Playful Learning in the Early Years

Melted Crayon Art

2012-02-15T11:53:00.000-05:00

The children participated in a very interesting art activity that combined their interests in drawing with their recent observations of things melting. Mrs. Bombardier set up a griddle that was covered in foil and turned on the 'warm' setting.

The children helped us peel some festive colours of crayons.

With adult supervision, the children were invited to draw on a piece of paper that was placed on the warm surface...as they coloured they noticed the crayons begin to melt!

The children observed that the slower they moved the crayon on the hot surface, the faster it melted.

And the more they coloured, the more wax was left on their paper, creating beautiful textures and the blending of new colours on the surface.

The finished product was a masterpiece of colours, lines, and textures! As the art cooled and the wax hardened, the children could feel their artwork as well as see it! Beautiful!

Paint Drips

2012-02-13T18:27:00.000-05:00

The children participated in a really interesting painting activity that required them to use droppers to drop diluted paint onto a vertical paper. The children were fascinated by how gravity affected the paint.

Depending on how much paint was dropped and how the colours were dropped on top of one another, some really interesting artwork emerged from the experience!

The children also worked to create some amazing communal pieces of artwork.

This activity also allowed children the opportunity to experiment with the thickness of the paint - they realized the more water added to the paint, the thinner it would become and the faster it would run down the paper.

Using the droppers is also great for strengthening children's fine motor skills!

Valentine's Tactile Table

2012-02-09T06:57:00.000-05:00

Mrs. Bombardier invited the children to explore a very appealing Valentine's Day tactile table filled with pink rice, sparkly hearts, measuring scoops, and heart-shaped containers. The children loved it!

Kindergarten Open House

2012-02-07T18:13:00.000-05:00

We will be having our annual Kindergarten Open House on Wednesday, February 15 from 5:30 - 7:00. Please spread the word to any potential JK children and their families! Visit our new Greater Essex County District School Board Kindergarten Website to learn more!

Marble Mazes

2012-02-07T17:57:00.000-05:00

The children made some amazing marble mazes with Mrs. Bombardier today using recycled materials from around our classroom. They used stick tack to attach the materials to a cardboard box - this way it was easy to move the pieces around and experiment with the marbles until the maze was just right!

Surprise Play Dough

2012-02-06T12:17:00.001-05:00

We like to include many different items in our play dough to make it appealing to children and encourage them to use their senses. Sometimes we add scents, other times interesting textures.

What's hidden in this ordinary looking play dough?

Valentine's Day confetti!

It was so much fun to play with and the children were excited to dig into it and see how many little hearts they could find! The confetti also enhanced their play as they used them for embellishments on their cakes and cookies!

The Paper Whites Bloomed!

2012-02-04T18:10:00.000-05:00

On the first day back from Winter Holidays we planted paper white bulbs with our children. Each day they came to school, we had a number of eager children checking out the bulbs to see if they had grown.

Mrs. Bombardier placed a number of measuring items (standard and nonstandard) and a tracking sheet next to the bulbs and encouraged the children to record their observations.

This past week the bulbs finally bloomed and filled our classroom with a wonderful spring smell! The children were amazed at how tall the bulbs had grown! Many were eager to measure the plant and compare it with their previous recording.

Heart Cookie Cutter Stamping

2012-02-03T18:26:00.000-05:00

A fast and easy way to engage children in printmaking is to use cookie cutters dipped in paint.

Our children are so creative and drawn to activities that engage them in experiences that appeal to many of the senses.

What was amazing to us when observing the children at this activity was their unique way of exploring the materials. No two pieces of art looked the same.

Some children created prints, then layered paint on top, leaving an original imprint, and then printing again on top. In the following piece you can see the original hearts faint behind the overall red colour. Gorgeous!

One child layered and layered the paint. leaving a very textured look to the paper.

This child printed on the paper and then folded it in half, creating a marbled, symmetrical look.

Print Making on the Light Table

2012-01-31T17:36:00.001-05:00

We placed some printing materials that the children have previous experience using at the light table today including paint and bubble wrap.

We encouraged the children to spread paint on the light table (it was protected with clear plastic) and explore mixing the colours white and black with the red.

The children could then use the bubble wrap to press and print the colours on top of each other, creating beautiful new shades and prints.

Plunger Painting!

2012-01-30T19:20:00.000-05:00

Mrs. Bombardier introduced the children to a very neat painting activity today....

P-L-U-N-G-E-R P-A-I-N-T-I-N-G!

What a way to start school on a Monday. Our children's eye lit up when they walked into the classroom this morning and saw this printing activity set up and ready to go!

Music and Movement Inquiry

2012-01-29T18:18:00.000-05:00

Since returning from Winter Break our children have been incredibly interested in exploring music and creative movement. This post showcases this emerging inquiry over a span of almost three weeks.

One day one of our children brought in some hula skirts from home. They were so much fun to play with and the children asked if they could dance in them to some familiar songs we had sung during circle time.

A few days later we noticed that the children were still interested in dancing and asked if they would like to create some new costumes to wear. They eagerly began to create skirts using classroom materials such as tissue paper, found materials (ribbon, silk flowers), and paper.

We moved the mirrors from the drama center to our large communal carpet so the children could admire themselves and each other.

Of course once the costumes were ready there was much dancing to be done!

Many of the boys wanted to be a part of the excitement. Some created 'tickets' to be distributed for admission to the dancing show.

These boys were so interested in what was happening they brought over materials from the building center (where they had been playing) and participated in the show as an audience.

The children decided that a proper show needed a stage and many pitched in to build one from our large wooden blocks.

There was much authentic math talk and problem solving as the children discussed how big the stage needed to be and how the blocks needed to fit together so no gaps were in it.

During one of Mrs. Bombardier's circles, she discussed with the children how music felt a certain way depending on the speed and sound of it. She encouraged them to listen to different kinds of music and visualize what it reminded them of. She also showed them that we could draw to music.

At this point in the inquiry many days had passed and the children were still interested in performing. The stage was moved to an area in the room where it could be made permanent (instead of being cleaned up for circle time) and we helped the children to construct a curtain.

Many of the children who take dance class shared their knowledge of costumes, movements, and shoes during our circle time discussions. The children decided they needed a choreographer to help plan and rehearse the movements, but weren't sure how to begin. We decided to search the internet for some dance performances (ballet, tap, jazz) to show the children. They were so excited to watch the performances and began to copy the movements. It was beautiful to watch and a great way to incorporate technology into the inquiry!

After seeing the fancy costumes and footwear in the performances, the children decided that they needed to make their own dance shoes. They searched the library for books on how to make shoes, and used classroom materials too.

Ballet...

Tap...

We can't wait to see where this inquiry goes next!

More Print Making and Colour Mixing

2012-01-27T17:43:00.001-05:00

Similar to yesterday's paper towel prints, we invited children to explore print making and colour mixing today using bubble wrap and a new colour.

After some experimentation yesterday we realized that the prints did not work as well when the paint was thickly applied to the paper. Instead of brushes we decided to use rollers so that the paint was evenly applied.

The children were encouraged to cover their entire papers with green, white, and black paint.

Once the children were happy with their paint coverage, they gently pressed the bubble side of the wrap against the paper. Then they lifted the wrap and reapplied it to the paper in a different position. The plastic wrap helped retain some of the original paint, and when pressed against the paper again created new colours and interesting designs.

The result? More stunning, original artwork!

Print Making and Colour Mixing

2012-01-26T17:12:00.002-05:00

The children created some beautiful artwork today that combined print making with colour mixing. We used paint, paper, and paper towels.

First the children had to cover their entire paper with paint. We chose to use blue, black, and white because we were hoping the children would explore creating different shades of blue.

Next children pressed a piece of dry paper towel on top of the paint. We specifically chose the paper towels we did because they had a circular design on them. We emphasized to the children that patting the paper towel was better than smearing it.

Once the children were satisfied that they had pressed the paper towel evenly, they gently lifted the paper towel...

...to reveal a gorgeous design!

Shaving Cream and Powder Paint

2012-01-26T16:41:00.000-05:00

Sensory experiences are important for children. They encourage them to explore, experiment, and use their senses to learn new things. Yesterday we encouraged children to explore shaving cream and powdered blue paint on the light table!

Recycled Tube Stamping

2012-01-24T18:02:00.000-05:00

We had lots of paper tubes sent in from over the holidays and decided to recycle them into painting tools today. The children used them to make circular prints!

Coffee Grind Play Dough

2012-01-24T17:53:00.000-05:00

We like adding unique materials to play dough to give it some texture and make it interesting for our children. Today we made our regular batch but added some wet coffee grinds! The play dough smelled wonderful and had a light brown tint to it. If you try this at home you'll have to add a little more than the usual amount of dry flour when kneading since the coffee grinds retain moisture.

Paint Bellows

2012-01-23T18:24:00.000-05:00

The children used paint bellows today to create speckled artwork. Paint bellows are tools that allow tempra paint to be squeezed in a fine mist onto a piece of paper. They are great for encouraging fine motor strength in children's fingers as they are quite difficult to manipulate. Warning - this is not for the faint of heart as it's very messy!

Obstacle Course

2012-01-23T18:16:00.001-05:00

Our children have been very interested in exploring physical games. Our gym teacher decided to incorporate this inquiry into the children's work in the gym. The children have been thrilled to participate in a challenging obstacle course over the last few days!

What a fun way to get some healthy exercise!

Sand Textures

2012-01-19T18:28:00.001-05:00

Today we placed some fine sand from our sand table on the light table along with some texture plates. We invited the children to explore the materials and create interesting lines and designs in the sand.

It was so interesting to see the light shine through the textures as the sand became scraped away revealing the light table below.

Recycled Artwork

2012-01-16T22:04:00.000-05:00

We have had some very interesting items donated to our art program this year! We are very interested in exploring how 'found objects' can be used in the classroom. Some children decided to create artwork using some of the found materials. This is what they created:

We always welcome donations of any kind...especially interesting objects!

Dramatic Play Day Care Center

2012-01-10T18:08:00.000-05:00

The children in our class have decided to turn our dramatic arts center into a baby day care. We are in need of anything 'baby related' that could be borrowed or donated including washclothes, bottles, baby toys, blankets, and anything else you think might be used to enhance our play. Your support of our program is greatly appreciated, thank you!

Feeding the Birds

2012-01-10T18:04:00.000-05:00

Mrs. Bombardier read a great story with the children at circle time that told of a family who wanted to have a winter party for the outdoor animals using their Christmas tree.

The children had a discussion about why it was kind to feed the animals during cold winter months and decided to make some bird food together.

We used dry cereal...

Whole cranberries...

Stale bread and small cookie cutters...

The children used plastic craft needles and yarn to string the food together. Some children created patterns with the food!

This activity was also great for fine motor control and hand-eye practice.

The children also made pinecone feeders by coating a pinecone in shortening and then rolling it in birdseed.

We have encouraged the children to hang their bird food in a tree that is close to a window in their house so they can watch the visitors that come. If you are able to take any pictures of the birds that visit, it would be greatly appreciated! We'd love to discuss these with the class and create a display! Thank you!

Planting Spring Bulbs

2012-01-10T10:23:00.000-05:00

Now that we are well into winter it's nice to bring a breath of spring into the room to help us antipate what's to come. Yesterday we planted paperwhite bulbs with the children.

They were intrigued by the puck of compressed dirt that came with the planting kit. We had children pass the puck, investigate it, and guess what they thought it was.

Many children thought it was a wood cookie like the ones we have in our building center because of its colour, texture and smell.

When we added water to the dirt something magical happened!

The children were amazed as the dirt suddenly expanded with the water!

We passed the bowl around so the children could feel the difference between the compressed and expanded dirt.

Next we passed the paperwhite bulbs around. The children thought they looked like onions! We discussed how the roots were on the bottom and the sprouts were on top.

We planted all three bulbs and placed them on a shelf in our room where they will get sunlight. We are encouraging the children to check out the bulbs each day and notice any differences that indicate they are growing. Paperwhites grow quite tall, so once the stems begin to grow, we will place measuring and recording materials near them so the children can record their observations.

Snow People in a Globe

2011-12-21T18:45:00.001-05:00

Tomorrow is the last school day we will have with the children before the winter break. Instead of letting our sparkly play dough go to waste, we invited the children to sculpt miniature snow people using the play dough and a variety of little art trinkets like beads, sequins, and ribbon scraps.

The children built the small snow people on the inside of a baby food bottle cap. They turned out so well!

Some children used strategies like building their snow person on a stick so the balls of play dough would hold together. What great problem solving!

By building the snow person onto the lid, it made it very easy to turn each child's creation into a unique, miniature winter globe! Don't they look great on our shelf?

Carving Prints

2011-12-19T17:58:00.000-05:00

We love making prints with our children! Using styrofoam pieces and a sharp pencil, we encouraged the children to create their own print plates.

The first step was to use the pencil to carve a design onto the styrofoam piece. We discussed with the children that the design had to be deep into the plate and encouraged them to trace their design with a finger to test and see if it felt deep enough.

After children were satisfied with their design, they rolled their plate with paint. We discussed how too little paint would not leave a dark enough print and too much paint would saturate the design.

The next step was to press the plate onto a piece of paper and carefully lift it, revealing the unique design!

The children created some amazing designs!

Paint Palettes and Colour Mixing

2011-12-13T19:06:00.000-05:00

Today we invited the children to create unique shades of colour by mixing personal palettes of paint to use at the art easels.

We cut a hole in a strong plastic plate to use as the palette.

Children had a variety of paint colours to choose from and used spoons to drop their selections onto their palette.

At the easel there were containers of water for cleaning brushes, and a variety of brushes to choose from.

The children were very careful when adding paint to their palettes to think about what new colours they might like to create. Some had a plan in place and knew what two or three colours they needed to make a certain shade (e.g., red and white to make pink). Others wanted to experiment and see what happened if they mixed unlikely colours together (e.g., brown and green).

Once the children were satisfied with their palettes, they were able to create artwork at the easel. Many of them took such pride in using their artist's tools - it was wonderful to see such self-confidence and creativity blossoming!

Delivering Holiday Trees!

2011-12-09T19:37:00.003-05:00

Today during one of our circle time discussions, Mrs. Bombardier and the children talked about how some families cut down a fresh Christmas tree. The children were interested in learning how those families transported the tree back to their houses. During play time, Mrs. Bombardier added some miniature trees to our block center.

The children were drawn to the trees and immediately began to attach them to our toy cars and trucks so they could be delivered to people's houses.

Some children also made houses too!

Check out the sign that one of our children wrote - trees for sale!

Salt Dough Ornaments

2011-12-09T19:26:00.000-05:00

An easy baking activity to do this time of year is salt dough ornaments. We invited the children to help us make and bake these today. The recipe is easy and you can make more at home! All you need is 1 cup of flour, 1/2 cup of salt, and 3/4 cup of water. Knead the dough and add small amounts of water and flour at a time until a smooth, easy to use consistency is reached. It should not be too dry or too sticky.

Once we had created an easy-to-use batch of dough, we invited the children to make ornaments using an assortment of Christmas shaped cookie cutters.

It was wonderful for us to see the children helping each other!

Some children demonstrated leadership by taking over the center and running it for us - handing out the dough, helping to roll and cut the ornaments, and writing the names of children next to their ornaments so they didn't get mixed up while baking.

The ornaments baked for 2 hours at 250 degrees. Once they had cooled, the children painted them with holiday colours of acrylic paint. We added some sparkles too!

Lovely!

Ten Little Snowmen Shared Reading

2011-12-09T10:15:00.000-05:00

Families,

Your child will be bringing home his or her blue shared reading duotang tonight. We have been practising the poem Ten Little Snowmen together. Here are two fun websites that compliment this poem that you might like to check out with your child. Happy reading!

Ten Little Snowmen Animated Book

Build a Virtual Snowman

Christmas Party!

2011-12-08T17:28:00.000-05:00

We had a great time at the General Amherst Christmas Party today! Thank you to all our wonderful families who volunteered and came with us! It was a very pretty December day for a walk - sunny and crisp.

We decorated and enjoyed eating some cookies!

We made reindeer food!

Danced to Christmas music!

Made holiday crafts!

What a great time!

Creating with Cardboard

2011-12-06T20:03:00.002-05:00

Mrs. Bombardier invited the children to explore an assortment of recycled cardboard at the art table. It was so interesting to see how they worked with the material and what they created.

Many children created parking garages and car ports for use at our building center.

There was lots of great math talk as the children explored how to make the structures stable and how to ensure that the supports were of equal lengths so the structures were level.

Working with the thick cardboard proved to be a challenging fine motor task for the children too! Great for strengthening hand strength!

It was wonderful to see the children helping each other out and co-creating structures together!

At the end of play time we encouraged the children who created at the art table to share their recycled structures with the rest of the class. What a great way to encourage creativity, cooperation, and recycling! Why don't you try this at home with your children over the holidays?

Empowering Children at Sign In Time

2011-12-05T15:16:00.001-05:00

When children enter the classroom in the morning, they have many responsibilities to help empower them and foster independence and sense of self. One way of doing this is to ask children to 'sign in'. Not only is it daily name writing practice, it's a great way to help children see themselves as capable readers and writers, as they figure out the question or problem of the day and response to it. Lately we've been asking the children to author the question of the day. Some are even eager to help us write it!

We love any chance we can get to empower children's literacy and help them see themselves as capable readers, writers, and communicators!

Paper Carton Stamping

2011-12-05T15:04:00.001-05:00

We had a number of extra paper cartons in the classroom and invited the children to explore stamping and painting with them. We cut the cartons into fourths and the children chose what colours of paint to use.

The children were delighted to see that the cartons left equally spaced dots on their papers when stamped!

Many children were interested in stamping in straight lines, some exploring patterning as well!

Other children were interested in swirling and layering the paint, using the cartons as mixing tools.

This created some interesting new colours and textures on the paper.

Other children decided to layer and sweep the paint on the paper with the cartons.

This left some very unusual prints on the top of the thickly painted paper. How neat!

Candy Cane Inspired Painting

2011-11-30T20:02:00.000-05:00

Our children love to paint with marbles. We put out red and white paint today and encouraged them to create candy cane inspired art! It was so much fun and great hand-eye coordination practice as the children had to work hard to keep the marbles in the tray when rolling them around.

Gingerbread Scented Play Dough

2011-11-28T18:49:00.000-05:00

We made some scented gingerbread play dough with the children today. It smelled so good and was so appealing! All we did was add allspice, cinnamon, and cloves to our regular recipe! Mmmmmm!

Stamping Holiday Wrapping Paper

2011-11-28T18:16:00.001-05:00

One of our favourite activities to do for the holiday season is to encourage the children to do some stamping with seasonal cookie cutters and paint. The piece of artwork can then be sent home and recycled as wrapping paper. It's a great lesson on art, sharing, and recycling!

The cookie cutters and festive paint appealed to the children and many were eager to participate in the activity as soon as they saw it!

Children were invited to stamp their papers however they wanted. We love the jolly red snowman!

Every child made a sheet of printed paper. Why don't you invite your child to choose whose present gets wrapped in this special paper and encourage him or her to help you wrap? It would be great fine motor and hand-eye practice!

Cloud Dough

2011-11-22T13:47:00.000-05:00

We've been reading about cloud dough on the internet with great interest and decided to make some with our children. After reviewing the recipe, the children helped us measure and mix the ingredients - 8 parts white flour to 1 1/2 parts baby oil (you can add more oil if you want a stickier consistency).

The cloud dough was so interesting because it was silky and stuck together, but crumbled easily. It was so much fun to play with!

Feeding Wildlife

2011-11-21T18:09:00.001-05:00

We had a large bin of corn donated to our classroom that we decided to place outdoors for the animals in the forested area of our school yard. We discussed with the children what types of animals might enjoy this food source, and where they thought a good place to leave it would be. Because it was such a beautiful day outside, we spent time looking around the yard and discussing with our friends what we thought.

Many children decided to bury the corn a little in the leaf piles or hide it in the grooves of our large trees.

We asked the children to remember where they hid their corn. In a week we're going to head outside again and see if it's still there, or if it's been eaten! I wonder what we'll find!

Tape Painting

2011-11-17T20:48:00.000-05:00

Mrs. Bombardier put out a wonderfully layered painting activity for the children to explore. Children were invited to first cover a piece of painting paper with painter's tape (so it could be easily removed from the paper without ripping it).

Once the children were happy with their tape designs, they painted on top of the paint using a variety of colours.

When finished painting, the children carefully lifted the tape from their painting, revealing an amazing design below!

Some children chose to repeat the process and put more tape on top of the painting, paint again, and remove the tape to reveal more designs. Others were happy with their original finished product.

The artwork lead to much rich discussion about the process of the art making and describing what the pieces reminded them of. The children had some interesting ideas. What do you see when you appreciate the art work?

One of our favourite blogs had a great post about how to talk to young children about art work that you might find interesting!

Roller Painting and Print Making

2011-11-17T20:35:00.000-05:00

We wanted to engage children in a communal art experience that encouraged sharing and problem solving. After sprinkling the primary colours on the art table, we invited the children to explore painting using rollers.

Paint rollers are such a fun tool to use and the children were amazed at the new shades of colour that were created on the table. Painting on the table provided children the freedom of space and movement as their actions were not confined by the size of a paper.

Once the children had created colours that they liked, we encouraged them to press a paper on top to create a print of their work.

When they lifted the paper, it was like magic! The plastic cover on the table helped the paint to swirl and bubble and the textures and colours that weren't evident on the black plastic looked stunning in the prints!

Colour Dropping on the Light Table

2011-11-17T20:20:00.001-05:00

We decided to put one of the children's favourite activities on the light table in order to add a new dimension to the experience. After covering the table with a plastic cover, we placed clear trays filled with water and the primary colours on top.

We invited the children to transfer the water in the trays using clear pipettes.

The light from the table illuminated the colours on the trays and helped children to distinguish between very light and dark shades. It was scientific art making!

The children were so engaged with the experience! Their conversations were rich with language describing the process and product of their work together.

They also shared colours from one tray to the other, working together to create new colours.

Beautiful! That smile says it all!

Tin Foil Sculptures

2011-11-15T19:26:00.000-05:00

We love to create art with a variety of mediums in our classroom. We also love anything that strengthens our children's fine motor skills, helping them to become strong writers! Today the children worked with tin foil, sculpting it into unique creations!

The foil was so easy to work with as it was pliable and could be made the exact size and shape the children wanted. It could be cut with scissors and coloured on with markers.

Just look at how hard those fingers are working! Remember our favourite saying! Busy fingers equals busy brains!

Their creations were so interesting!

Sign In Survey

2011-11-13T21:14:00.002-05:00

Friday's sign in survey asked children to place their name under their favourite colour. We used post it notes that way children did not have to cramp together in a small place to write their name, and the names could be removed from the survey and placed in children's portfolios for record keeping.

Many of our children used their prior knowledge of a VENN diagram to indicate their preference for more than one colour. Notice the placement of the name in between two colours and with arrows drawn to indicate both colours!

This survey inspired others during play time. One child surveyed his peers to see who wanted to be a police officer in the newly built police station in the block center.

Another child decided to create a graph showing who was and wasn't present at school that day.

Salad Spinner Painting

2011-11-13T21:06:00.001-05:00

We thought it would be fun to engage the children in a way of painting using movement - especially considering how interested they have been in helping to make things move in our classroom (e.g., marble runs, water runs, ramps and balls).

Children were encouraged to drop paint onto a piece of paper that was in the bottom of a salad spinner. We decided to use up the left over paint from the easel since we were cleaning it for the weekend.

Children could choose whatever colour and amount of paint they wanted.

Once the paint was selected, the top was placed tightly on the spinner and the child was encouraged to spin it as fast as he or she could!

Once finished, the lid was lifted and voila! Instant spin artwork! Beautiful!

The children were intrigued with how different each child's art was, even when the same colours of paint were used. They were impressed that the paint moved and swirled together, even when no brush was used.

Shaving Cream Structures

2011-11-11T21:45:00.000-05:00

The children engaged in one of our favourite activities today! Building structures using shaving cream! The shaving cream acts as a very strong mortar, holding the blocks together enabling the children to build taller, more unique structures than if they were just stacking the blocks on top of one another. This activity also appeals to children because of the sensory nature of the shaving cream. It's just so much fun to play with and smells so good! It's also very easy to wash out of the children's clothing and off the blocks.

So much fun!

Preserving Autumn in our Classroom

2011-11-11T21:34:00.000-05:00

The children enjoyed the last days of warm weather and went for another nature walk around the school yard and neighbourhood this week. We invited them to collect the most beautiful and unique leaves they could find, using their critical eyes. They gathered quite the collection!

Mrs. Bombardier helped the children to first press the leaves and then preserve them in between two pieces of clear contact paper. Once the leaves were protected, two holes were punched at their tops and the children were invited to string the leaves for display in the classroom. It was great hand-eye and fine motor practice!

The children decided to string the leaves in a pattern of small, big, small, big, small, big... It was a great math connection to showcase their prior learning about patterning. The leaves are currently on display in our science area. They are a great natural way to decorate the room with a reminder of the children's autumn activities. We are hoping to press spring flowers once they bloom and hang them near the leaves.

Paper Sculptures

2011-11-09T21:58:00.001-05:00

Exploring whether lines are curvy, straight, or zigzag helps children explore art and literacy elements at the same time! Letters are composed of straight and curvy parts. Today we placed a variety of paper strips out for the children to create their own paper sculptures. Their work was incredible!

The children bent, folded, twisted, and rolled the paper into unique shapes, gluing it onto a big background.

We asked the children what their artwork reminded them of...

A silly car track, diving boards, a pyramid, slinkys, and stairs were the answers they gave us.

Exploring Shadows

2011-11-09T21:47:00.001-05:00

We enjoyed some of the rare moments of sun by heading outside to try and find shadows. The children discovered themselves on the pavement and we encouraged them to try and trace each other's shadow.

As they worked, we engaged them in conversations about how they thought shadows were made.

"It's when the sun evaporates," explained one of our children. "It's like water when the sun comes out. It disappears. Shadows are when the sun disappears." What an interesting hypothesis!

Exploring Sound

2011-11-07T20:39:00.003-05:00

What is sound? How can we make interesting sounds? Our children expressed an interest in finding answers to these questions today!

Some children used instruments that they created from everyday objects like an empty food container.

Others were happy exploring the musical instruments from our class set.

We decided to redecorate our science area and include some musical elements like this wall of pots that can be used for composing music!

Ah, the joy of exploring objects that make noise and expressing yourself! We are hoping to continue with our explorations of how to make music in the classroom. Please visit this site to see our inspiration and what we'd really love to do! If there are any talented parents out there who would be willing to help build the larger instruments, we would be forever grateful!

Adding Layers to the Marble Run Table

2011-11-06T20:51:00.000-05:00

All it takes is one little spark to engage children in a rich inquiry! The other day we noticed the children had moved their marble play from the tub of the water table and were engaging in marble 'battles' on the bottom layer. How interesting!

We listened to their conversations and picked up on key language that indicated they were interested in racing the marbles and having marble contests.

In order to heighten the experience, we suggested to the children that they consider designing the marble run so that the tubes would no longer drop into the tub, but run to the bottom level of the table. They were eager to try it out. We provided tape, tubes, and scissors and supported children's ideas for how the tubes could be remounted on the table.

This activity engaged children in the inquiry and problem solving process in an authentic and meaningful way. They had to test and retest the locations of the new tubes and see if they dropped the marbles onto the lower level.

Once the tubes were moved, the children became busy planning the new marble competitions they would have. The first they tested was to see which marble dropped the fastest in the new tubes! What amazing problem solving!

Textured Brushes

2011-11-06T20:42:00.000-05:00

I picked up these textured brushes at the NAEYC exhibit center as well! The children enjoyed experimenting with the various markings left as they swatted, brushed, dabbed, and twirled them over the paper.

New Play Dough Rollers

2011-11-06T20:38:00.000-05:00

While at the NAEYC conference this past week, I indulged in a little retail therapy - art materials for young children of course! I couldn't resist these amazing textured play dough rollers and cutters.

We try and involve the children in helping to create the play dough as often as possible. It's meaningful for children to create the recipe with us as they experience authentic measurement and take pride in creating something for everyone to use.

A wonderful speaker I heard at the conference summed it up best...busy hands equals busy brains. When we provide opportunities for young children to engage wholly in experiences and explore materials, their brains are engaged with understanding the materials, connecting the experiences with prior knowledge, and creating new understandings about themselves and the world around them.

Upside Down Drawing

2011-11-06T20:28:00.000-05:00

What does it look like to draw upside down? We posed this question to our children and decided to find out by taping a huge piece of paper to the bottom of one of our large tables and placing drawing materials underneath.

The children were anxious to check it out! We placed blankets on the floor to help make them more comfortable.

How many can fit under the table? The children were full of giggles as they squeezed together and drew!

They realized it was harder than they thought!

It was a lot more fun too!

What a great way to encourage children to engage in communal drawing together! We are hoping to try this with paint next!

Can Drive

2011-11-03T19:54:00.000-04:00

Families,

Our school is starting a can drive. Please consider sending in non-perishable items with your child. Thank you!

Glue Prints

2011-11-02T00:07:00.001-04:00

Mrs. Bombardier helped the children explore printmaking with glue and paint.

First the child creates a design using white glue.

After the glue dries the child paints using an assortment of colours on top of the glue.

A blank page is pressed on top of the original...

And voila! A beautiful print is created when the pages are gently pulled apart!

Weaving a Spider Web

2011-10-31T16:28:00.000-04:00

We wanted to capitalize on the children's interest in weaving and were inspired by a recent post by Teacher Tom (a blog we follow), so we asked the children how they thought they might be able to weave a spider web. We turned a small table upside down, gave the children balls of black yarn, and sat back and watched.

The children immediately began to work together, passing the yarn back and forth and weaving the web in, out, and around. Once in a while a child would move out of the way so he or she didn't get caught in the web.

What an interesting creation and great way to solve the problem of how to create the web.

Once the web was finished, we provided the children with plastic spiders and the web became a dramatic playscape!

Tomorrow we will add sticks, rocks, and greenery to the playscape to encourage even richer interactions between the spiders and children!

Painting on a Clear Canvas

2011-10-30T19:14:00.000-04:00

The clear lid to our water table is such an interesting and versatile piece of equipment in our classroom. We decided to use it as a clear canvas for painting!

We put the lid in between two table halves to hold it up, and used various colours of paint and cotton swabs as brushes.

The children were intrigued with the idea of painting on the lid and were immediately drawn to the activity.

Instead of washing the lid right away we have decided to prop it up against one of our walls and enjoy it for a while!

Building Literacy and Planning into our Construction Area

2011-10-29T13:59:00.000-04:00

Although the building center is one of the most popular areas in the classroom, with so many children this year we have found that the children have found it difficult to organize their ideas and build a cooperative, recognizable project together. On Friday we read a story about a construction worker who uses plans to help his team construct a building. We engaged the children in a discussion after the story about what building plans would look like and be used for, and then added a 'building plans' book to our construction center. We encouraged the children to create plans before building anything, hoping this would provide a purpose to their play and add some literacy to the construction center.

The children were eager to use the book and decided to build motorcycles. They collaboratively planned together before building.

After the children were done planning, we discussed with them each part of their drawing, helping to engage them in rich discussions using specific vocabulary. The motorcycles each needed steering wheels, engines, mirrors, kickstands, pedals, throttles, rims, and windshields.

The children then got to work building their motorcycles. They referred often to their plans, helping to keep them focused and working on a purposeful creation together.

Notice the children looking over their plans and discussing them as they are in the middle of building the motorcycles!

The children even created working parts to their motorcycle! Check out these handlebars with moving gas and break parts!

Light Table Playscape

2011-10-29T13:41:00.000-04:00

We have been eager to continue to capitalize on the children's fascination with the new light table. On Friday we set up a mini farm playscape for the children to explore. We hoped that by using farm props, the children would recall various stories we have read so far this year, and use this background knowledge to support their cooperative play ideas. We especially wanted our children to practice their oral language skills, and engage in conversations with one another.

One child added a mud patch for the pigs to use. He looked around the room and decided that brown construction paper would work best.

The horse family decided to walk along the pond so they could get a drink together! Notice how the blue stones have been placed together to represent water on the light table!

Marker Experiment

2011-10-27T18:49:00.002-04:00

What happens when you put markers in cups of water? We asked our children what they thought and then experimented with markers and water on our light table.

The children were fascinated by what they observed - the water turned the colour of the marker almost immediately!

Wanting to extend this activity and encourage children to engage in a writing experience, we put out white paper and white crayons and encouraged the children to write 'secret messages' to one another. Children wrote on their papers with the crayon...

And used the coloured water to decode the secret message!

What fun!

Our New Building Wall

2011-10-26T19:58:00.000-04:00

We converted the back of a bookshelf into a building wall by adding pegboard hooks, recycled containers, and wire to it! We encouraged the children to experiment with attaching materials to the building wall. It was quite challenging and excellent fine motor control!

There was a lot of rich discussion happening regarding how to build on this wall and what the children were hoping to accomplish at the center.

One of our children figured out how to make a marble run! Wow! We can't wait to see what other inquiries happen here!

Exploring Numbers and Quantity at the Light Table

2011-10-26T19:48:00.000-04:00

We thought we'd make an ordinary math activity exciting for the children by putting transparencies with numbers, words, and quantity at the light table. The children were invited to decorate the numerals or count out the correct number of gems for each number card. It was quite popular!

Some children made patterns when decorating their numerals too!

Sparkly Play Dough Creatures

2011-10-24T23:15:00.000-04:00

We made a very appealing batch of sparkly black play dough for the children to use with odds and ends from our art area. The children were intrigued by the wonderful contrast between the dark colour of the dough and the iridescent sparkles.

Their creatures were out of this world!

Outdoor Mud Kitchen

2011-10-24T23:06:00.000-04:00

Looking for a great way to engage your children outside? Creating a mud kitchen (at school or in your backyard) is an amazing way to encourage creativity, math, and language development in children while engaging them in play outdoors. We have been inspired by recent blogs that have demonstrated easy ways to create outdoor kitchens.

This weekend I helped my children to create a mud kitchen in our backyard. We used an old wooden box with layers, our play kitchen utensils (real ones would be much better), and whatever we could find in our backyard. My children were so engaged in the experience and it was interesting to watch them play cooperatively together for over an hour - picking ingredients for their 'stew', measuring out what they needed, and pretending to taste and re-taste their creations.

Goop!

2011-10-22T12:23:00.000-04:00

Mrs. Bombardier put out one of our favourite messy activities...GOOP! Goop is cornstarch and water mixed together with some food colouring. Just enough water is added to the cornstarch so that it is wet and will drip through one's fingers when picked up, but dry enough so it is hard to the touch when in the sensory bin. It is messy and so much fun!

Goop is interesting because it acts like both a solid and liquid - this intrigued our children especially after our experiments with melting crayons earlier in the week. We added tools like funnels, spoons, and bowls to the goop to enhance the exploration.

Weaving

2011-10-22T12:16:00.001-04:00

We wanted to engage the children in an activity that would help strengthen their fine motor skills and create a communal piece of artwork. We placed out a piece of chicken wire (with the edges taped) and a basket full of wonderful ribbons, pipecleaners, and strips of colourful fabrics. The children were encouraged to try and weave the materials through the chicken wire.

After a day on the art table, we taped the wire to the back of a bookshelf so that it could be permanently displayed as both a piece of artwork and as a place where the children could work on their weaving any time they wanted to. We left the basket next to the shelf and plan to add new weaving materials to it periodically in order to re-interest children in the experience.

Ambulance!

2011-10-22T12:00:00.000-04:00

Mr. Basinski brought the ambulance to school on Thursday for the children to see! We were so excited! Before we went outside to check out the vehicle, Mr. Basinski spent time explaining all the special equipment that he uses for his job and reading us a story about staying safe.

Once outside we got to go through the ambulance. The children were very interested in all the specialized equipment that Mr. Basinski uses when driving the ambulance and in how the ambulance looked and sounded with the lights and siren on!

Thank you for a wonderful visit!

Colour Dropping

2011-10-20T20:02:00.000-04:00

We love any activity that involves colour mixing! We also love activities that strengthen children's fine motor skills which will help them to become confident writers later on. We had some lovely plastic trays donated to our classroom, and we decided to fill them up with water. In a few spots on each tray, we coloured the water with the primary colours using blue, red, and yellow food colouring.

Using droppers and pipettes, the children were invited to mix the colours by dropping colours from one section of the tray to the other.

The results were stunning!

Crayon Melting

2011-10-20T10:39:00.009-04:00

We caught the crayon melting fever that's been spreading on early years blogs from around the world! What a great way to integrate science and art together!

We started with a line of neutral crayons hot glued onto a piece of heavy cardboard. Placing this cardboard on the art easel provided a stable place for the cardboard to sit, and was low enough for the children to reach without help.

We had a hairdryer hanging next to the easel that the children could access. We showed them how to turn the hairdryer on and off and how to have it on a low or high setting.

The children realized that when they aimed the hot air from the dryer at the crayons, the heat melted the crayons. Drawing on past experience melting ice, the children came to the conclusion that the crayons were a solid that turned to a liquid when heat was applied.

As the wax melted, the colours mixed together and created beautiful designs. When the heat was not applied, the wax hardened and drip marks were visible on the cardboard.

This is a very messy activity as the wax blows with the hair dryer. The children realized that they could direct the wax if they moved the dryer in a specific way.

The children also made some wonderful connections between what they saw in the artwork and their past experiences. Many children thought the crayon art looked like fireworks or a sunset.

We tried it the next day with different colours!