Eco - System collages at Westmoreland!

On Friday April 25th we held a Show - n - Share that summarized and review our study of the Eco - Systems! We had our parents help our PK/PS kiddos work on a homework assignment! We gave each one of them a week to come up with a collage about one or more eco - system and bring it toschool for show - n - share and talk about it! They all did a great job on their collages and the ocean was the most popular, however we had several wonderful themes! Take a look below!

Westmoreland's PK/PS Earth Day Project

We had so much fun on Earth Day! We learned about gardening, recycling, composting, and the water cycle. We would like to thank Ms. Peggy and Portland Nursery for the wonderful donation of indoor and outdoor plants and soil! Our thank you card will be sent to them soon! This will soon become a new class job in Preschool / Pre- K. Check out our pictures from our fun Earth day below!

Thank you card to Portland Nursery from Pre- K / Preschool

Digging in the dirt is so much fun!

Say Gardening!!!!!

Be gentle...

Going Natural At CMLC!

Creative Minds Learning Centers are dedicated to providing the best practices and continuing to cultivate imagination and growth in our kiddos on a daily basis. Using natural playscapes at our schools is just one of the many ways that we are incorporating the latest trending research to help us achieve these goals. 

What is a natural playscape? 

The natural playscape (or natural playground) is defined as a space with as little man made components as possible. Using native plants, rolling hills, lots of trees; playscapes represent a natural place such as a forest. Playscapes are designed with the intent of bringing children and people back to nature.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Playscape

Happy Valley's New Natural Playscape

Benefits of using natural playscapes in early childhood environments: 

1.)  Spending Time in Nature (including natural playscapes) supports human health and development:

 A Case for Natural Playscapes

“Spending time in nature is an important component of human health and development. For many, nature inspires curiosity, creativity and a sense of freedom. And playing in natural landscapes provides opportunities for motor development and sensory experiences not available in the classroom or even on traditional playgrounds.”  Natural playgrounds allow for more creativity than traditional playgrounds, because the children are able to manipulate their environment through the loose materials found in nature.  In one study, children who played on natural playgrounds scored higher on standardized motor skill tests than children who regularly played in traditional playgrounds.  Because nowadays it is more difficult for children to experience nature, a natural playscape is important because it provides “a sensory experience” that can “strongly impact physical and cognitive development.”

http://gardenandplaytucson.wordpress.com/play/importance-of-play-notes/

2.) Children who use natural playscapes tend to be more active and use their imaginations more. 

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/10/121011135036.htm

3.) Natural playscapes strongly support gross motor development.

 "A rough and diverse landscape is perfect for improving a child’s motor fitness.  In one study, it was proven that children who played in natural playscapes showed considerable improvements in motor fitness than those who only played in traditional playgrounds.  Not only do natural playscapes improve the health and concentration of children, but the children prefer these playscapes to traditional playground equipment."

http://gardenandplaytucson.wordpress.com/play/importance-of-play-notes/

4.) Natural playscapes connect young children with nature and instil in them a sense of sustainability. 

"Early childhood is a unique and critical time for connecting with nature. Sadly, in today's society children are spending less time outdoors than ever before.  Natural playscapes are a way to reconnect our young children with their natural world. If we provide synthetic outdoor playspaces and place more importance on indoor play, what will children grow up knowing and feeling?  As educators we need to help young children build a relationship with their natural environment so that they are invested in it's future."

http://www.letthechildrenplay.net/2010/01/why-natural-outdoor-playspaces.html

To Learn more about natural playscapes and how to incorporate natural playscapes into your home, visit: http://www.childcareexchange.com/catalog/pdf/natural_playscapes.pdf

What Happens When...

What Happens When is the theme for March!  At Westmoreland we have been busy seeing what happens when....

 We explore what magnets do! 

 Exploring textures and solids with playdough!

 Making frozen fruit with berries, melons and water! Thanks families for the donations!

Mixing colors! Fun with water and food coloring!

This is such a fun theme!  We will be exploding a diet coke, we have 2 egg projects, a gravity project,we will be making veggie soup and we will see what happens wen our volcano explodes!  We look forward to blogging more soon!

Happy Valley's New Natural Play Space!

Happy March Creative Minds families! 

The kiddos at Happy Valley have been welcoming in the new month by enjoying the warmer weather, and extra outdoor play time. We recently added a new natural play space to the Happy Valley school. This play space features a wooden play structure and a wood playhouse complete with a garden roof. The kiddos have already had so much fun playing out there and we are all looking forward to making many more great memories here at the Happy Valley School!

Wooden play structure. 

Playhouse complete with garden rooftop.

Playhouse.

Here are some fun pictures of our toddler class enjoying their new space!

CMLC Mail at Westmoreland!

Remember when you opened your lunch and found a note from home. It was so reassuring to see those words, "I love you" or "Can't wait to see you when you get home." It always made your day!

Well now you can do the same for your child, teacher or staff! In our front lobby we have an adorable mailbox with pens and paper ready to go! Just stop by and jot down a quick little note and pop it in the mailbox! Our friendly PK/PS letter carriers will deliver the mail to all classrooms after PM snack!

This is also a great way to have your child write letters at home to friends or teachers and bring them in the next day. What a great pre-writing skill to practice with your child. This teaches communication, fine motor, vocabulary and so much more. Plus it is fun to "get mail" from someone special!

So have fun with this! Send letters to family, friends, teachers, and staff. We can't wait to see our mailbox get full! 

Holiday Door Decorating at Happy Valley and Westmoreland!

Happy Holidays CMLC families! Here at the Westmoreland and Happy Valley Schools the teachers have embraced the holidays and participated in a door decorating competition! 

The teachers did a FANTASTIC job of encompassing the holiday spirit throughout the halls of CMLC! Needless to say, it was very hard to pick a winning door. The winners from each school will be announced this week!

 Check out the pictures below of the decorated doors!