Exploring Sound

Our children never cease to amaze us with their ideas and willingness to explore and experiment! One of our children was playing with the large paper tubes in the building center and noticed that if he spoke in one end, his voice was amplified and seemed to travel to the other end. Some other children became fascinated and decided to connect multiple tubes together and see if they could create a 'tube telephone' that would reach into the classroom next door.

Problem solving how to connect the tubes efficiently and in a way that allowed the sound to travel and not escape through the openings between the tubes proved to be a challenge.

After each tube was connected the children would speak into it and see if their voices were still travelling to the end.

In the following video clip you can see the children experimenting with whether the tube is working, and you can hear the children on the other end (who are not visible in the video) saying they can't hear the speaker.

One group of boys worked on each end of the tube, which quickly grew in length.

We always love it when the children dress in role for their experience. Some gathered materials like ear protectors from the building center to enhance their role in this play.

Another challenge for the boys was problem solving how to prop the giant tube up. They used tables, chairs, and the ledge against the wall to support it.

Signs of Spring

It's supposed to be a nicer weekend than what we've had lately. We are encouraging children to bring 'signs of spring' into the classroom. We are hoping they bring pictures of themselves playing outside in spring weather, evidence of spring from the outdoors (e.g., a budding branch, a picture of flowers blooming in the garden) and any other information to help us understand the changing of the season. We want to add these signs of spring to our calendar wall. Any help or support you can provide is greatly appreciated! Thank you!

After my visit to the Bishop Strachan School in Toronto this week, I have become inspired to create an even more child-centered classroom environment to support our children's wonderful ideas and inquiries. We are hoping to enhance the building experiences we offer children by providing more natural materials for them to explore including small, smooth landscaping rocks, sliced tree trunks, driftwood, and any other materials that you think would inspired creativity and innovation in our children's creations. If you have any of these materials and would be willing to donate them to our program, it would be greatly appreciated!  Thank you!

It's Spring!

The crocus bulbs the children planted in late November have finally bloomed! We were so excited to see this happy sign of spring!

Water Table Potions

Children enjoyed making their own 'potions' at the water table this week. We set up cups with various colours of water. The children were able to choose any colour they wished and add drops to another container. Mixing various colours created many new and interesting shades!

Oatmeal

What's more fun than dry oatmeal in the tactile table? WET oatmeal of course!

Awesome Airplanes

Two of our boys were very interested in making airplanes during playtime. They designed these awesome airplanes themselves!

As they pretended to fly the 2D airplanes around the room, we wondered if anyone knew how to make 3D paper airplanes. No one did, so we recruited some boys in the classroom next door to help out. They showed us just how to do it!

Wanting to capitalize on the children's interest in airplanes, we checked out some books from the library that showed different planes and ways to make your own airplanes using simple materials. The children were fascinated by the books!

We gathered the materials from our shelves and around the room and the children got to work making their own unique airplanes.

Many referred to the guide books for specific instructions.

We loved seeing the teamwork approach and lively discussions children were having as they tested their airplanes and modified them based on how they flew. Many children realized that if the plane was too light, it wouldn't travel far or straight.

Children tested their airplanes by flying them in the straight path through the classroom.

Some finished products...

Once the children had created airplanes that flew well, they wanted to challenge themselves by flying the airplanes through an obstacle course. Mr. Cipkar helped us to construct one.

The goal was to fly the plane straight through the hoop.