Downstairs: Potpourri

10/28/22

"It's a magical circle of a leaf rainbow that shines!"

What a wonderful week we have had with the Fungi Friends! We explored new materials, discovered new passions, worked with friends, and observed all kinds of learning and growing. Enjoy this glimpse into our classroom, highlighting some of our projects and adventures from this week.

When we saw the rainy forecast for Monday, we quickly moved the water table outside to catch some rain! We also added a few buckets of warm water and used some of our sandbox tools to explore the water table in a new space. The water table is a space where children can explore scientific principles in action, physics concepts like motion (flowing water) and density (float/sink), mathematical thinking (volume, weight), sensory exploration, language development (describing what's happening), social skills (taking turns and collaborating), and creativity.

Our new bird feeder has been a big hit - both with us and with the animals! We have already had to fill it up, before even a week had passed. Children like to congregate by the window as they watch and identify the bird visitors. It is a popular morning arrival destination, as a calming and peaceful way to begin the day together. We remind ourselves that the quieter we are, the more likely the birds will come visit.

It was time for a big sandbox/mud kitchen shed clean out! We emptied all the materials out of the shed, cleaned and swept the shed, and then sorted the materials, with the children's help. We brainstormed about how best to organize and maintain our materials, creating a truck "parking lot" (see right photo), and a bin system for the rest of the materials. The shed is open for "shopping" during choice time and playground time. Plus, when it's time for clean up, now we have a place for every item!

The game of the week has been "hide and seek," with many different configurations of children trying their hand at both hiding and seeking. It is so fun to overhear the counting as well as the joy upon finding!

Scroll through the slideshow below and read the captions to find out about our potato exploration with Amy.

To make good use of our quickly aging pumpkins, apples, and watermelon (from Tisha and Riley's garden!), we added hammers, mallets, and golf tees, inviting some fine motor and hand muscle building work.

We used teamwork to hammer "RANDOLPH" into the watermelon, taking care to follow the "road map" written onto the melon. See us in action in the slideshow and video below!

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Finally, we had our Masquerade Parade! We had so much fun showing the other classes our "Brother Wolf" inspired masks, parading through campus, and waving to passing cars. We were excited when drivers waved back - and some even honked at us to say hello!