Students were back at school learning the rules and routines of the STEAM yard. 

There were some bunnies found in the school yard. We wanted to learn more about these cute creatures visiting our school. 

During our first weeks of exploring the Outdoor Classroom, we found dragonflies hovering the yards. We wanted to learn more about these flying creatures.

When students were out digging around the Nature Kitchen, they found some pill bugs. We wanted to learn more about these potato, pill, roly-poly creatures. 

Recently, a curious Grade 2 student made an exciting discovery at our school! While playing in the sandpit, they found beautiful Blue Jay feathers. This prompted us to investigate further, and we also noticed sightings of these vibrant birds in the evergreen trees near the playstructure.

We noticed lots of colorful leaves falling to the ground in the  outdoor classroom, have observed the cooler weather, and had questions about animals preparing for winter.  We wanted to learn more about the changing season and how nature transforms in the fall. 

We noticed a lot of squirrels running around the school lately and wanted to start an inquiry into these busy little creatures.

Lately, we’ve noticed a significant drop in temperature and an increase in windy days, especially when spending time in the STEAM yard. It’s been hard to ignore how much wind has been sweeping through, so naturally, we became curious about why this was happening, and decided to dig deeper and learn more about wind.

There was snow in the yard and our Kindergarten students wanted to know if it was winter.  This led us to inquiring about the first day of winter… the Winter Solstice.

Over the December break, a friend spotted an owl and shared a photo with us, sparking an exciting question: "Can we spot owls in our own neighbourhood?" This curiosity led us on an inquiry journey to learn more about these fascinating creatures. We discovered that owls are often sighted in nearby High Park, and we wanted to learn more about what makes these birds so special.

We noticed a lot of ice building up and wanted to understand why it was happening. We were curious about how ice forms and what factors contribute to its growth. This natural occurrence sparked our interest in learning more about ice in our environment.

We noticed birds flying around and near the outdoor classroom, even as the cold weather set in. This sparked a question: Don’t birds fly south for the winter? Why were we still seeing them during this chilly season? Our curiosity led us to inquire more about how birds survive in winter.

One winter day, someone spotted a mouse running across the snow with a leaf in its mouth, sparking a wave of curiosity. How could a mouse be out in the cold winter and why was it carrying a leaf? We decided to investigate these cute, furry creatures and learn more about them.

We started our unit on rainbows after someone mentioned spotting one, and with March 17 approaching, it felt like the perfect time to dive into the magic of rainbows. The vibrant arc in the sky sparked our curiosity and we were excited to learn more about how rainbows form.

While digging in the Nature Kitchens, students made an exciting discovery—worms wriggling through the soil! Their curiosity was instantly sparked, and they began to wonder about these tiny creatures and the important roles they might play underground. This led to a new inquiry: could the worms be responsible for all the little balls of mud scattered across the STEAM yard?

With Earth Day approaching, we were inspired to take a closer look at how we can care for our planet. We began exploring the many ways we can make a positive impact—from reducing waste and recycling to protecting nature and using resources wisely.