Things That GO!

One of the most fascinating things about using the Reggio Emilia approach to learning is being able to see how the students can take activities in an entirely different direction than we as teachers ever intended.  Our transportation theme was a perfect example of this!  We started the week with a few simple provocations to see which modes of transportation sparked the most interest in the children.

After a few days of discussion, it was very evident that there was a division of interest in my class.  One group was particularly interested in exploring air transportation, while the other group was much more focused on how we could make our ground transportation (the cars/trucks in the block center) go faster and further.  Throughout the next few days, the second group proceeded to explore the relationship between the usage of ramps and the speed and distance that the object will travel. 

During this process, the children decided that the cars themselves were hindering the process because some had wheels that didn't roll properly.  We decided that moving forward we should just use balls on the ramps.  This decision led to some very exciting marble activities!

All of this was very exhilarating (who doesn't love chasing marbles around the classroom?), but fear not!  The airplane enthusiasts were not forgotten!  That first group of students moved forward with planning, designing, and flying paper airplanes.  Through trial and error, they discovered which designs made a faster and stronger airplane.  Bringing those planes outside inspired helicopter and airplane games on the playground, as well as a fun parachute activity!

Mrs. K's class took this opportunity to explore the different modes of transportation in a variety of ways!:

                                                                Car Wash

                          Map Drawing                            Bubble Wrap Racing          

Exploring Light & Shadows

Springtime brought with it an extended rainy period here at SVK, so you can imagine the excitement of our students when Mr. Sun came back out to play!  Because it had been cloudy and rainy for so long, the children displayed a new and exciting interest in the abundance of natural light streaming into our classrooms.  We were able to turn off the classroom lights and see our shadows!  

A:  Look!  My shadow is bigger than I am!

G:  Maybe it's growing?

M: Mrs. Cruz!  When I move, my shadow always moves too!

S:  Me too!  

M:  But some shadows don't move.

S:  Yea!  Like the table, the table shadow can't move.

We decided to take our shadow discussion outside onto the playground to see if we could create more shadows with our everyday materials.  

Back inside the classrooms, several provocations were set up at the light tables to assist the students in their exploration of light and shadows.

The light tables were full of discovery, but the children quickly noticed that it was much harder for them to make shadows on it.  Upon request I pulled out our "old light table" (an overhead projector) because it is "a way better shadow maker".  We used a variety of loose parts and classroom materials (including our bodies) to learn more about creating and moving shadows.

Spring is in the air!

Tiny little buds bursting with life on the dogwoods out front, the sweet song of the cardinals greeting you as you step outside, the brilliant explosions of color as wildflowers bloom in the front lawn, not to mention everything is just so incredibly GREEN!  There is no denying it my friends, Spring has sprung!   And it is truly a wonder to behold!  As we watched the woods behind us slowly come to life, it was undeniable that Saxapahaw is the place to be in Spring.  

With the last frost finally fading from our memories there was an overwhelming desire to be outside and experience these incredible changes around us in as many ways as possible.  After several discussions in Morning Meeting it was strikingly evident that more than anything we just wanted to bring that magic to life in the classroom somehow.  We decided that in order to truly experience the magic of Spring in the classroom the only logical thing to do would be to bring the outside in!  And that is exactly what we did!

Several of the branches and sticks that we brought in just didn't seem to reflect the brightness of springtime that we were seeing outside, so we decided to paint them!

 We saved the leaves from the branches and used them for necklace making!

As we observed the many different flowers blooming outside, we selected a few of our favorites to put in vases around the classroom.  But looking at them wasn't quite enough.  The children were extremely curious about how it all works. 

 "What makes the flower open up?"  

"What is inside the stem?"  

"What makes the petals and the stem stick together?"

In order to answer these questions we needed to explore the flowers from the inside out!

Our flower investigations led to some fun activities on the projector!

 With all of these questions about plant growth still fresh in our minds, we began to plan our upcoming garden project!  Stay tuned for our next blog post with garden updates! 

The Wonderful World of Dr. Seuss!

Dr. Seuss was a man

who we honor today.

His books are great fun,

And remind us to play!

He teaches us all

to be kind and be true.

Be true to yourself

in all that you do.

So we took these fun books 

and we read every word.

From a cat with a hat

to a lazy old bird.

And we learned some great things

about rhymes and the rest.

But we all also learned 

being yourself is the best!

Here is how we spent a wonderful fun-filled week exploring the magical world of Dr. Seuss!

The Cat in the Hat:

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish

The Lorax

10 Apples Up on Top

Fox in Socks

And we ended the week with character day!  Our parents really stepped up to the challenge and summoned their inner Dr. Seuss for these incredibly creative costumes! We are so blessed to be a part of such amazing families!

A Little Dirt Never Hurt!

It's pretty common knowledge that here at SVK we aren't afraid to get our hands a little dirty, in fact we love it!  And with good reason!  Studies have shown that playing in the dirt has amazing benefits to young children such as building a stronger immune system and reducing anxiety, not to mention it's FUN!  For more great information on the benefits of playing in the dirt, check out this wonderful "Dirt Report" released by the National Wildlife Federation:  https://www.nwf.org/pdf/Be%20Out%20There/Dirt_Report_2012.pdf

So, without further adieu, I present to you some of our stickiest, ickiest, ooiest, gooiest, DIRTIEST moments so far this year:

   

Holiday Fun!

There is something truly magical about a child during the holiday season.  Their little faces all aglow, their bodies restless with anticipation of upcoming events.  They are bubbling with tales of wonder and excitement!

"Did you know my Christmas tree is brighter than the sun?!  The lights are bright and they sparkle!"

 "My grandma is coming and she is going to make so much candy!" 

"I think Santa is going to bring me 200 presents!"

 This time of year is particularly fun for a preschool teacher because you get the joy of experiencing the holidays in many different ways through your students.  Each family has their own special way of celebrating the holidays, and having your students share stories of all the different traditions is such a wonderful experience!  After several small group discussions about the holidays, we decided to take some of our traditions and explore them in different ways.

The first and most talked about tradition was putting up a Christmas tree.  In most of our homes it happens several weeks before the holiday takes place so there is plenty of time to examine and explore the beauty of the evergreen trees.  Many of the children pointed out how much they like the smell of their Christmas tree which led us to a fun exploration of the most popular smells during the holiday season.

Some of the children decided to draw pictures of their Christmas trees, but there was some discrepancy as to exactly what color green the tree should be:

L:  "My tree at home is much greener than that!"
A:  "I don't think so.  I think the green crayon is the right color."
C: "Well I think that green is too light.  You need a dark one for the Christmas tree!"

So we decided to mix some of our paints together and explore the different shades of green that our trees might be:

The students were also very excited to talk about the many different treats they would get to eat during the holidays.  The most talked about treats were candy canes which allowed us to have some fun experimenting with peppermint smells and with red and white patterns.  In the science center several of the students began to make patterns with our red and white stones, so we decided to move this activity to the light table to see how the light reflected on the stones.

After a fun filled week of discovery, we were all very excited to spend some quality time at home with our loved ones.