This month at RisingOaks Early Learning | St. Patrick, the toddler 2 children at RisingOaks Early Learning | St.Patrick have explored their interest with cooking. This interest emerged earlier in the month, with the children using plastic food, the play kitchen, and utensils to pretend to make meals, eat, and serve them to peers continuously throughout their day. This has sparked the beginning of our project in the toddler 2 classroom, where we have been introducing different foods, cooking ideas and materials used in the kitchen. In the kitchen area, Deborah provided pictures of different fruits and vegetables seeing the toddlers interest as they named fruits such as banana, carrots and pepper. When the new pictures were added, Augustus and Clementine were first to recognize corn and avocado. Those that were unfamiliar with the vegetables repeated words such as kale with Deborah. Nancy displayed a table set with plates, utensils and cups for the toddlers to use in their play. The toddlers used the stuffed animals as guests at their table, serving food on the plates and pretending that their stuffed animals were eating the food. Cileena added baking trays into the kitchen for the toddlers to use to place food, cook up meals, and serve food. Adding felt cookie cut outs the toddlers used the trays baking cookies using the spatulas to remove and pat the cookies into place. The magnetic trays allowed the toddlers to use magnetic letters and explore making words and menus. As a way for the toddlers to deepen their understanding of fruits and veggies, Deborah also made a Velcro “find and match” menu where the toddlers could match pictures of different fruits and veggies to the picture on the menu. As they place the picture they name the fruits or veggies. Zoey pointed out an orange as she matched her orange picture to the menu. Robbie has been interested in reading food books like, “rah, rah, radishes” from our classroom library. This book rhymes fruits and veggies in a clever way pulling the toddlers in to listen as it is being read. To introduce different cooking utensils into their play, Cileena added spatulas, whisks, serving spoons, and potato mashers into the kitchen. To help them understand how to use them, the toddlers used them as paintbrushes in a painting activity seeing the different textures and lines they left behind as they used them. The toddlers are beginning to learn and understand cooking in a deeper sense. To further expand their learning, our next steps will be to have the toddlers make their own snack which they can make and enjoy proudly. 

Today the Infants at RisingOaks Early Learning | St. Patrick, felt extra special at snack time. In celebration of Black History Month, our infants explored something simple but meaningful.

Shefali placed small bowls on the table filled with black-eyed peas, kidney beans, and garbanzo beans (chickpeas). The beans were all different, some tiny and speckled, some smooth and red, some round and beige. As they were poured into one big white bowl, they made a soft rattling sound that immediately caught everyone’s attention.

Vihana leaned forward right away, her fingers slowly pressing into the pile. She watched closely as the beans slipped through her hands. Wyatt picked one up carefully, studied it, then dropped it back in with a serious little expression that quickly turned into a smile. Zendaya began swaying in her seat when soft African drum music played in the background. The rhythm seemed to move right through her.

Ramona was curious and confident. She reached in with both hands, letting the beans fall between her fingers again and again. Remy was more cautious at first. He poked at a black-eyed pea with just one finger, then looked up at Shefali, as if checking, “Is this okay?” Once he realized it was, he happily joined in.

Shefali talked gently with the children, naming what they were seeing and feeling. “This one is smooth. This one is small. This one is round.” Even though the infants are still very young, they listened in their own way through touch, eye contact, and quiet focus.

Shefali shared that beans are an important food in many cultures, especially in African and African American communities. For many families, beans have been part of meals for generations. While the children may not fully understand those words yet, they experienced culture in a way that made sense for them through their senses.

As the beans were mixed together, Shefali said, “They all look different, but together they make something special.” The children watched the colorful mix form in the bowl. It was such a simple, clear way to show togetherness.

When it was time to eat, the reactions were just as thoughtful and sweet.

Ramona scooped up a small spoonful and paused before tasting. After a second, she gave a proud little nod as if she approved. Remy squeezed one bean a little too hard and looked surprised when it squished slightly in his fingers then he laughed. Wyatt focused carefully on practicing his self-feeding, determined and steady. Zendaya continued to sway gently as she tasted. Vihana explored slowly, touching first and tasting second.

The diverse dolls placed at the table sat alongside the children, reflecting different skin tones and backgrounds. Some of the infants glanced at them, some patted them gently, and one even tried to “share” a bean. It felt natural and warm, everyone included.

What seemed like a regular snack time turned into a moment full of learning. The children explored texture, practiced fine motor skills, heard new language, experienced music, and connected all at once.

It was calm. It was joyful. It was meaningful.

This month, the children in Toddler 1 at RisingOaks | St. Patrick were eager to dive into a hands-on sensory experience, exploring the world of pretend play through the creative process of making playdough. With their growing interest in the kitchen area and all things imaginative, we set the stage for an exciting group activity: creating a variety of coloured playdough, starting with the classic black!

As the children gathered around the table where the ingredients were laid out, Rahiya was the first to show curiosity, pointing at the bag of flour and asking, “What’s that?” Arcely responded with a warm smile, “It’s flour. We’re going to make playdough today! Would you like to help?” Rahiya beamed and immediately replied, “Yes!”

Once everyone had settled in, Arcely began the activity by introducing the ingredients. She scooped a cup of flour and invited the children to take part. Andi and Dino were quick to volunteer, eagerly shouting, “Me!” Andi carefully poured the flour, while Dino helped scrape the remaining flour with a spatula.

Ripley dove right into the sensory experience, dipping his hands into the flour and squeezing it between his fingers. When Eria asked how it felt, Ripley remained focused on his exploration, enjoying the texture deeply. As the activity progressed, salt and cream of tartar were added to the bowl, and the children took turns stirring. Rahiya mixed for a moment before passing the bowl to Renzo and Seren, while Hélène and Adalynn waited patiently for their turn to participate.

The fun continued as Arcely added black paint, water, and oil to the mixture, and the children eagerly watched the dough begin to form. As the dough thickened, Arcely invited the children to knead the sticky mixture. Andi enthusiastically smashed the dough with a spatula, while Ripley and Dino stretched and kneaded it with their fingers. Renzo used a teaspoon to press into his dough, and Hélène got creative by tearing his dough into small pieces and pretending to cook with them in a little pot.

This playdough-making activity was a wonderful opportunity for the children to develop in multiple areas. Through activities like scooping, pouring, mixing, and kneading, the children honed their fine motor skills. They also explored cause and effect, observing how the different ingredients came together to create something new. The activity supported early math concepts as they practiced measuring, while the collaborative nature of the activity encouraged teamwork, social skills, and creativity. Questions were asked, turns were taken, and the children’s confidence blossomed as they engaged in pretend cooking together.

The activity not only helped to develop practical skills but also provided space for each child to express themselves creatively and confidently in a group setting, making it a truly memorable and enriching experience.

The School-age 2 team at RisingOaks Early Learning | St. Patrick had fun participating in outdoor activities. We have spent time this winter playing on our snow hills in the before and after school program and PD days. The children have been designing and redesigning the snow hill with small fallen branches. We have been taking turns sliding down the hills and playing several games like fort, snow monster, mountain climbing and sliding down the hill. 

  We have taken advantage of our time outside by going out in the mornings early to get extra time on our snow hills. We have enjoyed playing together and had fun carrying out our common interests of playing active games. Some of the children worked together to design a snow forte and they went back to it each day with their friends to turn the snow into side walls for their fortes. 

Snow monster was a game we played that I also participated in. Snow monster was a tag game where the majority of the children were safe on top of the hill and if they came down to the tarmac area they would get tagged. We talked about safety rules and how we could only play on days where the snow hill and tarmac is not icy. Mountain climbing was a fun game where we used small sticks to poke into the side of the hill and assist our climb just like we are doing real mountain climbing. Sliding down the hill was a school age favourite. The children created a fun ramp slide with snow one day and they all took turns sliding down it. 

The children are using their gross motor skills and  large muscle movements when playing active games. They are using their social skills by communicating with peers and teachers when deciding what to create and on rules of the games. The children are cooperating and working together to decide on plans with each other for their changing interests and games. The children are learning about stability and structure building and they are being creative. The children  are learning about hands on problem solving, making decisions and taking turns. The children are learning risky play and how to be safe by establishing rules with each other and the teachers for the snow hill. We can continue to play with the snow outside and build activities based on our interest.