RisingOaks Early Learning

One of the preschoolers in Preschool 2 at RisingOaks | Oak Creek expressed interest in traffic lights after noticing the lights on his shoes. Inspired by his curiosity, we decided to create traffic lights for our classroom, which sparked an interest among many other children. Together, we cut out paper circles and discussed the meaning of each colour, exploring how red means stop, yellow means slow, and green means go. We then taped the lights onto building blocks, and the children eagerly incorporated them into their dramatic play, using them alongside cars and other vehicles to create their own road systems.

We continued to build on this emerging interest by asking questions and engaging in simple research. Through our discussions, we learned that the traffic light was first designed by an inventor named Garrett Morgan. Garrett noticed that cars and people sometimes became confused on the road, so he invented the traffic light to help keep everyone safe. This learning connected the children’s play to real-world problem solving and helped introduce them to Black history in a meaningful, age-appropriate way.

To further explore this concept, we added colourful loose parts to our learning environment and the children participated in open-ended art activities, exploring the red, yellow, and green colours of traffic lights and discussing what each colour signals. The children explored colours, expressed their creativity, and developed their own ideas and inventions through their play.🚦
“The cars are gonna crash with no lights!” One of the children concluded.
“Green says go, go, go!” Another child said.

“My lights are going to be so colourful“ one of the children explained as they created with the art materials.

It’s Read Aloud Day! 📚

Big voices, silly sounds, and favourite stories make reading extra fun—and extra meaningful. A few minutes of reading aloud can spark curiosity, build confidence, and create beautiful moments together. It's a simple way to support growing minds every day!

The past few weeks it has been too cold to go outside and play. Kristine shared a video of a person making their own ice cream outside. The infant room at RisingOaks Early Learning | Saint John Paul II thought it was a great idea to try it out! We gathered all the ingredients, brought some of the snow inside and had the babies help create some ice cream. We poured the cream, sugar, vanilla and salt into the bowl, and started whisking away. Holly and Clara held onto the whisk and started to mix the ingredients together. Ronan and Nikola helped by grabbing the whisk and moving it back and forth in the bowl. Margo was unsure, and watched from nearby. We all watched as the mixture started to get thicker and thicker. Once it was thick enough we all gave it a try to make sure that it tasted good! The infants really enjoyed helping create their own ice cream, and we cannot wait for everyone to enjoy it at afternoon snack! We cannot wait to see if anyone else tries it out.

At RisingOaks Early Learning | St.Patrick in the Toddler 2 Program there were horses made from adhesive paper on the table. Each horse was cut out carefully so only the outline of the horse remained. The middle of each horse was open and sticky, ready for small hands. Nancy placed one horse on a tray with lots of yellow and red tissue paper on the table for the children to explored.

Beside the horses were small piles of red and yellow tissue paper. The paper was soft and light.

Nancy said gently, “Look, Horses.”
She pointed to the shapes. “Sticky horses.”
Robbie touched the outline, his hand was sticking to the adhesive paper and said, “Horse, sticky.”
Nancy smiled. “Yes, sticky horse.”
She held up a piece of red tissue paper. “Put tissue paper inside.”
Nancy pressed the paper into the middle of the horse. “Inside the horse.”
Zoey picked up yellow tissue paper. “Yellow.”
Nancy nodded. “Yellow tissue paper, where can we put it?
Zoey pushed the paper down and said, “In horse.”
Nancy responded, “In the horse.”
Augustus tried to place paper on the table instead.
Nancy softly guided, and explained how the table isn’t sticky but inside and around the horse is sticky.
She traced the horse outline with her finger.
Augustus followed and placed a hand full of tissue paper on the horse patting it down on the sticky sheet.
Brantley pressed many small pieces at once. “More, more.”
Nancy said, “More tissue paper. Fill the horse.”
Florence held up red paper and waved it. “Red!”
Nancy answered, “Red for New Year. Horse is bright.”
The horses slowly filled with red and yellow tissue paper.
Robbie patted the paper. “Strong horse.”
Zoey replied, “Fast Horse.”
Florence placing paper. “Happy Horse.”
Augustus laughed. “Red Horse.”

When they finished, we placed the horses on the window. Each horse looked different, full of red and yellow shapes inside the outlines.
Nancy said, “Horses. All ready for Lunar New Year.”
The children looked, pointed, and said , “Red Horse! Yellow Horse and Happy Horse!”

At RisingOaks Early Learning | St. Patrick in the Toddler 2 Program; Due to inclement weather, the toddlers remained indoors. To support their physical development, the educators set up a gross motor activity using wooden blocks. Deborah and the children worked together to stack the wooden blocks, creating a raised pathway.

The children were encouraged to walk along the blocks, maintain their balance, and jump off once they reached the edge. Initially, Revynah, Zoey, Owen, Augustus and Robbie requested support from the educators when they reached the edge and wanted to jump. With reassurance and repeated attempts, their confidence gradually increased. After several turns, they began to attempt the jump independently.

Robbie excitedly said, "try it," while Zoey expressed her by saying, "I want to do it" showing that children were confidently communicating their comfort levels and making choices.

To ensure safety while still supporting risky play, Nancy placed soft pillows at the edge of the blocks so the children could land safely and independently without injury. The children demonstrated patience and social awareness by taking turns and waiting for one another. During play, they used simple language such as "my turn" and "mine," indicating developing communication and social interaction skills.

Throughout this activity, the children developed, gross motor skills such as balance, coordination, and jumping. As well as social skills which include turn-taking, sharing space, and peer encouragement. Their level of confidence and independence increased through repeated practice.

This activity provided a meaningful opportunity for the children to engage in active, collaborative, and safe risky play while indoors, supporting their overall physical, social, and emotional development.