Thursday, January 26, 2017

Happy New Year!

One Planet finished last year with a great program led by Carrie McDonnell, our Director, on December 20th, a half day. It was an afternoon filled with fun holiday activities, like making decorations, gingerbread house and best of all gingerbread cookies which some children were patient enough to wait to take home but some ate them right there! They looked and were delicious as the photo below shows:

The new year started with fun in the snow or ice, which we had a lot of. Unfortunately, some days were just too icy but some were in between when snow "bails" could be made and transformed into all kind of structures, a scientifically creative adventure!

Speaking of science, we have had a couple of weeks of tinkering, a unique form of STEM learning. Students were making tops with materials that can be usually found in every house, like screws and washers - amazing how a little imagination and skill can work wonders!
And what a wonder it is to be able to roast marshmallows in winter, which is what our children have a chance to do during the outdoor program which includes cooking outside and exploring our nearby forest. The kids come back with rosy cheeks and lots of things to tell.

That's what we like them to experience - new things or old things which can be seen in a different light and in various scenarios.
Knowing that they come to us after a whole day of school, we make sure that they get a chance to move a lot. First, it's time outside around the playground, then also during the programs we offer. Even Spanish is not just learning new words but also dancing around to lively Spanish music with our own Spanish teacher Ms. Marcella Carroll. 
We can also create music during the International Drumming program with Ms. Holly Mugford, The kids have certainly been having fun being loud!

One more thing that we have wanted to do outside is ice skating but unfortunately the weather hasn't been cooperating. We are optimistic, though, and got a box of ice skates ready with our students' names on them. And once we actually did skate and the kids had lots of fun. Here's to hoping there will be more days like that!