Week in Review: November 30th- December 4th

Problem Solving with Ice

Our classroom has been working on problems solving in many different areas. Since the children have been exploring water recently, we wanted to integrate the two ideas. We talked to the students about materials that were trapped inside of ice. The children used different tools like spoons, paintbrushes, and cups of water to release the materials from the ice. We observed them breaking and scraping the ice. They had to work together and be persistent in achieving their goal.
When we saw how interested the children were in this idea, we wanted to revisit it. After working with the ice the first time, the children started focusing more on melting the ice. Some of them knew that hot water would melt the ice. We also offered them salt and they explored how it affected the ice. We were proud of how the children worked together to solve the problem of melting the ice.

Early Childhood Standards of Quality: 

1.       1.Early Learning Expectation: Initiative-Engagement-Persistence Attentiveness. Children demonstrate the quality of showing interest in learning; pursue learning independently. 

2.        2. Early Learning Expectation: Curiosity–Inquiry-Questioning Tinkering-Risk Taking. Children demonstrate an interest and eagerness in seeking information (e.g., be able to see things from a different perspective, fiddling with something to figure it out or attempting a reasonable solution).

1.       3. 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.

2.       4. 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.

Experimenting with Mazes

The children have shown an interest in ramps and pathways throughout the semester. We wanted to help them extend on their thinking with this. First they looked at how the ball rolled down a wide ramp. After they saw how the ball moved straight down, we chose to introduce the idea of mazes. During group time, the children looked at pictures of different mazes and we used blocks on the wide ramp to collaborate on making a maze. The children tested it during explorations and noticed how the placement of different blocks affected where the ball rolled. If the ball got stuck, we saw them move them ball to another spot or change the position of the blocks. We will continue to see how we can create mazes in different ways.

Early Childhood Standards of Quality:

1         3. Early Learning Expectation: Spoken Language: Expressive. Children develop abilities to express themselves clearly and communicate ideas to others.

2         4. Early Learning Expectation: Spoken Language: Receptive. Children grow in their capacity to use effective listening skills and understand what is said to them.

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.

Painting the Giraffe

We have explored different lines and shape through plants and flowers. We chose to extend this exploration by looking at a giraffe sculpture. The children noticed different lines and shapes within an animal. We provoked them with the sculpture and asked them to draw what they saw using a black pen. Many of the children created detailed drawings based on the shapes and lines they observed. After drawing the giraffe, we helped the students explore the colors and designs they saw by using paint. They were particularly interested in the design of the giraffe. We plan to extend on this by researching the design on a reticulated giraffe's body and drawing it next week.






Early Childhood Standards of Quality:

   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.

     2. Early Learning Expectation: Aesthetic Appreciation. Children develop rich and rewarding aesthetic lives.

Curriculum Night

We wanted to say thank you to all of the families that attended curriculum night! The families that came were able to see the hard work our class has been doing all semester. We appreciated the opportunity to share thoughts and ideas about your children and how they are represented within our classroom community.