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.  

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!

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.

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!

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!

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!