We enjoyed the first days of school exploring both indoors and outdoors
Today we asked the children about their favorite parts of the day. This is what they have to say:
Branson: playdough
Andi: painting
Daniela: Playing with my friends
Tremon: playdough
Noah F: Water
Esperanza: outside
Mia: bikes
Lauren: playing with my friends
Sienna: playing with Andi
August: bubbles
Syndey: swing
Lizzy: bubbles
Avery: bikes
Mark: trackers
Connor: bikes
Ayden: bubbles
Aspen: Slide
David: outside
We are so excited to have you in our classroom this year. We cannot wait for everyone to start next week. We have attatched a copy of the indoor planning form and some pictures of the classroom. Enjoy!
It is very obvious that Spring has arrived!! Today we visited our “tree” and noticed that new leaves are growing. It’s so exciting to be able to observe all the changes of the season right in our backyard. What changes are you noticing in your environment?
The children have been making guitars in small group last week. It was amazing to see how much the children learned about the correlation between tension and sound pitch. In addition, the children also got to compare their guitar to an actual guitar. This week we will be taking turns performing for one another. This should be fun!
Here is the direction of making your own guitar at home
http://www.happynews.com/living/homemade/homemade-guitar-shoe-box.htm
Today we took out Popsicle sticks with Velcro on the ends for the children to explore shapes and lines. Some children created simple shapes such as triangles, squares, and rectangles. Other children connected the sticks together to make train tracks. Children were able to practice fine motor skills figuring out how to line up the Velcro dots.
Teacher-made materials add a special touch to the classroom. These materials are also easily constructed at home. What is your favorite homemade toy?
The children in or classroom are very interested in sensory activities. They love to immerse themselves in sand, water, mud, and paint. We took the children’s interest to the next level by inviting them to “write” by using their fingers in shallow trays filled with salt.
The children enjoyed the texture of fine salt under their fingers, and the open-ended nature of this activity. The message written by the children can be easily erased by gently shaking the tray back and forth.
By engaging on this activity, the children were able to practice their fine motor skills, they develop per-literacy skills by participating in the act of writing, and they also practiced problem solving skills.
Our first week was a success!! The children really enjoyed being back at school and have jumped right back into the routine. It is great to see the children develop and grow the friendships after the long break. We enjoyed having indoor exploration in the morning. The Asian themed restaurant has been a busy area indoors. The children have also enjoyed our gross motor area, where they can throw textured balls into hoops, walk along tree cookies, and throw bean bags. We have also been having small group in the Art Studio where the children have been working on collage art. The art is being displayed in our bathroom, please take a look!
Outside the children have enjoyed riding bikes, building in the block area, and caring for Bun Bun. Since it has been so hot out they have been having waterplay time with the water pump and in the sand area. For closing group Ms. Krissi has been playing the guitar whcih the children really enjoy!
We look forward to week TWO!
Hello Everyone:
Here is the latest planning sheet and welcome letter for this coming week. Have a wonderful weekend!
Happy new year! We are excited to be back for a new semester. The teachers in Room 2 collaborated this week to set up the classroom. We cannot wait to see how the children will interact with the materials. Here are a few pictures to get you excited about coming back next week.
We noticed children showing interest in creating noise with drums or objects in class. So we began taking the children in small groups to explore different ways to create rhythm and beats, first using our hands on tables and clapping and then using recycled plastic containers as drums. When using the drums, the children expressed different ways to make beats. Some flipped the containers upside down and drummed on the bottoms. They tried using their nails to make scratching sounds on the lids. They also hit the containers on the sides. One child even used their feet to tap in rhythm on the sides of the drum!
In large group, we began doing drumming activities with all of the children together, applying the beats to songs they are familiar with. This week we will be having a musician come to play on a large conga for the children. We are really enjoying watching the children expand in their knowledge of rhythm, differences in sound, vocabulary, as well as eye-hand coordination!
