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

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Crazy Bedroom

Last month, The Lion Wolves wrote a story called "Crazy Bedroom". It was a rainy day and an exercise of storytelling turned into quick an epic story! They loved it so much they wanted to turn it into a movie. I documented the story as they took turns creating it orally amongst themselves. The story ended up being 5 pages long! Pretty amazing stuff. Narration in the video here is done by me, but the story line is 100% kid directed. Enjoy!!


Thursday, October 18, 2012

October

Public Art & City sights

We always stop to look and talk about the colourful murals that we see on our walks. 



 Sometimes you come across a fall fair at a neighbourhood school and get to enjoy wonderful local musicians playing and maybe even have a tasty treat!

 Planting bulbs for the spring...



 Creating our own 'Buildings & Bodies' drawings by local artist, Ryan Dodgson. www.ryandodgson.com.







 Science Experiments! Exploding Volcano!
 Costumes are always a good idea.





Exploring parks and nature in our wonderful city







                                         The beginning of our paper mache solar system
                                                                  Funny collages




Tuesday, October 02, 2012

The beautiful sights of fall!



 

 Vegetables from below ground....
 And above ground!
 At the Farmer's Market we learned that it was a bad year for local apple trees. An early bloom and then an early frost left the apple trees without a lot of fruit to share with the farmers and the community. We also learned a lot about maple trees and how sap is extracted from the tree and then made into syrup! Thanks to our friendly friend at the market for the wonderful knowledge and the tasty maple leaf candies!! We love the farmers market!

 Can you spot the purple pepper?

Monday, October 01, 2012

Play Fair!

Today Dewson Families  took to Queen's Park for a rally to display their care for education and the right to strike. Families came out to play, run, and have their voices heard. 
 Inspiring hearts and active minds. Civic Engagement at it's best!