The Gruffalo House

As the children were walking in the hallway they were very excited to go outside. As we walked I began to speak with the voice of the infamous Gruffalo. ( a child story the Gruffalo). I spoke about how he lives outside  but only comes out at night. 

Child:" I know how we could catch him!"

Teacher " How?" 

Child: "We could build a trap!"

After finding a spot we began building a house with the milk crates. The children showed great teamwork and determination.

Child: "We need a roof."

So, we added a roof for protection and safety.

These girls pretended to blow a whistle call the Gruffallo to come to the house. 

Child:" When they hear the noise the Gruffallo will come really fast."

When it was done the children played each one pretending to to be the Gruffalo. They ran in and out of the house howling and giggling with joy.

As the play soon end I decided to commemorate the play be reading the Gruffalo story in the Grauffalo house.

Written By: Miss Santillan 🙋🏻

Looking up to you

 It's a beautiful thing to see older a child and a younger child playing together. These rare and special moment makes child care worth while. 

As the two sit , they are engrossed in the experience sitting together for quite some time. As I come closer I hear the older child counting 1.....2....3.....4....5 five sticks! The younger child is pointing at sticks and counting along. The younger child and the older child both look at each other and smile. They then collect more sticks on the ground and begin counting again.

  

Written By: Miss Santillan🙋🏻

Matching rocks

Recently we set out some matching rocks that we made. These give the children the opportunity sort, recognize similarities, recognize difference, and build memory skills.

The two girls pick out some stones and begin to sort them. They place the pairs together and search for other stones that will match their remaining ones.

After looking at their stones they notice that the other has a match to theirs. They begin going back and forth asking for a certain rock so they can make a pair.

They decide to combine their pairs so they will have more sets. As they work together they discuss how some of the patterns look similar " We need to be careful so we don't mix them up."

  They continue their work until all the rocks have their match. "We did it."

Written by Mrs. Balharry 🙋🏻 

Autumn is here!!

"Autumn is a second spring where every leaf is a flower."-Albert Camus

Autumn is here again everybody! And what better way to celebrate than some good, ol'fashioned leaf gathering!

Our group showed a great display of teamwork and comraderie as we all worked together to clean up the leaves on our playground!

"Watch me lift these leaves with the rake!"

"I'm organizing the pile!"

Children of all ages helped each other out as we worked towards making a huge pile of leaves in the middle of our courtyard.

"I want all my friends to help us!"

"The pile is growing so big!"

As the time passed, we alternated who was using the rakes so everyone would get a turn to help!

Our pile grew and grew until there was only one thing we could do with it....

PLAY IN IT!

"You can't find me!"

"Watch me do a somersault!"

As we jumped and hid in the leaves, each child struck a new pose.

"I'm soaring through the air!"

"Woah! Look at me!"

And when it was time to clean up, not only did everybody help, we also figured out new ways to work more efficiently!

"If we put the leaves in the cart, we can move more at a time."

The way the seasons change is amazing, much like our imaginative minds when we find ways to play with what Mother Nature gives us.

-Mr.Freeman

I have ten little fingers and watch what they can do!

This morning a small group of boys found some connecting straw toys and decided to construct and "big house" with them.

" We need these little x's to put the straws on."

"This is very tricky. Mine keeps falling off."

"Guys guys guys you have to put them together like this. It's the wall for the house."

"We need to put the straws on each x like this for the walls."

"This is gonna be a big big house."

"Yah so big."

As the boys continue to join the straws together the structure begins to take on shape and height. They use their little fingers to place the straws just so and line them up with the next straw. They learn that as the project go on if they put support beams in the middle of the structure it becomes stronger.

As the group continues on they begin to experiment with adding arches to the roof line deciding that they liked the way it looked.

This experience was a great way for the children to use their eye hand corridnation, problem solving,imagination,and team work.

Written by Mrs Balharry 🙋🏻 

Project fix it!

We just recently added some new tools to our block area, and it didn't take long for the children to notice them.

"I'm cutting the wood."

"The saw is moving and cutting the wood."

"I think we should come up with a project and make something."

"Ya let's build something. We could make a house."

 This group decided the sand table needed to be fixed.

"I fix. I fix. This awesome."

This child takes time to lay out the measuring tape flat so he can measure the board. He then moves on to measure the fence.

"I found some boards that need to be fixed. They're very loose."

"I need safety glasses to protect my eyes. The saw shakes my hands when it cuts the wood."

"We're working really hard."

Providing tools for the children to play with adds to their play experience giving them the opportunity to reenact parents, construction workers, staff and others. It enhances their vocabulary by naming the tools and opens up conversation about tools and tool safety.

Written by Mrs. Balharry 🙋🏻 

🍃 Natural art. Putting the vision into reality 🍃

This morning I set up a blank canvas with natural materials around it for the children to create as they wished.

 As they came in they asked:

"What are all these things for?" 

"Can we make whatever we want?"

"Can we use all the things together?"

As soon as their questions were answered they began to create.

"I'm gonna make a robot. This is gonna be s awesome."

"Do you want to help me? We can work together."

This child begins to line up the glass stones and notices that some stones are shiny and some have a flat surface. He picks out the flat ones and replaces them with the shiny.

He then begins to put the glass stones into the branch balls. After he puts in each stone he gives it a shake. "Jingle."

He continues to put more stones in noticing that as he does the "Jingle" gets louder "More jingles."

As the morning continues other children join in to create. "Look Mrs. Balharry I made you. These are your eyes and your smile. And these are your hair. I put it into place for you."

After completing the portrait he goes on to make a three dementional creation balancing the glass stones onto the pine one. A task which is not to easy when the base is moving.

A lot of concentration goes into using small hands to place a smaller object in just the right place.

"Look I made a eye."

"I'm making the ocean."

 Through the play experience the children learn to manipulate different textures into their own unique creations. 

Written by Mrs. Balharry 🙋🏻