Planting a rainbow

The children planted flower seeds this week after reading the book Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert. The children filled their pots with soil, made a hole for the seeds, covered the seeds with soil and watered the flowers. We talked about about the differences between dirt and soil and discussed what we needed to do to help the flowers grow.

We have continued to water the flowers each day and discuss what they will look like, how long it will take them to grow and which part of the plant will come above the ground first. The children are developing observation skills, learning about responsibility by watering the plants each day and language skills by discussing their observations.

     

Adding soil

Planting a seed

Watering the plants

During the next few weeks we will continue to observe the flowers and draw our predictions of what they may look like when they sprout. We are also learning some new vocabulary such as, sprout, stem, bud and soil.

We have also deconstructed flowers to determine what the petals and stems look like when the flowers are taken apart. We explored what the petals looked like when they are fresh off the flower and when they are starting to dry out.

                                  

Raised body drawings

Previously the children have drawn above their heads by laying on their backs or standing in front of a vertical surface. In this lesson, the children explored how to balance their bodies while drawing on their bellies. We challenged the children to draw "beneath their bodies." They were excited to try a new experience with a familiar piece of equipment. We had the children try to balance their bodies on a this "mushroom top" they usually use in the gross motor room. The children approached this experience in a variety of ways. Some of the children kept their feet on the ground which made them turn more slowly. Some of the other children realized in order to spin around the stool, they needed to keep their feet in the air. As we investigate how to represent motion, the children continue to try new experiences and learn about how to control their bodies.

Julia's feet remain on the ground as she moves
 her body around the mushroom top.

Sandile uses her left hand to support
herself while she is drawing

Matthew says, "I am balancing!" and occasionally
removes his supporting hand from the ground 

Reda draws in large sweeping movements across
the paper He is well in control of his body and uses
his hand to push himself back and forth.

This exploration can be linked to numerous standards from our assessment, including

• 5. Demonstrates balancing skills
• 7. Demonstrates fine-motor strength and coordination
• b. Uses writing and drawing tools
• 11. Demonstrates positive approaches to learning
• a. Attends and engages
  b. Persist
  c. Solves problems
  d. Shows curiosity and motivation
  e. Shows flexibility and inventiveness in thinking

Representation of Motion

The children have been very interested in how objects move. We have used balls and cars on ramps and have explored tops on the classroom floor. To extend the children’s understanding of how tops move, we dipped them in paint so the children could visualize the path the tops took across the paper. At first the expected the tops to make a straight line across the paper. They seemed  surprised to see the tops create a curved path.

 

 

Learning Objectives during this experience:

·      7. Demonstrates fine-motor strength and coordination

a.   Uses fingers and hands

·      9. Uses language to express thoughts and needs

a. Uses an expanding expressive vocabulary

b. Speaks clearly

·      11. Demonstrates positive approaches to learning

a. Attends and engages

b. Persist

d. Shows curiosity and motivation

e. Shows flexibility and inventiveness in thinking

·      24. Uses scientific inquiry skills

·      26. Demonstrates knowledge of the physical properties of objects and materials

Ms. Fuller was our Strategy student last semester. Here is a note from her:

Hi, My name is Tierra Fuller and I am excited to be the intern in your child's classroom every Friday this semester! Many of you may have seen me last semester in the classroom for another class and I was very happy when I found out I would be able to return to the same classroom to continue building relationships with your children.

 I am currently completing my bachelor’s degree with a study in Children and Families from University of Michigan-Dearborn and will graduate this April. I have been working with preschool children for the past 4 years and have also worked in daycare centers with infants through 7-year old. When I am not in school or working, I love shopping, reading, and spending time with my family.

I look forward to an amazing time filled with fun and learning over the next

few months that I will be in the classroom. Throughout the semester I will be interacting and observing the children, as well as creating lessons alongside Ms. Finkelstein that interest the children. I look forward to an amazing time filled with fun and learning over the next few months.

Regie Rainbow Week 2

Last week the children were introduced to orange fruits and vegetables. We tasted sweet potatoes and acorn squash. Every week when the children taste one of the foods of the week, they get a power band of that color. You will know if your child tasted either of the foods each week, if they have a colored piece of tape around their arm. This is their "power band." Here is some information about this week's adventure!

Welcome to the Room 6 blog!

Since we've been back at school the children have been showing an interest in animals and their habitats, as well as tunnels and bridges. We will continue to explore both of these topics and see how they develop.
Using a combination of recycled materials and school blocks James and Deegan
created a tunnel with a ramp. They observed how the car was traveling along the path and through the tunnel.

Ahmad noticed that if the plank was laying flat, he needed to push the car in order for it to move.