Whole Child: Monday Group 11.6.17 & 11.13.17
*Number & Letter Projector Invitation*
"What is this thing?" E excitedly asked as he came through the door.
We introduced our new "machine" to our friends and explained that it is a projector for casting images onto our wall. The kiddos used large numbers, letters, popsicle sticks, and our fall manipulatives as tools to explore letter and number concepts.
"I want to make a 'W'!" - W
"'X' marks the spot! Hexagon doesn't." - E
"What happens when I put my hat on it?" - W (Then rolls of laughter as the entire wall got dark from being covered with his hat.)
Our friends talked to each other and helped each other distinguish between colors, letters, and numbers. They also had to talk to each other in order to work cooperatively together towards one goal. If one person wanted to use the projector the other person might have to wait until he was finished. They learned to ask one another, "Are you finished?" before "erasing" their work from the projector. It took a few tries, but by the end of the day everyone was cohesively working together!
"There are two ones!" - C observed after placing two number ones and a 'L' on the projector.
"Look it's my hand!" - W said as he placed his hand in different positions on the glass. Our friend EG used this idea later on in the day to try and make shadow puppets for a puppet show.
"I'm going to make some cool numbers!" - E said before using three separate numbers to make one whole new number (432). He then placed two 1s on the glass. "1 and a 1 make eleven! A 2 and a 0 and another 0 makes 200! That's a pretty cool number!" - E
EG used the projector to sort and organize our materials. She made two categories - acorns and leaves. After she was finished she discovered, "The acorns have more!" I asked her how else she could sort the manipulatives. After some hard thought we both came up with the idea of organizing the acorns and leaves by color.
E enjoyed making shapes and pictures using the popsicle sticks. He made a magnifying glass, squares, and "a machine to see in your body!"
*Fall Vegetable Printing Invitation*
Continuing our exploration of the season, we used corn, pumpkins, and gourds as stamps! The kiddos used watercolors to paint the ears of corn and then roll them or press them onto the paper. Through trial and error, we learned which areas of the pumpkins and corn would work best for print making. The different textures of the vegetables created different patterns on our paper!
*Ruler Exploration Invitation*
We wanted to give the kiddos a chance to explore tools for measurement, numbers, and lines. Some of them had never used a ruler before so it was an opportunity for a new experience! We found it a little difficult to using one of our hands to hold the ruler while we used our other hand to draw the line. Using the ruler to connect our lines we could make shapes like triangles!
"Rulers measure short things and tape measures measure big things."-E
We discovered that rulers have numbers and letters on them! We could measure how long our lines are among other things around the studio! As we were sketching, we sometimes found that we had different opinions about what we saw when we were finished drawing. This led us into a conversation about compromise. Together we defined the word compromise which means we listen to our friends and sometimes we don't get what we want.
Typically after our kiddos are finished with their work, we will ask them to tell us about their artwork and describe it to us. Our friends have now started asking each other this, too! Once E was finished with his work W asked him, "What is it? Tell me about it." :-)
*Nature Walk - Seas of Yellow and Brown*
Thankfully, the weather has held out for us the past few weeks and we have had gorgeous fall days for outdoor exploration. On our walks we have discovered new areas for creative play that each have an abundance of wonderful leaves!
Our friends loved throwing the leaves in the air and making them rain down on us. We took turns burying each other in the leaves and making "leaf angels". Although, our FAVORITE activity was making big piles of leaves and jumping inside them and over them.
We have been exercising our gross motor skills by jumping, skipping, and throwing at our leaf destinations. On our walks we even played "Red Light/Green Light" to practice our running and stopping. It's been an absolute blast!
"Can you run very fast?" - E asked EG
"Well I have longer legs and you have shorter legs so I'm faster." - EG answered.
This then led to a friendly running race! :-)
*Fall Sensory Bin*
Our kiddos became chefs this week by using our sensory bin as a prop in their dramatic play. They used our wooden spoons and bowls as mortar and pestles crunching the dried pasta into tiny pieces. Each child would take turns cooking the food and bringing the food to their "customers." Someone would shout "Number 45" and another child would jump at the opportunity to bring us a bowl of soup or pie.
"We're doing teamwork!" - EG proclaimed as she worked alongside W.
"We made bean soup!" - EG
"I made tomato soup! Who wants some?!" - E
*Cairn Balance Invitation*
We have designated a portion of our creative play and building area for constructing cairns. Through this practice of stacking stones, the kiddos are able to explore balance and mindfulness. They must have steady concentration and steady hands in order to prevent the rocks from falling over. I look forward to observing the children explore this area more in the future!
*My Family Book Invitation*
In anticipation of the Thanksgiving holiday we have been discussing family as a group and reading "The Family Book". The kiddos love this book so I wanted to encourage them to make their own! You will get to read your child's book next week when they take them home to share!
*Independently Chosen Activities*
Our Monday group LOVES to tinker! E is great at designing her own dog houses, boats, and mouse traps! Paper punchers and stamps are also two of our friends' favorites! C was very interested in writing in her journal this week. The kiddos always have access their journals in case they get the urge to write or draw. C is on her way to mastering controlled scribbling using her interdigital thumb brace pencil grasp! W and E practiced their fine motor skills by cutting leaves and painting. EG and E stretched their bodies by experimenting with bridge pose.
*I Wonder Together Time*
Together we put on our thinking caps, rubbed our chins, and massaged our temples in order to warm up our brains! We talked about the word "wonder" and what it means. Then we discussed some topics that we wonder about and added them to our Floor Book. We will use their ideas in our classroom through new invitations and new lessons. :-)
As a reminder we WILL have class next week before Thanksgiving!
See you then!
--Victoria