents were reminded of what it’s like to “just be” in nature and take it all in, while also sharing ideas of how to provide these opportunities for their children, still being mindful of what protective gear could be used to allow their children to get full, and joyful experiences from all the seasons.

Geri-Lynn – January 18, 2023

Landmark 1 (Explore Together Weekly)

We brought snow into the classroom and observed what would happen. We had to go home but saw what was in the container in the morning by dumping the contents into a clear container. We observed the dirt, mitten fluff and grass, and mucky water left.

Kawartha Heights Kinders2 – January 17, 2023

Landmark 1 (Explore Together Weekly)

Today was the perfect day to make a snowperson as it was a little rainy which made the snow extra sticky. We searched around the Old Millbrook School for nature items and used natural loose parts to add to our snowperson. We included a hat, nose and buttons with wood slices, pinecone eyes, a tree bark smile, and stick arms. When we were all done “E” decided to name her snowperson “Snowma”.

The Old Millbrook School EarlyON Child and Family Centre – January 18, 2023

Landmark 8 (Nature Art Weekly)

We have created a recycle box for our used markers. Thanks for the idea Nancy!

Kawartha Heights Kinders2 – January 18, 2023

Landmark 2 (Animal Friends Monthly)

The children have been noticing the infant snails in our enclosure. Today we used three bins to sort them into small (infant), medium (adolescent), and large (adult). We counted the snails as they became comfortable and emerged from their shells.

Trent Childcare Kaawaate (B) – January 18, 2023

Landmark 7 (Books, Songs, Games Weekly)

Today we read a new book called Winter Dance by: Marion Bauer. This book follows a fox who’s trying to figure out what he’s suppose to do in winter by asking all his animal friends. This was a great story to learn about hibernation and what animals we might see dancing around the snow.

Peterborough Daycare – January 17, 2023

Landmark 1 (Explore Together Weekly)

Noah started out by deciding which snowbank he wanted to dig in and he immediately had many ideas and theories he wanted to discover. He kept digging and digging and rotating from each side back and forth and continued to dig until he started to see the snow moving and eventually he noticed an opening and he could see his red shovel and said, “look, I’m breaking through, I’m almost through to the other side but I need to chip away a little more”. As he was scooping the snow away and once he cleared it all away and could see right through the tunnel he accidentally hit the top with his shovel and broke a tiny piece off and said, “it could possibly just be a crack as the snow was falling down too”. Noah was examining the snow to figure out why it fell so easily and made an observation. Noah looked up into the sun in the sky and said, “ I see the sun is shining on the snow and melting the snow quickly and I took it out from underneath so it probably made the snow fragile because nothing is holding it underneath anymore”. He continues to say, “but I think I can fix it”. He placed a bigger snowball on top of the opening and said, “I patched it by using this big heavy piece of snow so this time it’ll work for sure”. He used the shovel to try and pack it down a little bit so it’d stay in place and not move or fall down and packed snow on the sides to make it stronger on the bottom. Next, Noah created a hole in the roof of his tunnel using his hand within his mitten and he leaned over to examine the hole to make sure it was completely through so that he could see the bottom. He says, “it needs some cement”. I asked, “what do you need cement for?” He replied with, “I’m just kidding, it doesn’t need cement it just needs to be chipped away a little bit more”. As he continued chipping away to make the tunnel wider he stated, “This is a tunnel for adventure, adventure people go through this to get treasure on the other side”. I asked, “what kind of treasure is on the other side”. He said, “coins, like very shiny, shiny coins, and trophies”. Noah engaged in the process from his imagination between building the tunnel to treasure and then turning it into a roof and pretending to be Santa Claus; next became an experiment around his body weight and balance but after it collapsed because that didn’t work as planned, he created a tight rope with a shovel and had various theories around how to reach the other side. Once he reached the other side he was so proud of himself that he found the solution after all the work he put in and the discoveries he determined along the way.

Strath Maclean Child Care Centre – Junior After school – January 16, 2023

Landmark 11 (Celebrate each Season)

“Cat, come to my patter shop! Here’s your patter. You can use it to make things or to cook with it!”
Noah had a collection of little ice pellets that he called ‘patter’. He asked me to make something with it, but when I picked some up, we noticed that they melted on my fingers! “They don’t melt on my mitts, though!” he noticed. We tested the ice pellets on a few different surfaces to see what might make them melt and what didn’t, then wondered why some things made the ice melt faster than others. Noah took his mitts off to feel how warm the surfaces were, to see if that was what made the ice melt.

Strath Maclean Child Care Centre – Junior After school – January 10, 2023

Landmark 11 (Celebrate each Season)

The children found big chunks of ice and begin to create and make their own snow because there wasn’t enough around the yard supposedly so they wanted to make more and brainstormed a way to make that happen. Georgia, Aubrey, Audrey, Olivia and Amelia were making more snow. Georgia found a chunk of ice and Amelia placed the bucket underneath to catch the snow they were making, Georgia said, “we are making the snow with the ice chunks against the brick, so when we rub the ice along the brick it turns into powder like snow, so it makes snow, we want more snow so thought we would make it ourselves”. Amelia said, “we made it all the way to the top and it’s landing in the bucket, but we have to fill it up all the way up to the top”. Amelia continued to say, “we are going to make a cake because in the game is my birthday”.
Olivia said, “we are making a snow monster cake”. Aubrey poured the snow powder from the bucket into the cake tray and they carried it over to Amelia and sang her happy birthday.
Audrey had a tiny chunk of ice and said, “look I have an ice snow cone without flavour”.

Strath Maclean Child Care Centre – Junior After school – January 11, 2023

Landmark 6 (Play in Nature a Full Hour)
The kids were so excited to find lots of ice in various containers that were left outside over the break. Some pieces were crystal treasures and some of the ice became ice cream! It was a fun challenge to break apart the larger chunks.

Queen Elizabeth K1 – January 9, 2023

Landmark 9 (Special Outdoor Place 2X/Month)
“That’s the rainbow tree!” A. said.
“Why is it a rainbow tree?” I asked her.
“In the fall, it has one leaf turn yellow, one leaf turns orange, one leaf turn red, and one leaf turn green. So it’s a lot of colours. Sometimes purple, too, but not blue.” I love all the details the children notice when they are outside, and how they remember them, even once the seasons have changed.

Strath Maclean Child Care Centre – Junior After school – January 12, 2023

Landmark 1 (Explore Together Weekly)

Children were so excited to find our playground covered with snow. We loved making snow angels again and again. Some children thanked the sky to give us the clean and fresh snow that they can eat some. We encouraged them to have clean snow and only eat limited that they are not sneaking and eating the dirty snow.

Pearson Child Care – January 13, 2023

Landmark 6 (Play in Nature a Full Hour)

Today we went snowshoeing! Wow, that was some good exercise! Everyone persevered and did a great job! It was so much fun!! I did learn that next time we will invite some volunteers to help put them on 😊

Room194 – December 22, 2022

Landmark 3 (Exercise Senses Daily)

All week we have been looking and listening for signs of animals in our forest. Today we were searching for tracks. We found so many! Next, we will be bringing the pictures in and seeing if we can identify each of the tracks we found.

Room194 – January 11, 2023

Landmark 7 (Books, Songs, Games Weekly)

Today we read ‘Forest Tracks’ and on Friday we read ‘Who Was Hear’. Along with the books we put out some animal track stamps, toy animals, and an animal tracks guide sheet. The children could use the animals and the stamps to compare and match the prints. It also became a dramatic play area with storytelling.

Room 194 Millbrook SC – January 16, 2023

Landmark 6 (Play in Nature a Full Hour)

Christmas trees are wonderful loose parts. Pulling the trees around the yard, leaning them up against fences and other trees working together to move the bigger trees from one place to another. The photo shows our students driving in their tree car. The students have been making forts and trampolines by putting the trees on top of each other.

Queen Elizabeth K1 – January 11, 2023

Landmark 5 (Garden/Care for Animals)

A simple but genius activity that connects kiddos to nature. We were stringing cheerios for the busy squirrels and birds in our playground. This activity is a great fine motor one but also helps to connect children to caring for the animals. It will be fun to watch them observe any changes/nibbling they see 😊

Lakefield CNS – January 10, 2023

Landmark 3 (Exercise Senses Daily)

We provided the children with handmade wooden blocks on mirrors to explore. We added magnifying glasses to encourage a close and detailed look at the wood.

Trent Childcare Kaawaate (B) – January 10, 2023