June 4, 2025
Ms Chelsea had drawn out a tree on some brown paper and taped it to the back of the door as Ms Aleacia set out a tray with green paint and some branches from the trees alongside our playground. As the children noticed it sitting there, L, E and C had come over and asked, “can we paint?” I replied, “of course you can! Let’s see what you guys can do!”
L walked up and picked up the branch with his left hand and dipped it into the green paint, walked over to the paper and with a quick swing, smacked the branch against the paper leaving an impression of the branch. He said to his friends, “wow, did you see that?” L laughed and then continued making prints on the door as E and C began slapping their branches against the paper, making the green paint splatter all over the paper. C and E turned and looked at one another as they both began to giggle. E said to C, "you have paint on your face,” with a big smile and wide eyes. C told E, “you do, too!” C and E both looked down and noticed green paint all over the floor. They both said at the same time, “Ms Aleacia, there is paint all over the floor. It needs to be cleaned up.”
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As L, C and E were still painting, they got the attention of M, S and C as they walked over and all said, “we want a turn.” L turned and told them, “there are three branches so you guys have to wait until we are all finished our turn.” L, C and E each took a few more turns and then placed the branches down as L said, “I’m all done. I got paint all over me.” The girls included, “us too!” M, C and S all picked up a branch and began slapping the paper with the branches. As C went to swing his branch onto the paper, his friend S’s branch had bounced off the door, hitting C in the left ear. Right away, S said to C, “oops, sorry. This is pretty tricky.” C agreed and grabbed his shirt, wiping his ear clean as the two friends laughed. As M was dipping his branch, R came over and asked the group, “can I have a turn?” M then replied, "there are only three branches, but this one is big. I can make you one.” Using both hands, M broke a piece of the branch off and handed it to R, giving her the chance to have a turn. R said, “thank you M for helping me.” R then used her right hand to hold her branch and slid it back and forth on the paper. R then said to the group, “I can’t reach. Too high! I'm just painting down here.” As R was painting she said to her friends, "look at these marks, they are different than yours.” As I was taking pictures of the children, P came over and stood by watching. I then asked P, “would you like a turn to come and paint?” P stood quietly for a few moments and then, after thinking about it for a few seconds, replied, “after they are all done.” I told her that’s fine and then asked her, “are there are too many friends?” P nodded and waited patiently for a few friends to finish their turn. After some friends had finished, P walked over, picking up a branch using both hands, and walked over to the paper, smacking it against the paper twice with her right hand and then quickly turned around and placed the branch back down and told the educator, “I don’t like that. It’s too picky! The green things hurt my hand. I’m all done."
Belonging: The children socially interacted with one another when noticing paint on one another’s faces and well as the floor. Each child was participating in ways that they felt most comfortable, some waiting for when there were less friends at the activity.
Well-being: The children showed a sense of agency, recognizing that they have the right to make their own choices and decisions. Some chose a messier experience, getting paint on their bodies or experiencing the feel of the branches. They knew they had the choice to paint or not.
Engagement: The children focus their attention as to where they would like their branch to go on the paper and were able to communicate their feelings and ideas to one another. The children also collaborated with one another as to where they were going to be placing their branches and limited the experience to three friends at a time.
Expression: The children participated in meaningful interactions with peers by helping one another to ensure there were enough materials for each friend to experience making the tree and communicating their feelings to one another by asking and answering questions.
By Aleacia Austin
May 28, 2025
A was enjoying a beautiful day outside with her classmates. She was exploring the playground when she heard her friend yell out, “help!” A ran over quickly to find out what her friend needed. She found her friend struggling to hold up a big tire. “Help me hold up the tire,” her friend said. “Okay,” answered A. Once A began to help her, they were able to easily roll the tire around the playground. One of A’s classmates decided to try laying in the middle of the tire as she pushed it with the other friend. This idea didn’t work that well but it made everyone laugh hysterically. A then tried going in the middle as well, but that didn’t work out either and just added to the laughter. Then A and her classmates extended the play again by rolling the tire back and forth to one another. They had to concentrate and communicate to get the timing right but they were successful and had a lot of fun playing until it was time to head inside for lunch.
Belonging: When A’s friend called for help it was clear that she felt confident that she could help her. It was clear that A’s friend knew that she could trust her to help.
Well-Being: Playing with the heavy tire required plenty of physical activity by A and her friends. They had to use a broad stance and engage muscles in their arms, legs and core while they supported the tire on both sides.
Engagement: A and her friends expressed so much joy as they played with the tire. A was happy to collaborate so that they could play with the heavy tire.
Expression: The communication A had with her friends was incredibly meaningful. It was clear A is trusted by her friends to come when they need her help.
By Brianna Wall
April 9, 2025
As I walked over to the sandbox, C and a peer were filling two buckets up with sand. I asked, “What are you two making?” C answered, “A cake and a pie!” pointing to the buckets. I said, “Oh yum, what kind?” C replied, “A chocolate cake and a chocolate pie.” I said, “Those sound really yummy, what are they for?” C cheered, “We’re throwing a party for our friends!” C and her peer continued scooping sand and filling up their buckets. Once the buckets were full they used the flat bottom side of their shovels to smooth and level the tops of their cake and pie. Another peer ran into the sandbox, asking, “Are you ready to play yet?” C replied, “Not yet, we still have to decorate them!” The peer jumped out of the sandbox, while C and her peer continued decorating. C gathered small wood chips and bark from in the sand box and stuck them in her cake. She said, “The candles are all done!” As her peer gently sprinkled sand off her shovel on top of her pie she added, “I’m just adding sprinkles.” C and her peer yelled for their peer, “We’re ready!” The peer returned to the sandbox and joined the girls while they “ate” their chocolate cake and chocolate pie.
Belonging: C engaged in conversation with her educator, explaining what she and her peer were making in the sandbox. She worked collaboratively with her peer, exchanging ideas and how they were decorating their baked goods.
Well-being: C approached the sandbox with her peer and began filling up their buckets with sand. C explained to her educator that she was making a chocolate cake and a chocolate pie, initiating her own learning experience by engaging in dramatic play.
Engagement: C used the buckets as cake/pie pans, the sand as her ingredients and other loose natural materials she found in the sandbox to represent her ideas of the world around her and make baked goods for her and her peers to share.
Expression: C engaged in dramatic play with a peer in the sandbox to bake treats using natural materials she found outside, using creative expression.
By Chelsea Kelly, RECE
March 25, 2025
C gathered a stack of magnatiles from the shelf and carried them to a quiet area where he and a peer could begin building together. They started by laying pieces on the floor then building upwards, creating walls. C and his peer communicated with one another, deciding where each piece would be placed, including windows and doors. C said, “This is a castle for our babies, right?!” The peer giggled as she agreed, saying, “Yeah! This is for our babies!” I asked, “Are your sisters princesses?” C and his peer both cheered, “Yeah!” The peer added, “My baby sister's Bell and C’s baby sister is Sleeping Beauty!” I asked, “And who are you two?” The peer added, “I’m Cinderella and C is the King of the castle!” C laughed as he wrapped his arms around himself and said, “Yup! I’m the king!” C then explained the layout of their castle, pointing to each area where everyone had their own rooms, the door to get in and the stairs in their castle. When the castle was finished, C and his peer went to the art centre to draw pictures for their baby sisters. As they completed their pieces of art, they excitedly showed me what they had made. C asked, “Now we can go to their room and give it to them?” I said, “I think your sisters would love that.” I walked C and his peer down the hall to our infant room. Their sisters' faces lit up with big smiles as C and his peer entered the room. C was very excited to show his sister the picture he drew, handing it to her teacher to hang on their wall. We said goodbye then headed back to our classroom.
Belonging: C collaborated with his peer to build creatively using the magnatiles to design a castle for themselves and their sisters. C moved on to the art centre, drawing a picture for R that he wanted to deliver and hang in her classroom. His desire to bring his art piece to his sister was honoured by the educators.
Well-Being: C used his fine motor skills to create a picture for his sister and showed pride in his finished artwork. He was eager to deliver it to his sister with a big hug and lots of excitement as he ran in to surprise her.
Expression: C communicated back and forth with his peer to build together and share their ideas, and with his educator by explaining the design of their castle using reciprocal language. As C made his way to the art centre, he expressed himself creatively through his drawing using a variety of bright coloured markers.
Engagement: C maintained focus as he built cooperatively with his peer to construct a castle for everyone to live in, explaining the layout to his educator and where everyone had their own rooms. C used the magnatiles to represent his ideas and engage in communication with his educator about his creations.
By Chelsea Kelly, RECE
February 19, 2025
L and a peer were playing together in the kitchen. They took turns putting their cup in the microwave then ran over to another peer who was colouring at the table. They delivered her the drink and the peer shouted, “Here’s your hot chocolate!” Their peer pretended to drink the hot chocolate and they all giggled together. L ran back to the kitchen and grabbed a basket. He began filling it with food then brought it back to his peer at the table. I sat down at the table with Levi and his peer and asked, “What are you guys eating?” L said, “I made C lots of food and she ate all of it!” I said, “She must’ve been hungry!” L added, “She was, she ate it all!” L started gathering the food back up and carried his basket of food to the other end of the table and said, “This is for me now.” The peer laughed and said, “No, I’m still hungry.” L let out a sigh as he handed her an ice-cream cone, then they laughed together as they pretended to eat the food.
Belonging: L was playing with a peer in the kitchen area. He then approached another peer colouring at the table and brought her hot chocolate and lots of food, bringing her into his play scenario.
Well-Being: L gathered lots of food from the kitchen to bring his peer, then explained to his educator, “I made C lots of food and she ate all of it!” and agreed that she was very hungry. When L collected the food for himself and his peer said she was still hungry he shared more of his food with her and handed her an ice-cream cone.
Expression: L approached his peer and started engaging in conversation. He explained the play to his educator and continued having a conversation back and forth with both his peer and educator, engaging in reciprocal language.
Engagement: L was heating up hot chocolate for his peer and he delivered it to her as well as bringing her food to eat. He explained to his educator that he made his peer lots of food because she was really hungry. Once she was done he said, “This is for me now,” communicating his ideas with his educator and peer.
By Chelsea Kelly, RECE
January 15, 2025
C and a peer gathered materials from the shelf and carried them to the table. They created two ramps and started racing each car down the ramps. They used the couch to elevate the start of the ramp. C and his peers gathered more ramps from the shelf to start building the road longer. As the ramps reached the end of the table, they started falling off. C said, “Our bridge won't stay up!” I said, “You might need something underneath to support your bridge.” W cheered, “Lets use a chair!” C and W grabbed chairs and placed them at the end of the table. M gathered the wooden pieces and began building the bridge. C and his peers worked cooperatively together to build and share their ideas. Once the roads were complete, they released their cars one at a time down the ramp, then drove their cars the rest of the way down the roads, making their way around the table and back to the start of the ramp.
Belonging: C participated in a shared experience with his peers; sharing ideas, building and racing their cars.
Well-Being: As C and his peers attempted to build a bridge, they quickly discovered that the wooden pieces couldn’t hang off the table without falling off. C asked their educator for assistance and they were able to come up with a solution on their own to support their bridge. C helped gather chairs and placed them at the end of the table while his peer placed the wooden pieces across.
Expression: C expressed himself creatively through the process of building the ramp, roads and bridge with his peers, by sharing ideas and building cooperatively.
Engagement: Using the couch to elevate their ramps, they raced two cars down to see which one was faster and went the farthest, experimenting with weight and speed. When their bridge continued to collapse off the table, C was able to problem solve with his peers and provide items to support underneath the bridge.
By Chelsea Kelly, RECE
