Marble Works

This week we brought out marble run pieces one morning as an alternative to using the water table. When our groups started work time, the marble runs were already set up from the children in Susan and Arlene's groups. Our children spent some time using the marbles to explore how the runs worked, placing the marbles in the top and watching them roll all the way down to the bottom. Then, we took all of the plastic pieces apart and the children had to figure out how to put them back together to get the marbles to run through them again. This was a trial and error experience as the marbles would sometimes not go all the way through the tubes in the way that the children had planned. We will continue to bring out the marble runs throughout the year and see how the children's planning and building changes.

Rain Art

In Studio class this week, we focused on the rainy weather and the children used various materials to create a rainy window scene. Billie had them pour different colors of glue, paint, watercolors, and rice onto aluminum foil, and then the children pressed their papers into it. When they picked their papers up, it made a tie-dyed rainy look! They then took strips of black paper and glued them on the papers to create the window frames.

More Snaps from our Week

One on One Day

From painting to train play, the children loved having you work alongside them during one on one day. We hope you had fun and gained a better understanding on what the children do during their typical indoor work times!

Have you ever been to a Grocery Store?

Confetti Snow

It was a super colorful snow day one morning when the children got to dye the snow! They had fun mixing colors and brought over pots and pans from the mud kitchen to use their colorful snow to bake with.

More Snaps of Our Week

The Snowy Day

We started our week off by coming in to a school yard full of snow! The children had fun rolling snowballs, making snow angels, and creating big snowmen.

Experimenting in the Studio

In studio class this week, Billie had the children do a special experiment. We started by using oil pastels to color all over thick pieces of watercolor paper. Then, the children took wet sponges and squeezed the water onto their drawings. They then layered drops of watercolor paint on top and made sure that their papers were really wet. Billie then had everyone add spoonfuls of course salt and rice on top, and all of the paintings were brought outside to be frozen in the snow. What will they look like after they freeze?

Snow Painting

An easel was set up next to the window on Thursday to give the children some inspiration - let's paint the snow! The teachers mixed white paint with various materials such as sand, fake snow, and shaving cream to create a snow like texture. 

January Birthday Assembly

We celebrated our school's January birthdays on Wednesday - happy birthday Wyatt!

Welcome to School Caroline!

Caroline has joined Danielle's group and was warmly welcomed by all of the children. Especially her cousin, Jacqueline!

Authors and Illustrators

The book-making table is a valuable area during our work time. The children are invited to sit with a teacher to create a book where they are told that they are the authors who write the words, and illustrators, who draw the pictures. The children enjoy letting their imagination run free speaking to a teacher who writes their book word for word. Letting the children create their own books boosts critical thinking, builds upon their language, and develops literacy skills. 

If you want to continue book making at home, we fold and staple 3 pieces of printer paper together. More stories to read at bed time, yay!

Glazing Our Clay Pieces

The children in Rachel's group finished glazing their clay pieces on Wednesday. We can't wait to put them back in the kiln to see the final product they have worked so hard on these last 2 weeks. 

Creating with Clay

The children in Danielle's group created clay pieces with Billie this week. Some creations that came out of this week are a snowman, a bird, and a dog!

Outside Fun!

Mystery Reader Surprise...

Rhodes' daddy, Ross came into read, "Olivia."

Creating Recipes

The housekeeping area has been bustling with dramatic play! We took this opportunity to record their recipes and move forward with a potential need for a grocery store. Do your children go to the grocery store with you? Have they ever seen a cash register? Some of the recipes the children have been making are chicken parm, smoothies, and pizza! It seems like we might need more ingredients in our kitchen...we shall see what the kitchen turns into in the weeks to come!

More Snaps of Our Week