The Thinking Garden Childcare Centre Ltd.

It’s that time of year again! We are on the board for “Best of the City 2026”💓 We would love if you could take a minute to vote for us again this year💓

https://nanaimobulletin.com/contests/Best-of-the-City/?fbclid=IwRlRTSAShPk9leHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAo2NjI4NTY4Mzc5AAEe7kpFXPYBeuU24fV8Mrnh-tFTK8W2I0dV5i3GWYSgjgigsJ_tzbB6R2q_NB8_aem_1SR0cjKtOhRUr4VTbIwt4g #/embed/cd40556b-c3ef-4082-874a-0fa05172906aeu22wr8pnfcsi5wg092kidpfx1l27ulgn

Thank you to all of our parents and families for always understanding our Pro-D closures! We have truly realized this last year how important these days are to work in throughout the year. Not only for staff bonding, but for creating, learning, planning, and staying on the same page for care expectations in our centres! Today we planned and prepped all of our year end surprises and goodies for your littles, planned our summer program, shared behavior guidance ideas and tools, prepared for 10 new littles to join us over the next few months, celebrated Miss Chloe’s birthday, Miss Aurora’s university graduation, and check out Nanoose’s new saftey mirror for that tricky blind spot our friends like to dig out our school in ! 😆💓 Wishing you all a magical weekend, we hope you find some time to lay in the sun and breath along with us as the school year comes to an end☀️💓

🎶”Peter hammers with one hammer, one hammer, one hammer, Peter hammers with one hammer.. then his work is doneee🎶

Miss Yvonne has been working on bird feeders and woodwork with the children at Nanoose. This step by step project was so fun for the tiny humans! Prepared with real children sized hammers, saftey goggles, one on one supervision, and pre-drilled holes; children got the chance for hands on building and woodwork. Miss Yvonne’s passion comes from outdoor education, where children are using natural materials to develope their skill sets. Let’s walk through how this simple project is guiding your child developmentally:

Practical Life Skills:

* Children learn how to safely use real tools (with close supervision).
* They develop problem-solving skills by planning, building, and modifying projects.
* They gain confidence through creating something tangible from start to finish.

Physical Development:

* Hammering strengthens fine motor skills.
* Carrying wood and manipulating the tools develops hand-eye coordination and gross motor skills. (Look at those tiny nails!)

Cognitive Development:

* Woodworking introduces concepts such as measurement, balance, stability, shape, and cause-and-effect.

Social-Emotional Learning:

* Children learn perseverance when projects are challenging.
* They develop patience and concentration.
* Collaborative projects encourage teamwork, communication, and sharing resources

Risky Play & Risk Assessment:

Outdoor education often values appropriate risk-taking.

* Identify hazards.
* Follow safety procedures.
* Develop self-regulation and responsibility.
* Build confidence through mastering real tools

A love of nature as always:

* Feeding the birds in our beautiful maple tree and surrounding forest. We currently have a resident bird in our bird house, who we hope has some babies on the way.

✨ Our summer program is completely full for both centres! WOW! September enrollment is still under way, we are currently offering tours to waitlist families and new inquiries✨

🌸Our flower, vegetable, and herb gardens are up and running… and so is enrollment!🌸
We are currently working on our September schedule, with waitlist families and new inquiries. Contact us via email for a tour at either location; to chat more about your hopes for care this September.💓 We can’t wait to meet you! ✨

See the sleeping chicks, until it’s nearly noon.. come and help us wake them, with a merry tune 🎶

The Easter bunny delivered both of our classrooms real chicken eggs this year!! Children have been patiently waiting for them to hatch, checking on them each day, learning the life cycle, and ensuring they recieved lots of love and care!

Today, when we arrived to school, all of our feathery friends were being born. Welcome to the world sweet ones, and thank you for sharing your journey with us all!💓