City Place

Pythagoras Square

The Pythagoras Square introduces children to the foundational concept of geometry and the Pythagorean theorem in an intuitive and interactive way. This beautiful material is designed to help children explore the relationships between numbers, geometric shapes, and the Pythagorean Theorem — a^2+b^2=c^2. (Click for how this happens and the full photos!)

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Apple Tasting

We tasted three types of apples: Golden Delicious, Royal Gala, and Granny Smith. The children enjoyed sharing how the apples tasted using descriptive words such as sweet, sour, crunchy, and juicy. The children also compared the colours of each apple. Finally, each child placed their picture on a chart under their favourite apple. Royal Gala was the classroom favourite! (Please click for the full photos and how we extended our learning.)

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Puzzles

The children begin with a large-knobbed puzzle and make their way through to multi-piece jigsaw puzzles. Puzzles foster a child’s cognitive and fine motor development and are a great way to encourage hand control and small muscle development. They promote concentration, coordination, problem solving and a sense of order, and support spatial awareness. (Click for full photos and more information.)

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Cutting

Cutting with a knife is a skill that is necessary in everyday life. The child is shown how to hold the fruit steady and safely with one hand as they use their other hand to cut up the fruit. Gaining experience cutting velcro fruit and vegetables aids the child in using a real knife. (Please click for the full photos and more information.)

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Making Playdough

Our Casa East students embarked on a creative and hands-on adventure by making
their own playdough. This delightful activity was a huge hit, providing a perfect blend of
learning and fun. Playdough is a fantastic tool for young children to develop fine motor skills, engage their senses, and unleash their creativity. Our homemade playdough activity also introduced the children to basic measuring and mixing, making it a wonderful educational experience. (Click for full photos and more information.)

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Butterfly Life Cycle Process

The children learned about the metamorphosis of a butterfly from an egg, larva, chrysalis, and finally a butterfly as each stage progressed through days and weeks. We created an art display depicting the life cycle of a butterfly integrating botany and various materials around our classroom. Please click for more information and to watch the video collage of our process!

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Planting Beans

Engaging children with nature is important to be able to give them the opportunity to explore and understand the natural world and will support their respect and appreciation for the environment. The Under 3 class observed lifecycle of a plant objects and discussed the seed, seedling, and plant and what is needed for growth. (Click for the full photos and information on the planting and nurturing the children participated in.)

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Cityscape

At Cityplace, the children have the opportunity to observe the hustle and bustle of our community from the window. The children are often seen watching mounted police on horses, Blue Jays fans waiting in line for a game, or emergency vehicles driving by. (Please click for full photos.)

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March Art

During March, Casa East engaged in various types of artwork. In honour of St. Patrick’s Day, we painted cardstock with blue and yellow tempera paints, and squeezed wet glue and gold glitter onto it. For Easter, we used water and a paint brush to wet an egg shape on cardstock, placed coloured tissue paper onto it, and peeled the tissue off once it was dry. (Click to see our work and more information!)

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Second Step: Social-Emotional Learning

Social – emotional skills are essential to healthy child development. By instilling empathy, self-regulation, and effective communication skills early on, we lay a sturdy foundation for success in school and in life. Casa West is exploring Second Step, a compass guiding the children towards understanding emotions, developing problem-solving abilities, and establishing positive relationships. (Click to find out how and for the full photos.)

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