We had a fun week in the classroom exploring our units of study and learning together.
The children continued to be interested in light and demonstrated this through their play. An "x-ray machine" was brought to their "veterinarian office" and the students took x-rays of each other, while pretending to be animals, by posing under the light table. They puzzled over which body part was represented by the picture on the x-ray; if the child underneath was facing in one direction, why did the x-ray picture show the opposite direction? At this age, the students' understanding of reality and fantasy is still fluid when they are fully engrossed in play.
The children struggled to understand how the picture showed the animal's head, when the child had not put his head underneath the table. The conversation and problem-solving went back-and-forth for fifteen minutes as propositions and hypotheses were offered. Allowing students to reach the point of healthy frustration, without offering answers right away, is an ideal learning zone. They are able to support and learn from each other. No resolution was reached at this point; the x-ray machine is still a somewhat mysterious force for the children to engage with and learn from in their play.
Students engaged with balls at the sensory table, eventually using them in a balance scale to support our measurement unit. They enjoyed scooping, touching, and rolling them. With sorting trays, they made observations about the number of balls in each tin, the color of the balls, and of course, engaged in pretend play such as making cupcakes or muffins for each other. The small size of the balls allowed the children to explore the concepts of heavier and lighter when measuring weight in the balancing scales later in the week.
We focused on the letter U, and many children reviewed letters we had worked on previously. The students are emerging writers and several wanted to show their letters to adults in the room. They are amazed when others can read their writing unprompted, and proud of their "writing superpower."
Students independently clean their boards after engaging in the "wet-dry-try" Handwriting Without Tears method of chalk writing.
Here are some more photos from our week together:
A new board game allowed students to show their growing numeracy awareness in many ways.
Next Week:
The children will be embarking on a new unit of study, which perfectly suits them: Living Things and Growth. It is easy to see how this will meet a variety of their interests including the veterinarian's office, wild animals in the block area, and planting seeds.
We will continue to study measurement, introducing the concept of volume by discussing which types of containers are best for holding big or small objects.
Circle Solutions:
Last week, we saw some lovely reminders of "why" we do circle solutions in the classroom. The program develops empathy and wellbeing, not just at carpet time, but throughout the day. At one point, a child dropped a tray of small balls from the sensory table. Understandably, they scattered everywhere! Immediately, all of the students in the vicinity stopped what they were doing and helped to clean up the mess- without prompting by any adult. It was incredible to see the compassion and responsibility demonstrated by these young children for their classmate. The messages and conversations we share during circle solutions help build a framework for this type of thinking and behavior.
Similarly, during our morning meeting, a student raised her hand for a turn to speak. She said she wanted to give someone at the carpet a compliment. The rest of the class then took turns sharing compliments with each other, about a variety of topics: how they were sitting, being a good friend, the color of their shirt. Gratitude and appreciation is another idea we discuss frequently at circle. We love circle solutions and we are so glad to be able to play games and have conversations each day to support and explore these behaviors and attitudes.
Reminders:
Thanks, families, for packing your library bags each week to support your children's growing independence. All thirteen students (one absence) brought their library bags today! Bravo!
ALL FAMILIES, important!: Please bring extra clothes for your child to school! Every child needs an extra set of warm clothes in his/her cubby, including underwear, socks, pants, and a shirt.
If your child has worn any extra clothes home that belong to CAC, please return them. Our extra clothes supply has vanished since the beginning of the year, which once included multiple pairs of pants, shorts, shirts, sweaters, socks, and shoes. If you notice anything in your laundry that does not look like yours, please return it to the classroom. These items have been donated to the classroom or purchased by the teacher and it is very important to have extra PreK sized clothes on hand in case of emergencies.
Upcoming Events:
On Tuesday, January 30th we will have an open house for prospective parents.
Family Math Night is approaching on Wednesday, February 7th from 4:15-5:15. Please join us in the PreK classroom and learn some of the fun math games we have been playing in the classroom to learn about conceptual math, including numeracy, shapes, and measurement!
On Thursday, February 8th we will have a family picnic. PreK lunch is from 11:00-11:30. You are welcome to join us! Please be sure to pack a healthy lunch (you can bring a lunch and eat with us, too!) but remember our school rule, we don't share food with each other for safety reasons; some students have allergies. See you then!
Parents' Corner:
As a follow up to last week's article on deciding what to do ahead of time, here is an article about responding respectfully - even in times when both you and your child "lose your cool." Planning ahead is important here, too! It is so important to model respectful, compassionate interactions, both during calm moments and during conflict. Click on the link if you are interested in learning more!
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