Week in Review: November 2nd-6th

Week in Review: November 2nd-6th

Building Collaboration

Everyday we practice working together. The children are beginning to understand the importance of cooperating and valuing each other's contributions. We were eager to support this learning and allow them to extend on their cooperation skills. Building is an area where collaboration has been successful with many children and still challenging for others. Therefore, we create and implement lessons that foster communication and teamwork. During group time, we told the children we would be working on creating a structure as a class. A platform was laid in the middle of the block area and each child had an opportunity to contribute. We talked about adding our own blocks to the structure while still respecting the existing design. We observed the final products and discussed how we felt proud about what we accomplished as a team. We will continue to foster collaboration in the classroom by offering opportunities for team work and guiding children through the process of working as a group. 
 

Early Childhood Standards of Quality Met: 

1.       5. Early Learning Expectation: Reasoning-Problem Solving-Reflection. Children demonstrate a growing capacity to make meaning, using one’s habits of mind to find a solution or figure something out.

1.       6. Early Learning Expectation: Participation-Cooperation-Play Networking-Contribution. Demonstrate increasing ability to be together with others, in play or intellectual learning opportunities and/or making positive efforts for the good of all; join a community of learners in person and digitally as appropriate

 6. Early Learning Expectation: Fine Motor Development. Children experience growth in fine motor development and use small muscles to improve a variety of fine motor skills both in structured and unstructured settings

  7. Early Learning Expectation: Geometry. Children build their visual thinking skills through explorations with shape and the spaces in their classrooms and neighborhoods.

Representing Fall Through Painting

It is beautiful outside! The children have noticed the changes out side and love playing in the leaves on the playground. We wanted to give them a chance to represent their love of fall. We chose to set up an area for painting  near the courtyard. They were able to see a large outside area and represent the shapes and colors they saw while painting on an easel. They noticed different lines in the trees, leaves, sky, and shape of the hill. They painted pictures focusing on the colors of the leaves and sky. Some children added trees to their picture and others were interested in the grass or bushes. We encouraged them to add detail in their work and describe their fall representations. We will continue to explore the changing landscape with our hands, eyes, ears, and bodies. 

         

Early Childhood Standards of Quality Met: 

6. Early Learning Expectation: Fine Motor Development. Children experience growth in fine motor development and use small muscles to improve a variety of fine motor skills both in structured and unstructured settings

1.    Early Learning Expectation: Visual Arts. Children show how they feel, what they think, and what they are learning through experiences in the visual arts.

1.       1. Early Learning Expectation: Creativity-Imagination-Visualization. Children demonstrate a growing ability to use originality or vision when approaching learning; use imagination, show ability to visualize a solution or new concept.

Experimenting with Dance

At the beginning of the week, we provoked the children's thinking with the "World's Playground" CD and streamers. We noticed how the children change they way they manipulated the stream to match the beat of the song. The children waved their streamers slowly to songs with a slow beat and soft instruments. Songs with a faster tempo and louder instruments (drums, maracas...ect) they would move their streamers quickly. 

Later in the week, we projected videos of different styles of dancing such as ballet, salsa, Irish folk dancing and traditional eastern Indian dance. The videos encouraged the children to explore the different ways to move their body. The ballet video encouraged the children to spin and prance around the carpet, where as the Irish folk dancing inspired the children to kick their feet out in front of them very quickly. 

 

Early Childhood Standards of Quality Met: 

3. Early Learning Expectation: Movement and Dance. Children show how they feel, what they think, and what they are learning through movement and dance experiences.

     4. Early Learning Expectation: Body Control and Activity. Children increase their ability to understand and control their bodies and learn that regular physical activity can enhance their overall physical, social, and mental health.

     5. Early Learning Expectation: Gross Motor Development. Children experience growth in gross motor development and use large muscles to improve a variety of gross motor skills in a variety of both structured and unstructured and planned and spontaneous settings.