Learning about community at Glebe Cooperative Nursery School

By Julie LeBlanc

This spring, the preschoolers at Glebe Cooperative Nursery School have been busy exploring and learning about community.

Children have been sharing ideas of what community means, including the things they see, the ways they move about their community, the buildings they use and the common spaces they share and enjoy.

The teachers have been leading the preschoolers on walks around the neighbourhood. The children enjoy the fresh air, practise being safe pedestrians, and chat about their observations and connections.

The groups took photos around the community as part of a collaborative class project. Photos included the community centre, nearby schools, parks, a bookstore, a coffee shop, a hardware store, a parking garage, cars, buses, trees and the children themselves. Each photo was attached to a building block.

Back in the classroom, the preschoolers were able to play with the blocks, set up their own communities, see themselves as members of a community and dramatize their ideas about participating in a community – going to school, visiting shops, taking a walk.

There has been so much engagement and imagination from these little learners!

Julie LeBlanc is responsible for communications for the Glebe Coop Nursery School.