We started this week by sharing our weekend news. Some friends brought photos to help them remember what they did over the weekend and to show their classmates of the fun moments. As most of our 3A friends become three years old, they are more wiling to share their own stories, ideas, and opinions. As educators, we believe that being able to speak of what they did or feel proud of is an important skill. As each child got a turn, they were so excited to share their weekend news!
Another important goal that we are trying to work on this year is a sense of teamwork. Block center is one of 3A's favorite centers and usually requires more than one child's input. Therefore, Erika and I wanted to see if our friends were ready to work together. Everyone took their turn placing a block wherever they wanted. Some of the children put the block next to each other, while others stacked them up. After we took two turns placing blocks, we decided to come up with the name of our structure. Nina chimed in and said "a castle!" Then everyone agreed to call it a castle. It was a successful teamwork activity.
Lastly, we did a Sink and Float science experiment. First we talked about what sink meant. Parker said, "it's when it goes all the way to the bottom." Mia said float meant, "when it's at the top." The children hypothesized whether or not each item was going to sink or float by showing thumbs up (float) or down (sink). The prepared items were a leaf, a pinecone, corn, and a paperclip. Levi hypothesized that the pinecone would float and when we tested it out, it did! Even after pushing the pinecone down in the water, it came right back up when we let go of it. Parker hypothesized that the paperclip would float. But when we tested it out, it sunk. We asked a few children to bring in another object to see if it would sink or float.
Nina brought a math manipulative shape and found that it sunk. Parker brought a lego piece and tested it to find that it floated! Katerina's Magnetile and Manu's small wooden block also floated! It was so amazing to see our little scientists with such inquisitive faces!
