This week in 2B, we continued with our exploration of nature themed activities. On Monday, we danced with scarves, pretending that they were leaves, blowing in the wind and falling to the ground.

We then explored painting with pinecones. The students rolled the pinecones in trays of paint, then onto the paper to see what would happen. After many of the students requested brushes, they then chose to carefully paint the pinecones as well. Once we made playdough as a class, we then explored using the same painted pinecones together with the playdough. The children attempted to use the pinecones as rollers and stampers, seeing what would happen when pushing the pinecones into the playdough. We look forward to continuing to explore nature and fall specifically, over the next few weeks. 

Throughout the next several months, we will be exploring and investigating different topics of research together as a school. This year, one area we will be focusing on is paint! We will be examining how the students interact with paint and presenting activities to push and encourage them to interact and engage with paint in new and different ways. Whether exploring finger-painting, watercolors, or painting with brushes, we will be studying and documenting the children’s responses and reactions to the paint, both individually and together as a class. 

 In addition to paint, we will also be focusing on a social emotional curriculum. For the first few months of school we will be working on Self-Management and Self-Expression together with the students. As we learn and play together, we will be helping and encouraging the students to develop these skills. We want the children to be able to express their feelings and emotions to their peers and the adults around them. As the year goes on, we will be branching out, exploring relationships and inclusion between the students. We will be helping the children learn and develop skills to communicate and relate with their peers to relate to them and understand how to be respectful to one another. This will be an ever changing and evolving process that will meet the students where they are.