Friday, December 4, 2015

Woodland Wonderland!

"Earth and sky, woods and fields, lakes and rivers, the mountain and the sea, are excellent schoolmasters, and teach some of us more than we can ever learn from books." - John Lubbock

There is something truly magical about watching a child explore nature.  Little things that we as adults barely even notice can create great feelings of wonder and excitement in a child.  Seeing a sudden burst of wind shake leaves loose from a tree, watching them gently float to the ground like delicate snowflakes, the thrill of watching two squirrels take part in an exhilarating game of tag, the anticipation of waiting for a seed to sprout, a plant to bloom, a tomato to ripen.  Spending time outside is so much more than just play time for us, it is truly a learning experience.  

We are very fortunate to have the natural beauty of the Haw River directly behind our playground and even more fortunate to be able to traverse the nature trails that have been created in the woods leading to the river's edge.  These afternoon walks have allowed our students to observe and experience so many wonderful things that take place in the woods.  This week we spent some time discussing our observations and studying the many components that help bring the woods to life.  

Building tree structures:


Exploring woodland animal sensory bins:

Creating woodland animals with natural materials:

Discovering just how strong a squirrel's teeth are:

And finally, collecting our own little bits of nature for a fun math activity!

It's amazing how something as simple as stepping outside can open up an entire world of learning opportunities!

Sunday, November 8, 2015

Exploring Our Senses!

We are constantly striving to create hands-on activities and to allow our students to explore our world in creative, nontraditional ways.  This week we have really pushed this teaching strategy to a new level!  Our goal was to help the students understand that there is always a new way to explore everyday things.  Sure the ball is red, but what does it look like when it's high up in the sky?  What does it feel like?  Does it have a smell?  What noise does it make when it bounces on concrete?  On mulch?  There are so many new questions we can ask when we begin to look at things in a new way.  With this in mind we set out to explore our classrooms and daily activities by engaging all 5 of our senses and the results were amazing!  
  
See: Though we use our sense of sight in nearly every activity we do, I set up a few simple provocations to take that sense just a little bit further.  By utilizing the incredible natural light in my classroom, I was able to help my students view everyday things in a new way with the power of sunlight!




Hear:  Our 2-3 year old class had a blast comparing the sounds that different objects make when you shake them!  They had so much fun searching for loud and quiet objects in the classroom!



Smell:  We use paint pretty much on a daily basis in our classrooms.  So this week we decided to change things up and add scents to our paint!




Touch:  Using a texture box we learned to compare and contrast different textures!  While discussing the differences, several students noted that things always feel different when they are really hot, or really cold.  This inspired us to do some very fun ice exploration!  We even painted with it!  As the ice melted in our hands, it became obvious that textures can very easily be changed.  So we set out to change some of the textures we know and love in our classroom.  We began by adding different materials to our play-dough to see how it altered the way it feels.






Monday, October 26, 2015

Pumpkin Patch Fun!

The first field trip of the year is always so exciting!  We had so much fun visiting a local pumpkin patch that offers a wide variety of learning experiences to our students.

Given that we live in an area that is pretty big on farming, most of our students get the opportunity to see farm animals on a regular basis, sometimes even in our school parking lot!  But it is always fun to get up close and personal with our animal friends and to learn all about how to care for them!  Here at SVK we firmly believe that there is no better way to learn something than to get hands-on, which is exactly what we did!


After the petting zoo we had lots of fun stuffing our very own scare crow and then choosing special pumpkins to take home.  It was amazing to hear the different methods used for choosing a pumpkin.  Some children wanted pumpkins that were "extra lumpy" while others went in search of the "best color orange".  Something as simple as choosing a pumpkin provided great insight into each child's individuality! 


We then made our way to one of the highlights of the trip... a hay ride and maze through the woods! 


Once we got back to school we spent some time in small groups discussing what should be done with our pumpkins:

A:  I'm going to cook mine and make pumpkin pie and eat it!
L:  But it's so pretty! You can't eat it!
I:  We could paint them!
Me:  It sounds like some people would like to decorate their pumpkins.  What are some different ways we could decorate them?
Ia:  Cut them up and make Jack-o-Lanterns!
B:  Put stickers on them!
C:  Put a face on it!

As you can see, we all had different ideas about what should be done with our special pumpkins.  In the end, we decided to take our pumpkins home and allow our parents to join in the experience.  I asked the parents to share with the class what their child decided to do and here are a few of the final products!







Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Making Learning Visible

Within the world of Reggio we are constantly reminded that learning should be visible.  We want to see the product and the process!  So we as teachers are constantly asking ourselves how can we make learning visible in our classrooms?  But I believe that the real question we should be asking ourselves is who do we want to make it visible to?  Guests coming to visit the center?  The director, as evidence of our effective lessons?  Potential parents looking to enroll?  The parents of our current students? 

All of these are very important and it is wonderful to be able to show off the incredible things we are doing to adults, but what about the children?  Making learning visible to the children is equally important, if not more so, than making it visible to adults.  In our classrooms we do display the beautiful products created by our students, but they are displayed for the students.  When you walk into my classroom you will immediately notice that the majority of posted artwork is at the eye level of a 4 year old.  Not only artwork, but photographs of the students in action!



Looking at photographs of themselves conducting an experiment or exploring new things triggers that moment in the child's memory when the actual learning took place.  I can't even count how any times a student has pointed out pictures in the classroom and said "Mrs. Cruz, do you remember when we did this?"  And then they proceed to tell me how the experiment ended or what made it so fun and exciting.  When this occurs it is a wonderful way for the student to reflect on the lesson that took place and decide if they are satisfied with the outcome or if they have more questions left unanswered that we as a class can delve into.  Reflecting on a single picture can spark discussion that could fill an entire week with new discoveries and ideas!  

This is a wonderful idea to try out at home as well!  When doing activities with your child, try to take a picture or two of the process and pin it up with the actual product.  It is so amazing to watch your child re-live and reflect on those exciting learning experiences!


Friday, October 9, 2015

Bright Lights, Big City

Out here in the sweet little town of Saxapahaw there isn't very much hustle and bustle.  We are a very small, rural community with a ridiculous amount of Southern hospitality.  When my students were introduced to a Big City theme this week, they were all entranced by the dazzling lights of the city!  We passed around photos and discussed different types of cities all over the world and every child chimed in with enthusiastic questions and comments.  And there it was.... the spark!  The light bulb of curiosity that warms every teachers heart!  I knew immediately that this was going to be one very fun week of learning!

Here is a little tidbit of discussion that took place during group time, using initials in place of the children's names:
Me:  What do you think of when you hear the word city?
A:  Buildings!
G: And cars! And people!
R:  I don't think they have cows though.
K:  Lots of people live in the city.
L:  It's so loud there!
A:  Yeah, really really loud.
Me:  I heard L say it is very loud in the city.  Why do you think it is so loud?
K:  Because people talk really loud!
G:  Or maybe there is always construction?
Ja:  Mrs. Cruz!  Did you know there is construction in Burlington?  They are building a hotel and it's really big.
Jo:  When I grow up I'm gonna work construction too!

This is pretty much how group discussions work in our classroom.  I throw out a general idea, the children talk (it can be difficult to remember our inside voices with all the excitement), I help them take their ideas and questions one step further with probing questions, and then we come up with amazing lessons.  Together.  Teacher and students working together.  Which allows us to achieve some pretty incredible learning. The little discussion that I mentioned above led to me printing up a few construction signs and using materials that we already had to create a hands on construction site in the classroom!


Which led to some pretty amazing blueprints and structures!



Which led to a large group activity where we actually built our own city from recycled items!


I have to admit, playing cars in a city that was student designed and constructed is a pretty cool way to end the week!

Tuesday, October 6, 2015

Reggio What???

Ok, so maybe you didn't study early childhood education and you aren't exactly familiar with Reggio Emilia.  Well for starters, it is a beautiful city in Italy where some of the most innovative schools IN THE WORLD are located.  The Reggio Emilia approach to learning is one of creativity, inspiration, and discovery.  It is an approach based around certain fundamental values about how children learn.

What are those values?  Well I'm so glad you asked!  First and foremost, the child is an ACTIVE PARTICIPANT in learning.  The child is a protagonist who is allowed to follow his/her own interests.  Second, the environment serves as a teacher in the learning process.  Everything in the classroom down to the positioning of the furniture is intentional and designed to provoke learning and discovery.  Third, the teacher, parents, and child work in collaboration throughout the process of learning.  To promote this feeling of community we host several events throughout the year to allow parents, teachers, and students to intermingle and share experiences together.  And last but certainly not least, making learning visible.  When you walk into one of our classrooms at SVK the evidence of learning is insurmountable.  And the key to this is that you will not only see the beautiful products created by the children, but you will also see documentation of the PROCESS of learning.  Photographs of students in action, quotes from the students as they hypothesize about an experiment, collage art that shows the significance of group work in our classrooms.  The opportunities for documentation are endless!

So there you have it!  A wonderfully concise description of what Reggio Emilia means to us.  As a teacher there is nothing more incredible than making a difference in the life of a child, and what better way to do that than to inspire their creativity and help them discover the extraordinary person that they already are??

Monday, October 5, 2015

Welcome to our blog!

Welcome to SVK's official blog!  I am so thrilled to have this opportunity to share our experiences and to help strengthen those community ties that make our school the amazing place that it is!

If you aren't familiar with the wonderful world of Saxapahaw, North Carolina, I realize that it is quite possible that you haven't heard of us before.  We are SVK (Saxapahaw Village Kids) Preschool, a unique nonprofit childcare center where some truly incredible things are happening!  At SVK, we embrace a Reggio Emilia inspired approach to early childhood learning which allows us to share some pretty amazing learning experiences with our students.  For more information about our program visit our website at  www. saxapahawvillagekids.com  .

I fully believe that when given the freedom to explore their own curiosities, children are capable of truly incredible learning.  Our teachers will be using this blog as a form of documentation to share not only the products of our learning, but the story and the process behind it.  I would like to invite you to join us on this extraordinary journey as our students develop new understandings through meaningful life experiences!  

-Renee Cruz
 Lead Teacher