Spring has sprung....finally

Painting in the garden

Planting in the classroom

We have been waiting all winter to get out into the garden and begin exploring!  The weather has mostly been cooperating (minus the few freak cold day, let's get it together Michigan) and we have been able to venture out.  Our first few experiences in the garden have involved observations.  We have been identifying some of the plants which have started to emerge.  Many of our perennial plants are starting to sprout; we have been watching the leaves of our iris plants, as well as the day lilies emerging from beneath their winter covers.  The children have also been exploring our eating row.  Some of our herb plants (chives, salad burnet and mint) have started to grow.  The children have been tasting the leaves of these different plants.  Many of the children are very fond of the chives (sorry if they come home smelling like an onion).  Some of the other classes have started planting other items in our eating rows.  Having the eating rows helps the children develop a better understanding of where our food comes from and what we should be consuming.  We also took a trip out to the garden to do some painting.  We want the children to experience the garden in its various stages of growth, so we thought by painting the children can really look at the colors and explore how they change throughout the season.  We will be back out in the garden soon to do some more painting and sketching.  We are still preparing to plant soon.  In the classroom we have sprouted pumpkin seeds and cucumbers.  We are working to clear our the large garden space near the climber so we can plant these seeds in the ground.  We will also have a planting day for our families soon, check out your newsletter for the date!  If you have any garden knowledge, plants to share or just want to come experience the garden, let us know and we would love your help!  We are looking forward to spring and these beautiful days outside!

Exploring!

The space to clear for our pumpkins

Our garden, the butterfly row, the rainbow row,
and two eating rows

Our Bradford Pear Trees in bloom!

The iris plants

Chives!

More chives!

Our redbud tree

Mural for the Office

Our children have been commissioned to create a mural for the site director's office at the entrance for our school!  We feel honored to have been asked to create the task and the children are very excited as well.  At first we were unsure of what to create, but eventually were drawn to the idea of an ocean.  We wanted to incorporate different mediums into our piece so we began by first using tissue paper to collage.  The younger toddlers have been working on collage pieces in their classroom, so we thought they could bring some ideas to our children during afternoons where our classrooms combine.  The children REALLY enjoy glue!  We worked with the children to help them better understand the concept of collage, glue then stick down the paper and repeat.  This is a skill we are still working on.  After a few sessions of collaging, we decided to bring in paint.  The children helped pick the colors.  We used light blues, teals and purples to create the water.  During our first painting session the children used sponges.  We also used our hands and feathers during later sessions to add different effects.  The background for the mural is completed, but we are still working on adding more.  In the next few weeks we will be creating plants and coral to add more three dimensional effects to the piece.  We are also hoping to add some fish and other sea creatures to the mural.  Check out our work in progress as you drop off or pick up!

Reggie Rainbow Update

As many of you know we have been participating in the Reggie Rainbow program.  The children have been eager to try many of the new fruits and vegetables we have shared with them during the six weeks.  Each week we record the reactions of the children on a chart hanging on our door.  We have been doing the tastings Thursday afternoons, but we have also been cooking with the children during other sessions so majority of the children experience the different foods.  We have found the children really enjoy cooking in the classroom.  They have been able to use many different utensils and have been learning about new ingredients.  This experience has been great for the children, especially those who like to explore with all of their senses.  The children were able to taste many of their creations, as well as experience new smells and textures while creating the dishes.  We are hoping to continue cooking with the children.  If you have any suggestions for interesting ingredients or new dishes we should try, or if you want to come in and cook with the children we would love to hear from you!

Here are all of the different fruits and vegetables we have tried so far (as well as some of the recipes):
Red pears
Beets (beet chips)
Apricots (honey apricot frozen yogurt)
Sweet Potatoes (sweet potato fries)
Star Fruit
Yellow Peppers
Spaghetti Squash (tried it with marinara sauce)
Lemons (squeezed and tasted lemons)
Zucchini (zucchini chips)
Avocado (avocado and banana smoothie)
Figs
Cauliflower (cauliflower pizza crust with mushrooms on the pizza)
Garlic (garlic sauce)
Blackberries
Eggplant (eggplant Parmesan)
Plums (banana plum smoothie)
Mangos
Papaya
Prickly Pear/cactus fruit
Spinach (spinach and artichoke dip)

Creating a Terrarium

We had an empty fish tank in the classroom and decided to put it to good use.  Since we have plenty of fish already we thought we would use it to create a terrarium.  We love having new plants of various types for the children to look at and care for.  By creating a terrarium we felt the children would take more ownership over the plants.  Ms. Huff brought in four varieties of plants: a friendship plant, an aralia, a polka dot plant and a begonia.  The children were eager to help add the different layers.  We discussed what the plants needed to grow and explained the different layers would help the plants stay watered and healthy.  The children were so excited to create a habitat for the plants, so we are looking for more ways to introduce plants to the classroom.  We are definitely looking forward to spring and more opportunities in the garden.  For now we have been looking at some cuttings of plants and watching the growth of roots.  exploring the seeds from different fruits during reggie rainbow and watching the changes taking place to the plants on our playground.  We hope the children are just as eager to be working in the garden as we are!

Building

This semester the children have been working on many different building projects.  It has been our hope to introduce new materials and to encourage the children to think about their structures in different ways.  The children have been stuck on using mostly the magnatiles (I mean I can't blame them they are pretty neat) so we wanted to help break them out of that rut.  We have been working with large and small blocks, blocks of different shapes (including cylindrical PVC pipes) and recycled materials.  Building provides the children with opportunities to work alone, invite their peers into play or begin work on a structure together.  The children have been looking at images of different structures as well for inspiration.  It is neat for us to see some of the children come out of their shells and develop elaborate creations.  Building with different types of materials has also caused the children to be aware of ideas like balance and sturdiness.  The children are exploring balance in various ways using their bodies (see our other blog post for more about that), so thinking about balancing the structure relies on some of the same ideas.  We will continue to introduce different building materials; we just used small brick blocks today (hopefully some pictures to come soon). Check out some of the structures we have been creating below.  

Reggie Rainbow

This semester we are participating in the Reggie Rainbow program.  For seven weeks this semester we will be trying different fruits and vegetables in our classroom.  Each week we explore a different color of the rainbow and try a fruit and a vegetable of that color.  We will taste, touch, smell and observe the food.  The children will share their opinions on the food and then we will be using the food in a recipe.  We are hoping each of the children will have an opportunity to try at least one of the foods (either during our tasting session or during a cooking exploration).  We'll record the results on a chart on our front door.  Maybe you'll be try some of these foods at home too!

Last week we introduced the children to beets and red pears.  We talked about the color red at group time on Thursday.  Then the children each had a chance to sample the beets and pears.  The pears seemed to be a much bigger hit than the beets, but some children were intrigued.  The next day we used the beets in a recipe to create beet chips.  The children and teachers loved them! The children helped to slice the beets and then we covered them in oil and a little bit of salt.  The beets were baked for about an hour and then they were ready for tasting.  Next week we will be looking at the color orange.  The children will be sampling sweet potatoes and apricots.  We will be trying a frozen yogurt recipe as well as sweet potato fries.

Group Exploration with the Large Drum

We have been trying to introduce new materials to the children during group time.  The children enjoy hearing new stories, but we are always turning to find different things to explore.  We are trying to find materials which help the children engage in conversation and participate with their peers.  By introducing the large drum we are hoping to encourage more children to join in and to promote more conversation, while introducing some new vocabulary.

The children love any opportunity to make noise (or music as we like to call it), so the drum was the perfect instrument to introduce.  We experimented with ways to make loud and soft sounds.  We also experimented with different rhythms (fast and slow) as well as using one hand versus using both hands at one time.  This was a great opportunity to help the children develop their social skills by taking turns and working together make music.  We were excited to see that most of the children were eager to participate.  The children seemed to enjoy watching their classmates during the investigation.  They were eager to try out new ideas and build on what they already know about music.

In the future we plan to introduce more musical instruments, including the rhythm sticks and egg shakers.  Developing a strong sense of rhythm as well as working on patterning is important for this age group.  Being able to share ideas and work alongside/with their peers are also important skills.  These are some of the goals we work on during group time, but it is also an opportunity for us to come together as a group and work with our whole classroom community.  We can extend on ideas from the day's investigations and help discover more about what the children know.