News & Announcements
Catch up on news, events and trending topics at Oak Learners.
Oak Learners Classroom Teacher Interview – Maggie Robertson
At the heart of Oak Learners are the teachers that work with students every day to create an environment for the learners to excel with every project, task, and endeavor they complete. We wanted to interview some of our teachers to see their perspectives on their teaching field, get to know them better, and see what inspired them to become a teacher. The first interview we did is with Maggie Robertson, a teacher at Oak Learners wanting to share her experiences! Enjoy!
Oak Learners Before & After-Care Showcase
Oak Learners offers a before and after-care program that has all kinds of exciting activities for your children to be a part of! Before-care starts inside the Oak Learners school between 7 AM-9 AM. After-care starts inside the Oak Learners school between 3 PM-6 PM.
Importance of Matching Students with the Right Teacher
The concept of teaching and learning matching is that it impacts learning in a way that encourages students to respond more positively to instructional methods while informing faculty about effective teaching practices. This encourages collaboration between the teacher and student which in turn reduces classroom management issues.
Recent research has shown that it is not as effective for a teacher to change their teaching preferences to suit the students in their classroom because they may not be as comfortable teaching in that manner.
Partner Showcase: Humber College
Oak Learners has teamed up with Humber College and various other colleges to gather talented students across Canada to work inside the school. We interviewed one intern student from Humber College that joined the Oak Learners team, Joshua, to speak more on what they have learned whilst working with Oak Learners, how their experience went, how Humber College saw the experience, and what takeaways they have from the internship with Oak Learners.
Exploring colourful salads in Urban Farming & Cooking Class
Exploring watermelon radish, colourful carrots and red kale,How many of your favourite colours can you see in this meal?! We loved making this...
Art Class (Ages 6+) – Oak Learners Class Showcase
Oak Learners is hosting an Art Class for ages 6 and up every Saturday from 12:45pm-1:30pm! If you’re looking for an art class for your child, look no further! Our art teachers are passionate, enthusiastic, and knowledgable. Oak Learners provides a safe environment for the kids and allow them to experience the satisfaction that comes from guided self-expression. The focus of our art classes is exploring artistic skills, exploring creativity, and so much more!
The Power of Ketchup
There’s no shortage of ketchup varieties available, but no matter what brand name or homemade option you’re reaching for, all bottles provide a perfect introduction to the five core tastes; sweet, sour, bitter, salty and umami.
Eggplant Exploration
This or that? Exploring new foods with deeper questions around why one is tastier than another allows you the ability to prompt more descriptive answers when discussing food, rather than giving kids the intimidating “yes or no” options only.
Oak Learners Summer Camp 2022
Oak Learners Summer Camp overview. Spots are filling up quickly for our Summer Camps and the time to act is now! We offer a unique summer camp experience designed to engage children and make them want to return year after year.
How To Keep Your Child Safe While On The Internet
The internet is a great place for younger kids to get extremely valuable resources and can be a great source of knowledge. However, there are parts of the internet that can be quite dangerous for younger kids to be. In this blog, we’ll talk about some of the steps you can take including setting parental controls, monitoring your children, and keeping them safe on the internet.
Take a peek inside our Brussel Sprouts exploration!
We start every cooking and urban farming class with asking exploratory questions about our main vegetable of the day. For brussel sprouts, we were curious about if they grow from the inside-out, or the outside-in. We also tried to think of other vegetables that seem similar, and our students were right to think they were similar to cabbages as they are both members of the brassica family!
Strategies For Tackling Homework at Home
Homework at home is truly one of the first things children get tasked with when working outside of school. This defines their habits as the children grow up, and establishing good work habits early can significantly impact those habits progressively in their life.
Resources & Activities
Learn at home with ideas, activities and helpful content from Oak Learners.
Effects of Covid-19 on Children’s Social Connections
Covid-19 is wreaking havoc all over the world, this virus is deadly in more ways than one. Being a mother of four, the death I am referring to is the death of my children’s social connections with family and friends.
The Forgotten Senses
We all know about the 5 senses, touch, taste, smell, sound, sight, but did you know there are actually 2 more very important forgotten senses? These...
Arts & Crafts: Paper Plate Dinosaurs
ROARR! Dinosaurs are so popular amongst children, and who can blame them! They may like them so much that they become so knowledgeable about dinosaurs that many adults may not be aware of. With their fascination with dinosaurs, what is better than being able to make their own by simply using recyclable items such as a paper plate and cardboard toilet paper rolls?! The great thing about this activity is you can make any dinosaur your child prefers, but today, we will be making the Brontosaurus!
Arts & Crafts: Catapult!
CATAAPUULTT! Did you know you can make a simple catapult out of popsicle sticks? This is an awesome STEM craft project for children of all ages. This fun crafty project focuses on math, physics and engineering. The force, distance, accuracy can all be challenged with the catapult.
3 Reasons Why Children Combine Languages When They Speak
Have you ever spoken with someone and just couldn’t find the right words to express yourself? You searched and searched your brain for the right word, but just couldn’t think of anything? If you’re multilingual, you probably know what I’m talking about.
Language Learning: Expanding Vocabulary With Games
Continuing on the Language Learning series, here are four games that can help your older children expand their vocabulary in their target language!
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Mindfulness Made Simple
You may be asking what cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is? Well put simply, cognitive behavioural therapy is a short-term therapy that focuses on one particular problem with set goals in place. You will learn techniques and strategies in order to reach your goals. With mental health on a decline due to Covid19 you may not be able to seek treatment from a professional so here are some tools that you can do with the children at school or in the home. These tools are beneficial for everyone to work on strengthening their mental health and mindfulness.
Arts & Crafts: Tape Resist Art
The beauty of art is that there are no limits. It unleashes our imagination and creativity!
Art is used in many ways, such as for therapy, to express ourselves or our thoughts.
Tape Resist art challenges children to use different colours and create their designs with the tape. The best part is seeing what it looks like once they remove the tape!
The Importance of Local Libraries in Building Literacy
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,...
Language Learning: Engaging Older Children With Games
Here are some common games that require minimal materials and can be played while learning any language. These games are typically for older children but can be modified based on a child’s understanding and level of competency. They can also be easily adapted for children to play online.
“Butterfly Hug” Technique
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.
Arts & Crafts: Origami Jumping Frogs
Origami, the art of folding a piece of paper and giving it life by turning it into anything; a bear, a plane, or a jumping frog! Folding origami requires diligence and accuracy while following the instructions. This activity will challenge children to think and find solutions to fold the paper accordingly and into its form. Origami may sharpen the children’s imagination and memory by creating the desired shape and channeling their creativity. Today, we will make origami jumping frogs!