May 29 – June 2
Casa
This week, we learned about how to keep our minds and bodies healthy on Health and Fitness Day. We practiced meditation, learned some simple yoga poses, and discussed healthy eating habits. We talked about how to keep our minds healthy by having quiet time, getting good sleep, and enjoying time with family and friends. We got our heart rates up doing some fun activities to make sure we have good healthy hearts and calmed ourselves with peaceful meditation and breathing exercises.
Pre-Casa
This week we continued to learn about various animals in the ocean. Children were exposed to octopus, jelly fish, squid and shark through making different crafts. They were delighted to practice their fine motor skills using brushes, stickers and paints to make those ocean animals. During the week, children practiced dancing to the Octpus Song which will be presented on the Spring Concert. To have a more visual concept about the ocean, children were amazed by the ocean bin with shells, stones and paper fish, and wheels. On the last day of this week, we had an activity about teaching children to eat healthy food such as fruits and vegetables by feeding a paper baby. They also enjoyed a rainbow fruit skewer during the afternoon snack.
May 24 – 27
Casa
Simple Science STEAM week
We explored slopes and angles with ramps and zip lines. We learned how to make our toy cars, figurines and marbles go fast, slow or suspend. We also learned that gravity makes everything fall if there is nothing holding it up. Then we conducted an experiment with oil and water and learned that the two will never mix. The droplets of coloured water always sank to the bottom and mixed together but the oil always stayed on top and would not absorb any of the colour. We learned that oil is less dense than water.
Pre-Casa
Children were invited to learn about the ocean. They were introduced to the theme with puzzles, crafts, vocabulary, stories, and songs. Children painted, glued, and pretended to move around the ocean floor this week. They performed a variety of yoga poses – jellyfish, crab, octopus, and dolphin to develop their concentration and gross motor skills.
May 16 – 20
Casa
Colour week was so interesting and fun! Each day we checked to see how much of the colour of the day our classmates were wearing. Casa 1 children learned that we could make secondary colours (green, purple, orange) by combining primary colours (blue, red, yellow). We learned that adding white to a colour makes tints of that colour and that adding black to a colour makes shades of that colour. We also found out about interesting colour names such as chartreuse, fuchsia, teal, and turquoise and that one colour can have many different names. Scarlet red, candy apple red, fire engine red are all shades of red.
Casa 2 enjoyed wearing a different colour each day and learning the spelling and names of those colours. Children learned that by mixing primary colours, they can get a secondary colour.
Pre-Casa
We continued with our theme on the 5 senses. Children learned the names of ears, mouth, nose, hands and eyes with Mr. Potato Head. They used their hands to make music using various types of percussion instruments and learned two songs about the 5 senses. They used their noses to smell strawberry jelly powder and sprinkled them on their names on a paper. Children practiced their fine motor skills by playing an ocean sensory bin and added oil to water in an experiment using a pipette. Children were fascinated with the patterns formed on a baby wipe with colour dye. Their senses were stimulated by the visual effect from an ocean sensory bottle. There were so much their small hands can do and they showed huge interest in what they can accomplish by themselves.
May 9 – 13
Casa
Casa 1 has spent the week ordering animals into different categories. – vertebrates/ invertebrates; pets/ wild animals; sort by classification and sort by habitat. We had a lot of fun sorting and resorting our animal collection into the different groups.
Casa 2 children matched and made patterns with different shapes. They learned about different animal groups and their characteristics.
Pre-Casa
Pre-casa students learned about the 5 senses. We used paper plates, magnifiers, and books to learn about visual inputs. They used jello powder to learn about the olfactory senses. They visited the music room to learn about the auditory senses. They played with lots of sensory bins for tactile experiences. Children built on knowledge from different materials and concepts through these activities. The children also had a chance to practice their names with glue and jello powder. They loved feeling the different sensory materials made of rice, water, and shaving cream.
May 2 – 6
Casa
Over the next few weeks, Casa 1 children will be learning about animals and how to classify them into different categories. This week, we learned about vertebrates and invertebrates. We were also very busy making our Mother’s Day crafts and discussing all the nice things our moms do for us.
Children in Casa 2 are progressing with Montessori activities, recognizing beginning sounds, building simple words, and doing counting from 1 – 100. Children also prepared crafts and gifts for Mother’s Day.
Pre-Casa
This week, children continued to learn more about bugs – butterflies, caterpillars, bees, and spiders through crafts, theme activit,ies and observing live bugs on the playground.
During a rich conversation during crafts and sensory time, Pre-Casa children learned the letter “B” for bugs and other vocabularies – Caterpillar, Ant.
For the theme activity, they were using tongs to pick up different shapes of pasta to learn the life cycle of a caterpillar. Children were also guided to sort three types of pasta to strengthen their ability in identifying shapes and sizes. Children also built a boat out of egg cartons to hold bugs to test out sinking and floating as a science experiment. We had an interesting week learning about bugs.
April 25 – 29
Casa
Children continued to learn about Spring with the life cycle of frogs and butterflies, matching animal babies to their adult forms and caring for their growing plants.
Pre-Casa
Pre-Casa children started this week by learning the names, sounds, and movements of ants, bees, spiders, and butterflies. Children observed live and fake bugs and insects to differentiate their appearances. We read “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” and children made their own impression of a bug.
April 18 – 22
Casa
Celebrating Spring! We are learning about life cycles of plants, animals, and humans. We planted flower seeds and will watch them grow over the next few weeks. We celebrated Earth Day with crafts, stories, and a discussion about how we can all do our part to save the Earth.
Pre-Casa
Pre-Casa students learned about self-care this week. They practiced brushing a model tooth using a giant toothbrush. They learned to floss using a piece of yarn, and gave baths to baby dolls using sponges. These tasks were good opportunities for them to practice and develop their fine motor and concentration skills. They gave children a sense of control and independence. Our songs and stories also helped to reinforce the importance of staying clean and healthy.
April 11 – 14
Casa
We are celebrating Easter in a big way! Easter songs, Easter crafts, Easter stories, dying Easter eggs, and finishing off with an Easter egg hunt. The Easter bunny left us with lots of treats! Earlier this week, we made and enjoyed our own personal pizzas and celebrated a birthday with a delicious ice-cream cake.
Pre-Casa
This week, precasa children were preparing to become casa children. With a lot of concentration, they practiced following the dots and matching the alphabet on popsicle sticks. Children used pom-poms to count quantities to 3. This activity not only helped develop congitive skills, but also fine motor and language skills.
April 4 – 8
Casa
April is National Oral Hygiene month. We have been learning how to keep our teeth happy and healthy. We know that a dentist is a special doctor who can take care and fix our teeth. We learned how to properly brush and floss our teeth and then practiced on a model we made.
Casa 2 children learned about oral health and sorted food that are good and bad for our teeth. Children also did germination activity, planted seeds in their individual pots, and learned what a plant needs in order to grow.
Pre-Casa
This week, pre-casa were excited to learn about gardening. We started by planting flowers on the wall which inspired children to develop their gross motor and fine motor skills. Children studied the alphabet by pulling carrots out from a field made of paper towel rolls. We then planted flowers for real using soil and seeds. They were very serious and engaged in the activity. To finish off the week, a dramatic gardening corner was created with flowers, shovels, buckets, and more to practice their gardening skills.
March 28 – April 1
Casa
It is Health and Hygiene week for Casa 1. This week, the children learned about nutrition and making healthy choices. They sorted food to show their knowledge of healthy and unhealthy items as well as the 5 food groups. We learned what a healthy meal should look like and why there are also “sometimes” foods.
Children in Casa 2 learned about the life cycle of a plant and what a plant needs in order to grow. We did an experiment to show the refraction of light and how a rainbow is formed. Children also enjoyed learning to make their own playdough to play with using just flour, oil, salt, and food colouring.
Pre-Casa
This week, pre-casa children experimented with a variety of water sensory activities. These activities help to regulate their emotions and stay focused. During each activity, children were encouraged to create their own play with open-ended materials like glass stones, pom-poms, mini-figures, and other small objects. Through play, children can develop their independent thinking and problem-solving skills. In addition, children were invited to talk about the weather, read books and sing weather songs.
March 21 – 25
Casa
Children had fun learning about the 5 senses. We guessed what was inside a mystery bag using the sense of touch, guessed at sounds of animals, and instruments. We did an experiment to see how we could find out if it was salt or sugar in the bowls. We also enjoyed waffles on International Waffle Day!
Casa 2 children learned about the different systems in the human body this week with books, songs, crafts, and activities. Children enjoyed learning the facts about the human body and how the different systems work together to function.
Pre-Casa
The theme for this week was weather and the weather was perfect for children to experience a range of sunny, windy, rainy, and cloudy weather. During indoor play time, we made weather dice to develop our gross motor skills. Children especially enjoyed colouring the specially marked paper that when painted, revealed a picture of the sun, raindrop, cloud, and rainbow underneath. Children also made a weather poster using glue and studied the shapes of various cloud formations.
March 7 – 11
Casa
Casa 1 children continued with the human body theme. This week, we explored the heart, lungs and brain. We learned how to feel our pulse on our bodies and we listened to our heartbeat with a stethoscope. We made a paper bag lung model. We were busy finishing up our other work so that ever thing was done for March Break.
With slightly milder weather this week, Casa 2 children were introduced to our next season – Spring. Children learned the signs of Spring through a story about animals waking up after hibernating from a long cold winter. Very soon, we will start to see insects, bugs, rainbows, and flowers.
Pre-Casa
This week, activities were related to feelings. Children looked at faces on an emotion chart and learn how to express emotions such as happiness, anger, and sadness. We sang along the song “If you’re happy and you know it” to practice that. On the side, children put together some beautiful cherry blossom flowers to help develop their fine motor skills while continuing to learn letters, numbers, and vocabulary.
February 28 – March 4
Welcome to March!
Casa
Casa 1 has been learning about the amazing human body. We discussed what is on the outside and what we think is on the inside of our bodies. We looked at real x-rays to see what bones look like and put together a life-sized paper skeleton. We learned that we have many muscles, even in our face! We made a model to see how muscles work and found out where our largest and smallest muscles are.
This week in Casa 2, we learned about insects. Through sorting and matching activities, we learned that insects have six legs and some have wings. Children continue to progress with maths and language work according to their levels.
Pre-Casa
This week, we did an ice melting experiment to understand that Winter is near the end and soon it will be Spring! We started doing the postures of spring yoga, made a ladybug, and painted flowers. We pretended to run a flower shop of our own and cannot wait to see some real spring flowers!
February 21 – 25
Casa
Children in Casa 1 continued with the unit on Canada. They learned about the Canadian currency and flowers. We followed Canada Crew to check out Toronto’s Allan Gardens, and participated in Ottawa’s famous Tulip Festival. We made our own piggy bank and learned the names of the different coins after watching a video on how coins are made at the Canada Mint. We learned that on the back of our 5 cents is the iconic Canadian beaver, so we made a 3D beaver as a craft.
In Casa 2, children are progressing well in counting and spelling activities. We continued to talk about family and made a booklet. In science, we did a colour mixing activity and watched colour diffuse and spread on coffee filter paper.
Pre-Casa
Children were invited to an environment enriched with rainbows. Using their fine-motor skills, children made their own rainbow by stringing beads onto a pipe cleaner. They learned to count from 1 to 10 with rainbow cards; sang rainbow songs; and enjoyed stories about rainbows. Children were eager to share and showed great interest in activities involving colours.
February 14 – 18
Casa
We are Canadian! The children in Casa 1 have been learning about their nationality and the beautiful country of Canada. They can locate Canada on the world map and sing a song about the provinces and territories. Children explored the flag, native animals and languages of Canada.
Children in Casa 2 learned about love, sharing and the value of family with red and pink Valentine crafts and a family day activity.
Pre-Casa
The topic this week was rainbow. Children in pre-casa did many activities related to colours that compose a rainbow. There is an oversized hanging rainbow curtain for learning the order of colours. Children built a rainbow using colourful papers, blocks and legos. We listened to a song to learn colour names and heard the word “rainbow” repeatedly to associate it to the arch of colours formed in the sky after the rain.
February 7 – 11
Casa
This week, we celebrated the 100th day of school. We are 100 days smarter! Children counted big objects and little objects to see how much 100 really is. We learned that counting by 10’s is the fastest way to get to 100. We talked about what we probably have 100 of at home and what we would like to have 100 of. We also started “All About Canada” as our next theme.
Casa 2 children did crafts and activities on 100th day of school. Children enjoyed making a sensory bag that stimulated their tactile senses. Children also learned about the 2022 Winter Olympics happening in Beijing. We talked about winter sports like curling, skiing, and skating. We made an Olympic torch to symbolize the light of spirit, knowledge and life.
Pre-Casa
Pre-casa enjoyed lots of sensory play this week – water beads, glass beads, playdoughs, and bubble wraps. They loved counting from one to ten and putting the alphabet in order from A to Z through many hands-on activities. Pre-casa children are learning to express their ideas through art and language!
January 31 – February 4
Casa
Happy Lunar New Year!
Casa 1 learned about Chinese New Year symbols, traditions, and foods. They had a lesson in Chinese Calligraphy. February 2 was Groundhog Day. We learned about groundhogs and the legend about Groundhog Day.
Casa 2 children made CNY crafts and celebrated with loud drumming and lion dance. We continued building our language, math, and sensorial skills with daily activities.
Pre-Casa
After celebrating Chinese New Year, pre-casa children are learning about the heart shape and the meaning of love. Children explored the environment surrounded by hearts and did multiple activities related to the theme. Children practiced gross motor by hopping on heart shapes. They developed cognitive skills by making patterns, counting numbers and colour sorting with heart cards. Through various art activities – stencil, mosaic and glitter glue – children are becoming familiar with the alphabet.
January 24 – 28
Casa
Chinese New Year is around the corner and children in Casa talked about this special festival and how it is celebrated. Children learned the traditions of Chinese New Year through songs and stories. Children also prepared many festive decorations to bring in the year of the tiger in just a few days. On the side, children in Casa experimented with different materials – wax, aluminum foil, water paint, plastic wrap, and cotton fabric – to test which is the best waterproof material for boots.
Pre-Casa
Children in precasa did many art activities around Chinese New Year. They also enjoyed Chinese New Year songs and had an opportunity to sing along the songs. Children learned about the cultures and festive celebrations around this holiday.
January 17 – 21
Casa
Casa 1 continued with the “All About Winter” theme. This week, the subtopic was SNOW! We had a lot of that to work and play with. We discussed Monday’s snow storm and why it was a “snow day”. We read books and watched videos about snow. We learned how the water cycle produces snowflakes in winter. We conducted an experiment to see how fast snow melts indoors and how much water there is in snow.
Casa 2 children continued to progress in building phonetic words, sequencing numbers, learning place value, and matching numbers to quantities. Children enjoyed making snowflakes by puncturing the outline of the snowflakes.
Pre-Casa
Precasa children took time to practice fine motor skills this week. Children used different tools – ladles, spoons, pens, and fingers to maneuver objects in snow. In language, continuing with the food theme, children learned the names of new vegetables and fruits.
January 10 – 14
Casa
This week, Casa 1 continues to talk about the migration of ocean animals, such as turtles and grey whales. We also discussed the winter weather – blizzard, snowstorm. We made birch tree photos and coloured salt snowflakes.
Children in Casa 2 reinforced sounds, building words, counting in teens and tens. We worked with different materials and learned symmetry and patterns.
Pre-Casa
Children continued learning food names. This week we used food picture cards to develop memories and cognitive skills. Children made pizza and learned the names of colours and pizza ingredients. For science, we spayed water on a paper and observed what happened to the marker. Finally, children developed their fine motor skills by using elastic bands and beads with pipecleaners.
January 3 – 7
Welcome to the first week in 2022!
Casa
Children in casa welcomed the new year by changing the calendar and marking the important dates in January. We brainstormed a winter word wall and talked about where winter animals live. We discussed the migration of Canada Geese and Monarch Butterfly. We talked about Brown Bears and Snakes that hibernate, but that animals like dogs and cats adapt to the cold winter weather. We also tried to find out the difference between rain and snow and put together the water cycle.
Pre-Casa
Children learned different food names with our food posters. We used our five senses (touch, sight, hearing, smell and taste) to explore the inside and outside of different fruits. During outdoor play, we played cars on snow and traced the tire tracks made from them.
December 13 – 17
Casa
Casa 1’s favourite activity was making our balloon Christmas Tree. It was a little bit of engineering science and a lot of pumping effort by the children. We also enjoyed more Christmas activities stories and songs. Merry Christmas from Casa 1!
Casa 2 enjoyed building and decorating their gingerbread houses, creating Santa Claus face masks, and painting Christmas ornaments. Children exchanged Christmas gifts and enjoyed a holiday celebration on Friday. Warm wishes from Casa 2!
Pre-Casa
Precasa children finished a Christmas tree, a Christmas wreath and a gingerbread man this week. We sang Christmas songs and read Christmas stories. Children did one-to-one correspondence from 1 to 5 with snowflakes and enjoyed a puppet show on Tuesday. Have a safe and happy holiday!
December 5 – 10
Casa
Casa 1 enjoyed many Christmas-related activities this week. We learned Christmas vocabulary as well as the culture of Christmas – music and symbols of this special time of year. Children created a gingerbread village and enjoyed a handful of Christmas stories: Rudolph; The Night Before Christmas; Mrs. Claus Takes a Vacation.
Casa 2 children continue to prepare for the upcoming festivity with many winter crafts, songs, and activities. Older casa children are currently working with 2-3 digit numbers in operation and blending sounds. Younger casa children are working with geometric solids and maps of different continents.
Pre-Casa
Children received a letter back from Santa and are happy to find their name under the “nice” list. In class, we sang songs, made ornaments, and read stories. We also learned the names of construction trucks as we played them on coloured snow.
November 29 – December 3
Casa
Casa 1 is enjoying the Christmas season with the many crafts, songs, and activities only for this time of year. We learned about Christmas-related vocabulary and found out that all snowflakes have 6 points but each and every snowflake is unique.
Casa 2 has started the Winter theme and has been preparing Christmas songs, poems, and crafts. Children learned about North America and its animals. They are progressing with their language and math work according to their level.
Pre-Casa
Children started the week with a book about snow – There Was a Cold Lady who Swallowed Some Snow. Followed up by flashcards on winter clothing to develop vocabulary and crafts to practice motor skills – winter tree, hot chocolate, salt snowflake. For music & movement, children used shakers and bells to express themselves along the music.
November 22 – 26
Character Trait of the Month – Respect
Story: Clark the Shark
We show respect by using good manners; waiting patiently for my turn; listening quietly; being kind and gentle with others.
Casa
This was Casa 1’s final week learning about the continents (features, native animals, location). We discussed favourite animals and where in the world we could find them. The children also wrote their letters to Santa to tell him their Christmas wishes.
This week, children in Casa 2 learned the names of countries found in North America and animals found in the different parts of North America. Children did an experiment to differentiate objects that sink and objects that float in water.
Pre-Casa
Children in Pre-casa explored the winter season as they tried to catch a snowflake in the air, shoveled snow to a bucket and drew with coloured ice cubes. In a science activity, we made snowflakes using markers on coffee filters and observed the colours spread and mixed together. Each one of our snowflakes was unique, just like the real snowflakes. Children also learned to spell the word s-n-o-w by gluing paper on the lines that form the word.
November 15 – 19
Casa
Students in Casa 1 have been busy learning about a special feature of each of the seven continents and the variety of animals that are native to each continent. Interestingly the children noted that all of the “good” animals come from Africa.
In Casa 2, students were introduced to the concept of time (o’clock and half past) during circle time. We learned about evergreen and deciduous trees by sorting two kinds of trees. We continued to practice our counting skills by engaging in Montessori materials. As winter is approaching, we made a snow globe and hot chocolate craft with cotton balls and construction papers.
Pre-Casa
This week, the Pre-Casa students engaged in discovering ocean animals. Children enhanced our fine motor skills by rescuing ocean creatures from tangled pipe cleaners. Our students also enjoyed dancing with “Baby Shark”, this movement activity helps us to develop our gross motor skills in a fun way. Students were also exposed to different puzzles about sea animals which reinforced their fine motor and language skills.
November 8 – 12
Casa
Students in Casa 1 continued to talk about 7 continents and 5 oceans. We traced the 7 continents and made pin punching continents. We made a “Casa 1 Boarding Pass” for flying to Australia. We set out in the classroom as an airplane and pretended to fly from Toronto to Sydney. We had a virtual tour in the zoo. We learned about kangaroo, koala, emu, and kookaburra.
Students in Casa 2 continued with Montessori activities. This week we focused on language building and number sequencing. We collected Fall leaves of different sizes and sorted them into groups according to their size.
Our Casa students learned about the significance of Remembrance Day. We honoured the memory of Canadian soldiers who fought for the peace and freedom we have today by participating in a 2 minutes silence.
We definitely had a blast on the pajamas and movie day.
Pre-Casa
Our Pre-Casa students continued to learn about farm animals. We enjoyed finding animals in the sensory bin which was filled with fall leaves. On Tuesday, we went for a nature walk and did a scavenger hunt game. Children imitated different farm animals’ sounds and movements with their masks on. We had lots of fun enjoying a movie with our pajamas on Friday.
November 1 – 5
This week Casa 1 children started “Me on the Map” activities – a way to help children begin to discover where they are in the world. Children learned the names of continents and directions.
Children in Casa 2 learned about the 7 continents and made a booklet. Children are progressing with sound blends, counting, and sequencing numbers.
Pre-Casa
Precasa children increased their knowledge about farm animals this week. We listened to different animal sounds and tried to name them. We looked for animal pictures under shaving cream which satisfied their sensorial needs and hand-eye coordination skills.
October 25 – 29
Casa
Casa children talked about some safety rules when going Trick-or-Treating – always stay with a parent and bring a flashlight if going door-to-door. Children were also reminded to ask a parent to check the candies first before eating them. They enjoyed many Halloween activities including carving a Jack-o-lantern and making different Halloween crafts. Children had a Halloween Costume Parade and a special hot dog lunch on Friday. Happy Halloween!
Pre-Casa
Pre-Casa children enjoyed a whole week of Halloween fun painting black cats and making cotton ball ghosts, decorating a tissue skeleton Jack-o-latern and singing the Five Little Pumpkins. We read books about Halloween – Pumpkin Eyes, Clifford and the Halloween Parade, Woo! The Not-So-Scary Ghost, Pete the Cat Trick or Pete. On Friday, everyone dressed in their adorable costumes for our Trick-or-Treat Halloween party. Thank you all families for the candies and treats!
October 18 – 22
Casa
Children in Casa did The 7 Days of Creation and had an opportunity to pretend walking like different animals during Music and Movement. Children are reminded to participate in the Halloween colouring contest.
Casa 1 was busy getting ready for Halloween. We made a 3D pumpkin, a standing black cat, and stamp painting. We had stories about Trick or Treat and songs about Halloween. We also enjoyed the colourful fall season with the changing weather.
Casa 2 continued with identifying sounds associated with each letter of the alphabet and beginning sounds of simple 3-letter words. They are learning to count with quantity, skip counting, and reading graphs. Children are preparing for Halloween with crafts and stories.
Pre-Casa
Children in pre-casa learned numbers 1 – 5 by putting an apple puzzle in the correct order. They are developing their painting and cutting skills with different crafts. Children enjoyed finding shapes of different colours outdoor.
October 12 – 15
Casa
We enjoyed the unusually mild weather and took a walk to see if the leaves were changing colours. We talked about the classic colours of Fall and learned about the life cycle of the pumpkin and other pumpkin facts.
Casa 2 enjoyed doing an activity on opposites and learned about the life cycle of the pumpkin. Children identified and learned about different animals, the sounds they make and their habitats.
Pre-Casa
Pre-casa this week started learning about Halloween. We read storybooks about Halloween and played a water sensory activity with small monsters hidden under foam. We painted and learned new Halloween words – Jack-o-lantern, black, spider.
October 4 – 8
Casa
What are we thankful for at Thanksgiving? This week, children in Casa 1 learned about Thanksgiving and the symbols associated with this special day. What better way to celebrate than sharing a turkey lunch and making a turkey craft! Happy Thanksgiving!
Casa 2 children painted leaves of different Fall colors and made a turkey with different coloured feathers each representing a letter of the child’s name. During music and movement, children learned about the history of Thanksgiving. Our younger children continued to learn days of the week and months of the year.
Pre-Casa
This week, precasa continued to learn about the fall season with an introduction about Thanksgiving Day. We went outside and did a color hunt activity. We picked up leaves of different colours. Inside, we did stencil painting and made ice-cream stick turkey, played with playdough turkey and learned a new song about Thanksgiving.
September 27 – October 1
Casa
We talked about the structure of an apple in Casa 1 starting with skin on the outside, the flesh being the part that we eat, seeds, leaf and stem. We cut open an apple in class and children observed the core of the apple with a magnifier. We tasted 3 kinds of apples and voted on our favourite kind of apple.
In Casa 2, children learned about the parts of an apple and the life cycle of an apple. Children looked at the core of an apple and decided it is not for eating. We only eat the flesh of an apple and sometimes the skin. We also talked about the changing colours of the Fall leaves and sang a song about Fall.
Pre-Casa
This week in Pre-Casa, children learned about Fall and developed their vocabulary using flashcards. We went on a nature walk, explored different colors of leaves and talked about the changing weather. Children found leaves of different shapes and colours. We picked up pine cones to do a craft.
September 20 – 24
Casa
Children in Casa 1 learned about the Fall season. Autumn vocabulary – apples, leaves, pumpkins, wind, rain. The changes that we can see, hear, and feel as summer ends and autumn starts – leaves will start to change colors and the weather will begin to get cooler.
In casa 2, children learned about the 4 seasons and signs of Fall. Children are building their language skills by recognizing and blending sounds. Younger children are progressing with counting and recognizing numbers.
Pre-Casa
This week, we talked about the moon and stars. We read online books ” Papa Please Get the Moon for Me” , ” Good Night Moon”, “Story about Mid-Autumn Day”. Children enjoyed music and movement with songs like “Zoom, Zoom, Zoom” and “Look at the Traffic Lights”.
September 13 – 17
Casa
This week in Casa 1, we continued with our “All About Me” theme. Through games, songs, and various activities, the children got to share about themselves and learned about each other. We found out likes, dislikes, interests, and what makes us all unique!
In casa 2 this week, children learned the differences between living and non-living things. We did an activity on parts of the body, practiced sounds, and counted to 100.
Pre-Casa
Precasa learned about different body parts this week. We used books and songs to help us learn that hands are not for hitting and legs are not for kicking. We also worked with puzzles to name body parts.
Sept 7 – 10
Casa
What a great start to our new school year. The theme for Casa this week was All About Me. Children used different activities to talk about their families, their bodies and what they like. Children also learned the importance of hand-washing and ways to keep each other safe in the classroom during COVID including proper sneezing etiquette, keeping social distancing and respecting the use of personal kits.
Precasa
In Precasa, children explored the new environment filled with Montessori materials. During circle time outdoor, we sang “Good Morning Train” to help children remember the names of their friends. We learned colours by observing our surrounding. We made school bus and backpack which helped children improve their fine motor skills.
Summer Camp Week 8
Aug 23 – 27
Pre-Casa
Last week of summer we learned about diversity and culture. We learned to sing hello in other languages of the world. Children were provided with people with different skin tones and hair types, they reinforced this learning through art work. We added Indian clothing and accessories for dress up as they explored different textures, colors and patterns. And of course an ice cream cone treat for a hot summer day.
Casa
Our theme this week was Indigenous people. We discussed the meaning of Indigenous, their way of life, the importance of feathers. The eagle is an important image in their culture. It is a majestic creature, a messenger that joins the creator to the people of the Earth. Children made headbands, tipis, dreamcatchers, totem poles and traditional dresses.
Summer Camp Week 7
Aug 16 – 20
Pre-Casa
This week our little chefs learned about food through pretend play and some real life experiences tasting and handling food. Children were given opportunities to make pizza, tea and chop some veggies. They observed usage of tools like a kitchen strainer and knives to understand their function to cut and strain. Together we learned to say roll, knead and bake by singing pat a cake. Children enjoyed observing the process of making milkshake while counting all three yummy ingredient ice cream, fruits and milk. It was a delight treat for a hot summer day during outdoor playtime. They also learned to match color through art work and made celery print roses for moms.
Casa
This week, Casa students talked about healthy eating habits. We sorted different food into dairy, grain, vegetable, fruit, and protein groups. Then we talked about healthy vs. unhealthy food. We were so proud of our pizza lunch as we made it ourselves using pizza dough. It was really delicious. We also used mixed berries to make milkshakes and berry swirls. We enjoyed our special snacks. For crafts, we made a chef hat, cupcakes, donuts and popcorn. We watched ice cubes float on the water table and saw them melt under the sun as part of our water play activities. What a great week!
Summer Camp Week 6
Aug 9 – 13
Pre-Casa
This week we went around for a walk in the neighbourhood observing and engaging in sensory (tactile) activity touching bark of the tree, collecting small pebbles and stick for children to create a sensory garden with loose all materials. We further our learning singing songs about butterflies, ladybug, how does a plant grow. Children were provided with soil and beans to construct knowledge about natural materials. We were very fortunate to catch a ladybug during outdoor time. In gross activity children were provided with butterfly nets and paper butterflies to have an experience of catching butterflies. In literacy children recognized letters with sounds during plant a letter activity. In art we painted a bird house, vegetable printing and butterfly art. We ended our week celebrating a child’s birthday with friends outdoors.
Casa
Children learned about how plants grow from seeds by doing planting activity. Children also learned about parts of plant and process of germination. They made gardening can, gardening pot with flowers, and flower garden. Children learned the vocabulary about gardening tools and learned about different seeds.
Summer Camp Week 5
Aug 3 – 6
Pre-Casa
Let’s see farm animals and learn the sounds they make. Children were provided visual cards and were prompted to make the sounds of farm animals. We reinforced it through art and craft making muddy pig, chicken craft and milking a cow activity. Graduated sized barns with number as we counted number of animals. Learning quantity by counting 1,2,3. Milk the cow activity was engaging and thoroughly enjoyed by children, squeezing and enhancing their fine motor through sensory play. Water play is always fun with friends. We extended the play with sensory bins to wash the muddy farm animals.
Casa
Children learned about farm, farmhouse, different types of animals that live on the farm. They did different crafts related to farm.They made face masks of farm animals, made tractor and scarecrow and learned their uses. They made collage of farm life, made puppets of farm animals and pretended to be farm animals. They learned about how to milk a cow by doing hands on activity on milking cow.
Summer Camp Week 4
July 26 – 30
Pre-Casa
Pre-casa enjoyed the “summer beach” theme this week. We did a lot of sensory activities including making play dough, feeling the texture of sand, making circles, and tracing shapes on the sand. We watched different videos and songs related to beaches. We painted our own little boat and pretended to row a boat and fish. We talked about sea-shells and used them to paint. Everyone enjoyed a refreshing lemonade under the sun.
Casa
Children in Casa this week learned about oceans and beaches. We talked about beach safety and learned many beach vocabulary using spy cards. Children made popsicles, sun hats, sunglasses, sandcastles, flip flops, beach balls, sand buckets and shells. We used lemons in an activity to make lemonade too.
Summer Camp Week 3
July 19 – 23, 2021
The pirate says, Arr!!
Pre-Casa pirates explored singing pirate song and listening to pirate stories. We learned about the deep blue sea through art and craft and the movement of the ship going this way, that way, forward, backward, up and down through action song. Children enjoyed dressing up as pirates with a pirate hat, eyepatch and a craft parrot.
Children attentively listened to stories – Hands are not for hitting and Teeth are not for biting to understand emotions and enhance their social/emotional skills. We learned to count sea creatures with sand letter number cards. We played along the number game to identify numbers, children were fully engaged in this activity. Group learning with alphabet puzzle to encourage turn taking and friendly use of material. We finished the week with bubble water play, scooping and pouring bubbles with friends.
Casa
This week, Casa children attended two virtual PE workshops which enhanced their balancing and breathing skills as well as two art workshops drawing a sailboat and an ice-cream. Children learned about pirate ships, treasure map and treasure chest through stories, movies and physical activities. Children enjoyed a ‘Treasure Hunt’ game after making their own jewels to put in the treasure chest.
Summer Camp Week 2
July 12 – 16, 2021
Pre-Casa
In under the sea theme, we learned and observed about sea animals through pictures, song and stories. Children have learned to identify and names sea creatures by making under the sea craft, shark and jellyfish.
Sensory play with colored slime to find and clean seashells. Loose parts like crystals and seashells were provided for free expression. Scuba diver set were tried on by children while we were outdoors.
We read books about under the sea: Rainbow fish and coral reef pictures. The children enjoyed singing Slippery Fish and Down Under the Sea
Casa
2nd week of summer camp, children enjoyed learning about sea creatures, sand, and seashells from Under the Sea. They learned about the three zones of ocean and about coral reefs. Children created paper plate jellyfish, whale, sponge octopus, and the song “Waves on the Beach”. We celebrated the ocean with a Disney Movie – Luca.
Summer Camp Week 1
July 5 – 9, 2021
Pre-Casa
Children were given an overview of what we do and need for a camping trip. We walked as a group in the playground to learn why it is important to stay together as a group. Simple craft to make a campfire and camping scene. Dramatic play with wooden and coloured blocks to build fire and prepare a meal with friends. Camping songs and stories in a pretend tent.
Vocabulary : Tent, flashlight, camp fire, marshmallow and s’mores.
Leaf printing activity – natural things as tools for printing.
Casa
Week 1 of summer camp the children got to be “Happy Campers”. They learned about camping gear (tents, sleeping bags, flashlights, etc.) As well as where to go camping and woodland wildlife. We made a “campfire” and sang camp songs and “roasted” marshmallows and hotdogs. The highlight of the week was trying the camping treat s’mores which the children loved. Everyone asked for seconds!
June 21 – 25, 2021
It has been a busy week as we wrapped up a successful school year this week. Children had a wonderful time on Thursday’s year-end fun day with an indoor movie and an afternoon of outdoor activities including bubbles and water play. A great thanks go out to the parents who contributed their time to plan and organize the day’s event.
We would like to wish all our graduates a great summer and a wonderful year ahead as they move on to elementary school in the Fall. We would also like to thank all families for your support, patience, and cooperation in keeping our students and staff safe and healthy during this year with the pandemic. The school will be closed the week of July 28 and the first week of summer camp will begin on July 5.
A new self-screening requirement will be in place for all families starting this summer. Please complete the Ontario COVID-19 School Screening each morning prior to drop-off at the school. https://covid-19.ontario.ca/school-screening/
| COVID-19 school screening You can go to school/child care if you or anyone in your household got a COVID-19 vaccine in the last 48 hours and is experiencing any of these symptoms that are mild and only began after vaccination:. headache; fatigue (extreme tiredness) muscle aches; joint pain; You and everyone in your household must stay home if anyone has COVID-19 symptoms (not related to a COVID-19 vaccine, as noted …covid-19.ontario.ca |
Have a nice Canada Day. See you soon in July and August!
June 14 – 18, 2021
Pre Casa
Cognitive : Match the picture cards, children identified daily food items and matched it independently.
Music : Introduced triangle to children as they played and sang abc to it.
Circle time: Naming and identifying fruits and vegetables with pointers. Children were encouraged to repeat the names.
Story: Peppa pig and George’s balloon. Children were asked question to answer with teacher’s prompts to count and name colours. Retell the story.
Happy Father’s Day to all dads, children made a special craft for you.
Casa A
This week we have been busy making our special Father’s Day gifts. As well we have been completing any unfinished work – tying up loose ends so that we can enjoy the last week of school!
Casa B
This week Casa B talked about the 5 oceans in the world and Father’s Day. We are thankful for everything daddy has done for us – buying pizza, driving me to school, giving me hugs. We want to say – Happy Father’s Day to all the dads, and with lots of hugs and kisses.
Casa C
Casa C continued doing their practical life, sensorial, culture, language and Math activities according to their level. They continued with recognizing and blending sounds, counting to 100, sequencing and writing missing numbers. They are working on graphs and shapes. They did summer crafts and did crafts for Father’s Day.
June 7 – 11, 2021
Pre Casa
Social/emotional – children were encouraged to use gentle hands with props and be gentle with their peers. Sensory integration with finger puppets reinforced children to be gentle with their hands.
Cognitive- spatial exploration as they connected tubes to make letter T and L, we also made telephone and table. Design frames to place shapes on them. Small wooden block play to make coloured patterns.
Communication and language: Goldilocks and the Three Bears Story.
Outdoor math activity: counting 2 similar objects and understanding number 2.
Casa A
Casa A has been learning all about teeth! We learned about how many teeth we have; what we use our teeth for; who helps us take care of our teeth. We identified foods that are bad for teeth, the tools and steps for proper cleaning and brushing of our teeth.
Casa B
This week, we talked about the elements on Earth – Land, Air, Water. We sorted pictures of land, air, and water. We learned about objects that sink and float in water, observed and predicted their outcomes.
Casa C
Casa C continued learning size /shape discrimination, length, height. Casa C learned about Canadian coins and their value. Casa C continued learning about sequencing of number, missing numbers, skip counting.They did summer craft making grapes, pineapple and flamingo.
May 31 – June 3, 2021
Pre Casa
Flowers have a language of their own – children learned practical life skills by arranging them and enhanced their social/emotional skills by giving flowers to their peers. We reinforced this by learning- F is for flower and make a flower with play dough.
Cause and effect exploration – dropping pom poms through paper rolls and extending the learning experience by making patterns and counting them on fingers.
In Science, we experimented and discussed why objects sink or float.
Song of the week – Sing a Song of flowers, flowers all around.
Casa A
Circle Time: Health and Hygiene – 5 food groups (fruits, vegetables, protein, grains and dairy)
Students sorted healthy and unhealthy food.
Art: Life Cycle of Chicken; Salad Bowl
Math: Simple word problems using addition
Language: Word puzzle of fruits; storytelling
Socio-Emotional: Why should we keep our hands to ourselves? What qualities make a good friend?
Casa B
This week, Casa B learned about different modes of transportation, compared their speed and seating capacity. Air transportation – airplane, helicopter, jet; Land transportation – car, van, bus; Water transportation – boat, ship, submarine. Children created their impression of transportation with colourful paper shapes.
Casa C
Casa C continued learning about names of common flowers and birds. Casa C children reinforced comparison and discrimination of shapes and sizes. Casa C reinforced opposites, blending sounds, missing numbers, counting in 5s and 10.
May 25-28, 2021
Pre Casa
We learned about transportation by road as children drove around cars and taxi during indoor play. To reinforce this learning, children moved cars on black strips of paper tracks. They also enhanced they fine motor skills by painting with cars.
Social stories – Voices are not for yelling and Hands are not for hitting.
Letter of the week – C is for colors.
Craft – Make a school bus, children were provided with black squares and circles to identify and place them on the spots for shape recognition.
Casa A
To extend the children’s understanding of living things, we have been exploring the life cycles of several different creatures (frog, butterfly, human) and plants (flower, pumpkin). The children got to see how these things grew and change with time and how life is a cycle which repeats.
Casa B
This week Casa B talked about the largest animal family – insects. We can see ants, bees, butterflies and ladybugs everywhere in summer. We also sorted vegetable and fruit groups. We see that some vegetables grow above ground – peas, tomatoes, and cucumbers. Some vegetables grow underground – potatoes, onions, and radishes. On National Paper Airplane Day, we folded origami airplanes.
Casa C
Casa C is learning names of different flowers. They learned about parts of birds. Casa C children learned to count different objects to know about Census. They learned to make paper airplanes on International Paper Airplane Day. They learned how to love God and make Him happy in “Godly play”.
May 17 – 21, 2021
Pre-Casa
Color week –
We learned about colours through exploring and observing the objects setup in the playground every day. Art and crafts to reinforce learning about the colours.
Children have been introduced to color song, they have been encouraged to spell the colours as they sing along with their peers.
Letter B and O have been introduced through art and craft. Children thoroughly enjoyed buying and drinking lemonade from the ASMS store, encourages social interaction and cooperative play.
Montessori activity -enhancing practical life skills with geoboard and rubber bands and various puzzles.
Casa A
The children created their own pop art by using lines, colour and shapes in specific ways. We explored how colours can be used to express certain feelings and moods, how to use black and white to create shades of colour and did a science experiment with colour mixing. They all enjoyed seeing how much of the daily colour their friends were wearing.
Casa B
For colour week, children dressed in a different colour each day. We learned about complementary colours, lines and patterns, warm and cool colours in art. We also painted an impression of the blue ocean, inspired by French artist Claude Monet.
Casa C
Casa C celebrated colour week by doing activities, crafts and colouring according to primary / secondary colours and learned how to write them. They learned about best colour contrast, warm/cool colours and different colouring techniques. Casa C carried on with Montessori activities, mental math and gross motor skills while playing outdoors.
May 10 – 14, 2021
Pre-Casa
Circle Time: We focused on identifying our emotions using happy, sad, scared and angry face. We followed up the discussion with the song- “If you’re happy and you know it.” We inculcated the emotions through out to indicate how’s Ms. Simran and Ms. Bonny feeling.
Physical: We had a fun activities session with props to enhance our gross motor skills and we enjoyed outdoor play this week.
Art: As Spring is here, we decided to talk about trees, butterflies and lady bugs. We enjoyed singing “butterfly”song. We used different techniques including painting, ripping paper into bits and gluing.
Language: We continued to learn our magic words- please, sorry and thank you.
Self Help Skills- We tried to get dress, remove and put on our shoes and tidying up after each task.
Casa A
Casa A learned all about Birds. What is a bird? How can birds fly and what do they eat? What is the largest bird and smallest bird? How can parrots “talk”? The most interesting for us was watching how birds construct their nest.
Casa B
This week, we talked about the flowers in our backyard – Cherry blossom, lavender, dandelion, tulip, lily – we learn about the flower parts as well.
Casa C
This week Casa C learned about primary colours and how to mix them to make secondary colours. Continuing with Spring and nature theme, Casa C learned about different shapes of leaves, revised names of bugs, life cycles of frog, turtle, bee, animals and their babies. Casa C did worksheets to count and spot different objects, recognizing sounds and blending 3 letter words in addition to doing addition, place value, time and skip counting according to their individual level.
May 3 – 7, 2021
Pre-Casa
Children enjoyed exploring nature during outdoor recess. They were encouraged to touch and feel different types of leaves which enhance their sensorial development. Our children enjoyed having circle time in the playground and playing on the slide and riding bikes. Children were encouraged to trace their hands or scribble on mural paper to reinforce their fine motor skills. Our little artists admired their artworks, and they proudly “present” their masterpiece to their friends and teachers. Bravo, Pre-Casa!
Casa A
This week, Casa A has continued the animal classification theme; Birds and Arachnids. We also learned how warm blooded animals can regulate their body temperature and cold blooded animals’ body temperature changes with the environment. So interesting to see the cold-blooded lizards falling out of the trees because they are frozen.
Casa B
This week, we learned numbers and alphabets during morning Montessori time. We talked about “Mother’s Day” and what we need to be thankful for; we made cards, bouquets for mothers and grandmothers. Our class also celebrated 2 birthdays this week.
Casa C
Children continue to learn the names of bugs and insects this week. We are matching animal babies with their adult forms.
April 26 – 30, 2021
Pre Casa
Language: We discussed about rainy season and how should we dress up appropriately according to the weather. We held an actual umbrella and enjoyed singing “Rain Rain go away”
Art: We did some amazing spring crafts, made flowers, umbrella, etc.
Fine motor: cutting, pasting.
Gross motor: We enjoyed riding scooters outdoor in playground.
Casa A
This week, children started learning animal classification – mammals, reptiles and insects. We sorted and classified a variety of animal realia based on their characteristics. Did you know that mammals have fur or hair and are warm blooded? Reptiles have scales and are cold blooded. Insects have 3 body segments, 6 legs and lay eggs. Next week, children will be learning about birds, fish and amphibians.
Casa B
This week, Casa B talked about Ontario Backyard Birds – robin, woodpecker, warbler, cardinal and blue jay. We made handprint robins and Blue Jays out of felt and feather. We continued with learning the life cycle of animals. This week, we learned about a bird’s life cycle – Robin.
Casa C
We continued with Earth Day theme by learning to sort garbage into recycling, waste and compost. We continued to identify different bugs and learned their names. Casa C learned about evergreen and deciduous trees and matching trees with their fruits. Individual children are progressing with their language, math and other Montessori skills.
April 19 – 23, 2021
Pre Casa
Children have been introduced to say please, thank you, excuse me, may I and sorry. Craft – garden of good manners with these magic words as flowers. During circle time we discussed about making healthy eating habits with picture charts. abc pictorial charts review to identify and label objects. Children took a closer look at the sprouted bean seeds with a magnifying glass. We reinforced the learning by watching time lapse video of a bean seed and blooming flowers. Earth day was observed on April 21 children enjoyed watching video about recycling as a group.
Casa A
Celebrating Earth Day! – Children learned to love and respect our special planet – Earth; learned about ways in which we could conserve some of earth’s resources (electricity, water) as well as the 3 R’s ( reduce, reuse, recycle).
Casa B
This week, Casa B learned ways to protect the Earth such as recycling garbage, planting trees and riding bicycle instead of driving a car as part of our theme for Earth week. We studied the life cycle of a frog, reviewed numbers 1 to 50, and built words.
Casa C
This week, Casa C celebrated Earth Day with activities on how to save the Earth and the environment. We planted seeds, learned how a seed grows into a plant and 3 things (sunlight, water and air) they need in order to grow. We also learned about different bugs and insects we can see in Spring.
April 12 – 16, 2021
Pre Casa
This week we explored seeds of different fruits (mango, apple, lemon). We did bean seed germination experiment. Pre Casa students went for a walk in the neighbors observed goose and giant fire trucks. We further our learning by understanding and discussing life cycle of a goose by a cut and paste sequence activity and making a “G” is for goose craft.
Casa A
This week we were learning about Spring. Spring is about planting. We talked about parts of a plant and needs of a plant. Casa A planted beans and will be making observations next week.
Casa B
This week we continue to talk about animal life cycle, especially the life cycle of butterfly. We made a book of Butterfly life cycle. Casa B students planted flower seeds and observe the seeds grow up.
Casa C
Casa C students did experiment of germination and are observing daily, how a seed grows into a plant. We are also learning about different types of insects and their body parts, and life cycle of honey bee.
This week was virtual visit week for the Casa classes. The students enjoyed a gym class, art classes, and a virtual visit with the Markham Fire Department. Our students are getting more familiar with virtual activities and they had so much fun.
April 6 – 9, 2021
Pre-Casa
This week we learned about the life cycle of a butterfly. We reinforced our learning through art and craft. The children painted with filled water bottles (sensory integration) to create spring scene with butterfly props. Teacher created caterpillars to manipulate, play and enact movements. We also observed different kinds of bugs and insects during outdoor play time.
The children constructed their knowledge by observing diverse materials found in the classroom through magnifying square blocks. They extended their learning by going in front and behind the lenses to observe. This activity promotes social interaction, engagement and builds communications skills as children explored and described what they observed.
Casa A
We learnt about spring season, how plants grow? What do they eat, parts of plants (stem, roots, leaves, fruits and flowers.) We also observed bugs and insects outside on the playground. Where were these bugs and insects all winters? Why shouldn’t we bother the insects?
We used our creative skills to make ladybugs, butterflies and parts of plants using paper cutting, pasting and painting. We practiced a lot on beginning sounds, long vowels and short vowels, short comprehensions. Besides language, we work on counting and time concept. Pretend play activity “Welcome to Casa A’s Salon”, yoga and dancing were also the highlights of this week.
Casa B
This week Casa B continue to talk about the life cycle of ladybug. We create a book and a circle of ladybug life cycle.
Casa C
Casa C learned about what plants need to grow, how a plant grows from a seed, parts of a plant and tree, what happens to leaves in different seasons, how bees collect nectar and make honey. We also made colorful spring crafts to celebrate this season.
March 29 – April 1, 2021
Pre-Casa
For the last two weeks, we have been focusing on enhancing practical life skills and helping in the classroom – Making beds, setting up and tidying up after lunch, dressing independently with decreasing assistance. We observed a flower blooming video, and did a craft to show what we learned about spring.
Casa A
Last week, we learned about our bodies and organs – the brain, heart and lungs.
This week, we celebrated the arrival of a new season – Spring. We can feel it in the air but can we see it? What are the first signs of Spring?
Casa B
We talked about Spring – weather, plants and animals. We painted a tree using cotton swabs. We learned about the life cycle of plants through reading a booklet. We made a book of Spring words. With Easter, we made numerous Easter crafts – Bunny Mask, Easter basket, a hatching egg.
Casa C
Aside from preparing Easter crafts, we learned about 3 letter rhyming words, to tell time to the hour and the life cycle of a frog.