Call us Corny
September 28, 2015, 11:21 AMSure - Go ahead and call us Corny because, as it turns out, we are gourmet and creatively corny people!
The day before the last big grocery shop I decided to offer each team a "Mystery Ingredient" to spice up their snack time.
I chose local corn and sent each program 3 ears of corn.
Of course I made it a competition.
And as usual the teams did an incredible job of creatively using corn. From soup to pizza to cornbread and corn muffins and even corn flowers and aquariums.... and a rhyming story!! I kid you not!
Below you'll see the creativity of some of the finest, and corniest, Early Childhood Educators in the land...How to pick a winner?
ENTRY 2
West Cambie Preschool ( a program with no stove!)
Entry 3
West Cambie 3-5
Entry 4
Terra Nova Children's Centre
Entry 5
Bowling Green 3-5's
They will give you snack
ideas such as cheerios with corn, animal crackers with corn and muffins with
corn!
Entry 6
West Cambie Toddlers
Entry 7
Cranberry Children's Centre Infant/Toddler Program
The day before the last big grocery shop I decided to offer each team a "Mystery Ingredient" to spice up their snack time.
I chose local corn and sent each program 3 ears of corn.
Of course I made it a competition.
And as usual the teams did an incredible job of creatively using corn. From soup to pizza to cornbread and corn muffins and even corn flowers and aquariums.... and a rhyming story!! I kid you not!
Below you'll see the creativity of some of the finest, and corniest, Early Childhood Educators in the land...How to pick a winner?
Entry 1
BGR Toddlers
Our Toddler educators discovered after playing outside, many
of the children’s hands were cold. After
a discussion with the children about how we can warm up, we decided to make
corn soup together.
All of the children
tried to help!
We added homemade garlic flavored croutons and parsley from the centre’s garden.
Ta
da!
We
enjoyed this fancy Gourmet Corn Soup
ENTRY 2
West Cambie Preschool ( a program with no stove!)
Entry 3
West Cambie 3-5
Entry 4
Terra Nova Children's Centre
Entry 5
Bowling Green 3-5's
If You Give BGR Children Some Corn...
If
you give BGR children some corn,
...they will observe it,
...they will smell it,
...they will tell you it smells like a peach,
pizza, dirt, mango, brownie, a veggie or corn!
We
went with muffins with corn, well, actually, fresh corn bread muffins!
If
you let the children know they can help with making fresh corn bread muffins,
...they will wash their hands,
...they will rush to the kitchen,
...they will get ready to make fresh corn
bread muffins!
If
you put the corn in front of the children,
...they will rip up the husks,
...they will smell the corn again,
...they will tell you stories of popcorn, corn
soup and other delicious corn recipes!
If
you cut up the corn and bring out a blender, the children will,
...touch the corn kernels,
...smell it again,
...puree the corn in the magic bullet
machine...the “grinding machine”.
If
you give the children some ingredients, a big bowl, a big spoon and a big
whisk,
...they will take turns,
...they will mix, mix, mix,
...they will lick their lips in wonder and
anticipation!
If
you give the children muffin cups,
...they will put them in the muffin tin,
...they will continue to lick their lips,
...they will wait patiently for the muffins
to be baked.
If
you give the children the fresh corn muffins,
...they will eat them at snack,
...they will say it is yummy,
...they will say “can we have some more”!
West Cambie Toddlers
For those
of ya’ll who don’t yet know, I’m a southern belle, born and raised in Atlanta,
Ga. I trained as a chef at the Art Institute of Atlanta, many years ago,
graduating in 2001, before I even thought of going back to school to become an
Early Childhood Educator. So, when I found out about this mystery ingredient
challenge, and that our ingredient was corn, my thoughts immediately turned to
the quintessential southern food: cornbread! We take cornbread very seriously
in my family, from the properly seasoned cast iron cook ware we bake it in, to
the hot, melted honey butter we serve it with.
Choosing
to make cornbread with the children in the West Cambie Toddler Program was not
a difficult decision to make. The children already love baking day, and they
are very used to making bread (we make our own loaves of white bread monthly.)
I also know that any time we serve a bread for snack, it is always gobbled up!
To begin,
I did what we call mis en place, which basically means to get out all of your
ingredients and tools before you start. I then gathered a small group of
Toddlers to help with the mixing and measuring. The children were excited to
help me count and measure the different ingredients, and they especially
enjoyed cracking the eggs. We creamed the corn by hand, and added it to make
our cornbread moist. After it was done baking, we had a most enjoyable snack!
Entry 7
Cranberry Children's Centre Infant/Toddler Program
I'm sure you wish you were having snack with us!
Well done to all who played along with the Mystery Ingredient Challenge!
Comments
Relationships
July 16, 2015, 02:23 PM
We hold the value of "Relationship" very tenderly but very firmly in the SRCC. We believe that everything happens in relationship and we do a disservice to our work if we do not pay special and careful attention to the relationships in our centres.
This is no small task but its very complexity is what leads to the deep enrichment it brings when we do it. When we invest in building authentic relationships we enrich ourselves and one another. Most importantly we honour the children and model for them the meaning of belonging, of community.
That is not to say we get this right all the time or with everyone.
This is to say this commitment to building relationships permeates all we do.
This is to say this commitment to building relationships permeates all we do.
- From our relationships with the people and organisations we do business with. Adding value there, taking a moment to help them understand our work, the impact we can have on one another...that builds community and collaboration.
- From the time we first meet families we seek to understand and connect as the basis for a relationship that is critical for the wellbeing of the children we all care about. We choose to disclose what we can about ourselves as you choose to trust us with this time in your families life. We walk together with you through these years and we want to know you and mutually add value to each others lives.
- From the relationships between families that often become a support network, where deep friendships often develop. We want to offer you ways to build and strengthen these relationships (like having Family Fun Day!)
- From the time our Educators spend building relationships in their teams, wrestling with big ideas, with how to support challenging behaviour, how to extend children's thinking, how to communicate effectively and 1001 other things they need to dialogue about.
- From the relationship between Educators and the children as we seek to really know each child. To know who needs a hug and who needs to run and who needs art and who needs the bathroom......to build trust and camaraderie and compassion in the classroom to facilitate the relationships.
- From the relationships we support between children. Those foundational social skills of listening and hearing and compromising and challenging we nurture and grow them in relationship.
All these things came to mind this week when our Program Director Jennifer sent me a photo of siblings at Terra Nova Children's Centre that she caught in a moment of tenderness, of love.
It is not always easy for us to foster sibling relationships. The artificial age groupings separate siblings. There are constraints.
But when a value is held, is central to our work, like relationships are, then we do not settle in to the constraints and shrug our shoulders and say "Oh well", or "it would be nice BUT".... we work towards the value.
In all our multi-age sites we offer as many opportunities as we can for siblings to build their relationships. We have the big brothers and sisters visit one another in program or we find a common space and invite just those sibling groups to engage in a stretch of time to play together. When a brother or sister (or even a cousin, as we have lots of those!) is having a hard day or a sad day or a celebration day we offer them time to be with their brother or sister( or cousin), to draw some comfort from their familial togetherness.
At this time of year we sometimes have the rare privilege of having a Kindergarten bound sibling still with us in the summer as their younger sibling, just 3, joins the program and they have the summer together.... this is the case for this sibling group. We trust their time together will strengthen their bond and that they will have fond memories of their time together.
I am thankful to these two (and to Jennifer) for the reminder that we are all connected. We belong to a community and we are all the richer for the belonging.
Not just any "play"
May 20, 2015, 08:44 AMI am often asked what children "learn" when at our centres. And too often we Early Childhood Educators answer with "children learn through play". This statement we make is not untrue.....we know that through play children learn many things.
But it's not just any play.
The kind of play that facilitates curiosity and discovery and adds knowledge to a child's world is play that is intentional and engaging.
To get this type of play requires two things
1) Educators who bring their knowledge of child development, their keen observations skills and their ability to facilitate conversation with children to deepen their thinking.
2) An environment that fosters curiosity, that has open ended materials that can be used in multiple ways, that allows for independent, autonomous functioning of the children as well as social competence.
This all seems like a lot of ECE speak..... let me illustrate this with an example.
This example took place in 5-10 minutes, mid-morning at Terra Nova Children's Centre.
To set the scene: An Educator had set the table with a variety of plastic and real insects (dead real ones), some magnifying glasses, paper, markers and pencils. We call this a provocation. This Educator had observed the children had a keen interest in insects and was offering them an opportunity to study them more closely and then challenging them to draw what they were observing.
This is what R did with this opportunity
1. First she studied the caterpillar. She put it on her paper and very carefully began to draw
2.First the body
3.Then the head and antennae and the "back antennae" which we both agreed were very interesting.
4.Then "all those legs"....we did some counting of "all those legs"
5. Finally all the legs were drawn
6. R looked carefully, using her scientific tool, to see if her caterpillar was accurate
7. R then began to write letters across the top of her paper, carefully making a line and then writing on top of the line. When asked she said she was writing "notes" about the caterpillar.
8. She switched to a pencil to make some letters from her name.
And then took her drawing and put it in her cubby.
But it's not just any play.
The kind of play that facilitates curiosity and discovery and adds knowledge to a child's world is play that is intentional and engaging.
To get this type of play requires two things
1) Educators who bring their knowledge of child development, their keen observations skills and their ability to facilitate conversation with children to deepen their thinking.
2) An environment that fosters curiosity, that has open ended materials that can be used in multiple ways, that allows for independent, autonomous functioning of the children as well as social competence.
This all seems like a lot of ECE speak..... let me illustrate this with an example.
This example took place in 5-10 minutes, mid-morning at Terra Nova Children's Centre.
To set the scene: An Educator had set the table with a variety of plastic and real insects (dead real ones), some magnifying glasses, paper, markers and pencils. We call this a provocation. This Educator had observed the children had a keen interest in insects and was offering them an opportunity to study them more closely and then challenging them to draw what they were observing.
This is what R did with this opportunity
1. First she studied the caterpillar. She put it on her paper and very carefully began to draw
2.First the body
3.Then the head and antennae and the "back antennae" which we both agreed were very interesting.
4.Then "all those legs"....we did some counting of "all those legs"
5. Finally all the legs were drawn
6. R looked carefully, using her scientific tool, to see if her caterpillar was accurate
7. R then began to write letters across the top of her paper, carefully making a line and then writing on top of the line. When asked she said she was writing "notes" about the caterpillar.
8. She switched to a pencil to make some letters from her name.
And then took her drawing and put it in her cubby.
Just one more thing to take home.
And yet so extraordinary!
I hope you can see how much learning was in this brief time with one child in one centre..... literacy, numeracy, math, science, art, fine-motor practice, pre-reading skills... R showed us she is a careful observer and is skilled at translating what she sees on to paper and making sense of it, an important cognitive milestone. R is also showing her curiosity about letters and writing...all of this done from R's own initiative, on her schedule and fueled by her own curiosity..... thanks to the opportunity offered by the Educator.
A play-full few minutes but so rich in learning.
Imagine this moment, or one like it, happening hundreds of times a day across all our centres...THIS is learning through play.
Do you have other questions we could try to answer?
What more do you want to know about our work with your children?
PS please excuse R's green hands - she had just been over in the art studio playing with goop....
I hope you can see how much learning was in this brief time with one child in one centre..... literacy, numeracy, math, science, art, fine-motor practice, pre-reading skills... R showed us she is a careful observer and is skilled at translating what she sees on to paper and making sense of it, an important cognitive milestone. R is also showing her curiosity about letters and writing...all of this done from R's own initiative, on her schedule and fueled by her own curiosity..... thanks to the opportunity offered by the Educator.
A play-full few minutes but so rich in learning.
Imagine this moment, or one like it, happening hundreds of times a day across all our centres...THIS is learning through play.
Do you have other questions we could try to answer?
What more do you want to know about our work with your children?
PS please excuse R's green hands - she had just been over in the art studio playing with goop....
SRCC Mom's
May 10, 2015, 05:07 PMDear SRCC Moms
Happy Mother's Day
We wanted to say something to you today.
We see you.
We see you coming in juggling one or two or three children, lunches, bedding, extra clothes.
We see you kissing those little cheeks, calling out goodbye, drawing a picture on the window
We see you regretfully leaving after a cross word
We see your worry, sadness at tears
We see you coming back after your day, weary but eager to see you little one
We see your frustration when things haven't gone well at the centre that day
We see your joy in art handed to you, arms flung around you.
We see you connecting with us and other parents, building community
We see you mothering every day
You are amazing!
And we want to thank you for the trust you place in us everyday.
For sharing this part of your life, of your child's life with us.
We know that is no small thing and we hold that trust carefully and tenderly.
We wish you all much joy in your mothering this Mother's Day.
Happy Mother's Day
We wanted to say something to you today.
We see you.
We see you coming in juggling one or two or three children, lunches, bedding, extra clothes.
We see you kissing those little cheeks, calling out goodbye, drawing a picture on the window
We see you regretfully leaving after a cross word
We see your worry, sadness at tears
We see you coming back after your day, weary but eager to see you little one
We see your frustration when things haven't gone well at the centre that day
We see your joy in art handed to you, arms flung around you.
We see you connecting with us and other parents, building community
We see you mothering every day
You are amazing!
And we want to thank you for the trust you place in us everyday.
For sharing this part of your life, of your child's life with us.
We know that is no small thing and we hold that trust carefully and tenderly.
We wish you all much joy in your mothering this Mother's Day.
What matters most!
May 1, 2015, 03:23 PMI have been on the phone with lots of families over the last few days offering spaces in our re-opening Cook Road Children's Centre. (almost full!!)
Not unsurprisingly many ask me what the centre looks like? Is is new? Is there new equipment? Many make the comparison to our newer centres hoping it will look similar (a tall order for a 17 year old space!).
I totally understand concerns about the environment parents are placing their children in and this is in no way meant to minimize those important questions.
For me, the space is just a container in which we do the important work of nurturing curiosity and honouring childhood.
A beautiful container is .... well.....a beautiful thing!
We believe children, and the adults who care for them, deserve to spend their time in spaces built for them, that function for their needs, that soothe and inspire, that offer possibilities for discovery and creativity.
I love this part of my work, designing these spaces and I keep the children and Educators at the forefront when choosing colours and finishes and cubbies and toilets! We consider traffic flow, light, space to store things, space to build, beautiful outdoor spaces and SO much more....right down to draw pulls and the colour of grout!
But here is THE thing.....a container is just a container, no matter how lovely, it can only offer so much value.
What matters the most, by many miles, is the Educators in the space.
Educators who are lively, joyful, observant, attentive, engaged and curious. Who are well trained and hopefully bring some experience of working with children and families. Who daily offer children ways to think deeply, explore ideas, take on new knowledge, learn how to be good citizens.....and how to clean up and wash their hands!
It is my daily privilege to see such Educators at work.
I hear their voices, see them come alongside to comfort or guide or celebrate with children. Always building the trust in relationship that is necessary for the days we spend together to be joyful and productive and engaging.
I see them add things to the space every day to spark the children's interest, to provoke a new thought or line of discussion, to try a new art form.
I hear laughter and cheers and singing....I smell baking (and the necessary evil of bleach - for make no mistake there are many many chores that have to be done to keep the space healthy and functional), I see them walking outside hand in hand a child, an Educator, in conversation...... living life together in all its joy and messiness in as authentic a way as we can manage.
The space matters.
The Educators matter much much more!
Not unsurprisingly many ask me what the centre looks like? Is is new? Is there new equipment? Many make the comparison to our newer centres hoping it will look similar (a tall order for a 17 year old space!).
I totally understand concerns about the environment parents are placing their children in and this is in no way meant to minimize those important questions.
For me, the space is just a container in which we do the important work of nurturing curiosity and honouring childhood.
A beautiful container is .... well.....a beautiful thing!
We believe children, and the adults who care for them, deserve to spend their time in spaces built for them, that function for their needs, that soothe and inspire, that offer possibilities for discovery and creativity.
I love this part of my work, designing these spaces and I keep the children and Educators at the forefront when choosing colours and finishes and cubbies and toilets! We consider traffic flow, light, space to store things, space to build, beautiful outdoor spaces and SO much more....right down to draw pulls and the colour of grout!
But here is THE thing.....a container is just a container, no matter how lovely, it can only offer so much value.
What matters the most, by many miles, is the Educators in the space.
Educators who are lively, joyful, observant, attentive, engaged and curious. Who are well trained and hopefully bring some experience of working with children and families. Who daily offer children ways to think deeply, explore ideas, take on new knowledge, learn how to be good citizens.....and how to clean up and wash their hands!
It is my daily privilege to see such Educators at work.
I hear their voices, see them come alongside to comfort or guide or celebrate with children. Always building the trust in relationship that is necessary for the days we spend together to be joyful and productive and engaging.
I see them add things to the space every day to spark the children's interest, to provoke a new thought or line of discussion, to try a new art form.
I hear laughter and cheers and singing....I smell baking (and the necessary evil of bleach - for make no mistake there are many many chores that have to be done to keep the space healthy and functional), I see them walking outside hand in hand a child, an Educator, in conversation...... living life together in all its joy and messiness in as authentic a way as we can manage.
The space matters.
The Educators matter much much more!