Maranatha Christian Learning Dayhome

Tape Maze Challenge!

Today, the children challenged their bodies and minds as they carefully made their way through our tape maze without touching the “web.” They ducked, stepped over, crawled under, stretched, and figured out the best path to reach the other side!

This playful movement challenge supported balance, coordination, spatial awareness, motor planning, problem-solving, focus, and perseverance. In connection with FLIGHT, the children were active Mighty Learners as they tested different movements, adjusted their bodies, and confidently worked through the challenge at their own pace. 💪🕸️

Sometimes the simplest materials create the biggest opportunities for learning through play!

Happy Pajama and Desserts day! What a great way to finish this month. Kids get to taste desserts from Nigeria, Philippines, and US. 🤗

Happy Friday!!!

🧁Cupcake Baking and Decorating Day!

Today, the children became little bakers as they helped measure, pour, sift, whisk, and mix the ingredients for our chocolate cupcakes. After baking, each child decorated their own cupcake with frosting and colourful sprinkles, making every creation unique!

This hands-on activity supported early math and science concepts, fine motor skills, following directions, patience, teamwork, and independence. Most importantly, the children were so proud to enjoy a special treat they helped make from beginning to end!

This week, we explored the theme of desserts through imaginative play. The children transformed our dramatic play kitchen into a bustling ice cream shop, taking on the roles of customers, cashiers, and servers. Using loose parts and wooden pieces, they creatively turned them into ice cream, cookies, chocolate bars, mini pancakes, and lollipops. Their imagination, creativity, and storytelling truly came to life!

Learning Highlights:

* Imaginative and symbolic play
* Language and communication through role-playing
* Early math concepts (counting, pricing, exchanging, and taking orders)
* Social skills, cooperation, and turn-taking
* Problem-solving and creative thinking
* Fine motor development while handling loose parts
* Confidence in expressing ideas and engaging with peers

This week, we're learning about sports and using wooden blocks as bowling pins and a soft ball, the children took turns aiming, rolling, and counting how many pins they knocked down. This simple game encouraged active movement, focus, and turn-taking while making early math fun as they counted, compared, and celebrated their scores together.

Learning Highlights:

* Hand-eye coordination and gross motor skills
* Aim, balance, and body control
* Counting and one-to-one correspondence
* Early addition and subtraction (“How many fell? How many are left?”)
* Problem-solving by adjusting strength and direction
* Turn-taking, patience, and cheering for friends
* Confidence and perseverance through repeated attempts

Our visit to the Royal Alberta Museum (RAM) was filled with discovery and excitement! The highlight was exploring the Bug Gallery, where the children completed a bug and insect scavenger hunt, carefully observing different species and searching for each one on their list. As a special bonus, they had the opportunity to ask questions to a bug expert, encouraging curiosity and meaningful conversations about the natural world. We missed seeing ladybug, caterpillar, and earwig, but we sure enjoyed seeing wasps, bees, different kinds of spiders, ants, butterflies, and many other insects that are kind of hard to pronounce 😅

Learning Highlights:

* Observation and inquiry skills
* Scientific thinking and vocabulary
* Communication and confidence through asking questions
* Collaboration and teamwork
* Imaginative play and problem-solving in the Children’s Gallery
* Curiosity and a love for lifelong learning

These activities strengthen working memory, cognitive flexibility, visual processing, attention, and inhibitory control.

The children explored a new way of painting by creating art on vertical cardboard canvases outdoors. The cardboard was taped to the wall, inviting children to stand, squat, stretch, and move freely as they painted with brushes and vibrant colors.

Without a model to copy, each child created their own unique artwork. Some experimented with long strokes, others made circles, dots, and colorful lines, while a few mixed colors to discover new shades. The outdoor setting encouraged children to paint at their own pace while enjoying the sunshine and fresh air.

As they painted, the children naturally talked about the colors they were using, compared their artwork with friends, and proudly pointed out their favorite parts of their paintings.

Learning Observed
• Strengthening shoulder, arm, and wrist muscles through vertical painting
• Developing fine motor control and brush grasp
• Exploring color mixing and artistic expression
• Building creativity and confidence through open-ended art
• Improving hand-eye coordination and body control
• Engaging in conversations about colors, shapes, and their artwork

Children’s Voices
“I’m making a rainbow!”
"This is an ocean"
“Look! I mixed the colors!”
“Mine has lots of circles!”
“Can you share your color, please?”

Dispositions to Learn
• Creativity
• Curiosity
• Confidence
• Persistence
• Communication

FLIGHT Goals in Action
• Well-being – children strengthened their large and small muscles while painting on a vertical surface.
• Play and Playfulness – children freely explored paint, color, and movement through open-ended art.
• Communication and Literacies – children expressed their ideas, described their paintings, and shared materials with peers.
• Diversity and Social Responsibility – children appreciated each other’s unique artistic choices and respected different ways of creating.

This simple outdoor painting invitation encouraged children to combine movement, creativity, and exploration, reminding us that meaningful learning often happens when children are given the freedom to create in their own unique way.

Our Father's Day Craft! 🤗