Hanging with Santa

On December 3rd, the kids made Santa Claus doorknob hangers to kick off the holiday spirit. There were classic Santa hangers made, as well as some creative twists to the Old Man's outfit. This little art activity was a great way for the kids to start their decorating for the holidays.

"Santa workshop", not "Santa's workshop"!

Emily decided she would be Santa for the afternoon.

Katrina & Nat

Dance Party

To cap off some days, we have chosen to throw the children an interactive “dance party”. The dance parties are frequently requested from the children and we try to execute them as often as possible. The parties allow the children to express themselves through dance and boost their confidence. They also allow the children to blow off any spare energy at the end of the day. The dancing facilitates learning and development of gross motor skills and cognitive stimulation, as well as laying the foundation for cooperative organisation. Many songs are requested repeatedly, but by far the most popular at the moment is "Gangnam Style". We've had children riding imaginary horses for many an afternoon the past few weeks...

Katrina

Dungeons and Dragons

Two days earlier, Lady Moonfire of Loudwater dispatched two guards to investigate the development of Coppernignt Hold. Kavalar Coppernignt, a dwarf prospector, had begun mining operations several months ago west of Loudwater. The two guards did not return and all communication from Coppernight Hold has since ceased. Summoning our young adventurers, Lady Moonfire requests them to travel to the mine and uncover what has happened.

Upon arriving to Coppernight Hold, Kyo (Bryce), Kaldeo (Alden), Geno (Adrian), Thompson (Cole), Skeletor (Niko), Jackie (Shaan), and Ash (Hugo) discovered the entrance to the mine crawling with goblins. The companions quickly attacked, but the goblins were ready. Goblins, cowardly in nature and realising they were outmatched, ran into the mine or were defeated by our band of heroes.

Once inside, our heroes once again met resistance from more goblins occupying the caves of the mine. Fighting their way deeper into the hold, the warriors were in for a surprise. In the deepest part, they discovered a red dragon had taken up residence. A raging battle ensued, but our heroes emerged victorious.

Our weary adventurers found Kavalar Coppernight, some dwarves, and the two Loudwater guards behind an iron door, chained to the wall of a small room. Once unchained, Kavalar thanked our heroes and explained that the dragon may have only been a precursor to what may come. The stench of evil is in the air. Kavalar sends our heroes hastily back to Loudwater to report the terrible events to Lady Moonfire.

 

Kevin

Eruption of Art

For a couple of weeks in November, we decided to get the kids engaged in a mini-volcano project to enlighten them about this fascinating geological feature. Using paper mache techniques, we gathered a plastic cup, newspaper, and glue to build our volcano. For the first week, we built our volcano by piling glued newspaper around the plastic cup, trying to create a dome-like shape. On the second week, the kids painted their creation with tempera paint. On the last week, we took our volcano and headed out to our patio to watch it erupt. To make our volcano erupt, we assembled our supplies, which consisted of vinegar, red food colouring, and baking soda. The kids each had a turn to pour a little bit of vinegar into the "volcano crater". Monica had poured in a little bit of food colouring to make our "lava" red before asking the kids to pour in the baking soda. The kids poured the baking soda into the cup and we watched our volcano's bubbly explosion. We managed to get our volcano to erupt a couple of times before it became dormant.

This was a relatively easy but very engaging project for kids of all ages. It's a very hands-on and informative craft to take up. Our children had fun and requested to do this project again in the near future, which was very encouraging to hear! Hopefully, this could be the start of implementing more intriguing science-based projects.

Cheers,

The Kennelee Club (Gemma and Monica)

Adding the baking soda.

She is going to blow!

A river of flaming hot magma.

The volcano simmering down. 

Christmas City

As I’m sure you all have noticed, it seems as though as soon as November 1st comes around, it’s out with the Halloween decorations and in with the Christmas decorations. Ridiculous, right?! Well, Hillwood and I decided to succumb to this and get the kids to construct their very own Christmas Village! Each week the kids make a different part of the village and, by Christmas time, it should all come together to create a very festive piece! For the first part of this project, the kids were all aboard and constructed a very vital part of any Christmas village…the Polar Express. Each one of them was able to help build and decorate one car and everyone was thrilled with the outcome!

 

Decorating the sides of the Polar Express.

A very festive looking train.

All Aboard!

Last week, the kids were very hands-on with the continuation of our Christmas Village. We decided the village needed some greenery, and what is Christmas without a Christmas tree? They started out by creating a giant tree for the centre of the village using cut-outs of their hands for the branches. The kids, of course, started to get really excited about things they find under their trees at home and so we decided to write a Christmas wish on one of their hand cut-outs that wasn’t a present. “I wish for it to not rain on Christmas so Santa won’t get wet!” was Logan’s instant response. After the big tree was finished, they each made a smaller freestanding tree to bring the feeling of the outdoors to the village. The kids were already asking to build the stores and houses, but we’ll have to save that for another week.

Getting messy with some glitter and glue.

The final product.

Tada!

Kirsten

Did You Know...? #1

• Our afternoon snacks are made from scratch each day by 2 staff members. This way, we enjoy heartier, healthier, tastier snacks!
• We make our own bread for breakfast. That's why the slices don't look perfectly uniform!
• We keep a stash of emergency supplies to last our program up to 72 hours in the event of a disaster.
• Many of our staff also work in West Richmond's Preschool programs! Dustin, Emmett and Hillwood work in the Four Hour Class and Karen runs a Time for Twos class.
• We've gone digital to save paper! Our monthly calendar of snacks and activities can be found here!

Cheers,
Dustin

Pretty Pastel Paintings

With all the leaves changing colour so beautifully, I was inspired to do an extra colourful art project last week. The children were asked to draw bright and vibrant pictures using pastels. The surprise afterwards was the fact that each of them would paint over their creation with a light coat of watercolour paint. The paint helps blend and accent the colours, and really makes the picture jump off the page. I was impressed with the creations. Art auction anyone?

Malia drawing a barn on a hill.

All the children hard at work.

Cara's house.

Athena's house.

Grace C's flowers and birds.

Jeremy lives on a yellow submarine.

Toodles,
Emmett

Baking Bonanza

Two Thursdays ago, the baking gang got together for our activity. This time, we made chocolate cupcakes. Just mention the word "chocolate" and the children can’t wait to help. The boys in the group were so eager to help that they offered to count out our cupcake wrappers and put them into the trays while the girls got started on the dry ingredients.

The most sought-after job is ALWAYS cracking the eggs. We have lots of excellent egg crackers, by the way. We even have children who will show and help others who don’t yet have the skills to crack eggs.

In the final steps, we combined the wet and dry ingredients for our chocolate batter. After the batter was in the trays, I slipped some chocolate chips into the cupcakes for our little bakers to enjoy a nice surprise.

With nice gooey chocolate in the fresh cupcakes, we had enough for each child to take home two - one for them and one for someone special!

Hopefully, they shared…
Kat

Zombie Attack!

Last Friday, in celebration of Halloween, we hosted a small zombie party. We had a face painting booth and "converted" the little ones into baby zombies. We also baked witches' fingers and toes, intestines, and other creations for our mini zombies to munch on and enjoy. This project was aimed at challenging the children's creativity as well as their socialisation and fine motor skills.

"Blood" (otherwise known as red fruit punch) was also served, much to the children's delight. We also played zombie games, such as Night of the Undead, which helped foster social skills and encouraged teamwork and cooperation.

All in all, we had a dandy gathering. Happy Halloween!

Cheers!
The Kennelee Club (Gemma & Monica)

OSC’s First Out-trip: Village Pumpkin Patch

Last Tuesday, with the weather cooperating, we were able to take children from the Junior and Senior Programs to The Village Garden Pumpkin Patch. We wanted to take the children to a real farm, where they could experience first-hand where the pumpkins come from. The children from Junior OSC were very excited, especially after finding out that they were going with the Senior OSC children.

We were all geared up in our boots and jackets, and holding our bags (for our pumpkins), waiting for the OSC bus to arrive. When the bus arrived, we loaded up the bus and off we went. The leaders thought it would be fun if we paired the older children and the younger children in a buddy-system.

At the pumpkin patch, Farmer Rick talked to the children about how pumpkins grow, from seeds to blossoms, and finally to the harvest of the pumpkins. He showed us photographs of the pumpkins growing at different times. After the talk, we were able to explore the pumpkin patch. Due to perfect timing, we were able to have the patch almost to ourselves.

It was a fun and wonderful experience for the children in both programs.

 

-Karen-

Skoot & Skate Mondays!

Every Monday, we engage the children in our 'Skoot and Skate' Development Day. The kids that have signed up bring their scooters, skateboards and helmets to Junior OSC.

Through this activity, we are giving the children opportunities to practise and develop their gross motor skills and safety consciousness. The children are expected to observe proper rules and regulations regarding their safety and well being. They show independence and critical thinking with regards to road safety and their interactions with each other.

So far, the weather has been accommodating for us to run this outdoors. We will try to continue this activity outside and possibly move it indoors for the winter months. Look out for the sign-up sheet if your child would like to participate!

Katrina

Dungeons and Dragons

Two weeks ago, I introduced a role-playing adventure board game to the kids called Dungeons & Dragons. The game utilises miniature figurines, some dice, a game board, and the very creative imagination of a child. Each player creates a character who is a hero in a fantasy game world setting.

This past week's adventure found our heroes, Kyo aka Cheesehead the fighter (Bryce), the paladin brothers Speedy (Jacob) and Fasty (Alex P.), Alex Awesome the rogue (Alex S.), and Jackie the ranger (Russell N.) in the town of Loudwater. Suddenly, Loudwater was raided by Goblins looking for an artifact that was allegedly stolen from them! The heroes took the responsibility of protecting the town from the invaders. They successfully defeated the goblins and, for their bravery, the Lord of Loudwater presented them with the artifact and gold. The artifact has a mysterious inscription in a language none of the heroes can decipher. They are now on a mission to find an individual who can tell them what the inscription says...

More adventures await our band of heroes...

Kevin

Change of Season

Well, it looks as though our extremely fortunate run of weather is about to change. Let's hope the inbound rain is only momentary. But with a change in climate comes a change in opportunity: gym time!

On foul weather afternoons, our children will be given the chance to explore new activities indoors. The likes of basketball, soccer, bikes, gymnastic equipment, group games and even hockey may present themselves. Many of these activities will allow the children to develop social and motor skills not specifically provided from outdoor play.

But, alas, outdoors is where we prefer to have the children. Outside is where the children should be. So pack that jacket, that toque and those gloves! We will continue to take the kids outside throughout the fall and winter if possible.

Cheers,
Dustin

Homemade Ice Cream

Gemma and Monica experimented with making homemade ice cream recently, and the children approved. Using the usual ingredients, the leaders got the children to freeze their own ice cream using zip lock bags, salt and loads of ice.  We also added food colouring  to customize the colour of their treat. Many children and leaders found themselves with frozen hands after the activity but most would agree it was worth it.

The usual ingredients.

 

Our ice cream mixture before freezing.



Shaking the ice and salt filled bag to freeze the ingredients.

 

Monica lending a helping hand.



Making a delicious mess.



The finished product!

























Modeling Clay Fun

The routine is set and finally the leaders have time to document some of the many art projects taking place at Jr. Out-of-School Care.

In past weeks we experimented with some plasticine and many children made amazing creations. This week I decided to use air-dry modeling clay. This way their art could be kept more permanently. The common theme seems to be animal heads. Here is some of their handiwork!

Bronwyn's cat head sparked the inspiration for her porcupine and dolphin heads.

Many others followed suit.

Emily's animal family.

Jaelyn's pet bird.



Johanna's sculpture.

Emmett



Settling In

The first couple weeks of chaos are over and we can all start to settle into the usual routine. All the children and staff have adjusted very well, but there are some upcoming dates to remember.

The first Professional Day will be for Dixon Elementary children on Friday, September 21^st. Gilmore and Quilchena students will have their first Professional Day the following week on Friday, September 28^th. Please keep an eye out for sign-up sheets so we know if your child will be attending Jr. OSC that day!

For children who have cubbies inside the room, we’d like to ask that no belongings be kept inside them during school or overnight. Preschool programs use the same cubbies during school hours. If you would like to leave a change of clothes for your child, please label them and pass them along to a staff member for storage.

Dustin will be away for a short time, so if you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to speak to me, Emmett.

Toodles,
Emmett

Survival!

Hopefully, everyone survived the first week of school madness. Class switches, gradual entry and making new friends kept us busy here at Jr. OSC. Thankfully, our new children have adapted quickly to the program.

New parents, I hope you've had a chance to meet most of the staff. If not, don't be shy! And if you've already forgotten a name, don't be embarrassed. There are a lot of us. For reference, there is a bulletin board in the hallway with picture frames of the staff. It's a great cheat sheet if you forget a face.

As our routines settle, I'd like to remind parents to please pack a water bottle for their child. We always try to get the kids outside or in the gym each day. And yes, chasing the leaders makes kids thirsty!

Cheers,
Dustin

Welcome to Jr. OSC

To all our new families, welcome to West Richmond Junior Out-of-School Care (or, Jr. OSC, as we like to say). To all our families, new and old, welcome to our brand new website! We hope this foray into the World Wide Web will serve to better connect you with our program. Take a moment to explore the menus at the top of the page. You may find something useful or even enlightening!

With all the hustle and bustle that accompanies the start of a new school year, communication is key to keeping things running smoothly. If your child will be absent or will not require pick-up from school, please remember to call us. If you have any questions, big or small, please don't hesitate to speak to one of our friendly staff.

A reminder of how school pick-ups work: Kindergarten children are picked up from their classrooms by a staff member, but Grade 1 & 2 children are to assemble at the designated meeting areas. Children are asked to check in at the meeting areas promptly. Otherwise, staff will come searching.

Bookmark our website and remember to check in often! We aim to post updates about our program and share what we've been doing.

Cheers,
Dustin