September 14, 2018

Back to school is the most important time of the entire school year.  Having a smooth transition from summer to entering a classroom environment, can be difficult for some children.  Children will gradually get used to their classroom environment, as they interact and engage in classroom routines and activities.

School is always full of excitement and exploration.  The children are learning to adjust to their new classroom, centers, routines, schedules, teachers, and peers.  As they interact in different activities, they engage with peers and learn to share, work in groups and express how they feel as they develop their language skills.

During the week we interacted with:

• Manipulative Toys

• Making and Exploring play dough

• Water Exploration 

• Puzzles

• Cloud Dough

• Clay

• Painting

• Sensory Bags

• Playdough

Below are some books we read:

• Llama, llama Misses

• Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed

• Pete the Cat, I Love My White Shoes

• Brown Bear, Brown Bear

• My Colors, Mis Colores

• Don’t Press, the button!

• The Very Hungry Caterpillar

• From Head to Toe

• Pete the Cat, Rocking in My School Shoes

• Find the Duck!Songs

• Go Away, Big Green Monster!

Songs we sang:

• ABC

• Good Morning Song (Hello, how are you?)

• Mr. Sun

• The Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round

• Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star

• Five Little Monkeys, Jumping on the Bed

• Five Little Speckled Frogs

• Five Little Ducks Went Out one Day

• Open, Shut them

• Head and Shoulders, Needs and Toes

• Baa Baa Black Sheep

• Itsy, Bitsy Spider

Highlights of the Week:

Circle time, a time in which children sit in a circle or almost a circle to listen to stories,  share, speak and take turns to look at an object, and sing songs.  The children were listening to Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed.

Exploring contact paper and feathers. The children seem to enjoy touching and placing the feathers on the contact paper and discovering that the feathers stay as they put them.   

Exploring finger painting on different surfaces prompts curiosity and provide different stimuli. The idea was to give a tactile exploration as well as let the children experiment and investigate with how art materials interact with various surfaces.

Pressed Painting!

Nicole was curious about how she was able to press, pat and point to each color without getting some paint on her hands. Nicole’s puzzlement allowed her to continue exploring. She applied pressure using her hands to spread the paint and observed in how the colors mixed and created another color. As she continued to manipulate the paint, she discovered that she was able to control the paint inside the plastic bag without getting paint on her hands.

The teacher put flour and baby oil mix in the sensory table for the students to explore this stimulus material, “Cloud Dough.” Some children appeared hesitant to engage and investigate. But gradually the little hands and fingers delved into the soft and warm powdery substance.  The consistency of the dough seemed to be intriguing to feel and hold.  It was powdery like flour one moment, and moldable (like damp sand) the next.  The children investigated the material by patting, squeezing, filling and emptying small cups.   

Play is an essential element for children’s development. It facilitates them to manipulate their environment in ways that would help them make choices, express themselves, interact with others, and be creative. Play dough is a hands-on activity that provides enjoyable and satisfying experiences. It promotes language, creativity, cognitive, social, and emotional development. Children display curiosity and initiative while using play dough. They squish, poke, pat, pull and flatten their dough. Play dough is also a scientific concept that involves the mixture of different components (flour, water, salt, watercolor) that produces the play dough to change its form. It stimulates the children's senses while offering an opportunity to use their imagination to explore.

Leo described the ball of play dough, "A cupcake!"  As he pokes, he articulates, "Happy face!"

Sensory Bag: Blue Tempera Paint

Today we explored:

Each child maneuvered the paintbrush differently, creating different strokes and lines.

Rohan is playing with two magnet trains and discovers that they can be connected. As children interact with materials, they explore, manipulate and discover how things work.

Some of the children revisited Cloud Dough.

Today the children used a sponge-like paintbrush to create an art piece. Some children preferred to use a paintbrush with bristles, as they explored.   Providing different painting tools allows them to make an independent choice and feel comfortable as they paint.

We introduced a block of clay for the children to observe and feel its texture. We will be exploring clay next week. Clay is an excellent sensory material for children to investigate.   Most children, when given a piece of clay, are motivated to explore its inviting sensory qualities.  Manipulating a lump of clay develops children’s large and small muscles.