Knitting club week 4

The final week of knitting club and I am very proud of the children and how far they have come in the last month. Some were able to pick up the skills quite quickly others had some trouble starting but persevered and were able to get the hang of it after a while. Some still have a way to go before they finish their project but now they can work on their knitting any time they want. We had a great time together learning how to knit.

Miss. Penner

Tuesday, January 26/16

Thursday, January 28/16

Jan. 25/16

Broomball: Our children enjoy after school cooperative/field games, that allow them to show team work and turn taking. 

Tobogganing is a great way to practice a variety of skills. Some children have learned a few 'tricks' to make their run down the hill more adventurous. 

Outdoor Snack- Jan. 25/16

The beautiful weather and mild temperatures have allowed us to have our after school snack outside. We will eat outside up to -10 depending on the wind. Colder than that and our fingers turn into popsicles!

Nerd Day @ Stevenson

Stevenson school had Nerd Day today, so some of our children came ready to represent their inner 'nerd'.

Whittling Club November-December 2015

             

              

Two groups of children participated in the whittling club with Mr. Buckley (Tuesdays & Thursdays after school) where they learned about safety: such as the safety circle and proper knife handling skills-Cutting away from your hand, putting down your knife when speaking, and keeping silent while whittling so that their focus remained on their project. It was a wonderful experience with a few tiny cuts in the beginning, which became part of their learning experience. Children were at different stages of development and so learned at their own pace. Final projects reflected their learning outcome. It was a very popular club that we will offer again in the future :)

      

Knitting club week 3

The third week of our club is going great! A few kids have finished their first projects and some are just starting or restarting their project. We are having so much fun enjoying each other's company telling stories and laughing with each other.

Tuesday, January 19/16

Thursday, January 21/16

Before school fun!

Dancing is a wonderful, joyful way to self express. We encourage and cherish these special moments!

After school sledding

We are grateful to have our toboggan hill that the children use joyfully everyday! 

After school sledding

Our staff have as much fun as the children. We dress appropriately for the weather to role model but also so that we can fully engage and enjoy these moments :)

Winter Fun!

Children enjoy rough and tumble games such as 'King of the hill', which can be enjoyed as long as safety rules are followed.

Early Morning Shenanigans

Mornings are busy in school age 2. Our children get to hone their 'pool shark' skills and work on their planking!

S.W.A.T. Leadership Program Party- Jan. 15/16

 Today the swat team got together to reflect and celebrate the great achievements that we accomplished in the last five months. The children have been assisting in preschool rooms, helped with fundraiser lunches and various other tasks, well done! We celebrated with fruitopia, popcorn, some loud music, and some big laughs (har har).  I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.  Thank you to all the parents and children that have supported this club since day one. 

Mr. Reyes

Knitting Club Video

Knitting and singing...life is good!

Drumming Club

                                                             Making the Drum Sticks

Drum sticks are most commonly made from woods such as hickory, maple and oak. Standard lengths for sticks are around 15-16 inches. We made our sticks out of wooden dowels. The children had a chance to use some hand tools and the power bench sander(that was a popular tool)! They cut, sanded, and customized their sticks with hockey tape grips. Some children also used the wood burning kit to go a step further and put their initials on their sticks. Throughout the classes we had many stick casualties, due to soft wood and some heavy tapping!

 

                                                                       Drumming

At the start of the first class the children were asked what they wanted to learn from the club? Many said that they wanted to learn how to play the drums! I explained to them that it would take a lot of work to learn to play the drums, and that the objective of the club was to introduce simple beats, show them some different drum patterns, teach them some drumming techniques and to have a lot of fun. And that is what we did! We worked on timing, tempo, sound and even did some fun tricks, like stick flipping and bucket lifts for a bigger bass sound!

Club date: October 2015

Drumming instructors: Mr. Bordush, Mr. Doty and Mr. Battle

                                                        

Knitting Club week 2

The children have made great progress with their knitting. Most of the children can do it without any help, but some still need reminders where to start and end on their looms. The children who are needle knitting have learned the frustration of having to take apart your knitting and start all over again. They're learning to get just the right tension on their yarn while knitting. This club is great to get to spend time with your friends and just sit and talk or even sing! We tell jokes and have a great time together in each other's company.

Tuesday, January 12/16

Thursday, January 14/16

Knitting Club week 1

January Knitting Club

This month some of our children are participating in a knitting club. There will be two mixed-age groups participating weekly on Tuesday's and Thursday's. Some children are new to knitting and some come with experience and know what to do.
I was impressed with how quickly some of the children picked up the skills they needed. For the children who have never knitted before, using a loom is the easiest and fastest way to learn. The children who were loom knitting picked it up really quickly and were even able to help each other by the end of the hour. For the few who decided to do needle knitting, it took them a bit longer to learn but once they got the first step down they were very excited and proud of themselves!
There were a few first time needle knitters and some who knew what they were doing. It was great to see the progress that they made during the hour that they were knitting. I will continue to document their progress on this blog, so check back regularly :)

Ms. Penner

Group 1 Jan. 5/16

Group 2 Jan. 7/16

Lunchtime

It was freezing out today (-29) so we stayed in and played foosball and games, enjoying each other's company.