Back To Basics

Sometimes, between Pinterest and my obsession with preschool blogs, I lose track of the simpler things that children can enjoy each day.  Over the past couple of weeks, and in the wake of our holiday curricula for Valentine's Day, Chinese New Year, and Purim, we're getting back to basics.

Good Old Fashioned Painting

Sensory and Science Play

(this is the remnants of one afternoon of dropping liquid colors into slime--exactly the type of mess that reflects the development of scientific inquiry!)

Sand Play 

(we finally re-created the sandbox and the children spend lots of time there, as this picture depicts well)

While we haven't been keeping current on our blog, we're still here doing fun things with the children each day (and of course, pinning a bazillion things on Pinterest!).

Until Next Time,

Stephanie

Our Surprise Pumpkin

Last year, as part of our science curriculum, we left a pumpkin to rot in our whiskey barrel garden.  We watched for weeks as it got softer, moldier, and darker. Eventually, it went away completely except for a moldy little stem, not unlike the witch's hat left behind in The Wizard of Oz.  However, unlike the wicked witch, our rotting pumpkin left behind something magical. Can you guess what that was?

A fertile seed, which sprouted this year.  Nobody knew what was growing there, but over time we were certain it was a squash of some sort.  It took a while before we even saw the fruit, as most of the flowers were snipped off at the stem by our local animal population.  Birds and squirrels make our garden part of their regular morning route.

But one day, we saw something green and round...and now we have a big orange pumpkin! It wasn't until Guada pointed out that the seed came from our rotten pumpkin last year that we even made the connection.  We got to watch the full cycle of reproduction in the most natural, seasonal form, right in our garden.  Just one of many lessons inherent in our finely tuned relationship with mother nature.

Apples

~Picking Apples~

~Drying Apples~

~Juicing Apples~ 

Apples and Honey for a Sweet New Year!

Nothing beats the sweetness of Rosh Hashanah, or Jewish New Year.   Apples and honey offer hopes of a sweet new year, and also give us great focal points for the week's curriculum.

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A couple of simple activity trays get us in the mood for our apple picking adventures at Gidzich Ranch!

Sorting "apples" (wax paper balls covered in masking tape) by color  into bushels (dixie cups covered in masking tape with masking tape handles)

Stick the apples to the tree, then pick them off with the tweezers

This is why we have been continuously introducing new works...the children eat it up!

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It wouldn't be Rosh Hashanah if we weren't satisfying the sweet tooth with some honey cake.  With a few adaptations, we used this recipe and it turned out delish.

L'Shanah Tova!

Thrifty Thursday: Duct Tape

I told the children that I would take off the broken basket on our very old, second hand scooter. It was already past its prime when it landed in our play yard. Yet we find it a beloved vehicle and can't seem to throw it away.

The children suggested we tape the basket instead of throwing it away. I guess I'm rubbing off on them.

The application of duct tape is equivalent to buying a new one, as far as we're concerned.

The thing is, during the "fixing" process, all they cared about was holding the tape for me.  Preschoolers are so unpredictably predictable in this way. It's not about the fixing, it's about the process. And in this case, there was one micro-component of the situation that received the ubiquitous attention of every child involved--"when is it my turn to hold the tape".

It's moment like these that we get to introduce (and practice) basic, yet very meaningful, social skills.  How to ask for a turn, how to get a turn, how to share, how to not share, when to wait, when to speak up.  

We also just spent a few minutes together, with a common purpose, a common interest.  A community of friends and learners.  Lovers of duct tape.

Works Wednesday: New Works in the Classroom

We call activity trays "works" at Beansprouts Preschool.  But just because they are work, doesn't mean they aren't a whole lot of fun!  Fun...and developmentally meaningful.

We set up a table of activity trays in the middle of the classroom to appeal to the visual impulsiveness of some of our newer, younger children. It totally worked! This table has seen continuous use as children walk by, take a seat, and get to work. It calls upon something within each child that I cannot articulate, something that craves order and completion and a feeling of competency.

Each day we update the works a little bit by changing the materials or tools on the tray, and they become new and fresh and interesting all over again.  Strategies like this make a classroom manageable in these early months of the school year. If you have four little stations in the room that engage two to three children at any given time, this makes for a very focused (and calmer) classroom.  We are very much Reggio Emilia inspired in this way. The classroom is most definitely a "teacher" here at Beansprouts Preschool.

Tactile Tuesday: Sticky Wall

When I added a contact paper covered wall for block play (idea comes courtesy of Deborah Stuart), the children immediately stripped their feet bare and began "walking" their feet up and down the sticky wall.

Being a teacher that knows how to take a cue, 

I added a second sticky wall for the very purpose of FEET!

With a soft rug placed in front of the sticky wall inviting the children to lay down, the children couldn't help but indulge in some foot tapping on the sticky wall when they walked by, and even days later, they still use this sticky wall constantly. In pairs, solo, or in small groups, this has been a sensorial staple in our preschool classroom for the past week.