Stittsville Imagination Station Preschool

💙👨‍👧‍👦 Happy Father’s Day! 👨‍👦💙

This week, our friends have been working so hard on their special Father’s Day gifts and crafts! 🎨✂️❤️

Throughout the week, children shared stories about their dads, grandpas, and other important caregivers in their lives. They talked about the fun things they do together, the things that make them laugh, and why they love spending time with them. 🥰

Using their creativity, imagination, and growing fine motor skills, the children carefully created meaningful keepsakes to show just how much these special people mean to them. 🌟 Through this experience, they were able to express their thoughts, feelings, and relationships with the important people in their lives, supporting the HDLH concepts of Belonging, Engagement, Expression, and Well-Being. 🍁💛

The excitement was contagious as everyone eagerly waited to bring their creations home and celebrate with their loved ones! 🎁✨

Thank you to all the dads, grandpas, uncles, stepdads, and caregivers who support, encourage, and love our little friends every day. We hope you have a wonderful Father’s Day filled with laughter, hugs, and special memories. 💙

📸 Here are some photos of our friends hard at work and the amazing gifts they created!

✨🎶 HUGE shout out to Monkey Rock Music! 🎶✨

We had the absolute pleasure of welcoming Monkey Rock Music to visit all of our pals across all THREE of our locations, and what an incredible experience it was! ❤️🐵🎸

A very special thank you to Rory, who was nothing short of amazing. His energy, enthusiasm, and talent had every child engaged from beginning to end. 🌟 From our youngest friends to our oldest, he entertained every age group with patience, kindness, and so much joy. 🥰👏

Seeing the smiles, laughter, dancing, and excitement on our children's faces was truly heartwarming. Moments like these create memories that last a lifetime and remind us how important music, movement, and shared experiences are in helping children grow, connect, and simply be kids. 🎵💃🕺🎤

Thank you, Monkey Rock Music, for bringing so much happiness to our centres. We are beyond grateful for the wonderful experience you provided to our children and educators. ❤️

We can't wait to have you back again in the future! 🎉🎶🐒

🧸🏖️☀️ Teddys at the Beach! ☀️🏖️🧸

Our tough tray is heading outside once again as we bring a fun beach day experience to the children! 🏖️☀️ Children will explore sand, water, beach accessories, and teddy bears enjoying their own day at the beach. 🧸🌊⛱️

Children can create beach adventures for their teddies, build in the sand, splash in the water, and engage in imaginative storytelling through sensory play. 🏖️🧸💦

How Does Learning Happen?
💙 Belonging – Children build relationships as they play alongside friends, share materials, and create beach adventures together.
💚 Well-Being – Sensory experiences with sand and water support self-regulation, confidence, and overall well-being.
🧡 Engagement – Children use their curiosity to explore different materials, test ideas, and discover new ways to play.
💜 Expression – Through pretend play, storytelling, and conversation, children share their ideas and bring their teddy beach adventures to life.

We're excited to see the children's creativity shine as they help their teddies enjoy a sunny day at the beach! 🧸☀️🏖️🌊✨

🐦🌿 Bringing Nature to Our Toddlers! 🌿🐦
Today our toddlers got creative making their very own bird feeders! 🎨🪺 We are so lucky to have so many birds visit us throughout the day, so this was the perfect opportunity to combine art, creativity, and nature exploration all into one fun activity! 🌞✨

Our friends loved using their hands to create while learning about the birds and animals that share our outdoor space with us 🐤🍃 Activities like this help children build curiosity about the natural world, encourage observation skills, and create meaningful connections with nature 🌎💚

This experience also aligns with the HDLH (How Does Learning Happen?) pedagogy by supporting:
🌱 Engagement – children explored materials and showed excitement while creating
🎨 Expression – using creativity and hands-on art to communicate ideas
🤝 Belonging – working together and caring for the birds in our environment
💪 Well-Being – spending time outdoors and connecting with nature in a positive way

We can’t wait to see which feathered friends stop by for a snack! 🐦🥰 🌿✨

🐝☀️ Our infant classroom has been a busy one lately! From learning all about National Bee Day to exploring the outdoors and going on nature walks, our little friends have been soaking up every moment of learning and discovery! 🌼🍃🚶‍♀️
We have been LOVING spending time outside! 🌳💛 Whether we are listening to the birds chirp, feeling the grass beneath our feet, collecting nature treasures, or watching the bees help our flowers grow, every experience becomes an opportunity to learn through play! 🐝🌸
These experiences align beautifully with HDLH (How Does Learning Happen) by encouraging:
✨ Engagement — children actively exploring and discovering the world around them
✨ Well-Being — fresh air, movement, and outdoor play supporting healthy development
✨ Expression — using sounds, gestures, and curiosity to communicate their discoveries
✨ Belonging — sharing experiences together and building connections with peers and educators 💕
Outdoor learning creates endless opportunities for sensory exploration, curiosity, and meaningful learning moments for our youngest learners! 🌿☀️🫶

☀️🌿 Hello Summer! 🌿☀️
We are SO excited that the warm weather is finally here and we can take our learning and play OUTSIDE! 🌈💦 There is nothing better than fresh air, sunshine, and happy little learners exploring together.

This week we brought so many of our favorite classroom activities outdoors — water tables to help our friends cool down while experimenting and learning, cozy books in the shade, sensory tables, and our tuff trays filled with pom poms and silky scarves for hands-on discovery. 🫧📚🧺

The children had a blast using the water tables not only to stay cool, but to pour, scoop, splash, and explore cause and effect. Our tuff tray invitations sparked creativity, imagination, and fine motor play as the children moved, sorted, and explored different textures. ✨👐

Outdoor learning truly brings out the best in play-based exploration and we can’t wait for all the summer fun ahead! 🌞💛

Here’s a peek at how our friends enjoyed today’s outdoor adventures! 📸

🌸💐 Happy Mother’s Day from all of us at daycare! 💐🌸

This past week, our classrooms were buzzing with extra excitement, secret projects, and tiny hands working very hard on something very special. Our children put so much love, care, and effort into creating gifts for the incredible moms, grandmothers, and caregivers in their lives. 🎁✨

There were whispers of “Shhh… it’s a surprise!”, careful crafting, big concentration faces, and lots of proud smiles as each child worked on something made straight from the heart. ❤️

Our teachers were just as busy behind the scenes! Gathering supplies, helping with tricky parts, and making sure every child had the chance to create something meaningful for the people who deserve it most. It truly took teamwork to pull off all of these beautiful little treasures!

Being a mom, grandma, or caregiver is one of the most important (and hardest!) jobs in the world. You give endless love, patience, comfort, and support every single day. You are the first hug, the loudest cheerleader, and the safest place to land. 🤗💕
Today, we celebrate you!, the ones who wipe tears, pack supplies, read bedtime stories, organize the chaos and show up day after day with love in your hearts.

We hope the gifts coming home this week bring big smiles, happy tears, and remind you just how much you are loved and appreciated. 💖
From our little hands to your big hearts…

Happy Mother’s Day! 🌷💝

A long time ago… in a preschool not so far away… right here at Hazeldean… 🚀✨

Our preschoolers woke up on May the 4th ready to bring balance to the galaxy! The classroom quickly transformed into a Jedi training ground as the children set out on a very important mission — to design and build their very own LIGHT SABERS! ⚔️🌟

Using cardboard tubes, colourful paper, tape, and LOTS of imagination, each child carefully crafted a saber that was as unique as they are. Some chose bright green, others bold blue, and a few brave Jedi even created rainbow sabers! As they worked, we heard excited chatter about space, heroes, and epic adventures happening “a long time ago.” 🌈💫

Once complete, the preschoolers proudly tested their sabers with gentle “whooshes” through the air, practicing their Jedi moves with big smiles and even bigger imaginations. The room was filled with creativity, storytelling, laughter, and cooperative play as friends teamed up to defend the preschool galaxy together. 🤝🪐

This activity didn’t just stop at play — it turned into an OUT-OF-THIS-WORLD bulletin board! 🚀 The children displayed their light sabers along with drawings and stories about the adventures they imagined. It became a wonderful visual celebration of their creativity, collaboration, and learning.

How Does Learning Happen (HDLH)?
This experience beautifully reflected all four foundations of HDLH:
🌟 Belonging – Children worked together, shared materials, and built stories as a team of Jedi friends.
💪 Well-Being – Fine motor skills were strengthened through cutting, taping, and designing.
🎨 Engagement – Imagination, creativity, and problem-solving were in full force as children designed their sabers.
💬 Expression – Children expressed their ideas through art, movement, storytelling, and dramatic play.

May the 4th was more than a themed day — it was a meaningful learning experience filled with joy, creativity, and connection. And judging by the smiles, the Force was definitely strong at Hazeldean! 🌌✨

Today was our very first of MANY visits from Monkey Rock Music and the excitement was through the roof! 🎶🤩
All of our classrooms had the chance to spend time with our amazing instructor Rory, who truly put on a show! 🎸✨ We sang some of our favourite songs, learned brand new ones, and had the chance to explore and play a variety of instruments. 🥁🎤🎵 Little hands were clapping, feet were stomping, and smiles were everywhere!

This experience connects beautifully to How Does Learning Happen? as it supports:

🎶 Expression – children expressing themselves through music, movement, and rhythm
🤝 Belonging – sharing a joyful group experience together
💪 Well-Being – movement, laughter, and sensory exploration through sound
🧠 Engagement – curiosity sparked through new sounds, instruments, and songs
We feel so grateful to be able to bring enriching experiences like Monkey Rock right into our learning space. 💛 Creating opportunities like this allows children to explore, create, and connect in meaningful and memorable ways — and today was full of all of that and more! 🎉🎶

🦆 Rubber Ducky, we love you so much! 💛
Our toddlers had so much fun yesterday with a water bin activity that felt just like a little carnival! As the duckies floated and swam around, the children used scoops and their hands to carefully catch them, practicing their fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and problem solving as they figured out the best way to “route” their duckies into containers. Splashing, laughing, and experimenting filled the air! 💦✨
This playful experience beautifully connects to How Does Learning Happen? by supporting:

Well-Being – Water play is calming and regulating, allowing children to feel relaxed, engaged, and joyful. 😊

Engagement – Children were curious, focused, and determined as they explored how to catch the moving duckies. 🎯

Expression – Laughter, excitement, and conversations about their duckies showed how children communicate through play. 🗣️

Belonging – Taking turns, sharing scoops, and celebrating each other’s success created a sense of community. 🤝

We also love how this activity brings the outdoors into our learning. Water, movement, and sensory exploration mirror the natural experiences children have outside in puddles, streams, and rain play. By recreating these elements indoors, children can explore nature-based learning in a new and exciting way, no matter the weather. 🌧️🌿
Learning truly happens best when it feels like play! 💛