light and shadow study in the block area

I took our projector out of the light studio and set it up in the block area for a change of pace. 

The children went to town, literally! Buildings, and towers and castles went up right away, though they had to work on getting out of the way of the projector light to see their structures and figure out the best distance away from the projector to put their work.

They were moving so fast I didn't get a chance to document their words. Although I do remember lots of gasps of, "It's beautiful." I also remember someone calling the rainbow blocks "reflection blocks."

adding a chute to the sensory table

A few posts ago, I blogged about the dividers in our sensory table. This week we added a chute to the mix which added pitch and a level change.

The children enjoyed watching the rice and beans pour down the chute:

and watching it come out the end:

The children enjoyed this very much. Usually they worked in tandem, with someone scooping the mixture into the chute and someone catching it at the other end.

The end!

Scrabble alphabet matching game

An activity for the manipulative table. The children matched the scrabble tiles to the letters written on the plastic container (y&z were lumped together). I set out some tweezers to make it more challenging:

The end!

The Throne

The Throne is a sculpture that resides just outside of our center as part of the Nathan Manilow Sculpture Park. The artist allows the children to sit and climb on the piece so the chidlren really relate to it's dimension and form.

I wondered if the children would be interested in making various representations of the Throne so I projected it up on the wall:

      

I also put a transparency on the light table for the children to draw as well:

I think we will take a "field trip" out there when the weather warms up a little more so I can document more of their words and throughs on the Throne.

The end!

patterning with natural(ish) materials

I was just reading Dialogue with Places, a Reggio Children Publication. I was inspired by the way they organized the materials for the children to use to create a gift for the Loris Malaguzzi International Center (similar to the photo below).

I thought materials organized like this would be enticing to the children so I set out a box of mostly natural materials for the children to pattern with along with some flat boards.

Here is a close up of the box which included wood chips, scrabble pieces, buck eyes, acorns, florist jewels, shells, rocks, sand dollars, tile spacers, mosaic tiles, and slate :

I encouraged the children to make patterns with the materials and to read them out loud to check their progress.
E(4):

M(3):

I also encouraged them to build vertical patterns as well:
K(4):

S(3):

T(3) with help:

They really enjoyed making patterns with these materials. E kept repeating how he loved making patterns. They were intrigued by the idea of vertical patterns. I think for the next experience we may try making curvy patterns as well.

The end!

sand on contact paper

I gave the children small containers of different colored sand and showed them how to pinch and sprinkle it on to the contact paper.

Eventually sand piled up in some areas, so I showed them how the sand wasn't going to stick and how to sprinkle it on the uncovered areas. (I notice this is the same phenomena occurs with paint. I wonder why children paint and paint and paint the same little area as opposed to covering the whole paper?)

Here is the art hanging in the door. The contact paper is translucent so it gives the colors a soft, dreamy quality.

I enjoyed watching the children do this so much I forgot to document their words!

The end!

Marble Painting SUPERSIZED

I was talking to Teacher Tom about finding engaging activities for my afternoon class (I have had only about two to four girls attend on average every day. Many of my boys are three, and several just enrolled in the program this month). Anyway, Tom recommended I offer "super-sized" activities to get their attention (among other pearls of wisdom).

Well, it just so happened our center was throwing out a humongous box that was perfect for marble painting. With a little help from my trusty box cutter and my best friend, duct tape, I set to work.

It was very difficult for the children to coordinate their movements en mass. Both sides lifted and lowered at the same time causing the marbles to roll to the middle and stay there.

After about 15 minutes there were only a few children left that persevered. They struggled, adapted, and adjusted their movements until, voila! Sweet success!

The end!