tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-360387353350770942024-02-14T14:54:47.008-06:00little preschool on the prairienews from our Reggio-Inspired preschoolMs. Erin's HeartRoomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08494290827491084710noreply@blogger.comBlogger109125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36038735335077094.post-8848512605681385242012-11-08T08:40:00.002-06:002012-11-08T08:40:55.492-06:00A present for the new tree<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">One last blog post I found as a draft...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Recently 'Facilities' came to our playground with with a front-end loader to dig a hole and plant a tree. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The children watched carefully as the hole was dug with the auger and the tree was planted by the workers. As they watched they journaled what they saw. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">After the tree was planted the children talked to the tree and ran up to give it hugs in welcome.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Coincidentally</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">, we had just discovered the book </span><u style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The Giving Tree</u><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> by Shel Silverstein. THe children were </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">completely</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> captured by the tree's generosity and how giving to the boy made her so happy. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Since I had recently drilled holes in some bottle caps to string, I asked the children if they wanted to string the caps to make a garland as a present for the tree. I asked them if they thought that would make the tree happy. They agreed. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">After we hung the garland, I asked the children why we made a gift for the tree. Here is the following conversation:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">H: Because it's really special and nice.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">K: It's nice. It has a decoration.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">C: We made a present. It was so much fun. I love the tree! The tree is so pretty.I want to tell the tree, "I love you."</span>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">M: It's really nice.</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The tree doesn't have a mouth. Cuz the tree never talks. Except for wind mills, cuz they have wind. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">K: It's nice. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Ms. Erin: If the tree could talk, what would it say?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">H: Thank you. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">S: It would say hello. Ooooh. I have a name for him....Branchy!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">M: It would say, Happy Birthday! His birthday is Saturday the 8th. It's 8 years old. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Ms. Erin: How can you tell it's 8 years old?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">M:I can tell because it's tall. Or maybe it's 12 years old. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Ms. Erin: So if you are tall, you are older?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">M: Yes. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Ms: Erin: B is tall. Is he older? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">M: Yes. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Ms. Erin: B, how old are you? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">B: Five. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Ms. Erin: Is B older than you, M? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">M: No. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Ms: Erin: But B is taller than you! He is taller than you, but he is not older. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">M: Yeah. Hmmm. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">C: I think he is 12 cuz he's a giant. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">No, it's 8 cuz I just counted..1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 (points to the ground then raises finger to the top branch) </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Ms. Erin: Do you mean he is 8 tall?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">C: Yes. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Our gift for the tree (a photo of a printout, sorry!):</span><br />
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Ms. Erin's HeartRoomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08494290827491084710noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36038735335077094.post-42732755199911723442012-11-08T07:58:00.005-06:002012-11-08T07:59:12.112-06:00Apologies! <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Hi everyone, </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I do apologize for not posting here in a while, but I've gone through some very major changes in my personal life and my career. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">On that note, this site will </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">probably</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> remain dormant for a while, as I have moved out of the classroom and taken a position as the curriculum specialist for our agency. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I want to thank you for visiting Ms. Erin's Room and for providing your support and feedback. It's been a blessing! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">However, I'm not done blogging. I have been asked to create a new blog that will cover the events and activities throughout our entire center, from infant-toddler through our school age program. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">If you would like, please feel free to visit us:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">http://gsufamilydevelopmentcenter.blogspot.com/</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Again, thank you so much for your support! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Erin</span></div>
Ms. Erin's HeartRoomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08494290827491084710noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36038735335077094.post-53928952164301747192012-05-14T12:08:00.001-05:002012-05-14T12:11:56.690-05:00angry birds<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
T<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">his project started when M and H were going to visit one another after school. They told me that they were going to play Angry Birds. In the block area, M began create structures adorned with pigs represented by cups or plastic flowers (from our collection of loose parts). Many children came to check it out and talk about their experience with Angry Birds.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">While they were building I discreetly set their journals beside them in hopes they would draw. They got the message. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl2uRlUWrtv-BaHOL0qsL5iybbhl81JWA4B-jXQ-ypUC5CcKLiQe9OW_PEsJzGOdRhBreupeaU9gvNhi6QjZkjPIpda-id6j0W4Vs8NBr5Q5Qe7z4gBlIhwptIN1n01F7f9of2Ce264g/s1600/IMAG0132.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl2uRlUWrtv-BaHOL0qsL5iybbhl81JWA4B-jXQ-ypUC5CcKLiQe9OW_PEsJzGOdRhBreupeaU9gvNhi6QjZkjPIpda-id6j0W4Vs8NBr5Q5Qe7z4gBlIhwptIN1n01F7f9of2Ce264g/s320/IMAG0132.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">As they proceeded they talked about what level they were building. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">M: "I'm making an Angry Birds game. Mine is level 100."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">H: "This is level 45. The green thing is a pig."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Ms. Erin: How is level 1 different from level 100?"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">H: "Because it's hard."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">V:This level has tons of pigs. It's level 155. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">H: I don't know that level. My dad on his phone can finish that level. But I can only play on the weekends. It's really complicated.</span><br />
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<br /></div>Ms. Erin's HeartRoomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08494290827491084710noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36038735335077094.post-86426781546318383132012-03-15T08:20:00.001-05:002012-03-15T08:20:27.784-05:00paint mixing using contact paper<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I got this idea from my son <a href="http://hislittleworldofwonder.blogspot.com/">J's</a> teacher, Ms. Katie (J attends the infant/toddler school at my center). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It's genius!</span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BoPCPYDw-Ig/T2Dx9WjtEhI/AAAAAAAAEYA/svnMqN5rViI/s903/IMAG0009.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="191" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BoPCPYDw-Ig/T2Dx9WjtEhI/AAAAAAAAEYA/svnMqN5rViI/s320/IMAG0009.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">All you do is sandwich paint between two layers of contact paper (sticky side down) and the children use their hands to slide the paint around until it's mixed. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It is super easy to set up, and it's clean. Which is great for those times when you can't be directly supervising a messy activity. </span></div>Ms. Erin's HeartRoomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08494290827491084710noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36038735335077094.post-14999746672730783602012-03-11T18:38:00.000-05:002012-03-11T18:38:08.132-05:00Chicago Skyscrapers<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Here is a little bit of documentation from what is turning into our Chicago Skyscraper Project. It began with children building <a href="http://mserinsroom.blogspot.com/2012/02/designing-with-loose-parts.html">skyscrapers </a>in the <a href="http://mserinsroom.blogspot.com/2012/02/designing-with-loose-parts.html">block </a>area.</span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4oS6DSJ2DKQ/T0Kuk0vCz4I/AAAAAAAAEQ8/LsnLWsrGPBs/s722/IMG_20120214_133732.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4oS6DSJ2DKQ/T0Kuk0vCz4I/AAAAAAAAEQ8/LsnLWsrGPBs/s320/IMG_20120214_133732.jpg" width="238" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Later I brought out a bucket of wood pieces and set them on the table in invitation. The children began building their skyscrapers, but more, they began naming their buildings after skyscrapers specific to Chicago. After flipping through a coffee table book on the subject that I keep near the block area, the children began talking about other Chicago landmarks and attractions they had seen. So we painted the blocks and glued them together with our <a href="http://mserinsroom.blogspot.com/2012/02/you-have-to-be-very-careful-glue-gun-is.html">low-temp glue guns</a>. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM4-hX-WmREst98h0RE55aI5nen6UL2HgNz_GsMGPCYDdzNVHkjBS6jVxoSb8cnI_2lPSlnO7GkHoNpGNPzT-MPae4kplOZkG0Nz7gfG8Tn-nldufrZN360v_9aA91ROGWs58pFsWTJw/s851/IMAG0076.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM4-hX-WmREst98h0RE55aI5nen6UL2HgNz_GsMGPCYDdzNVHkjBS6jVxoSb8cnI_2lPSlnO7GkHoNpGNPzT-MPae4kplOZkG0Nz7gfG8Tn-nldufrZN360v_9aA91ROGWs58pFsWTJw/s320/IMAG0076.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The children (not all of them, some were content to just build towers) named their sky scrapers and we set them on a mirror. I offered some gems, rocks, and sea glass and they used these to create Lake Michigan, train tracks, and Lake Shore Drive.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN4pYaf4VQmc1Bm2PKoz7mRlywZf8p2BQklUfLBTDCI8PUUTz-_dvknpmxjWllG16UzxST3umNB5Fr29jc7a4uiSe8ec-FjrYXcVb5KDdP-WKJ6mFAeOnIBisbWaHcyIwOzb9BJ53QVw/s851/IMAG0099.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN4pYaf4VQmc1Bm2PKoz7mRlywZf8p2BQklUfLBTDCI8PUUTz-_dvknpmxjWllG16UzxST3umNB5Fr29jc7a4uiSe8ec-FjrYXcVb5KDdP-WKJ6mFAeOnIBisbWaHcyIwOzb9BJ53QVw/s320/IMAG0099.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Here are the "Corn Cobs" (Marina City), CNA Plaza, and the Metra train (It's not the "L", its a train on a bridge that goes to down town, the train that H's daddy takes)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Also labeled is the Willis Tower, Cloudgate, and the John Hancock. One child observed that the Willis Tower and John Hancock have two antennas, another informed us that it is antennae NOT antennas.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Their final configuration:</span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zSBt3jJb40Y/T1y_06AHxuI/AAAAAAAAEXU/h9VkwN3o4Ws/s851/IMAG0102.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zSBt3jJb40Y/T1y_06AHxuI/AAAAAAAAEXU/h9VkwN3o4Ws/s320/IMAG0102.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>Ms. Erin's HeartRoomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08494290827491084710noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36038735335077094.post-71094173689637895372012-03-02T15:11:00.000-06:002012-03-02T15:11:01.267-06:00shape and shadow<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I recently bought a few Petri dishes to display odds and ends in. I filled them up with various items the children are familiar with and placed them on the light table.<br />
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I so wish I had a better camera. The pictures came out so weird.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpEdCVSWLenv_ASeaUEXTf2MIUaUNewMSKwMgt0gbrdfpne7ylSpxyDBHi5K63o1GiC65iKaf3K5QEu0-VtyNXnNmKnOjF4-e22fnKmmcpqaHq6n2Qh2Etxk_s13iL_4zKuMxMJTN0zg/s903/IMAG0083.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpEdCVSWLenv_ASeaUEXTf2MIUaUNewMSKwMgt0gbrdfpne7ylSpxyDBHi5K63o1GiC65iKaf3K5QEu0-VtyNXnNmKnOjF4-e22fnKmmcpqaHq6n2Qh2Etxk_s13iL_4zKuMxMJTN0zg/s320/IMAG0083.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Items include buttons, a bubble wand, chain, wall hooks, bubble wrap, plastic rings, glass gems, keys, puzzle pieces, mosaic tiles, pine cones, sea shells, tile spacers, and Mardi Gras beads.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vWWo1_Oem_g/T1EScu2TLcI/AAAAAAAAEU0/gczlhCBercg/s903/IMAG0084.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vWWo1_Oem_g/T1EScu2TLcI/AAAAAAAAEU0/gczlhCBercg/s320/IMAG0084.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br /></div>Ms. Erin's HeartRoomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08494290827491084710noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36038735335077094.post-68472276824891514232012-02-20T15:04:00.000-06:002012-02-20T15:04:30.715-06:00skyscrapers, in another "language"-<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The children are constantly constructing skyscrapers in the block area, with blocks, Legos, and anything at all that is stackable. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kHb-bjTjMkQ/T0KLhnGC5-I/AAAAAAAAEOQ/vH5PwYuhd6k/s722/IMAG0011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kHb-bjTjMkQ/T0KLhnGC5-I/AAAAAAAAEOQ/vH5PwYuhd6k/s320/IMAG0011.jpg" width="191" /></a></div><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">They frequently talk about the Willis Tower and tend to refer to a coffee table book depicting many of the skyscrapers along the Chicago skyline while they play.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4oS6DSJ2DKQ/T0Kuk0vCz4I/AAAAAAAAEQ8/LsnLWsrGPBs/s722/IMG_20120214_133732.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4oS6DSJ2DKQ/T0Kuk0vCz4I/AAAAAAAAEQ8/LsnLWsrGPBs/s320/IMG_20120214_133732.jpg" width="238" /></a></div><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Recently I discovered that these white, cube-shaped boxes were being recycled by our cooking staff. Of course I snatched them up to use as loose parts and asked if we would be getting more. In fact, we would, every Monday be getting 10 new boxes so every Monday afternoon I stalked Mr. Paul, our cook, to make sure they didn't get thrown out. Currently we have a set of 45...</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCEWEN-kygqp1_XPc0m0GuH_H5CDk_YSeV18eSK6-CN08XM2jtQSb6HwTqjR9qAeMI3iGEdvF2t_MDraC1CljySjg8C70VOJa46wPkvfEG8luFDXqXrs52PgeXk92pUNtL0oNTX8yUGA/s1600/blocks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCEWEN-kygqp1_XPc0m0GuH_H5CDk_YSeV18eSK6-CN08XM2jtQSb6HwTqjR9qAeMI3iGEdvF2t_MDraC1CljySjg8C70VOJa46wPkvfEG8luFDXqXrs52PgeXk92pUNtL0oNTX8yUGA/s320/blocks.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">So the children have been enjoying stacking (and demolishing) their "skyscrapers" formulating and reformulating their structures every day. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWd46i-bXbXI-tr2N2vZ5Y2MypA15cCLy19aKxl2VFRgt-orann7xAhSDLpU6uV_xjix7u_pYuOPW7A5aF7_PfL8hY-aEG3RkcT9ycXx6V_ValKVBH45IAOghZzcBMh7R0rg9Mui_5Cw/s1600/IMG_20120216_100330.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWd46i-bXbXI-tr2N2vZ5Y2MypA15cCLy19aKxl2VFRgt-orann7xAhSDLpU6uV_xjix7u_pYuOPW7A5aF7_PfL8hY-aEG3RkcT9ycXx6V_ValKVBH45IAOghZzcBMh7R0rg9Mui_5Cw/s320/IMG_20120216_100330.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Pretty soon I am going to have to figure out a new location for these boxes as they will be taking over our classroom soon! </span><br />
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</div>Ms. Erin's HeartRoomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08494290827491084710noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36038735335077094.post-5421646958303643332012-02-20T13:30:00.000-06:002012-02-20T13:30:59.068-06:00"You have to be very careful, the glue gun is hot. Seriously, I'm not kidding!"<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I didn't even know that there was such a thing as low temperature glue guns until I learned about them from <a href="http://www.e11playschool.com/">E11 Playschool</a>- a fellow Reggio-Inspired nursery school in Colorado. I ordered three from <a href="http://shop.hobbylobby.com/store/item.aspx?ItemId=172271">Hobby Lobby</a> (they have them for $2.99, and they offer a 40% off coupon!). The glue guns do get hot, so there is still a need to be cautious, but no where near as hot as regular glue guns. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">To begin, we brought out our trusty journals and drew a picture of what we wanted to create. Then they searched through our "<a href="http://mserinsroom.blogspot.com/2010/10/our-beautiful-stuffed-envelopes.html">Beautiful Stuff"</a> collection of loose parts to translate their ideas in another "<a href="http://www.chevychasereggio.com/poem.htm">language</a>". </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Some children enjoyed just gluing random objects together. Most of the children chose to make robots.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Random gluing:</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig1A1X0gIcaKOmP9SG27zji3GxNvQhEXFpfl083fLH6TUNjNZx2ddXkZd1XHOhU7sFZyyj4Kn-1U4_661Y5InKXsB1E-sRFLhmOTpwYCGaFBCUxcCZ4J-9SevNKeTyy_FiqI_cYi6NHQ/s1600/IMAG0020.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig1A1X0gIcaKOmP9SG27zji3GxNvQhEXFpfl083fLH6TUNjNZx2ddXkZd1XHOhU7sFZyyj4Kn-1U4_661Y5InKXsB1E-sRFLhmOTpwYCGaFBCUxcCZ4J-9SevNKeTyy_FiqI_cYi6NHQ/s320/IMAG0020.jpg" width="191" /></a></div><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Making robots:</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinTMW5xsQTY1gjN0NeWE6bsunK2_D6b70chj16R1xcQ0zQSaOw-2Ek7uE7qU3J7bigSoq4BAfpWOP0J_kL8MM1rCdtB_Yh8pfFJFO8L0itnNXcc374ePYgekNDI7aJuroKQgmPYwlUog/s1600/glue+gun+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinTMW5xsQTY1gjN0NeWE6bsunK2_D6b70chj16R1xcQ0zQSaOw-2Ek7uE7qU3J7bigSoq4BAfpWOP0J_kL8MM1rCdtB_Yh8pfFJFO8L0itnNXcc374ePYgekNDI7aJuroKQgmPYwlUog/s320/glue+gun+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYtGe_JjMteoPEdsUXGPpY9XsOQMPOoQxOoeWT-U0LUVVCSo72v7rh3bPvUIkZfhufd-wM8cExz0G9nKmGZmQeRzT7uCoa7nRe60rDqCEmS7Pj9oIBUD8S56U-bk4w1c3nDWpLM8D3uw/s1600/glue+gun+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYtGe_JjMteoPEdsUXGPpY9XsOQMPOoQxOoeWT-U0LUVVCSo72v7rh3bPvUIkZfhufd-wM8cExz0G9nKmGZmQeRzT7uCoa7nRe60rDqCEmS7Pj9oIBUD8S56U-bk4w1c3nDWpLM8D3uw/s320/glue+gun+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOlDoxJs4lCIla6wLF0nrIuMgvpsusVmmPNNct7tdMi5JPlqIhptVwC5zkXkEuy9vY5JrrSsadN8lnLJX8xEjKuFf0DB7Mm6pWtdWOTQXiFnwS8LkCskwESW0fTNiQYNp6rcTIHvQCog/s1600/robot+collection.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOlDoxJs4lCIla6wLF0nrIuMgvpsusVmmPNNct7tdMi5JPlqIhptVwC5zkXkEuy9vY5JrrSsadN8lnLJX8xEjKuFf0DB7Mm6pWtdWOTQXiFnwS8LkCskwESW0fTNiQYNp6rcTIHvQCog/s320/robot+collection.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Here is a flower one child made, which she proudly showed off to her daddy:</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ6QPDB9bxfSiOd6ZdfmQrraAUJMkYwUbvJbiMt4PvkemNk_uqt6ujhdeofHTebNQqHXPeeMrdlTS9aiuC5gcjxbsyEuTYcf_nWqQHhe0M1bkoQbYDYWSjdNeKLKN79r7BDXSmayFuFA/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="314" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ6QPDB9bxfSiOd6ZdfmQrraAUJMkYwUbvJbiMt4PvkemNk_uqt6ujhdeofHTebNQqHXPeeMrdlTS9aiuC5gcjxbsyEuTYcf_nWqQHhe0M1bkoQbYDYWSjdNeKLKN79r7BDXSmayFuFA/s320/1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Ms. Erin: Do you want to share any thoughts about your flower? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">A: Thank you.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Ms.Erin: You are welcome.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">:)</span><br />
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</span></div>Ms. Erin's HeartRoomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08494290827491084710noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36038735335077094.post-71565545868128728732012-02-06T20:13:00.000-06:002012-02-06T20:13:09.484-06:00loose parts~ metal & magnets<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Today I thought I would introduce the children to magnets. At first, as will all new materials, the children played the magnets themselves sticking them to the metal cans and stacking them. When they were content with their initial explorations, they branched out and began adding metal items from our recyclable collection to the magnets creating layered effects.</span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mAUuk9LRQns/TzBFtym369I/AAAAAAAAEM8/BN89lQMCQBc/w353-h264-k/IMG_20120206_132430.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mAUuk9LRQns/TzBFtym369I/AAAAAAAAEM8/BN89lQMCQBc/w353-h264-k/IMG_20120206_132430.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-H_1gSUrKkrY/TzBF3-PE9VI/AAAAAAAAENE/MH70pJSyB8k/w353-h264-k/IMG_20120206_132214.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-H_1gSUrKkrY/TzBF3-PE9VI/AAAAAAAAENE/MH70pJSyB8k/w353-h264-k/IMG_20120206_132214.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> As they worked with the materials, they named their creations 'robot' or 'spaceship' and began telling stories while they worked. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SdECbbmZJZo/TzBGd8qYmPI/AAAAAAAAENc/hqUjd_tEsJc/w389-h291-k/IMG_20120206_095410.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SdECbbmZJZo/TzBGd8qYmPI/AAAAAAAAENc/hqUjd_tEsJc/w389-h291-k/IMG_20120206_095410.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Some children figured out how to get objects to stand up...</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiW4gAI6UtpdrPQtGdxI9TxT7t0OIOPirW438SVtD1NYVkr9W4q7AAJid5SG6Cg9wJ2Xgmo3kQOjwfACAFnVKETzYndAWaUYkY5lAf4Ev0MnQJ_jp24Esy9M1lRJbtN8Ll65f-m3jqUA/w389-h291-k/IMG_20120206_131945.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiW4gAI6UtpdrPQtGdxI9TxT7t0OIOPirW438SVtD1NYVkr9W4q7AAJid5SG6Cg9wJ2Xgmo3kQOjwfACAFnVKETzYndAWaUYkY5lAf4Ev0MnQJ_jp24Esy9M1lRJbtN8Ll65f-m3jqUA/w389-h291-k/IMG_20120206_131945.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">and another used horizontal space.</span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHHPOY6sCREQVjuw11y7t_UcJ_yrQBaHjZswetnv6ujgN3zhgWIuQYDYdFoma3UHPuu9vMoQc6qrR_SIv-R-aGQIV1wkzO1TcjX-JL_fwv5Zx0N0cywKAIZXgonP_3rZtBja6qzdl6IQ/s640/IMG_20120206_100206.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHHPOY6sCREQVjuw11y7t_UcJ_yrQBaHjZswetnv6ujgN3zhgWIuQYDYdFoma3UHPuu9vMoQc6qrR_SIv-R-aGQIV1wkzO1TcjX-JL_fwv5Zx0N0cywKAIZXgonP_3rZtBja6qzdl6IQ/s320/IMG_20120206_100206.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br />
</div><div><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The end!</span></div></div></div>Ms. Erin's HeartRoomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08494290827491084710noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36038735335077094.post-59048778958595897632012-02-04T08:34:00.000-06:002012-02-04T08:34:39.477-06:00designing with loose parts<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">A few days ago the children were building roads on which to drive their cars. At the end of the road they built skyscrapers. When their interest seemed to decline I offered some florist gems and rocks to decorate their skyscrapers. We began by placing gems on the buildings, but then decided to add to the ground around the buildings.</span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF7wbj5Tu-DYQS6_vu_UTGk083hCcfBmYB9o-PRblnQSvhyPKvEAlQAts47_VC3TmsUOlRalgFTQmrBBDU3vdQ9LrhvpiXNlHETVkybw_tpoTtI7E_ZUAHlvw22LHQ_uWaAc9iYyGKjw/w389-h291-k/IMG_20120201_133422.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF7wbj5Tu-DYQS6_vu_UTGk083hCcfBmYB9o-PRblnQSvhyPKvEAlQAts47_VC3TmsUOlRalgFTQmrBBDU3vdQ9LrhvpiXNlHETVkybw_tpoTtI7E_ZUAHlvw22LHQ_uWaAc9iYyGKjw/w389-h291-k/IMG_20120201_133422.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> Finally we ended up making green grass, white sidewalks and a blue river. This activity I heavily scaffolded by using the white rocks to create an outline for the river. I hope to continue to scaffold these types of activities until the children are able to create them on their own.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSgWjlZFRbOsSDWK24_W_aUk2YB3XcO4D9HyKCaCmvStxqKo_e7EoBLP2rFy_vYD6swubeuj9NPJqAbEMx_vXaaIKN9RYD8Mg0q0lojb-yzLcnCKKsPcgrBjk1FyKD8W-QhdRfkUmuwQ/w389-h291-k/IMG_20120201_132853.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSgWjlZFRbOsSDWK24_W_aUk2YB3XcO4D9HyKCaCmvStxqKo_e7EoBLP2rFy_vYD6swubeuj9NPJqAbEMx_vXaaIKN9RYD8Mg0q0lojb-yzLcnCKKsPcgrBjk1FyKD8W-QhdRfkUmuwQ/w389-h291-k/IMG_20120201_132853.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div></div>Ms. Erin's HeartRoomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08494290827491084710noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36038735335077094.post-67644726374380347622011-10-07T14:32:00.000-05:002011-10-07T14:32:15.267-05:00sidewalk paint<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We mixed equal parts corn starch and water to create this paint. The children helped stir in food coloring to make the paint come alive. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CgtylBy3Lc8/To8jVtmGscI/AAAAAAAAEHg/QalA3TkLrGU/s912/IMG_20111006_141103.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="238" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CgtylBy3Lc8/To8jVtmGscI/AAAAAAAAEHg/QalA3TkLrGU/s320/IMG_20111006_141103.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We took advantage of the gorgeous weather and painted the sidewalk:</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RAC5J-4YlU8/To8hrZkQQoI/AAAAAAAAEHQ/MP43s5yPwLQ/s912/IMG_20111006_142248.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="238" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RAC5J-4YlU8/To8hrZkQQoI/AAAAAAAAEHQ/MP43s5yPwLQ/s320/IMG_20111006_142248.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The result was a beautiful mess of what the children called butterflies, rainbows, houses and letters. I love how the cornstarch gives the paint a smooth texture when it dries. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_sA-BK800WU/To8h7Od8HAI/AAAAAAAAEHU/NDr1yBYG2fo/s640/IMG_20111006_151948.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_sA-BK800WU/To8h7Od8HAI/AAAAAAAAEHU/NDr1yBYG2fo/s320/IMG_20111006_151948.jpg" width="239" /></span></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The end!</span></div>Ms. Erin's HeartRoomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08494290827491084710noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36038735335077094.post-28753590570450589882011-10-07T14:13:00.000-05:002011-10-07T14:13:45.251-05:00sorting bottle caps<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We have TONS of bottle caps thanks to our cook and donations from parents. Since we were running out of places to store them I figured it was time for a sorting activity. I set out different colored paper onto which the children could match the caps. That was all that was needed as the children intuitively 'got' the intended invitation. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rvArJwYXPr8/To9Nli-8NdI/AAAAAAAAEH0/sCoURnh4Mc4/s912/P1010623.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rvArJwYXPr8/To9Nli-8NdI/AAAAAAAAEH0/sCoURnh4Mc4/s320/P1010623.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The children pointed out that I was missing a few colors so I added black, tan and purple paper as well...</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2urEzgUHrAqjPcrlsqgYaOmkIBGLLsgir1a0ZJS63rXvCByJiEyR9gHz0BaDJRPXwzT9EXV97nkswPZ6_Kxx7fFpWm5ngZ5ry04R5_2l26ELhEbP4UGzMI8z0yckKTRD8qmDOuTT4oA/s640/P1010625.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2urEzgUHrAqjPcrlsqgYaOmkIBGLLsgir1a0ZJS63rXvCByJiEyR9gHz0BaDJRPXwzT9EXV97nkswPZ6_Kxx7fFpWm5ngZ5ry04R5_2l26ELhEbP4UGzMI8z0yckKTRD8qmDOuTT4oA/s320/P1010625.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">There were only a few 'tricky' colors that did not quite match (like a cap that was an orangish-yellow). But they indeed drove us all nuts because they didn't quite fit in either category. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The end! </span></div>Ms. Erin's HeartRoomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08494290827491084710noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36038735335077094.post-56718157689841262752011-09-23T13:04:00.000-05:002011-09-23T13:04:17.967-05:00Paint rollers and deck shade<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">My parents were getting rid of one of their broken, faux bamboo deck shades and offered it to me before throwing it out. Of course I took it and squirreled it away in our recycle room. It HUGE and it made a great canvas for using our paint rollers. I set it up in our atrium which is a great place to do large, messy work. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">So far we've painted it blue, yellow (which turned it green) and red. I figure we will just keep painting it different colors until the children lose interest or come up with a different plan. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lYcqi7B_LK8/TnjKS-BAtEI/AAAAAAAAEFk/iml1c-yH_GY/s640/IMG_20110920_104805.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lYcqi7B_LK8/TnjKS-BAtEI/AAAAAAAAEFk/iml1c-yH_GY/s320/IMG_20110920_104805.jpg" width="239" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I know when adults walk by and let out excited squeals it's a good activity. Anything that brings out a grown-ups an inner child is A-OK with me! </span></div>Ms. Erin's HeartRoomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08494290827491084710noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36038735335077094.post-41508960647122075232011-09-23T12:54:00.000-05:002011-09-23T12:54:57.532-05:00Post-it note patterns<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aA_U0RzvcbE/Tnyt-sEc-II/AAAAAAAAEGo/MP7eT5pSejw/s912/IMG_20110923_100440.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="238" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aA_U0RzvcbE/Tnyt-sEc-II/AAAAAAAAEGo/MP7eT5pSejw/s320/IMG_20110923_100440.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">This idea came from the<a href="http://bakersandastronauts.blogspot.com/"> Bakers and Astronaut </a>Reggio-inspired blog. I started the children off with an AB pattern and encouraged them to continue it. It began left to right but the children gravitated to a vertical flow because it was easier for them to understand that yellow goes under blue and blue goes under yellow. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Once they understood that, the post it notes flew! </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsT1k6tYLvqg5Kp_7RKKFhgAWcC_RA_eqEr8o_kpxT5FvgmFpB5BSZAm3bKLC7V00xYlPGEuH9ZkbdNhYbMpDm2unSki7HXMTFloz_zHQiyFWvSYjUEgJCf9uAP_CbHC3c5kdFAQcCtw/s640/IMG_20110923_100900.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsT1k6tYLvqg5Kp_7RKKFhgAWcC_RA_eqEr8o_kpxT5FvgmFpB5BSZAm3bKLC7V00xYlPGEuH9ZkbdNhYbMpDm2unSki7HXMTFloz_zHQiyFWvSYjUEgJCf9uAP_CbHC3c5kdFAQcCtw/s320/IMG_20110923_100900.jpg" width="239" /></span></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">They filled the bottom half of the door:</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkJJnj4gQIk79firng1ylXo5oPipXG2-sToibNGDu7Yf1f52DR0IRiFczn4ex8oK7PVCw1a-dkRZpWJlQti6jRNskMnEG7yLfhqfp9VjRRG-5IvMakNPX-PTzURpZbsUoeLLWN0dhQ1g/s640/IMG_20110923_101152.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkJJnj4gQIk79firng1ylXo5oPipXG2-sToibNGDu7Yf1f52DR0IRiFczn4ex8oK7PVCw1a-dkRZpWJlQti6jRNskMnEG7yLfhqfp9VjRRG-5IvMakNPX-PTzURpZbsUoeLLWN0dhQ1g/s320/IMG_20110923_101152.jpg" width="239" /></span></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Since they ran out of space on this door we moved to the other door and I offered the children their choice of colors:</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6d9QVvDnqwU/TnystXv0ybI/AAAAAAAAEGc/p6j9RtrWAvc/s640/IMG_20110923_105727.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6d9QVvDnqwU/TnystXv0ybI/AAAAAAAAEGc/p6j9RtrWAvc/s320/IMG_20110923_105727.jpg" width="239" /></span></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Three colors was much more challenging, and they worked together to correct mistakes noticing when the pattern was off. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Hopefully they will get the concepts of patterns soon and I can stand back and let them design their own creations out of color and shape. </span></div>Ms. Erin's HeartRoomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08494290827491084710noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36038735335077094.post-43475806067554870572011-09-21T15:25:00.000-05:002011-09-21T15:25:49.333-05:003D Robots<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">A little while ago H <a href="http://mserinsroom.blogspot.com/2011/09/storytelling-with-three-dimensional.html">expressed his interest in robots</a>. Today I asked him if he would like to create another robot using recyclable materials. Indeed he did. We worked with wood glue and duct tape to create this masterpiece:</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KiHAyPRNSkE/TnjLGjVylJI/AAAAAAAAEFw/z_5pCm11-70/s640/IMG_20110920_095632.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KiHAyPRNSkE/TnjLGjVylJI/AAAAAAAAEFw/z_5pCm11-70/s320/IMG_20110920_095632.jpg" width="239" /></span></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">After he drew a representation in his journal and told me about it:</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeDl4JzbiBcCTyAyI5BBmzxOH746ttTXT7nuQS8ZkzWAkgL8i5qs6Fo5_PWrgrvTxZ05a_dSPuExJUK31a39JciNtFvJSbkVO_piaDCVY_v1Src-jUEblUgyqtDMDOr4EXO9oDG8LdLg/s800/IMG_20110920_095540.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeDl4JzbiBcCTyAyI5BBmzxOH746ttTXT7nuQS8ZkzWAkgL8i5qs6Fo5_PWrgrvTxZ05a_dSPuExJUK31a39JciNtFvJSbkVO_piaDCVY_v1Src-jUEblUgyqtDMDOr4EXO9oDG8LdLg/s320/IMG_20110920_095540.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"It has a weapon. It can go to a planet."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">While H was creating his robot M decided to make one too:</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Journal:</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfnUFeirzZhpF8SPAnwJayf_J2JX2miRia7T6_Lo7yERrkyCnlWrlc8QT5XFU9TfGIoaaVZ1osjN2ExTJfMdlEKfikC6JD47oRrSNRP1_Hv83x9KHKrltISTPx_VkoPJqJ8ZndwzeojQ/s640/IMG_20110920_100401.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfnUFeirzZhpF8SPAnwJayf_J2JX2miRia7T6_Lo7yERrkyCnlWrlc8QT5XFU9TfGIoaaVZ1osjN2ExTJfMdlEKfikC6JD47oRrSNRP1_Hv83x9KHKrltISTPx_VkoPJqJ8ZndwzeojQ/s320/IMG_20110920_100401.jpg" width="239" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">M had this to say:</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">First the white thing's under the robot. Then the arms are over here so he can wave. The circles are so in case the robot falls. And he can talk a lot and he has a helmet too. And then it has two eyes. And there is the part of his body. And that's his neck. And this is his head and this is his chin. And that's all. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">C wanted to create a robot too, but she chose to add objects to paper, perhaps because she created her journal first, then created her robot or because we glued to paper previously:</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNFehcUfl4bP24P_MiYVs9VixHFXVCZRWJpBCZMbVAAXAcWKs-kQ-a28HK0Wk8te964JuNuPTxbDvbm22kZWwwDyUO_GF-GoheFVjrPVINItcvbpgGCb9bN7XJY1iJShtYIUzV8uLCDA/s640/IMG_20110921_081037.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNFehcUfl4bP24P_MiYVs9VixHFXVCZRWJpBCZMbVAAXAcWKs-kQ-a28HK0Wk8te964JuNuPTxbDvbm22kZWwwDyUO_GF-GoheFVjrPVINItcvbpgGCb9bN7XJY1iJShtYIUzV8uLCDA/s320/IMG_20110921_081037.jpg" width="239" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GtacCDuYO84/TnjKer5vmrI/AAAAAAAAEGE/zUuViIKeIyY/s640/IMG_20110920_101922.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GtacCDuYO84/TnjKer5vmrI/AAAAAAAAEGE/zUuViIKeIyY/s320/IMG_20110920_101922.jpg" width="239" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">C said hers was a robot girl with hair and buttons. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The end! </span></div>Ms. Erin's HeartRoomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08494290827491084710noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36038735335077094.post-67237592061678977952011-09-19T15:21:00.001-05:002011-09-23T13:30:52.163-05:00a store for monster food- a construction & journal<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">This summer our campus has been under a lot of construction. One day on the way into work I saw some electricians sitting on empty spools of wire. I convinced my coworker Taryn to ask them if they were going to throw them away and if we could please have them if so (I'm too chicken to talk to strangers- I desperately want to ask the laborers for some tidbits as well but I'm too scared!). </span><br />
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</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Anyway, the next day the following showed up on our doorstep:</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYmisN2kI0PTTmEf6ccUlP6HN9Rzuyt5OraE_tNcLX_EWyhHLY1l0O0Gjw-AkOIod9kX-3YkaBayOadj63RPRR2RH19JulJlBZdLCKi62La89iGribkdyF5bfV90MDeQA7MexLfHLjAA/s1600/spools.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYmisN2kI0PTTmEf6ccUlP6HN9Rzuyt5OraE_tNcLX_EWyhHLY1l0O0Gjw-AkOIod9kX-3YkaBayOadj63RPRR2RH19JulJlBZdLCKi62La89iGribkdyF5bfV90MDeQA7MexLfHLjAA/s320/spools.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Recently we added them to our atrium. The children stacked them and added empty raisin, cottage cheese and other empty containers to the ledges. This is the result:</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pngsUBD_StU/Tnd3z2B1L1I/AAAAAAAAEFI/vp75RYsQbPY/s800/IMG_20110919_104844.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pngsUBD_StU/Tnd3z2B1L1I/AAAAAAAAEFI/vp75RYsQbPY/s320/IMG_20110919_104844.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">T had this to say about her structure:</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Mine is big. A monster built it for another monster. It's a store for monster food. It costs 60 or 70 or 80 dollars. Monsters like to eat bugs. Monster bugs. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mc8PbczzA1M/Tnd3_3FuYxI/AAAAAAAAEFY/fo3bkmOk65o/s640/IMG_20110919_120916.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mc8PbczzA1M/Tnd3_3FuYxI/AAAAAAAAEFY/fo3bkmOk65o/s320/IMG_20110919_120916.jpg" width="239" /></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">C said this is what the monsters look like:</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisOKxeef0LYuGBB659YPxPN2tsk6bkHX4l0Ju1GYbo_XEoeAGGV7lOxCBaDQOhvA1MTPl8rsS2DQlTI3NAHJ_av3CnYzae-9VHl0aE_aKsvn5SQf1WAaKmBybcp0CwTS6qkMNu3WdKGQ/s640/IMG_20110919_131157.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisOKxeef0LYuGBB659YPxPN2tsk6bkHX4l0Ju1GYbo_XEoeAGGV7lOxCBaDQOhvA1MTPl8rsS2DQlTI3NAHJ_av3CnYzae-9VHl0aE_aKsvn5SQf1WAaKmBybcp0CwTS6qkMNu3WdKGQ/s320/IMG_20110919_131157.jpg" width="239" /></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">To be continued! </span></div></div>Ms. Erin's HeartRoomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08494290827491084710noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36038735335077094.post-60309641914458052942011-09-13T14:45:00.000-05:002011-09-13T14:45:00.186-05:00Magnets, metal & black beans?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">This week our sensory table features black beans. I love the black color of the beans and how they make the colors of the other objects inside pop. After an initial period of just exploring the beans with spoons and bowls, I decided to change out the pouring materials for some metal and non metal objects.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jwUwtmqjtNU/Tm5bC7wdm5I/AAAAAAAAEDw/VWCqaQoODRU/s912/IMG_20110912_141401.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jwUwtmqjtNU/Tm5bC7wdm5I/AAAAAAAAEDw/VWCqaQoODRU/s320/IMG_20110912_141401.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> I added metallic materials like washers, clips, screws and other miscellaneous objects. Also added were nonmetallic items like plastic and wood.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG4xSX4eATudD0lOOY_-poy49E1WURY_ckdo4YM6BESaOD0BB1yE0CpSQA-UmgF3DSR410y9f76lRR3nYWUApid7rwYknMjN1MlXluMGqDDT7c6NMSayhog-cnJBE2COr2vQD1V81AAA/s912/IMG_20110912_141743.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG4xSX4eATudD0lOOY_-poy49E1WURY_ckdo4YM6BESaOD0BB1yE0CpSQA-UmgF3DSR410y9f76lRR3nYWUApid7rwYknMjN1MlXluMGqDDT7c6NMSayhog-cnJBE2COr2vQD1V81AAA/s320/IMG_20110912_141743.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">As the children played we discussed what kinds of materials stuck to the magnets. The metal did, the plastic and wood did not. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimm_5bUzCViKUNj8XGNQCmoHGxp7DOuChYgxRsmdpYzikeeFR4hJDSQ6kFz5WM5ErCFSdjyaEj8VGWQbCBHmfykRg3Jz99Hgd8WaYHjkxd39pIMlOkr1MF559ZPbqTfyS7eJ3ghK3y_w/s800/IMG_20110913_092445.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimm_5bUzCViKUNj8XGNQCmoHGxp7DOuChYgxRsmdpYzikeeFR4hJDSQ6kFz5WM5ErCFSdjyaEj8VGWQbCBHmfykRg3Jz99Hgd8WaYHjkxd39pIMlOkr1MF559ZPbqTfyS7eJ3ghK3y_w/s320/IMG_20110913_092445.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The end! </span><br />
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</div>Ms. Erin's HeartRoomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08494290827491084710noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36038735335077094.post-61624717268855028822011-09-13T14:41:00.000-05:002011-09-13T14:41:14.949-05:00colored rice on contact paper<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The other day the children <a href="http://mserinsroom.blogspot.com/2011/09/can-i-put-lot-of-color-in-this-coloring.html">colored</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> some plain rice. </span>Today we sprinkled some on contact paper.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aSs2ViDs0J4/Tm-TQhEEQ_I/AAAAAAAAEEo/zb76VTHGyfs/s800/IMG_20110913_081103.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aSs2ViDs0J4/Tm-TQhEEQ_I/AAAAAAAAEEo/zb76VTHGyfs/s320/IMG_20110913_081103.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Unfortunately, I left the role of contact paper near the sink and it of course got wet so it wasn't very sticky. But we had a good time, regardless. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The children really had to resist the impulse to dump the entire bowl onto the contact paper. (Here is an article from the Illinois Early Learning Project on the importance of teaching young children impulse control, a life-long needed skill (<a href="http://illinoisearlylearning.org/tipsheets/impulsecontrol.htm">http://illinoisearlylearning.org/tipsheets/impulsecontrol.htm</a> ). </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">They were instructed to pinch the rice ( a strong pinch grip- also needed for holding a pen or pencil) and sprinkle it over the paper. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eHp30BHO_uQ/Tm-ScL739XI/AAAAAAAAEEc/AODTS3mxAX8/s800/IMG_20110913_093144.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eHp30BHO_uQ/Tm-ScL739XI/AAAAAAAAEEc/AODTS3mxAX8/s320/IMG_20110913_093144.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It's just too bad the paper wasn't sticky or we could have hung this in the window:</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaAniZZlgCVN_rbZVGhNi2c01i8w_b2qG7tE4MycMg9Wycn-pX2mflZa9kOYzU-3ua0CTvtkwxSdWTqURBNUAoqoXC4zziKW_yRQULvZd25LDy1Udkx5iWnhuxgnS8XrSKh07G3Ch3Bw/s640/IMG_20110913_095841.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaAniZZlgCVN_rbZVGhNi2c01i8w_b2qG7tE4MycMg9Wycn-pX2mflZa9kOYzU-3ua0CTvtkwxSdWTqURBNUAoqoXC4zziKW_yRQULvZd25LDy1Udkx5iWnhuxgnS8XrSKh07G3Ch3Bw/s320/IMG_20110913_095841.jpg" width="239" /></span></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The end! </span><br />
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</div>Ms. Erin's HeartRoomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08494290827491084710noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36038735335077094.post-29647126776750611172011-09-13T13:48:00.000-05:002011-09-13T13:48:01.792-05:00In the block area today<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The children made some thoughtful structures today and I just had to share. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">One child made a ramp using a piece of gutter and a card board tube. He said, "The ball goes on the top of the ramp. Then it rolls down through the tube. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTWMfKrQycavY9_s2c0QwfzIkSQXjKheFqYonyv4ui79IP0GiJnW1Yo2S1HXEvjCzXK2V8mZp-J8dOeYLyoWMUglviQHQDsKCeycLiq9ISg2nUVLtOPU7wi0IJDOFo5yurTmcsQdwprg/s640/IMG_20110913_121400.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTWMfKrQycavY9_s2c0QwfzIkSQXjKheFqYonyv4ui79IP0GiJnW1Yo2S1HXEvjCzXK2V8mZp-J8dOeYLyoWMUglviQHQDsKCeycLiq9ISg2nUVLtOPU7wi0IJDOFo5yurTmcsQdwprg/s320/IMG_20110913_121400.jpg" width="239" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-I8BQFXZZbzI/Tm-R8Lo550I/AAAAAAAAEEQ/xscdzcm8nqI/s640/IMG_20110913_101505.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-I8BQFXZZbzI/Tm-R8Lo550I/AAAAAAAAEEQ/xscdzcm8nqI/s320/IMG_20110913_101505.jpg" width="239" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Another child used blocks to create a channel. Then he lined up several balls in a row and used a cylinder to hit the balls down the channel. He said, "The balls go over there."</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd2iCpPX54nawcrrvr94y9aSpLEgov1WoSQGlE-_YL0bHR125mjY9b18hmRqlDN-0h4bLJU-wxfttOMzZlSqPfk24oV2Wm_9XQzlW36akzL5b_U5CTxaTARdMRQSRMlLRfxXTwtRdykg/s640/IMG_20110913_121423.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd2iCpPX54nawcrrvr94y9aSpLEgov1WoSQGlE-_YL0bHR125mjY9b18hmRqlDN-0h4bLJU-wxfttOMzZlSqPfk24oV2Wm_9XQzlW36akzL5b_U5CTxaTARdMRQSRMlLRfxXTwtRdykg/s320/IMG_20110913_121423.jpg" width="239" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBzt2Zabv_rINcuXzWn6Tyy1TKlxbDrlI5T0Oghd1D-qyE4qmOQ3q1agxA7YVm1rFccIKdLlO60nQ5wcCuZghWVGCJTHzvTdb8I0KB7kum-NJR6FAoHiUdU7ps2qTdYWqsSv6PrzAJnw/s640/IMG_20110913_101945.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBzt2Zabv_rINcuXzWn6Tyy1TKlxbDrlI5T0Oghd1D-qyE4qmOQ3q1agxA7YVm1rFccIKdLlO60nQ5wcCuZghWVGCJTHzvTdb8I0KB7kum-NJR6FAoHiUdU7ps2qTdYWqsSv6PrzAJnw/s320/IMG_20110913_101945.jpg" width="239" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2UUcW35mUG4/Tm-PmfaYX2I/AAAAAAAAED8/5wLd5Naopzw/s640/IMG_20110913_101950.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2UUcW35mUG4/Tm-PmfaYX2I/AAAAAAAAED8/5wLd5Naopzw/s320/IMG_20110913_101950.jpg" width="239" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Marvelous, children! </span><br />
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</div>Ms. Erin's HeartRoomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08494290827491084710noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36038735335077094.post-23575943749566840192011-09-09T12:36:00.000-05:002011-09-09T12:36:33.293-05:00pattern matching on the light table<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Many children come into my program not knowing what a pattern is or how to create one out of loose materials. I noticed that after a few days of being offered a tray of glass florist gems, starfish, and sea glass the children worked really hard manipulating the items but without a real sense of purpose. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Since I can't be in every area all the time (I wish I could clone myself) I decided the activity could use a little structure. My solution was to trace a few starfish and gems into a simple pattern on a piece of transparency paper and leave it on the table for the children to work with. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sq-tocNDEKk/TmpOMi9rajI/AAAAAAAAEDk/ID7jDs_XWmY/s800/P9090609.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sq-tocNDEKk/TmpOMi9rajI/AAAAAAAAEDk/ID7jDs_XWmY/s320/P9090609.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I wish I could have been there to document the finished pattern, but alas, it is what it is. </span></div>Ms. Erin's HeartRoomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08494290827491084710noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36038735335077094.post-82076864982185219782011-09-09T12:26:00.000-05:002011-09-09T12:26:25.639-05:00storytelling with three dimensional illustrations<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">For this activity, I asked the children to begin by drawing a picture with a black marker.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4nWCiXyCiUOqItTOBJqHHgBHBRMWTvTE1v2vjXs7dtBQ-mQXaP6KAESueQ-2mfkJqzRQVLYvDFkRgmptUjSpIjdqmEe9K5Hs7BDJqaZ-KmwLZQm6DxYyd19vmCUqz93Q7lXYXXxtfQg/s1600/P9070597.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4nWCiXyCiUOqItTOBJqHHgBHBRMWTvTE1v2vjXs7dtBQ-mQXaP6KAESueQ-2mfkJqzRQVLYvDFkRgmptUjSpIjdqmEe9K5Hs7BDJqaZ-KmwLZQm6DxYyd19vmCUqz93Q7lXYXXxtfQg/s320/P9070597.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We looked at their drawings and discussed the shapes they made. Then we checked our "<a href="http://mserinsroom.blogspot.com/2010/10/our-beautiful-stuffed-envelopes.html">Beautiful Stuff</a>" collection for objects that were similar in shape and glued them on poster board remnants (another shout out to my coworker Heather and her dad who procured these superbly sturdy cast offs from his work). </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Meanwhile, I asked them to tell me a story about their drawing. I purposefully asked them to tell me a story at the end instead of first because sometimes the children find it difficult to illustrate their ideas after the story because the image in their minds is so complex they shut down. I feel I will have plenty of time to challenge them again later. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Here are several examples of the children's work:</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">V's illustration and story:</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tj7cxCY2aE8/Tme-d4gWsMI/AAAAAAAAEBY/IrWuUxdqQQM/s288/P9070603.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tj7cxCY2aE8/Tme-d4gWsMI/AAAAAAAAEBY/IrWuUxdqQQM/s288/P9070603.JPG" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"It's a house. Claire lives there, in Manteno. It's my cousin. Claire's my best friend and she plays with me the most."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">H's illustration and story:</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk5WmQE3S8y4OWnj3bBva7VUwok3-YgXjxnxsb6DESET_1zrMoe7KpHF4MtcxG95DGz6bGYVFrijSX8ufk-JAxJ-tmtp9YNuG5xf72_pr5-3N9qpQ5cHIPncQdynG-yKiFyHZvJfoHnw/s288/P9070601.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk5WmQE3S8y4OWnj3bBva7VUwok3-YgXjxnxsb6DESET_1zrMoe7KpHF4MtcxG95DGz6bGYVFrijSX8ufk-JAxJ-tmtp9YNuG5xf72_pr5-3N9qpQ5cHIPncQdynG-yKiFyHZvJfoHnw/s288/P9070601.JPG" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"It's a robot monster. Once the monster was going to blast off into space. Then the monster took a girl that was in space and took her to jail."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">- </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Some new children to the program did not grasp many of the concepts I was asking them for but they worked diligently and described their picture to me, which is fine, too</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">T's work and description:</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE22H1q3kjcgRYp0MbaVG8S68NI2zIUE_YkG5e6HBZPDPEaR4-9qy1-9SF2sZZzFl_Z_iJ15ABbXGmtzoUrkNjY9XbT2xTUl_Q-iRF1hdKEs5dSe7UTJCLaHu5mfXVNCfPZZ0jiCkMFQ/s800/P9090608.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE22H1q3kjcgRYp0MbaVG8S68NI2zIUE_YkG5e6HBZPDPEaR4-9qy1-9SF2sZZzFl_Z_iJ15ABbXGmtzoUrkNjY9XbT2xTUl_Q-iRF1hdKEs5dSe7UTJCLaHu5mfXVNCfPZZ0jiCkMFQ/s320/P9090608.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Mine had a flower on it and buttons on it."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">C's work and description:</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg57wyOrWFNxNuHB9J-D-mW8t1NcToe5BKAw__CEJGfxpqHQnCVGmSN3MCq6Nd7UQ4NXIQEWDObwrIycv7byj6NKl372LCvKbRJiGX-CLRvSKXb7NaZlmfY6Pu0-er08Ht9dMG8vAnhHA/s800/P9090611.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg57wyOrWFNxNuHB9J-D-mW8t1NcToe5BKAw__CEJGfxpqHQnCVGmSN3MCq6Nd7UQ4NXIQEWDObwrIycv7byj6NKl372LCvKbRJiGX-CLRvSKXb7NaZlmfY6Pu0-er08Ht9dMG8vAnhHA/s320/P9090611.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"I'm making a beach party. I decorate it."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">E's work and description: </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMht023UxhtxD-mYt398h3oe8Hfau-t6U4L1BvLSORLc3ahCD_oYsnIzSbtEorav7CdFjIXrKpwMq6nEd2zUDOxf4ZnntrJl_b2jCUBMGgl_0VO0ebHFJEf1DduDhcmJKgtYNrsDaUuw/s800/P9090612.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMht023UxhtxD-mYt398h3oe8Hfau-t6U4L1BvLSORLc3ahCD_oYsnIzSbtEorav7CdFjIXrKpwMq6nEd2zUDOxf4ZnntrJl_b2jCUBMGgl_0VO0ebHFJEf1DduDhcmJKgtYNrsDaUuw/s320/P9090612.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"My Mommy."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The end! </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>Ms. Erin's HeartRoomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08494290827491084710noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36038735335077094.post-23727171020326631452011-09-06T15:16:00.000-05:002011-09-06T15:16:40.315-05:00"Can I put a lot of color in this?" -Coloring rice<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We were fortunate enough to be able to order a huge sack of rice for the center so I added some to the sensory table. For the first two weeks of class the children poured and stirred. Today, though I thought it was time to jazz it up a little bit by adding some color. </span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaYeUcQHY2WpZcL-RN1qXZ6h11_0ZnGEsO0ZW2aJvNCrq1_XJJM93M29QhSnQ6PzEuoPIwbUlALjlBVXW1WjMOjAmWn5u6XXGzAtgoHm61IEfop6cbXzZLhjzyWuwTWau5vLj2JueHKA/s1600/P9060590.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaYeUcQHY2WpZcL-RN1qXZ6h11_0ZnGEsO0ZW2aJvNCrq1_XJJM93M29QhSnQ6PzEuoPIwbUlALjlBVXW1WjMOjAmWn5u6XXGzAtgoHm61IEfop6cbXzZLhjzyWuwTWau5vLj2JueHKA/s320/P9060590.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">To begin, I set a bunch of bowls on the table each with a corresponding color. The children added rice and water color as they saw fit and stirred and stirred. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaYeUcQHY2WpZcL-RN1qXZ6h11_0ZnGEsO0ZW2aJvNCrq1_XJJM93M29QhSnQ6PzEuoPIwbUlALjlBVXW1WjMOjAmWn5u6XXGzAtgoHm61IEfop6cbXzZLhjzyWuwTWau5vLj2JueHKA/s1600/P9060590.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"></span></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The more color they added the deeper and richer the color got. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiePkS__hYQn8tvHMO3uZ_twxMqz8BikIZzVd9bY-_5L7uWR0XIQKj2iN76pkS0bNq9Uz0YBLxJajcJ7CwRH5d-hbSvLILQcDDepUkdlCKbd_bBwMhS2hQDy5fw4pEQx_EIOP8TNvkCow/s1600/P9060586.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiePkS__hYQn8tvHMO3uZ_twxMqz8BikIZzVd9bY-_5L7uWR0XIQKj2iN76pkS0bNq9Uz0YBLxJajcJ7CwRH5d-hbSvLILQcDDepUkdlCKbd_bBwMhS2hQDy5fw4pEQx_EIOP8TNvkCow/s320/P9060586.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Who could blame them for wanting to add the whole bottle? I did have them stop when the color started to puddle because I want the rice to dry so I can put it back in the table or use it for another project.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Honestly, I've never met a child who didn't love to make something colorful. They are so enthralled by the instantaneous effects of swirling around some paint. The action is soothing and the results are always interesting. Some children even chose to view the colors through a magnifying glass: </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaekH9qJ3btOtP2-FPZaIKKrzidZTyDU0wB4aYVP_iDVkSSP2Bevs_n_07FJshMzLt94M2YqImeb6uyBNXJQ5Qfohkxj87SAuIIH7Pz30D2z2XRiYjrvE6yzjV4HNp3Xf4z7CfUXrNaw/s288/P9060591.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaekH9qJ3btOtP2-FPZaIKKrzidZTyDU0wB4aYVP_iDVkSSP2Bevs_n_07FJshMzLt94M2YqImeb6uyBNXJQ5Qfohkxj87SAuIIH7Pz30D2z2XRiYjrvE6yzjV4HNp3Xf4z7CfUXrNaw/s288/P9060591.JPG" /></span></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> After we colored the rice the children begged to mix the rice, so we did that next. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtORdXQ2ktHcKpfdB2rPkgsTJZQf-YL0EE4_8vbO6z5hEQ9JE-GlXdEReHxK0QSrXgMHi6niFiV5BSeHBKPIdix_vMMNo_cvy6lKIut9XF4Mc6IBiCNOO0LYU9rMqxm8yQWE2qGerOjQ/s288/P9060592.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtORdXQ2ktHcKpfdB2rPkgsTJZQf-YL0EE4_8vbO6z5hEQ9JE-GlXdEReHxK0QSrXgMHi6niFiV5BSeHBKPIdix_vMMNo_cvy6lKIut9XF4Mc6IBiCNOO0LYU9rMqxm8yQWE2qGerOjQ/s288/P9060592.JPG" /></span></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I can't wait to use this rice in some collage work. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The end! </span></div></div>Ms. Erin's HeartRoomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08494290827491084710noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36038735335077094.post-3264403854547658312011-09-06T14:28:00.000-05:002011-09-06T14:28:48.957-05:00Crayon and blow dryer experiemnt<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I learned about this project from my colleague Heather who said she saw it on Lisa Murphy's (the <a href="http://www.ooeygooey.com/">Ooey Gooey Lady</a>) <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ooey-Gooey-Inc/187504722553">Facebook</a> page. Heather had the children's product hanging in the hallway and several of us teachers and staff were standing around it and admiring the beautiful result. I had to try this in our room too! </span><br />
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I decided before hand to separate the colors into a rainbow pattern. I had a lovely assistant volunteer to help me sort the crayons. Each board had one or two colors. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrRWu3S_-08rAIQK20CKuRzgWfJhldhdrQhdEwL-qKVi1TBVyeZNrqYhFrONqhxarBKha2u9llXSJ2Tu0isekenMLTvSjuQGLEyAvGjMxeXXjuMoJp_EJduNYJXlWfRAxWxlLwgL0P3A/s1600/P8300541.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrRWu3S_-08rAIQK20CKuRzgWfJhldhdrQhdEwL-qKVi1TBVyeZNrqYhFrONqhxarBKha2u9llXSJ2Tu0isekenMLTvSjuQGLEyAvGjMxeXXjuMoJp_EJduNYJXlWfRAxWxlLwgL0P3A/s320/P8300541.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I think I used every crayon we had and glue gunned them to a canvas board. Then I showed the children the boards and told them we were going to be applying heat using a blow dryer. I asked them what they thought would happen to the crayons. They were convinced the crayons were going to blow up.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR50P0ctFMtKVLS-kUpz6wTDpVOJAaq8bMig343TKPEKp6rWUlHaVhXH1xxOh4HPvYRtEGJKbzrm7eg2o__Wp5_sxI5O2q5I4mdAFHX-4DyRfWrrcPPAVeDfVSmEu8U7slQ3bR4zCn8Q/s1600/P8310546.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR50P0ctFMtKVLS-kUpz6wTDpVOJAaq8bMig343TKPEKp6rWUlHaVhXH1xxOh4HPvYRtEGJKbzrm7eg2o__Wp5_sxI5O2q5I4mdAFHX-4DyRfWrrcPPAVeDfVSmEu8U7slQ3bR4zCn8Q/s320/P8310546.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">As cool as that may have been, the crayons did not explode. They did however create beautiful drips that the children agreed seemed like blood. </span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgLIIe0VtbBv5mnn5zR7QkoJhyBQSG-05Ba4JQs55lbziNwrBe1vY9xhgZFY1Fq9EhsOQwa0daVwJR9STqEvYVjYcnZaqDDds_FKLWbbw7OqMB6p9FS-I4coK9fr7Mi30chYkwBV4fPw/s1600/P8310548.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgLIIe0VtbBv5mnn5zR7QkoJhyBQSG-05Ba4JQs55lbziNwrBe1vY9xhgZFY1Fq9EhsOQwa0daVwJR9STqEvYVjYcnZaqDDds_FKLWbbw7OqMB6p9FS-I4coK9fr7Mi30chYkwBV4fPw/s320/P8310548.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">And finally, the results! </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB8jcaTuD1dqWwTlk7xNlZpIWwSBNbHaFjtTI_yCMx1Gy5_sZVfvXWQbTWNCopPcbHRGa_2a8nh2cFIPQSbZIPW-mD00RivXNrmraUbQTC77amVU49QM-UYvApei7W2SNZwM5yGamjMw/s1600/P9060583.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB8jcaTuD1dqWwTlk7xNlZpIWwSBNbHaFjtTI_yCMx1Gy5_sZVfvXWQbTWNCopPcbHRGa_2a8nh2cFIPQSbZIPW-mD00RivXNrmraUbQTC77amVU49QM-UYvApei7W2SNZwM5yGamjMw/s320/P9060583.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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</div></div>Ms. Erin's HeartRoomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08494290827491084710noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36038735335077094.post-21176831212336615362011-09-02T13:05:00.000-05:002011-09-02T13:05:15.355-05:00Row Your Boat in Pairs<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I like this more physical version Row Row Row Your Boat, because it allows children to partner up for a whole body experience. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6GbgYio5rxGZbqknQq5Hee_j5t0cZrIUS5I2JJSZ818purylM8xxwVGqfQmza52EFM1stuOeAxm43zKCDl-ffGXAZ6x7KQKE4rT4iLgGTjs7UqpR7IbJMEe69Hz6SciI_gSpTjKZeRQ/s1600/P9020568.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6GbgYio5rxGZbqknQq5Hee_j5t0cZrIUS5I2JJSZ818purylM8xxwVGqfQmza52EFM1stuOeAxm43zKCDl-ffGXAZ6x7KQKE4rT4iLgGTjs7UqpR7IbJMEe69Hz6SciI_gSpTjKZeRQ/s320/P9020568.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I just have them sit crisscross (or anyway really) and they rock each other back and forth while we sing away until we are tired. It's pretty soothing and as a bonus the children's natural desire to move is being channeled.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The end! </span></div>Ms. Erin's HeartRoomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08494290827491084710noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36038735335077094.post-30872566752837884712011-08-29T16:20:00.000-05:002011-08-29T16:20:06.678-05:00New year, new journals!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">One of my goals this year is to inspire the children to draw and write in the journals on a daily basis. I don't really want it to be "ok everyone sit down and journal what I tell you" kind of thing although sometimes I may do this.<br />
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Mostly, I'm hoping to use them as the children build or create or tell stories in as a natural part of their day. To do this I'm trying to find a special location for their journals that they can have quick easy access to on a moments notice. They do have cubbies but as winter approaches cubbies are stuffed with backpacks, coats, hats mittens and other miscellaneous items that I'm afraid they will be damaged. I was hoping to find paper trays at the thrift store this summer because at several dollars a piece, the price adds up quickly.<br />
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In the mean time while I sort out this problem, I have taken the children's photos and had them printed and laminated to serve as the cover of their journals. To begin I asked them to draw a picture of themselves to serve as a base for other self portraits later this year. Here is a sample:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoa93XvWSUgWQRlQZ3qu0F_FRfX9PF_ahrnBxetUa6rp_BkHifRt5MUY2_OQg8ihOgIvY3mKdKLRZA8NoxmLvGsVqYeNv9eIViYKrDDSqNEEzpY-TqfBYreSY4XtRXEy_kvfwB75oAXg/s1600/morgans+self+portrait.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoa93XvWSUgWQRlQZ3qu0F_FRfX9PF_ahrnBxetUa6rp_BkHifRt5MUY2_OQg8ihOgIvY3mKdKLRZA8NoxmLvGsVqYeNv9eIViYKrDDSqNEEzpY-TqfBYreSY4XtRXEy_kvfwB75oAXg/s320/morgans+self+portrait.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
When I asked M, who is four, to tell me about her drawing she said, "My hair, my fingers, my feet, my hands, my teeth, my eyelashes, my tummy, my arms, and my legs, and that's it!"<br />
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The end! </div>Ms. Erin's HeartRoomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08494290827491084710noreply@blogger.com2