The children continue their explorations with animals, zoos and drawing maps for zoos and even building their own zoos for animals. In the following pictures, you will see some very hands-on learning that is taking place. There are many conversations that take place among the children to brainstorm ways to build zoos and how to separate areas for the animals to have their own homes.
Justin made a large animal zoo using the magnet tiles. He worked long and hard to create his perfect zoo. "My animals live in here."
Leila used a butterfly picture to inspire her drawing of her very own butterfly. The children are getting very good at focusing on detail and colors. "I want to draw a butterfly because I love butterflies."
In these pictures, Grant, Adelyn and Leila found a jar of bugs. They decided to sort the bugs into matching groups and then use real shells for the animals to hide in - they said they got this idea from our Hermit Crabs.
The children were constructing a zoo using the wooden blocks, legos and magnet tiles.
Here the children incorporated their love of building into counting and math. They had to try to build something using a the number they picked on a piece of paper. The numbers went from 1-20. After they constructed something, they then had to count each lego to verify they used the correct number.
The children were using watercolors to 'free paint'. I love seeing what the children create and it is great to watch their thought process in doing so.
Here the children were using pictures as provocations to inspire them to paint. The attention to detail and colors is a wonderful skill to practice and the children are really getting experienced in this. They really enjoy painting so we always try to give them many opportunities to do so. On a weekly basis, they have use different types of paints, different brushes and different techniques.
This was a very fun way of painted we tried for the first time. We used a large lazy susan with liquid watercolors and eye droppers. As the lazy susan spun, the children dropped different colors on the spinning table. We spun it in different directions and tried to predict what would happen and why. After we did this, Grace suggested that we drop the paint first and then spin the lazy susan. They liked exploring with the two different techniques. "I could do this all day!" as one student said.
The children have been focusing on following recipes, reading directions and even learning some math concepts along the way. They were making some pudding pops that were then placed in the freezer. They have done cooking before with different heating elements, so this time they experience a different way by using cooling as part of cooking. They of course loved the pudding pops.
This time the children were making smoothies, but they got to talk about their own ingredients and got to special order what type of smoothie they would like. They were also practicing 'roles' in a restaurant. Noor was taking people's orders and then she gave the orders to the chef. They thoroughly enjoyed the smoothies and they also loved eating in Daisy's Diner.
The children brainstormed ways they could make centerpieces for the tables in Daisy's Diner. They collected materials from the school and began assembly. There were many designs and everyone got to add their own personal touches.
We have started diving into exploring seeds, plants, gardens and how/why things grow. We have started soaking seeds, dissecting them and even planted a few. We have even continued our explorations in the garden. We have started taking weekly pictures to watch the garden blossom and watch the changes that it will face.
Serafine ran over to this plant because she found some green growth. We talked about how this may be the start of our garden coming to life.
The children have started doing different explorations using movement. In these pictures they were experimenting with water movement and even sand movement. They used different materials to try to figure out how to move water and sand and also to try to figure out why they water and sand always tends to go down instead of up.
We had more awesome guest readers!! We had Adelyn's mom, Jude's mom and Ms. Freda. The children are very good listeners and they love hearing stories.
The children had a great time doing a performance. They initiated this themselves while listening to music and playing with our musical instruments. They were dancing, singing and playing instruments. As you can probably imagine, some were singing the theme song to 'Frozen'. While some of the parents came to pick up their child at the end of the day, they got to see the children perform. Very fun to watch!
