A new school year, with new schedules, routines, friends and educators. There is so much for the children at After School 1 to learn and embrace, all while making connections with their educators and peers.
The educators have been providing activities to continue fostering the children’s well being in their social and physical environment. On one occasion, disposable plates were hung with ribbon on the playground fence to create a canvas where the children could express themselves through painting. This sparked a lot of curiosity from the very beginning as educator Janeth was hanging the paper plates. “Can I help you?” Gavin asked. He offered to hold the plates as they were being hung on the fence. “What are you doing Janeth?” Asked praise. I let them know we were going to experience painting in a different way, which cause a lot of curios excitement. Once complete, the children got to work. There were conversations of which colours were being used and we observed lots of sharing between the children, which made their experience a positive one.
Another occasion, the educators provided buckets with water, bottles and soap in bins. “Oh, I want to make a magic potion,” one of the children said. Praise and Moyosola joined two bottles together and began pouring the soapy water from the top. “Look, it’s a water fountain,” Moyosola explained. “You can see all the water come down. Watch out so it doesn’t fall.” She said to her peer. The children took time to express their train of thought, share materials and engage in an activity that support their emotional regulation, as water play is a calming activity.
An activity that supported team work, cooperation, and strengthened gross motor abilities and coordination, was our “pool noodle hockey” game that we engaged in. the children had the freedom to chose which team they wanted to be in, the blue or green (according to the pool noodle colour). “What de we do?” Miracle asked. Educator Janeth explained the object of the game and we began to go for it. There was much laughter heard as we used the pool noodles to hit our ball towards our target, cheering when either team scored and great cooperation. This fun experience was learning filled, but the most important experience of all, was the strengthened bond between the peers and educators.
