Category Archives: Manipulatives

Playdough exploration leads to learning

Posted on October 10, 2013 by M. Elopez| Comments Off on Playdough exploration leads to learning

Playdough and natural materials were brought out the first week of October for the children to explore.The children used sea shells to make prints and rocks to squish the playdough.  Here’s a recipe we use to make our playdough that I found on this site: http://notjustcute.com/2012/11/06/playdough-recipe-an-old-favorite-with-a-new-twist/

 

Patting, banging, Squishing, cutting, pinching, and poking the playdough
exercise the muscles in their fingers which helps when children begin to hold a
pencil for writing or tying their shoes.

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Playdough (like other sensory activities) can be soothing for children.
It also, keeps children involved for longer periods of time, helping with their
attention span.

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Posted in Home-School Connections, Language Arts, Manipulatives, Uncategorized

Puzzles

Posted on September 5, 2013 by M. Elopez| Comments Off on Puzzles

The children have been spending a lot of time working on puzzles every day. While they flip, turn, and remove each piece of the puzzle, they are working on their eye-hand coordination and fine motor skills. Working on these skills early on will help the children later on when they learn how to write. Puzzle-solving experiences also help young toddlers learn math concepts such as size, length, and spatial awareness. Room One teachers pay close attention to the type of puzzles that are set out for the children. You will see that in our shelf we have puzzles with knobs which help with small-finger coordination. Also, our puzzles are based on the children’s interests and abilities. Room One teachers also scaffold the children while they work on the puzzles by doing the following:

Using language: Are you looking for a big piece or small piece? I wonder what will happen if you try turning that piece around? I see you are trying to fit the duck into the spot.

Offering direction: Taking a puzzle piece and turning it to see if would fit.

Recognize their accomplishments or progress: Look, you have been working so hard on completing this puzzle. You have two pieces left and you will be done.

You can also do puzzles while at home to support your children with these skills.

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Posted in Manipulatives, STEM (Science, Technology,Engineering,Mathematics), Uncategorized, Visual Arts

Extended Care

Posted on September 5, 2013 by M. Elopez| Comments Off on Extended Care

What we have been doing in Extended Care:

In the afternoons, we have been exploring play-dough and watercolors. We prepared a tub of uncolored play-dough and watercolors in tray. We used eye-droppers to drop the yellow and blue watercolor onto the play-dough. They children used their hands to poke and squeeze until it mixed into green! Young children are in a stage where they explore the environment primarily with their senses. This exposes them to a lot of sensory vocabulary. During our activity, we talked about how the play-dough was “wet”, “sticky”, and, “cold”. We also explored cause and effect as the children observed the changes in color.

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Posted in Families and Community, Home-School Connections, Manipulatives, STEM (Science, Technology,Engineering,Mathematics)

Our first week of school together!

Posted on August 19, 2013 by M. Elopez| 1 Comment

During the first week of school we work on building relationships with the children and their families. We also spend time learning the school routine and helping the children get comfortable with the environment and their classmates.

A few snapshots of what we did the first week of school:
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Posted in Families and Community, Manipulatives, Visual Arts