Grouptime events

Fieldtrip!! Hey, where did the water go? Why is there a big pipe with no water? How far will my rock go out in the sea? Water is everywhere and we can't get enough of it so we trekked our forest to see part of Musqueam creek and checked out water in the plants, puddles and even inside the pipes. We were surprised to see big, open pipes with no water inside. This triggered more questions wondering where the water went. There were some theories of water going back to the ocean, or perhaps the water has dried up and left the pipes all empty. We also went to Kitsilano beach to explore the vast sea. The sunny, windy day gave a different feeling of the ocean as big waves rolled by. This pond is so muddy! Relaxing on with the sea breeze

We are now working on the water unit and the children are full of ideas, comments and questions that it is best to have it laid out in a chart so we can easily keep track of our discussions.  Allye is very interested in finding out how people use water. Matthew would like to know more about the differences between different types of water. Nico want s to learn more about how gets into our tap Eva and Zoe seem to know a lot about the rain and water cycle.   What we know What we want to know What we think about How does sea water help sea animals? (Matthew) People like to play in the water (Allye) The rain comes from the sky then goes to the sea, oceans and the pool (Allye) Rain comes down then it goes on the mountains and the rivers and the sea (Zoe) Where is the all the water in the world? (Eva) Is the ocean and sea water the same? Where does tap water come from (Nico) I’m curious where sea water comes from

Allye and Matthew noticed how friends are especially generous to one another. I thought what a great way to connect this idea to the friendship unit.  We read a book called Camille and the Sunflowers a story of friendship and generosity between Vincent Van Goh and a little boy named Camille. As we read the story, the children noticed Camille's kindness towards Van Goh especially when he was being teased at by other children.  We talked about how teasing might offend our feelings and how that sadness can impact our relationship with our friends.   For our Art activity the children made cards with flower prints to give to people friends have been generous and caring to them. Most of them thought about their family and the generosity they've experienced like giving hugs, sharing food and time with one another. 

In these grouptime activities the children explored the role of EMPATHY in our journey to generosity.  As we read the story, Smartest Giant in Town by J. Donaldson, we realized that being generous involves understanding what others might think and how feel.  We are more likely to be generous to people we know but this story shows that we can also be generous to anyone who may need our help or kindness.  When we empathy helps us understand and value the needs of others.  We also talked about showing appreciation to those who are generous to us like saying " Thank You" or giving hugs and smiles.  The children made thank you card and crown to  someone who shown them generosity. On the crown they wrote what they understand about generosity and who they are thankful for.