Investigating Maps 3/28/2018

Investigating Maps 

During play, we noticed children drawing on a piece of paper, rolling it up, and using it as their "map". They seemed so interested, we had to investigate further!

I asked the children what a map was for. Abi replied "It helps you get somewhere!" They understood that a map gives directions, but they were still figuring out how it worked. First we printed small examples of maps and asked children to draw their own. Many of them added their house, the school, and roads to their picture.

Ali K., James, & Abigail draw their own maps with inspiration from printed examples.

To extend on their map knowledge, we introduced a large map of the United States. We noticed the children being very invested in this because they could relate it to trips they had taken. Many of our students have traveled this year and enjoyed a visible representation of where they had been. Measurement and comparison skills were incorporated as they saw how close or far places were. They also practiced positional words while seeing that they traveled close, far, up, down, or next to other places.

Camellia, Madison, Talia, & Reda explore a large map. They talk about places
 they have driven or flown and we mark them on the map. 

After gaining more experience and knowledge of maps, we revisited the idea of drawing our own. We noticed the children's drawings become more thoughtful and detailed. They were adding more detailed roads and more than one destination.

            Josiah's map included his house, a road, and the school.
          While drawing, he said,
            "This is where my Auntie drives me".

Lucas used long lines and dots to create his map.

Adam's map includes his house, school, a market, and the road.

Stella said, "My road is taking me to Target". She drew her house
Target, her school, and some roads. 

Talia created a "Map to School". She added her house, the parking lot,
the road, and the school.

Maya created a map with many details including a restaurant
and her vacation!

We are excited to extend on this interest and see how the class learns and understands maps & directions in a new way. 

Exploring building

Using a variety of materials for building

During the last few months the children have been using many different materials to build. In addition to regular building blocks, we have used large magnetic tiles, recycled materials and combined different types of blocks together. They have discovered that different materials require different strategies for building and that a strategy may work with one type of material and not another. 

Adam and Joe work together to build a castle

The children are using recycled materials
to build homes for  the animals

Throughout this process the children also developed group cooperation and communication skills. They realized they needed to talk with the other children and share their ideas. Otherwise, everyone was doing something different.

The magnetic tiles offered a unique challenge to the children. If they built multiple levels on one side and not the other, the weight of the tiles caused their structure to fall. After a teacher encouraged them to build the second level all they way around, the children realized they could  successfully create a multi level structure.

Changing the building surface

Another challenge we have presented to the children is how to build on different surfaces. We placed blocks in the sand table and discovered the children simply moved the sand to the side to build or used the lip of the sandtable as a stable surface. In order to stretch their thinking, we brought in an incline plane and encouraged them to build with the ramp as their surface.

We began by using small, foam blocks  on the ramp. The children noticed that many of the blocks slid down the ramp. After trying to build in different places on the ramp, Violet and Rory realized the direction of the block was important to it staying in one place. Ahmad worked with Rory to build up once the base block was stable. 

Our next step will be to use small, wooden blocks on the ramp. Some questions we will be looking at with the children are: Will the wooden blocks provide the same challenges as the foam blocks on the ramp? Will the children use the same strategies with the wooden blocks and will their strategies work the same way?  

Welcoming the Snow 12/22/17

It has snowed a lot lately!

The weather change made a big impact on the children's daily lives. Not only did their outside environment begin to look very different, but there were changes in their daily routine as well. The snow and cold temperatures meant that some days we had to stay in the classroom and other days it took a long time to put on our snow gear! As a class, we started to explore the snow and ice that had become a part of the world around us.

The children all gather to look out the window as the playground gets covered in snow.

Piles of snow are a unique canvas! They used eye
droppers to add color and watched as it
moved and spread.

If it is too cold to go to the snow, we can make the snow
come to us!

To inspire their building, we pretended it was snowing in the block area! This challenged the children to build structures that would keep their animals warm and dry. 

Reda figures out that a roof will keep his Tiger
safe from the snow. "They need a jacket", he
says while he builds.

Stella builds a home for her animal. "He needs
a roof to keep him nice and dry in winter time."

Abigail starts by creating walls all around to
keep the snow off of her zebra.

Jad and Talia work together to create a structure
with a roof. 

12-1-17

Recognizing our Names

The first word children learn to read and write is their name! We have created many opportunities for them to practice this skill in the classroom. 

Each day children should be finding their own nametags to put on their cubbies. 

After putting away their things and washing hands, we invite everyone to sign-in. We can help or this can be a special thing you do with your child before saying good-bye! 

At the back of our classroom is our classroom community space. This is an interactive area with each child's picture, name, and a collage they created. The children have enjoyed finding themselves, looking at their name, and seeing their classmates' as well. 

We play a variety of letter games each day! Children learn letters, starting with those in their name, through exposure. This means playing, drawing, singing, feeling, and moving with letters!

Developing an understanding of details through self-portraits

Some of our project work this semester has focused on creating self portraits through an exploration of the smaller details.

 At the beginning of the year we always have the children draw a self portrait for their portfolio. As the children drew their faces, we noticed a disconnect between what they were  observing in the mirror and what they were representing on  paper.  Our first step to help the children notice details was to provide them with the outline of a face and have them add the facial features.  As a result, some children were placing facial features in the general location where they are found on the faces while others were drawing random shapes without regard to the location of facial features. 

   

The children began this investigation by drawing self portraits. We provided the children with an outline of a face and they added the details.

Abi uses the recycled materials to create an eye.

Khalil used the small black stones to outline the shape of the eye.

Ali E. is placing one of the beads up against his eye as a way to connect the image to his own body.

Yousef is looking at the picture of the eyes. He pointed to the image of the eyes and then pointed to his own eyes.

Throughout these experiences, the children were developing their fine motor skills, becoming observers of details and strengthening their language skills as they described what they were seeing and doing.

Harvest Walk

Our Harvest Walk was a big success this year! Here are some pictures of children in their costumes, trick-or-treating around the building, and listening to the Detroit Symphony Orchestra play in the lobby. Thank you to everyone that donated and came to participate!

A letter from Ms. Hallani (Our Classroom Intern)

Dear Parents,

 We have had a wonderful 8 weeks of school. For the past few weeks, we have been working on many different lessons and we have engaged in amusing activities. My first couple of weeks, in the classroom I mainly observed the students and took notes of their interests and the activities that seemed to be most engaging to them. I found that the students really enjoyed painting as well as activities that deal with motion.

The following is more about some of the lessons that I have been teaching. In my very first lessons, I introduced the students to small brushes and large brushes and I had them explore the different strokes each brush made. The students seemed to really like this activity and they enjoyed talking about their artwork as they were painting. In this lesson, the students practiced using their fine motor skills, their social skills and they explored the visual arts. In the future, I plan to have more painting lessons in our classroom, and I plan to add different painting materials; such as painting with leaves, pinecones and toothbrushes. The second lesson I have been working on is based on the student’s interest in the motion. As a class we have been exploring different objects and how they slide down the ramp at different angles. We started with rolling down different balls, then, we had plastic boats and wooden cars. We observed what happened to each object as it rolled down at different ramp angles. As the students were engaged in the lesson they were thinking of cause and effect, as well as practicing social skills and problem solving. In the future, I plan to add different textures to the ramp and have the children observe what will happen to the object rolling down the ramp. We are looking for donations of any unused fabric, sand paper, or bubble wrap you may have at home which we can use on the ramp.

 

 

 

Last but not least, I would like to invite you to one of the most exciting events we have at the center, the EC Curriculum Night. This event will be on November 15, 2017, from 4:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. You will have an opportunity to investigate some of the explorations that your children have been working on. I really look forward to seeing you.

Thank you,

Ms. Hallani

Welcome to our Classroom Blog!

Welcome to our classroom blog! Our year has gotten off to a great start. We invite you to take a look at some of the things we have been working on so far.

We incorporate literacy into the classroom everyday in a variety of ways. Here they are searching for different letters in the sand table. 

We attached several mirrors to the wall and offered children small flashlights. They all smiled big as they explored light and reflections. They watched the light bounce around and experimented by shining the lights in different ways.

Collaborative building opportunities are available everyday. This encourages children to work together, strengthens their communication skills, and fosters problem solving. We have seen some great structures already!

After visiting the Cider Mill with the school, children noticed some of the gourds we brought in. They were especially interested in the unique characteristics such as bumps, stripes, or the different colors. We invited them to represent this through painting.

 Each child has the opportunity to create their own "Masterpiece" by collaging with beautiful things for our classroom Identity Board. 

 We are always reading! The children often enjoy looking through books on their own or asking a teacher to share a story with them.

We explore dramatic play in a variety of ways including working in a restaurant. Children act out different roles and incorporate their prior knowledge of how a restaurant works. 

After visiting our school's garden, children explore different materials using all of their senses. They find different colors, textures, scents, and even tastes!