One of our favorite creative play spaces is the Light Studio which was inspired by one of our family Reggio- inspired events, the Light Expo in 2018.
(read about it here: https://hhaireggiojourney.blogspot.com/2018/04/upcoming-family-reggio-event.html)

The Light Studio is home to various explorations of light, color and sound. Throughout the school year, a committee of innovative educators come together to routinely rotate and shift the Light Studio environment to support the children's current interests. 
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Various themes are explored each year including color, seasons, ocean, winter, artic animals, Jewish holidays, weather, insects and more!

The Light Studio is set up as what we call a "yes environment." Every item is meant to be controlled by your child. They are allowed to turn switches on and off, move and manipulate light sources, construct and deconstruct invitations and transport material from one center to the next to support their play. 

Materials include projector and computer, overhead projectors, various lamps, rope lights, strings of lights, battery powered lights, light tables, black lights, mirrors, light curtains, "party lights" like disco balls, various translucent materials and manipulatives such as magnatiles, dramatic play items such as umbrellas, flashlights, clamp lights, tap lights, icicle lights, blocks, window blocks, various height platforms/surfaces, and recycled materials.

In the Light Studio aesthetics, accessibility, intention and creativity shine to provide your child with a world of wonder and discovery. 


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Giving Tree Early Learning is proud join educators across the nation to participate in the annual NAEYC Week of the Young Child. This week long event celebrates the important work that your child and their teachers are performing each and every day. 

Themes for the week are:
Music Monday
Tasty Tuesday
Work Together Wednesday (Science and STEM)
Artsy Thursday
Family Friday

The fun doesn't have to stop at the end of the school day! Here are some ideas that you can do at home too!

Music Monday- 
Have a dance party! Put on your favorite tunes and get your body moving.

Tasty Tuesday-
Prepare dinner together as a family or prepare a special dessert.
This week, the children baked and decorated cupcakes for Yom Ha'azmaut, Israel's birthday.

Work Together Wednesday-
Take a walk through the neighborhood to observe signs of SPRING! 
You can download a Signs of Spring Scavenger Hunt by clicking the photo below. 
​ www.cbc.ca/parents/content/pdf/springscavengerhunt_cbcparents.pdf

Artsy Thursday-
Create side walk chalk murals for your whole neighborhood to enjoy.

Family Fridays-
Create pictures or write a letter to family near or far to let them know how much they mean to you!
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Passover is a busy time in the Early Childhood. As the holiday is based around the retelling of the exodus from Egypt, you will find many explorations that are centered around story telling, dramatic play and interactive play opportunities. Common themes include Baby Moses, frogs, 10 plagues, matzah, construction/pyramids, music and puppetry. The children explored Passover activities both inside and outside of the classroom with a plethora of activities available in the Light Studio. 

In the Light Studio, children could swim in the River Nile and save Baby Moshe or bake their own matzah at the Matzah Factory. Or they could take a frog for a dip in the frog pond or recreate Monet’s Waterlilies using loose parts on the light table! If that wasn't enough... they could experience engineering as they recreate 2d and 3d replicas of the Great Pyramids or even host their own Passover seder in the Light Studio cottage. 

We continued the fun with various food experiences throughout the week. Children tasted hard boiled eggs, recreated one of the 10 plagues using raisins, soy nut butter and celery (Bugs on a Log), made charoset- a sweet mixture of apples, cinnamon and grape juice and baked matzah from scratch with Rabbi Schusterman and the Matzah Factory!

Each class also offered various activities within their classroom. Take a look at the pictures below to view more or visit our classroom blogs located under the CLASSROOMS tab at the top of the page.