Monday 25 August 2014

We've got the keys!

I headed into the school on Saturday to start moving in. Our beautiful classroom is ready for us!

The space is light and bright, thanks to lots of windows. I can't wait to set up our art studio in front of all that natural light. 


The room feels very big right now, with no furniture or children. Look at how gleaming the freshly waxed floors are! They won't stay like that for long...


Even our little child-sized bathroom is ready to move in. 


Now that the builders are finished their work, mine and Sharon's really begin now. Check back later this week for some in progress pictures!

Wednesday 13 August 2014

Lunches for Littles

Making lunches for little ones can be a bit of a juggle. We want them to eat healthy foods, but finding cost-conscious and appealing choices can be a challenge.

 It is worth the effort...after teaching over 250 kindergarteners, I've witnessed a direct relationship between the quality of school lunches and performance in school. A child with a white bread jam sandwich, a bag of chips and a kool-aid jammer crashes a lot sooner than a child who ate vegetables, whole grains, and quality proteins.



Here are a few tips I've gathered from parents, teachers, and kids over the years:

- Bento-box style lunches are the most popular. These have small containers of various finger foods so the child can pick and chose.

- Most children are not fans of traditional sandwiches, and more often than not they get disassembled then thrown out. If you do send sandwiches, consider investing in inexpensive sandwich cutters. A set on Amazon is under $10, and will pay for themselves by cutting waste. Alternatively, cookie cutters you already have work the same way!



- Make sure your child can open all the containers independently. Some children are too shy to ask for help.

-We can't have ANY nuts or "may contain nuts" products at school...sorry! Please label nut-substitutes so we don't panic.

- Think long and hard before ordering hot lunches. If your child is a good eater, it's worth the money. If not, reconsider. Pizza usually gets eaten, but subs, wraps, spaghetti, and other items are often wasted.



- On the weekend, prepare a big batch of of cut-up veggies and fruit. That way, you don't need to worry about peeling carrots or slicing strawberries during the week.



- Ask your child to help you make the lunch. If they get to chose, it's more likely they will eat it. Having a box in the fridge and the pantry filled with their choices will increase their independence and make your life a bit easier.

- *Please* use the Canada Food Guide's recommendations when planning lunches. Click here to see the recommended servings.



- Lunchables are easy, but are packed with preservatives, salt, and other nasties that affect overall wellbeing. Kids tend to throw out at least half of them too. Homemade bento boxes are the best choice, both nutritionally and economically.



- Consider "sneaky sugar": Read labels and count up how much sugar is in beverages, gummies, granola bars, and yogourt. According to the American Heart Association, children should have no more than 13g of added sugar a day. (Not including natural sugar found in fruits and whole-grain carbs.)



A healthy lunch makes all the difference in a child's day. Class parents- let me know if you'd like feedback about what your child is eating at school.

Special thanks to Steph Roll for sharing the lunches she made for her 4 1/2 year old daughter Adi this summer!

If you have any other tips or tricks, please add them in the comments.

Beginnings

While it was difficult to say goodbye to my school in the south end of the board, I'm VERY excited to be moving to a new school this month! Not only will I be working in my own community, I'll have a chance to reunite with staff and students I worked with as a temporary teacher about 5 years ago.

The school is new to Full-Day Kindergarten, so I'm looking forward to exploring the program with a new team of co-teachers and ECEs. Sharon Pomeroy is my new ECE partner and we are both excited to build an environment for our new charges.

We are lucky to have a new classroom being built onto the north end of the primary wing. I've been up a few times this summer to poke around and took some pictures to document the process.

Here it is in late June, just after the roof was put on.



Because it's a corner room we are fortunate to have windows on two sides of the room. Lots of natural light to nurture our "seedlings"!

Here are some more changes from a few weeks later, in July. The bricks are on and the landscaping has begun. The workers inside are hard at work installing the millwork, electrical, and plumbing.


And here we are just last week. The windows are in, landscaping looks great, and the inside fixtures are nearly complete. We're just waiting on the air exchanger to be installed (that mini-window on the right), and the finishing touches to be polished off. 


Can you see the builder Mr. Ian by the door to the new hallway extension?


Check back soon for some pictures of the interior. Sharon and I should have access by the end of next week, when our work begins!