Study Buddies

Study Buddy time is much more than just something that your child looks forward to every Friday; the seemingly simple act of being read to by an older child supports early literacy development, engages and interests children in literature and provides children with a group of older positive role models within their school community. The children develop beautiful connections with one another over the time spent together. 

At times, Kindergarten can feel a bit cut off from the rest of the school, what with our nutritional breaks and outdoor play time happening at separate times than the older grades. Partnering up with an older grade gives Kindergarten children a connection into the rest of the school. Sometimes we get to travel all the way up to the 3rd floor to spend time in their class, and the trip itself lets the children get better perspective of what's happening in the rest of the school.

How lucky is this brother/sister pair? Each week they are so excited to be together!

She was eager to take on extra children whose Buddies were away this week. There were many older children who volunteered to take on extra children. It was really nice to see.

These two go to the Extended Day Program together after school so they were thrilled to be paired together.

For the younger children, the undivided attention and interest of the older child helps them to develop self-esteem and confidence and gives them a positive role model to look up to. The time spent together encourages use of their expressive and receptive language skills and gives them a chance to practice their social behavior and interaction. 

Spending quality one on one time with an older child reading to them can inspire the younger children to want to be readers and lifelong learners too. For the many children that are the only child or perhaps the oldest child in their family, their Study Buddy may take on the positive older sibling role and the opportunity to have that relationship can be really special for those children.

For the older children, spending time with the Kindergartners helps them to develop their patience, their expressive language, facilitation and public speaking skills, empathy and modeling of appropriate behaviors. Assuming the facilitator or the teacher role gives children confidence in their expressive reading abilities with a very forgiving audience. If you're struggling with a word or a sentence or you completely skip over something, sometimes the children won't even notice. (Of course, sometimes you have the early reader or the child who has read the book 50 million times who yells, "Hey, that's not what that says").

Precious moments.

 For most of the Kindergartners, they are most excited about the time they get to spend with the older child than the actual reading itself. For children who struggle with their expressive language, reading simple stories aloud helps them to develop their articulation and confidence. 

Celebrating Diwali

This week we focused on Diwali: the Hindu festival of light! Diwali is the biggest and most important holiday for people of Hindu faith; the festival is as important to Hindus as Christmas is to Christians. Families celebrate with gatherings, glittering clay lamps, festive fireworks, strings of electric lights, sharing of sweets and worship.Over the centuries, Diwali has become a national festival that is enjoyed by most Indians regardless of faith.

Early exposure to different cultures allows for young children to develop a greater perspective of their world. 

When children learn and experience practices and beliefs different from their own they acquire a sense of global citizenship. Our goal as educators is to foster a sense of understanding and respect for all people through knowledge. When children see themselves and their cultures reflected in what they are learning it gives them a sense of pride and confidence. The more we learn about how other families and communities live the more we recognize the many similarities in our own families, communities and values.



As a class, we furthered our understanding about Diwali and India through songs about light, a video clip about Diwali, creating our own clay lights, reading books about India and using beautiful fabric in the dramatic play center to make saris.

 Parents: What kinds of traditions or customs do you practice in your family? Have you ever traveled and experienced different customs first hand? Do you remember learning about cultures around the world when you were in school? Leave us a comment!

Back To Nature

    On Wednesday we decided to spend some time in the Back To Nature area behind the school playground during outdoor play. The beautiful green space was created and is maintained by school parents and volunteers. All classes have access to this special natural classroom; we are so fortunate at Churchill to have a space like this! And do the children ever love it! When we told them we were going to the Back To Nature area they couldn't contain their excitement.

    We had a few planned activities and songs but then the children were given freedom to roam and explore the green space. We brought out magnifying glasses, clip-boards, paper and coloured pencils and let the children decide what they wanted to use them for. 

    Giving children freedom to take risks and chances in a safe environment is crucial for developing self-confidence and decision making skills. Natural materials and environments encourage expressive language, social interaction, critical thinking and imagination.  Children blossom in this learning environment.  

    A couple of times the children were refering to the higher path as "upstairs." One child looked up and said "I love this place. This is like our home." 

The girls exploring "upstairs".

We hid letters around the yard as a treasure hunt. Some of the letters were in obvious places, but some were strategically camouflaged into the background scenery.

She decided she would do some bark rubbings. We discovered that because the paper was so thick the best rubbings came from the wooden benches!

There is nothing more inspiring than nature itself.

She found a stick that was wrapped in vine tendrils and was inspired to do some sketching.

The girls snuggled up and did some drawings together.

He was one of the first to notice that the rubbings worked best on the benches. The benches are not finished so the knots and lines show up really well through our thick paper.

She was really excited about this little piece of rotting wood. It broke apart with even the slightest rub.

Showing us all of his findings from his investigating.

It's hard to tell in this photograph, but this was his rubbing that really turned out. If you look closely you can see a knot.

The girls sharing a tree stump to use as their table.