This virtual open house is to give parents and future students an opportunity to see the facility and a few of the activities the children enjoy each time they come to playschool.
Meet Mrs. Gerle and Ms. Johnson! Each morning, Ms. Johnson meets parents and students at the front door. Due to spacing, parents cannot accompany their child into the facility. But do not worry, they got this! Mrs. Gerle will be waiting right inside, ready to assist students with their jackets and shoes. They will then proceed into the classroom to wash hands and put their indoor shoes on. They are now ready to start their day!
Welcome to the bright and playful Carstairs Playschool Society! Each month students enjoy new centers and toys. The activities are selected with children in mind. They encourage movement, social interactions, imagination and creativity.
These two students are practicing their cutting skills. Cutting is a huge focus in order to prepare for kindergarten. Students are encouraged to hold their scissors correctly (thumb’s up) and use their other hand for moving the paper as needed.
Mrs. Gerle and Ms. Johnson are always bringing in new ways for students to practice their fine motor. This student is using straws to do just that, along with hand eye coordination.
Each day, the children practice scissor skills at one of the daily centers, in a new and exciting way.
Alongside the sand and water table, Ms. Johnson, got creative and made sensory bags that are taped to the table. This student is looking for various “treasures” in the bag.
These students enjoyed the fun activities around St. Patrick’s Day. There will be various holiday celebrations throughout the school year. These parties can involve special treats, activities based around the theme, or even a short movie.
This student is enjoying a fine motor activity. Fine motor is necessary to strengthen hands and increase the dexterity needed to hold a pencil correctly and start forming letters when learning to print.
These students are working on their scissor skills at one of the centers. Each day the children will be divided up into groups and rotate through various skill focus centers.
Each month the programming is focused around themes. This one in particular was Healthy Life and Nutrition. Along with learning about healthy food choices, this student is strengthening her hand by using clothes pins.
Each student has their own bag of supplies that includes their own pencil, crayons, scissors and playdough. Having individual bags reduces the amount of items shared among students. The children love playdough and it does wonders for strengthening those little fingers!
Gross motor skills are just as important as fine motor. Gross motor focuses on using those large muscles and whole body movements. This improves balance and coordination. The children will participate in many gross motor activities, but on this day they are enjoying an obstacle course.
Another center, but this one includes scissor work and sorting. These beginning skills are both a focus for Kindergarten.
Bead work is excellent for hand eye coordination. This student carefully puts bead on a pipe cleaner, which is harder than it looks!
The light table is a new addition to the playschool and boy do the children love it. With more accessories on the way, students will get lots of enjoyment out of this during their free play time.
The Carstairs Playschool Society celebrates many Spirit Days through out the year. Families may be asked to send their child in clothing of a specific color to help show their support, like on Pink Shirt Day. Mrs. Gerle leads the children through age appropriate discussion surrounding the theme and the importance of the message, in this case, Anti-bullying.