The Confident Child

The Confident Child

Mary Stuart, E.C.E.D.H., RECE

We all want and desire our children to become confident, secure, feeling positive about themselves – their abilities, their personalities, their temperaments, their interests.
We want to them to feel convinced they can try new things and to be open to all that this world has to offer.

How we help them to become confident is a delicate balance of letting them try and fail, encouraging their effort and rather than the end result,
and teaching them strategies to move beyond any of their challenges. Lifelong lessons we all are still learning.

One sure thing we can do is teach by example. One of the most powerful influences on children is our actions. We constantly model how to treat each other, how to speak to each other, how to get over challenges, how to foster relationships, and how to instill virtues of goodness, honesty, integrity, truthfulness, …

Confidence building begins with you and me, teacher and parents together.

Here is a wonderful poem that gives us pause about our actions:

WHEN YOU THOUGHT I WASN'T LOOKING, Clarence Budinton Kelland

When you thought I wasn’t looking, I saw you hang up my first painting on the refrigerator, and I wanted to paint another one

When you thought I wasn’t looking, I saw you feed a stray cat, and I thought it was good to be kind to animals

When you thought I wasn’t looking, I saw you make my favourite cake for me, and I knew that little things are special things.

When you thought I wasn’t looking, I heard you say a prayer, and I believed there is a God I could always talk to.

When you thought I wasn’t looking, I felt you kiss me goodnight, and I felt loved.

Whey you thought I wasn’t looking, I saw that you cared, and I wanted to be everything I could be.

When you thought I wasn’t’ looking, I LOOKED… and wanted to say thanks for all the things I saw when you thought I wasn’t looking.

Be Their Positive Role Model

Who we are and what we do shouts louder than anything we can say...and children absorb your message...

Care Deeply, Speak Kindly... Your Child Will Thank You!

Mary

Hope you enjoyed this little poem...I just had to share it.
~Karen

Program Reports

Here are some excerpts from the teacher’s program reports




The 2’s



Your two’s engage mainly in parallel play – enjoying the company of a mate nearby, all

the while unravelling their own storyline. One of the many joys as a teacher is to become

a catalyst for shared experiences.

The other day when our mountain was out on the carpet, the children were each

engrossed in their own world, when I sat down and started to chat with one child who

was attempting to put a large elephant into the small hole of the volcano. He kept trying

to stuff it in – he looked at me – I looked at him and with my arms extended I said, “The

elephant is too big.” “Too big!” he repeated. “Can you find a smaller animal to put down

the hole?” I asked and made a tiny gesture with my two fingers. “Smaller animal,”

he repeated – he found a little monkey and put it down the hole and it slid all the way

down and fell out the other end. “You did it!” I responded. “I did it!” he said. All this

excitement was not lost on the others nearby. A group gathered round the volcano and

with some gentle encouragement for turn-taking – every child had an opportunity to see

whether the animal they picked up would be “just right” or “too big” to fit in the volcano.

Each attempt was followed by clapping for success or laughter and a scramble for a

smaller animal when it just wouldn’t fit. This was truly a rich and wonderful learning

moment.







The 3’s



Our weekly themes in September were Back to School, All About Me, and Fall. For our Thanksgiving week the children experienced cornmeal in the sensory table, smelled nutmeg on their paper pies, and talked about what they were thankful for ( family, playing, and toys). For our Fire Safety week we pretended to be fire fighters in our dramatic play area, and we explained and practised our fire drill. During Nursery Rhyme week we shared rhymes and recited favourites, and we all took turns being nimble and quick and jumping over the candlestick. As part of our Transportation theme, the children were each given a boarding pass and pretended going through airport security, boarding a plane, and travelling in an airplane. As part of our lead-up to Hallowe’en, our dramatic play area was filled with costumes to try on and assume a new identity.





CA Kindergarten



Art is...

painting, drawing, pasting and sculpting. It is sewing and building, colouring and folding. It is expressing and observing.

Art is getting something that is inside you to the outside.

We have begun our year in art going through the 7 elements of art: line, shape, colour, value, texture, form and space.

All of these elements are in everything we would like the children to experience in our program and we will use these elements in the styles of famous works as well and help the children recognize them throughout their exploration in these creative endeavours.

We explored the element of line by painting different types of lines with black paint on white paper and white paint on black paper. How can we use line in sculpture? Get some sticks and start by wrapping them around to create a lovely lawn ornament and we gave the children a paper with 2 lines already drawn across the page and they turned it into whatever they saw within those lines and this created a wonderful dialogue about our individuality and why everyone saw something slightly different.

When exploring shape the children cut and paste Geometric shapes that were already very familiar to them and created a scene using those shapes. (several lines put together made a shape....who knew?) They then explored more organic shapes or shapes that are seen in nature by creating the lovely sheep that are still gracing our bulletin boards as well as shading around rectangles and squares to create a night time city scape.



CA After School



This year in our Creative Arts After School Program we have been following the history of art.

Following a loose timeline we started the year off exploring prehistoric art (cave drawings and paint made from organic ingredients), and then moved on to Aboriginal art. With a focus on the Pacific Northwest Peoples and the Inuit; we looked at the strong presence of line and symmetry in their works. The students produced their own papier mache masks of animals and supernatural beings.

Clay sculpture kept our theme going as we continued to look at what inspired these artists from the past. It has been interesting to note that all peoples past and present look to nature/their environment, animals, the supernatural and ancestry as subjects for art. With the Egyptians these ideas continued with a heavier influence on the supernatural/gods and ancestors. The children drew their own interpretations of Egyptian pharaohs and people.

It is already the end of October and we’ve finished this month off with Ancient Greek Art. A collage inspired by the appreciation of beauty in Ancient Greece and an exercise of balance and proportion in architecture, have been our recent projects. November will continue with art inspired by portraiture and mosaics from the Romans.

Thoughtful Moments

                                                       Making a thoughtful colour choice.

                                                             From hands to heart,...

                                     Hmm,...that's interesting - some things float and some things don't.

                           Who knew you could have so much fun developing fine motor skills?

                                "Glad we have our aprons on! Splashing is messy business."

                           ,...and if I  use three fingers, I can make this fabulous swirly shape

                                              Enjoying a little quiet time with a good book

                                                   "See, you don't need a brush to paint!"

                                                            "Once upon a time,..."

                                                               Art can be social,...

                                                            Art can be solitary,....

September 2012

And so begins the school year at Good Morning....

 

The 3 year old children are ready to be in smaller groups for circle time and have much to share about home, summer and family. They created these preschool rainbows by going on a search in the classroom for things that are red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple. Yes you may leave the carpet and touch the toys my friends, you are big kids now!

 Creative Arts Kindergarten roam the room and discover what they are able to do now that they are just a little bit older. We have smaller groups this year so we are able to do so much more with them already but we would love to fill the class with their friends so if you know of anyone who is in Kindergarten we would love for their friends to join in on the fun. Remember we do pick up at all 3 Glebe schools...Mutchmore, Corpus and First Ave and offer a lunch program 5 days a week.

 The 2 year olds had their first full morning after the staggered start and they are a lovely group who all sat for circle and participated in the songs and games. We had 3 moms come in to help for our first climb up the stairs for gross motor play and they couldn't believe that all 14 sat down at the same time for snack and how darn quiet the class was. The 2 year olds are busy exploring this fun environment that is just for them...it really is the quietest class.

 

It has been a great 3 weeks and all the teachers are excited to get their hands dirty and help your children explore in so many areas from art to drama and from fine motor to gross motor.

We are off to a fantastic start.

 

 

Kind regards,

Karen

 Virginia from Bloomfields came in one day to teach the children how to do flower arranging. The children loved cutting and designing and arranging their own creations! Thank you Virginia!

C.A.P.

One day during free play, these two boys decided to make us some pie out of playdough. Here they are cutting up the slices, very yummy!

Another day we had jello at the free art table to finger paint with. What a delisciously fun sticky mess!

Table refinishing project #2. the thursday class painted the under the sea background first with acrylic craft paints then used their hand prints as fish!

Just Play! author ~ unknown

When you see me cooking or tasting foods,

Please don't think that because I enjoy it, it is "Just Play."

I'm learning to follow directions and see differences.

I may be a cook or chef some day.

When you see me learning to climb, hop, run and move my body;

Please don't say I'm "Just Playing."

For, you see, I'm learning as I play;

I'm learning how my body works.

I may be a doctor, nurse or athlete some day.

When you see me engrossed in a puzzle or some 'plaything' at my school,

Please don't feel the time is wasted.

For, you see, I'm learning as I play.

I'm learning to solve problems and concentrate.

I may be in business some day.

When you see me reading with friends or an imaginary audience.

Please don't laugh and think I'm "Just Playing."

For, you see, I'm learning as I play;

I may be a teacher some day.

When I'm getting all dressed up; setting the table, caring for babies,

Please don't get the idea I'm "Just Playing."

For, you see, I'm learning as I play;

I may be a mother or father some day.

When I am building with blocks, please don't say I'm "Just Playing."

For you see, I'm learning as I play about balances and shapes.

Who knows, I may be an architect some day.

When you asked me, what I've done at school today,

And I say "I just played"; please don't misunderstand me.

For, you see, I'm learning as I play.

I'm learning to enjoy and be successful in my work;

I'm preparing for tomorrow.

Today, I am a child and my work is play.

I hope you have enjoyed this poem, and for you parents too....take time for you to "Just Play."

~Karen