"They are like sprinkles."
"Look at what I found!"
"I'm having fun at school."
"I'm making sprinkle cakes!"
"Make cake."
"Here's an ice cream for you."
"It's raining sprinkles!"
"Scoop, scoop, scoop."
Sensory play is part of the Scientific Process. Whether aloud or through an internal dialogue, children develop a question, leading them to investigate by touching, smelling, grabbing, pouring, rubbing and listening. They use their senses to investigate and draw conclusions to those questions. A bin full of straws, shaving cream, rice or foam bits is more then just a way to keep kids busy. It is a rich source or inquiry, imagination, communication and fun all rolled into one. Children use this as a place to learn how to share tools, create dramatic play and problem solve. Things like gravity, states of matter, weight, measurement and color are all explored during their time "playing" at the sensory table. Sharing the space with others teaches personal boundaries, self control and body awareness. Although it looks like just "fun" there is a lot of learning taking place. Some of the creative play that was overheard today.... "They are like sprinkles." "Look at what I found!" "I'm having fun at school." "I'm making sprinkle cakes!" "Make cake." "Here's an ice cream for you." "It's raining sprinkles!" "Scoop, scoop, scoop." We do not limit Sensory Play to the sensory bin. Sensory play is part of everything we do in class. We were busy little Owls today! Here are some of the invitations to learning that were set out as the children arrived this morning. The children were very engaged and set right to work. Again, many of the offerings are fine motor based. The activities encourage little hands to work hard at using those fine muscles in their hands and fingers. Today I thought I would share the little prayer we say as a class before snack time and lunch. It is very simple and easy for the children to relate to. Ask your child to show you the movements we use with it. Today the children explored their senses of touch, taste, sight, hearing and smell. Our sensory tub combined 4 of the 5 senses. Who wouldn't want to dive into a giant tub full of shaving cream. By adding Pop Rock Candy to the experience, we were able to incorporate the sense of hearing. We listened to it snap, crackle and pop as we played. The room began to take on the fragrance of the shaving cream and the children were overjoyed to squeeze and squish the cream through their fingers and scoop it with large mixing spoons. Some of the comments heard while exploring were... "Look at my hands, I have claws!" "I want MORE!" "It doesn't hurt. It is fun!" "It feels squishy and there are red dots in it." "I can squeeze it in my fingers!" "Mine is like an ice cream scoop." "I can hear it pop!" The children also explored their senses while having fun with fine motor games and art. We even did a simple science experiment with an apple using all of our senses but I was so busy with the children I forgot to grab the camera as they tasted their apple slices ! We had a very full and busy day!
Since today is National Play Dough Day, I thought I would share my favorite Play Dough recipe with you to perhaps try at home. Play Dough is a fantastic tool for strengthening fine motor skills. Plus, it is just plain FUN!
3 cups flour 1 1/2 cup salt 6 tsps. cream of tarter 3 cups water 4 1/2 tbs. oil food coloring or liquid water color Mix ingredients in a large pot and cook on medium heat until it forms a ball. Knead when cool. Store in an air tight container and it will last for months. Enjoy! Building solid language and literacy skills in young children is so important during their early development. We do this in a variety of ways -singing, reading great books, playing with language through finger plays, poems, Bible verses and conversation. Today your children arrived to find a big box wrapped and sitting on the table. What could it be??? There was much excitement and pondering of what was in the box and who it was for. Some comments that were heard included:
During our circle time we made a few guesses and then finally the time to open the box came! The box was filled with very special journals. One journal for each student. The journals are decorated and colorful sporting the child's photograph and first initial. One important tool for me to help nurture their language and literacy development will be these journals and the stories they will fill it with. I will simply ask, "How does your story start?" Each week I will ask this question of the children and amazing things will happen. The children will share their stories and I will write them down word for word. This simple act will place value on their words and importance on what it is they want to share. I will not prompt with leading questions about what they did yesterday or what their favorite toy is. This would be limiting and not allow for their true creativity to be expressed. Once a story is dictated, I will ask the child if I may share it by reading it to the class at the end of the day before dismissal. Then it will then be added to their journal. Some stories will be a few words. Some longer. Others will not make any sense. None of that matters. What does matter is the importance placed on their stories and ideas. And the respect of our peers as they listen to the words we share. Through this process the children will learn that their words are written and read back to them. They stay the same and don't change. They have meaning. They matter! What a rich book of stories and memories you will have at the end of the year. Occasionally, individual activities may be added to the journals like today's sticker covered names. Perhaps we will experiment with color mixing, find a leaf outside, make a coin rubbing or draw a picture. These special pieces will be added to the journal alongside their dictated stories. The journals will remain in the classroom for you to flip through anytime you wish.
Many of the activities we worked on today centered on fine motor development. Fine motor movements involve the coordination of small muscles in the hands and fingers. Strong fine motor skills are essential to complete tasks such as writing, cutting, using a fork or spoon, threading beads, moving puzzle pieces, zipping, buttoning, and tying shoe laces. Today we encouraged the use of spoons, small chalk pieces for strengthening the pincer grasp, cutting, tower and road building and moving erasers with tongs. The children only know that they are having fun exploring new games but each offering is designed with a specific skill focus. After checking out the photos ask your child if they had an opportunity to try some of the new games today. Many of these are simple and can be recreated and practiced at home for even more fun! Today was our first Friday and we all wore our blue school shirts. We enjoyed our first visit to Chapel and Motor Skills. Paints were also introduced today. I wish you could have heard the joy and excitement over simple watercolors. One student felt they were "precious". Love seeing things through the eyes of my little owls. Everything is new and exciting!
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Why Blog?Here you will find little snippets of our days together. When my children were in preschool and would come home I would always ask, "So, what did you do today?". All they ever said was, "Played." That didn't tell me much. I hope this blog will be a place to share what we have done and help you ask more directed questions of your child. You will see first hand just what we do after you kiss your little one goodbye in the morning. It will also be a great place to visit and see just how much your child has grown and learned throughout the year. Archives
March 2024
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