The children have been writing, revisiting, and revising poems over the past several weeks. Selected poems will be published in our Preschool end of the year class book. To accompany the poems, each child has drawn an illustration that visually represents his/her poem. The children have worked hard on their poems and illustrations and they can't wait to share them with you! Mr. A has continued to work on shadow boxes with the children during their studio time. The children continue to add details and creatively place objects they chose or create into their boxes. Some children have begun to dictate poems about their shadow boxes. As they work on their poems, we encourage the children to communicate the themes of their boxes by using playful and descriptive language. The children will continue to work on their boxes until the end of school. The class had so much fun using loose parts with our play-doh. They created all kinds of machines and vehicles with the bottle tops, washers, sticks, and droppers. They also realized that they could suck play-doh into the droppers and them squirt the play-doh out. Fun! There are so many possibilities inherent in a mound of play-doh. It was lovely to observe the children explore these materials with the freedom to create anything they could imagine. As we move toward the end of the year, we took time to ask the children which activities they would like to do again before the summer begins. One unanimous choice was that the class wanted to have a chance to use watercolors again. As they were painting last week, I was photographing the children at work as I typically do. One child asked if he could take a photograph of his painting. I passed over the camera and he took a photo and passed the camera back to me. Soon after, another child asked for a chance to use the camera. It was interesting to see the perspective each child used as he/she took a photograph of his/her work. The children have been using the cameras to take portraits of each other for our end of the year book so they have become familiar with framing their subject on the camera's screen. The surf was up on the playground last week! Several weeks ago the children planted radishes in their box garden in the playground. Last week they were ready to be harvested! The children picked the plentiful radishes and placed them in a huge basket. They were delighted and surprised by the bright red color and the leafy green stems. The children were able to sample to radishes later in the day. It was such a treat for us to host the Cherry Tree Club last week. Before our visitors arrived, we had a discussion about what the children could do to help make our visitors feel welcome at PJS. I was proud of each and every child in the Preschool class and how everyone smiled and welcomed our guests with sincerity and enthusiasm. During the party we shared breakfast (the 4th grade baked us muffins!), planted seeds, took our visitors to the frog pond, played on the playground, sang songs and shared stories. It was a very special day and we thank the Glitter Lemonade Club for making this event possible.
0 Comments
It's not a box, it's a shadow box:Mr. A introduced the children to the art of Joseph Cornell to follow up on the their interest in boxes and the possibilities inherent in boxes of all shapes and sizes. Cornell created shadow or dream boxes to represent his dreams and interests. Mr. A shared many photographs of Cornell's shadow boxes with the children to inspire their creativity. In this activity and throughout the year it has been wonderful to watch the children learn how to 'play' with art materials in order to create individual and collaborative works of art. So many skills are refined during these open-ended investigations. During Windows to the World, Ms. Weintraub read the children a picture book about Cornell's life (Mr. Cornell's Dream Boxes by Jeanette Winter) to support this exploration. Examining an inchworm:Inchworms are fascinating! The children found an inchworm dangling from a tree and carried it over to a nearby picnic table. There they examined the inchworm closely and they watch it move by inching it's body forward. After awhile they picked up wood chips to create an obstacle course for the inchworm. The children were gentle and respectful while interacting with this tiny being. It was a joy to watch this interaction. A visit from the dentist:A local dentist visited last week to speak to the children about proper dental hygiene. She showed the children how to properly brush their teeth and how to floss. She also played a 'healthy tooth' game with the children. They had to pick a food/drink out of the bag and decide whether the item would make their teeth feel happy or sad. The children were very good at this game! She reminded them that it is ok to occasionally eat a treat but it's important to remember to brush afterwards. Outdoor fun in LTL:Painting and mixing colors:Once again the children enjoyed the process of painting and mixing colors. They shared their delight with friends when they mixed a brand new shade and they practiced control as they layered the paint on the paper. It is so important that children return to activities and projects throughout the year. This solidifies the skills they are learning as they work and encourages the children to try new ideas. Self portraits:The children worked carefully on their final self portraits of the year. Each and every child's portrait displays his/her growth over the course of the year. The final portraits include more attention to details and refined fine motor skills. They also display both realism and creativity. One child, as he sat down to work on his self portrait, asked, "Is it a portrait of our outside or our inside?" I said that it could be whatever he wanted it to be and he proceeded to draw a self portrait of his insides. Snapshots from around the classroom:Making Mother's Day memories:The children were very excited to get to work on their Mother's Day cards! Each child took time to carefully paint his/her card cover with colors and designs chosen especially for his/her mom. Next, they set to work on scripting and writing the message and signing it. Lots of love went into each step. Later in the week...we started baking! The children were delighted to secretly bake the banana bread to give to their moms. They mashed and stirred and then we popped the loaves in the oven. Finally, the children labeled their loaves and wrapped them in tissue paper - ready to be delivered to their wonderful moms! It was a joyful focus for our week. Our 'not-a-boxes' continue to transform:The children have continued to add on to their 'not-a-boxes', transforming them with every addition. Some children painted their boxes while others added new materials such as googly eyes, tooth picks and tissue paper. It is terrific to watch the children's imaginations soar as they manipulate simple boxes into a variety of structures and creatures. Play - Creating their own unique games:As our unit focusing on the power of play and its possibilities for learning draws to a close, it is rewarding to observe children creating their own games and imaginative play scenarios with/from the materials in the classroom. Some children repurposed games, such as a child who created a matching game using multiple dice and a racing dice board. Other children took small boxes and created dice out of them. They used the dice to create a game with the large (not-a-)box in our classroom. Children also continue to create fantastical play inside and around our large box. It is interesting that the box has not become one thing but rather it is a prop for many different types of play. Another day, a child took the mirror and stones we have had in the classroom all year and invented a creative game that involved sliding the stones so that they jumped across the board and attempted to knocked the other stones off the board. Several children took turns trying this fun game out! Finally, children reimagined how to use the mirrors - to help them walk backwards around the room, reflect lights onto the walls and ceiling, and to pretend they were video cameras. Play - Transforming a Book by Acting it Out:In Music Class, Ms. Swartley, connected to our unit on play by focusing on the 'play' that is involved when dramatizing a familiar story. First, she read the children The Three Billy Goats Gruff with the understanding that afterward the children would be able to act the story out. Next, Ms. Swartley asked the children if they had any suggestions for new characters they could add or ideas for changes they wanted to make to the plot. The children then created a character list and chose parts. Some children chose to be in the audience. The set was simple with only a wooden xylophone serving as the bridge the troll would hide under. The children were able to act out the story freely and to respond to their fellow actors. There was time for two performances and it was fun to see the similarities and differences in each one. We will continue to 'play' with this story next week and see what evolves as the children become more familiar with this process.
What are some good rules to agree upon when you are playing with friends?
To further support our unit exploring play, we have been reading a wonderful chapter book entitled, Toys Go Out, by Emily Jenkins. It is the story of a group of toys that belong to a little girl and the adventures the toys have when the little girl is not around. Be sure to ask your child about the characters (Lumphy, Stingray, Plastic, Tuktuk) and some of the adventures they have experienced (show and tell, the beach, peanut butter and the washing machine). An Introduction to Marbles:Mr. A and Mrs. A both loved playing marbles when they were children. Mr. A played in Columbia where he grew up and Mrs. A played in New Jersey where she grew up. They taught the children how to play one version of marbles in the classroom and another version in the sandbox. The children were entranced with the game. An Introduction to Hopscotch:During one morning meeting the children learned how to play hopscotch on a small hopscotch board we made on the rug. They learned how to toss the stone, hop or jump over it, and return to pick it up.It was fun to teach the children one of my favorite childhood games! Frogs!In Learning Through Landscapes we took a walk to our small campus pond. When we got there the children noticed several frogs. Mrs. Z scooped two frogs out of the pond with her net. We brought them back to the classroom for a quick (24 hour) visit so that we could study and sketch the frogs. They were fantastic visitors! On Friday they were released back into the pond. I'm sure they have some stories to tell their frog friends! The Traditional Maypole Dance - Founders Day, 2015Julianna McIntyre Fenn, the founder of PJS, led the children, teachers, grandparents and special friends in the traditional Maypole dance last Friday. It was a joyful celebration! Snapshots from around the classroom: |
Archives
September 2017
Categories |