Whole Child: Wednesday Group 1.8.17 & 1.15.17
Busy bodies and busy minds at the studio!
*Number & Letter Projector Invitation*
The light table is gone and a new machine has taken its place! The kiddos were very excited to explore our projector! The large letters and numbers sparked their interest in the beginning.
R placed the letter "D" on the projector. F said, "That's in my name!" R responded by saying, "No, this is in your name" and placed the letter "F" on the projector. F replied, "They're both in my name!"
The children grew tired of the letters and grabbed the fall manipulatives and rocks. This led them into guessing how many acorns they placed on the projector without actually counting them. They observed size differences by using the rocks on the projector. The materials then quickly became props in their good versus evil dramatic play.
This week we took the fall manipulatives away from the projector invitation to use in another invitation. This encouraged the kiddos to use the spools, corks, and popsicle sticks instead.
"It looks like donuts!" - T proclaimed after they stood a bunch of spools and corks on the glass.
"Lets build some bridges!" - F told his friends. They placed the popsicle sticks on top of the spools and corks to connect them.
The kiddos then used the trophy parts to build on top of the projector. They turned off the projector while they built causing them to be surprised at their creation when they turned it back on.
"It looks like space rocks! - T
The trophy parts seemed to be their favorite building material as they constructed numerous cities together.
*Oil Pastel Lines Invitation*
Our friends were very interested in experimenting with our new art medium - oil pastels! Inspired by our book "Lines that Wiggle", the kiddos made a variety of lines and shapes with their pastels. They helped each other tear the paper off of the pastels if they needed more color. They also cohesively worked together on two large pieces of black paper. If they wanted to color where their friend had already colored, they made sure to ask beforehand in order to prevent hurting each other's feelings. R enjoyed smearing the oil pastels with his finer and drew a portrait of himself. After observing a lot of bold and sharp lines, I challenged our friends by asking, "Who can make wavy soft lines?" F quickly jumped at the challenge and said, "I can!" If you look closely in the pictures you can see his loops and his waves. :-)
*Ruler Exploration Invitation*
We wanted our friends to explore measuring tools so we created a ruler invitation. Our friend W had already participated in this activity on Monday and we could already observe an improvement in using a ruler as an aid to draw straight lines! T was able to successfully use the ruler by using his right hand to hold the ruler and his left hand to draw.
The kiddos expanded the ruler invitation by using the rulers to measure random objects around the studio. W measured a new story while T measured his leg. "I'm 40.8!" - T
During their Creative Play, the kiddos found another ruler! I explained that this was actually a level which is used to make sure things are straight/level/balanced. The group used the level to make sure the projector and other assorted items around the studio were level. They even noticed the numbers on the side of the level which they decided they could use for measuring, too!
*I Wonder Together Time*
To kick off our Together Time, we listened to a new style of music - classical music! We listened to the music to see how it made us feel. The group decided that it made them feel good and happy. Next we listened really closely to the music to determine which instruments we could hear. After guessing a guitar, we concluded that we were hearing a piano! We warmed up our fingers for the day by pretending to play the piano on the floor. We then played the piano with our heads, elbows, and feet! We loved playing the piano with our feet so much that we changed instruments and played the drum with our feet instead. We practiced creating one rhythm together by following the beat created by Ms. Victoria. Afterwards we all did a drum solo and could stomp our feet in any beat we wanted!
Once our bodies were warmed up it was time to warm up our minds.
We strapped on our thinking caps, rubbed our chins, and massaged our temples to get our brain juices flowing. Together we learned what it means to "wonder" and discussed different topics we wonder about. We added our wonderings to our Floor Book and we will use their ideas in the future for new invitations and adventures. :-)
*Nature Walk - Inside a Tree*
On our way to the green space at the library, we used our gross motor skills to play Red Light/Green Light. We ran as fast as we could during the green lights while we tried to come to a stop as fast as we could during the red lights. When we arrived at the library our friend W jumped for joy when he saw the leaves! Our friends were amazed at the large tree they found. R and F worked together to devise a plan to get into the tree. They finally decided to just barrel through the branches and play under the tree's canopy. The canopy proved to be the perfect setting for some dramatic play.
After spending time under the tree canopy, the kiddos explored the whole green space and did some journaling. They even found an ant hill! R and F discovered the tree they were using for hiding had berries on it.
"Mine's like honey!" - R
"Why?" - Ms. Victoria
"Because it's sticky!" - R
*Family Book Invitation*
In preparation for the next fall holiday of Thanksgiving, we have been discussing family as a group. We expanded our learning about families by reading "The Family Book" by Todd Parr and creating our own family books! The kiddos were a little nervous about this invitation because "I can't read!" We calmed their worries by explaining that they can be illustrators and draw pictures of their families. If they wanted to add words to their books, then we would help them after they were finished!
"I'm drawing big legs for my mommy because she's a big human." - T
"Bob and I are jumping on the tramp. Bob jumped higher than me!" - R
Our friend T got very frustrated during this activity because "I can't draw my family. It's too hard!" I rubbed his back and coached him through his difficult time by building up his self confidence and acknowledging his feelings. It's okay to feel frustrated sometimes, but we don't give up. T agreed, persevered, and completely changed his mood. I was beyond proud of him! He completed his whole book and even helped me add words to his pictures. We sounded out the words together practicing our phonemic awareness. T correctly recognized the sounds of /b/, /d/, and /s/. Way to go T! :-)
Each child will bring his story home next week to share with their family over Thanksgiving.
*Morning Together Time*
We had VERY busy moving bodies this morning during our time together. Therefore, we decided to stretch and move around before reading our story and talking about our day. We made our bodies as tall and long as possible pretending to touch the clouds. We practiced our balance by making our bodies into trees. We stretched out our side ribs while sitting on the ground and grabbing clouds with each of our hands and bringing them down to the earth. The kiddos then came to the conclusion that they were tired so we got cozy on the rug and listened to the story.
*Pattern Making Invitation*
We added a new pattern making invitation this week! T and W gave it a try working very hard to copy the pattern. First, T made his own pattern using multiple colors of acorns. Once he was finished we compared his pattern to the top pattern. We noticed that his was different and T asked for help copying the original example. T correctly identified the colors in the row and the order they go in. Whenever we came across a mistake T knew how to fix it!
Later in the morning, W decided to give pattern making a try. Together we reviewed our colors and worked hard at putting them in the right spot. W was so proud of his work when he was finished! I was proud of him, too! :-)
*Outdoor & Indoor Creative Play*
We added magnetic tiles to our studio area and W made a castle! Before the rain rolled in, we went outside for a bit to move around and play. W made music with rocks and observed the others playing. R, F, and T played "I spy" on the porch when it started to rain. T and W used the stools to ride a bus to school! We all watched intently as a train chugged by the studio! Back inside the studio, the kiddos used the tubes and transformed into friendly robots. They even practiced their balance some more by sitting and laying on the tubes. Our friends W and T worked together to clean up a mess around our sensory bins. :-)
We will have class next week before Thanksgiving!
I'll see your smiling faces then!
--Victoria
