Mindfulness is a human ability that allows one to be present and aware of their surroundings and their own being, allowing them to not be overly reactive or overwhelmed by the world that surrounds them. When you bring awareness to what you’re experiencing, through your emotions and thoughts, you are being mindful.
There are a lot of virtual games that can be played in-class. Young students have thousands of games now a days, with easy access on the internet. There are many to choose from, with some being educational and some that aren’t as much. We’ve compiled 5 educational and fun interactive games for young students to try out for themselves!
World Mental Health Day is about raising awareness and educating the young minds of this globe about mental health issues and maintaining mental health.
n 1973, 6-year-old, Phyllis Webstad lived on the Dog Creek reserve and was sent to “The Mission”, a residential school. As she prepared to leave home, her grandmother managed to buy her a new outfit for her first day and Phyllis chose a bright and beautiful orange shirt. However, when she got to the residential school, they stripped her of all her clothes, and she never saw the orange shirt again.
The benefits of letting your children explore creativity and self-expression are quite clear. Their mental and personal growth will shine day to day the more they’re willing to express themselves. Here are 4 methods to help encourage creativity and self-expression in young children.
There are certain apps that every student should download on their phone. There are thousands of apps accessible and thousands created every single day. It may be hard to find ones that benefit students, but no worries! We’re here to help! Here are 5 top apps we recommend all students should download right now!
During this time of year it can be hard to get your children back in school mode. Having study tips on hand for back to school time can be greatly beneficial getting your kids back in the homework groove. Here are 4 of the best study tips to start the school year off.
There are a lot of educational video games out that can greatly benefit your children’s learning experience, and feel a little bit less of a chore and more fun. Here are 5 educational video games that you should check out for your children.
What Time is It, Mr.Wolf is a classic game that lots of teachers introduce to their students as a beginner game. There’s lots of games that are not only fun, but can be very educational to younger students at the same time. Today we’re going to get into 4 in-school games that we recommend or that you can even try at home with your children!
It is an exciting time for parents and students around Canada to begin their first days back to school. Bringing all of that excitement in, there are many things that should be considered when bringing your students back into the classroom, and here are 4 tips to help start off the school year!
Test tips are a great start to getting your children prepared for back to school time in the classrooms. Tests are a big part of students lives even throughout high school and university, so getting them in good study habits and test taking habits can greatly increase test scores and decrease stress levels. Here are 5 great test tips for younger students.
There are many reasons why students should use technology in classrooms. It is beneficial for not only learning, processing information, and also teaching. With the world adapting and technology becoming a large focal point in everyday life, it is taught more often than 10 years ago. Technology is used in almost every modern day business and experience with technology is crucial. Today we talk about 4 reasons why technology shouldn’t be considered such a bad thing in schools.
Children take in new information and find new things out everyday. Ensuring they receive all the information needed throughout their lives must start at a young age. Language learning is a direct reflection of a child’s brain changing. In fact, during the first six years of life, a child’s brain changes the most during language acquisition in comparison to any other cognitive ability that is also being acquired! So, here are 5 reasons why your child should learn a new language.
Kelly Farrell, principal at Oak Learners, showcases our wonderful facilities that help encourage personalized learning for every student that walks in the doors. Throughout the tour, many of our rooms that have students filled inside everyday are shown. Here are the 7 rooms that every private school needs!
With summer ending and back to school coming around the corner, the talks about classrooms begin to arise once again. Kelly Ferrell, Oak Learners Principal, was a special guest on the Etobicoke Lakeshore Podcast to talk more about back-to-school and getting your kids ready for classrooms again. Click the link above or here to listen to the podcast! With that being said, here are 4 tips you can do to get your kids ready for back-to-school.
With 2021 Summer Camps fully booked and even a waitlist being created, you could say this year was a great achievement and success for all staff and members at Oak Learners. Parents and children were excited to return back to yearly Summer Camp and connecting again with their fellow peers and camp counsellors.
Tutoring is a great next step to further develop certain skills, areas of weakness, or getting ahead. Parents thinking about what type of tutoring to put their children in might find it difficult, with varying options across the internet and in schools. Today we are going to talk about tutoring and the benefits of personalized one on one tutoring, and how it can greatly improve learning experiences in students.
We’re excited to announce that Kelly Farrell, Oak Learners director, is featured on the front page of the August 2021 issue of the Etobicoke Lakeshore Press!
The GEMS are small business and service organization awards that are presented each year by James Maloney, Minister of Parliament for Etobicoke-Lakeshore. These awards celebrate the businesses, business owners and volunteers that go above and beyond for our community. The 2021 Awards were presented in a broadcast on Zoom on May 26, 2021.
Etobicoke Lake Shore Press – March 2021 Learning to love reading can be one of the most important gifts we give to our children. Yet, all too often, the arduous process of learning to read can dampen a child’s desire to want to read for pleasure. For many...
Life events and our daily stressors can have the potential to create a situation in which our emotions become a destructive form of anxiety. These destructive emotions include but are not limited to a racing heart, obsessive thinking and, inability to breathe.
The “Butterfly Hug” method was introduced to help lighten these emotions. This method is a therapeutic intervention to help relax and calm these rapidly destructive emotions.
We have been getting a lot of snow the past couple of weeks and this particular activity looked like so much fun to me! All you need is a bin filled with snow and some paint or markers! With the use of paint brushes, sponges, and any other crafty tools to use, the...
If you’re like me, you have likely spent your child’s early years making extraordinary efforts to limit screen time and avoid the 80’s “TV Babysitter”. Yet, here we are in 2021 faced with the necessity of doing almost everything in our days on a screen. No longer do...
Having the whole family at home and trying to engage with virtual learning and work activities can be beyond frustrating. Keep in mind the following tips to help make the most of your at-home learning experience and help encourage more independent learning skills from your child.
First published in the Etobicoke-Lakeshore Magazine, November Edition The Pandemic has taught us to value many local resources we may previously have taken for granted. We have been forced to shop local, eat local and enjoy the hidden gems in our community. These...
Daily outdoor lessons in green spaces has the potential to boost focus, confidence and self-regulation in young children, thereby setting them up for greater academic and social-emotional success.
I became a Certified Yoga Instructor in 2012 and an Age Group Developmental Swim coach in 2004. My teaching journeys along the way have included, Yoga at a Women’s Prison, an Orphanage, Drug/Alcohol Rehab Centers, Schools, Yoga Centers, Private Clients and Retreats.
Firstly, I want to COMMEND all parents and guardians for being amazing and stepping into this new digital world of emergency distance learning. This has not been an easy process, and I want to begin by saying a sincerest THANK YOU for all that you are doing for your...
At-home learning can be a huge change from the daily grind of regular school but it’s not impossible to adjust and make the most of the experience. With the global pandemic of COVID-19 shutting down schools, support systems and businesses around the world, many...
COVID-19 has shut down school buildings around the world, but the teaching and learning goes on for students of Oak Learners. Children are naturally good at learning – it’s what they do from the moment they are born! Children learn language, culture, social norms,...
Updated: March 17, 2020, 9:00am Dear Oak Learners Community, It is with a heavy heart that I follow-up my previous communication with a new announcement that Oak Learners will be closed for in-person programming until further notice. This announcement follows the...
Special days of recognition are celebrated in our communities throughout the year and these present unique opportunities to have profound and enlightening conversations with the young people in our lives. Some of these days could include International Women’s...
This week, Oak Learners hosted Andrew Chang and his team from CBC News: The National to film a segment about what children are hearing and thinking about the current issues surrounding the Coronavirus outbreak. Current students of our day school as well as PA Day Camp...
It’s important to pay close attention to what children see in the news because studies have shown that kids are more afraid of violence in news coverage than in any other media content. By creating a proper perspective and context for news and current events programs,...
Local Moms donate over $7500 in supplies and 149 showboxes in the 2nd Annual Lakeshore Moms Shoebox Project Supply Drive as well as over 1000 pieces of menstrual products for the Twelve Donations project.
Oak Learners Founder and Director, Kelly Farrell, is in the running for the 2020 Mompreneur Awards! Kelly has a passion for providing children with a unique and alternative learning environment.
Oak Learners founder, Kelly Farrell, first experienced the magic of raising monarch butterflies as a student in Second Grade. Her teacher at the time, Ms. Thoeny, raised Monarchs in her classroom each year, introducing her students to the magical life cycle and...
May 28, 2019 marked the 17th AnnualMimico Tulip Festival. This was the fourth year that Oak Learners had the honour of participating in the festival and the second year that our students participated in the Mimico Village Street Art Project. The Street Art project has...
Neuroeducation is playing a key role in the future of education, where the curriculum is based not just on teaching subjects but on preparing brains for learning. Research over the past several years has strongly identified links between language and music within the brain.
The Secret Tool that Can Instantly Shift Families from Chaos to Calm (and for some reason, nobody seems to ever talk about it) “Did you brush your teeth?” “Don’t forget to pack your gym clothes.” No TV right now, hurry up and eat your cereal.” “Did you put your trip...
Every small act of kindness matters and has the potential to make a huge impact in the lives of others. During our final week of summer camp, our theme was “Be The Change”. Students were inspired to share kindness with their friends and family and even...
We cannot always build the future for our youth, but we can build our youth for the future.” ~ Franklin D. Roosevelt At Oak Learners, our mandate includes helping all learners reach their potential through creativity, confidence and community. This mandate goes...
Anxiety levels are up and test scores are down. Ontario students are experiencing record levels of stress, anxiety and suicidal rates are higher than ever before, but students are still under daily pressure to perform to meet provincial standards.
How do some eggs hatch when others don’t? Why are eggs different colours? Can I have a duck as a pet? Why do ducks have feathers? Where do ducks live in the winter? These are a few of the questions our students asked when we presented them with an incubator full of...
Written by: Kelly Letros – Behaviour Therapist During spring break, I was enthused to spend my week with children who had registered for a week-long camp program. Daily, they were running to and fro through the corridors of the centre, from one pre-planned...
Enjoy these highlights from our 2018 March Break Camp at Oak Learners! Our campers explored so many exciting things this week, including endangered animals, music from around the world, handmade snacks and treats and so many wonderful walks through our...
Written by: Kelly Letros – Behaviour Therapist It started in a small Canadian community with two teenagers standing up for a boy getting mocked for wearing a pink shirt. Pink Shirt Day this year is on Feb 28th. It is now celebrated in countries around the world,...