The Preschool 1 room at RisingOaks Early learning | Saint John Paul ll went for a walk to have a picnic in the park. The day before we made sandwiches, and cut up some cucumbers for us to have for lunch. The morning of the picnic we packed it all up in a cooler, and got ready. We grabbed our sun hats and headed out. The preschoolers walked with their safety buddy. “We need buddies to keep us safe!” Calvin explained to his peers. We talked about the importance of listening to our buddies when they tell us a message, or ask us a question. We continued our walk, along the sidewalk, making sure we check for cars and other people walking on the sidewalk. Once we got to the park we talked about all the things we should do to keep our selves and our peers safe. “Stay with the teachers!” Lukas said. “Make good choices” George said. Once we knew how to be safe, we went to play. On the playground there are many different elements that the preschoolers explored. Going up the stairs, down the slide, under the climber, over the stepping blocks, up the ladder, and over the moving elements are all apart of this experience. Being in an environment, such as a park that has all these different elements, provides opportunities for the children to explore in ways different than they might get in their everyday lives. The park is an excellent place to provide children with the opportunity to explore gross motor, and risky play. Risky play is when children evaluate what they feel safe doing, and proceed to play while being in tune with their bodies. Risky play supports self-awareness, coordination, and strength. After our time playing at the park, we decided to find a nice shady area and sit down for our picnic. We all gathered our water bottles, and sat down to eat the sandwiches, cucumbers and bananas we had prepared. After our delicious picnic lunch, we packed everything up, making sure not to leave any food or garbage behind. We then found our safety buddies again, and headed back to centre. The preschoolers love exploring new places in our community, and we are excited to see what else we can explore this summer!
