WE STRIVE TO SEE THE WORLD FROM A KIDS-EYE-VIEW
Bellwoods Playschool uses a child-centred, socially conscious pedagogy to engage young children in social and artistic thought and action. Using what the city has to offer, we empower our students with the knowledge to be socially and environmentally responsible citizens while they develop into explorers of their urban landscape.

WE THINK OF THE CITY AS OUR CLASSROOM
A valuable aspect of the Bellwoods Playschool program is to empower children as navigators of their city. We journey on regular excursions, by foot and by public transportation, to art galleries, museums and cultural events, as well as markets, parks and city landmarks.

WE KNOW ITS TAKES A VILLAGE

Our Playschool runs on a model that links a range of artists together to engage and inspire children. We like to bring in different perspectives and actively pursue a diverse teaching staff. As such, professional educators and artists trade chalkboards for personal anecdotes and textbooks for real life experiences. Together, they create an atmosphere that is at once intellectually stimulating and deeply personalized.


Our Community

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

First 2 Weeks of Fun

Our first two weeks have been busy and fun! We have been getting to know each other and finding our groove. We have a new name for our clan, The Twirly Birds. Here are some highlights from our days so far:

LITTLE PORTUGAL
We walked along Dundas and started learning a bit about Little Portugal. We tried to spot as many Portuguese Roosters as we could, danced in front of the soccer store that plays Portuguese music, got a soccer ball covered in Portuguese flags and learned how to say thank you, Obrigado. We practiced our obrigado's when we bought some honey at the store for our Rosh Hashana celebrations.


ROSH HASHANAH
We celebrated the Jewish New Year by eating apples dipped in honey. We learned how to greet each other too! Shana Tova!

WORKER'S STRIKE
The hotel workers at the Royal York were unhappy with the way they were being treated. The bosses were not being nice! We observed the way the workers marched around so that the bosses would listen to them. We found a nice comfy couch to read Peter Rabbit on in the Royal York. One of the little guys thought that maybe we should find the bosses and talk to them about being nice to the workers. The day was also exciting because of the TTC turnstiles, hotel revolving doors and escalators we got to experience. We ended our day playing shark attack and human knot, and singing some songs at Union Station. 




JOURNEY TO THE MOON
We got to check out famous South African William Kentridge's Journey to The Moon at the TPW Gallery on Ossington. With this short black and white silent film, Kentridge pays homage to French director Georges Méliès' Voyage dans la Lune (1902). He combines live action and stop motion animation that the kids were mesmerized by. The other film screening, also part of this show, incorporated Kentridge's drawings in stop motion animation. I had to assure one of the little ones that none of us would be going to the moon that day so there was nothing to worry about.

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