Falling Leaves

September 26, 2016. 

Fall has arrived and we have been exploring the leaves outdoors.  The children have been collecting and feeling the leaves.  Mrs. Cruz decided to decorate the room with Fall leaves.  One child looks up at the leaves indoors and begins to smile.  He points to the leaves and reaches his arms up in attempts to touch the leaves.  

Based on the child's curiosity I gather some fabric Fall leaves and yellow flower petals and the exploration begins.  I throw the leaves up in the air and the children stop and watch as the leaves fall onto the floor, giggling with excitement.

It is great to have a little help.  The child picks up a petal, reaches up and lets go of the petal as he predicts the outcome.  

We begin to identify and select whether to throw the petals or the leaves.

After observing the other children in the classroom we learned that the petals sometimes stays on your clothes.

We make sure that we all see the leaves as they flutter to the floor.

It is always fun to play a game of peek a boo with leaves.

 

We can pretend that leaves are hats as we place them on our heads.

Falling to the ground and dancing with the leaves demonstrates creative thinking and self expression. 

"Play is the highest form of research" Albert Einstein 

Written by Miss Sousa

Watching The Machine Move

On September 12, 2016, when the children were outside playing, suddenly they all stopped what they were doing. They were curiously looking at the sidewalk.  They had noticed a man who was driving the big riding mower, cutting the grass. One child screamed and pointed at it. The other children just stood  still and watched as it moved across the grass.

 

The children experienced the sound, and watched the movements of the machine.  They also learned what the machine is used for as they demonstrated excitement and curiosity.  


Ms. Wong

Having Fun Outside

Going outside is one way of learning and exploring new things. Sometimes, just being outdoors helps our body to calm down and relax. It helps us to become creative and make the most out of almost everything we see in our surrounding.

The children were having free play outside when they started finding different things on the

ground. One child found a block and decided to share it with her friend. After, she grabbed a long wood chip and started waving in the air. Another child found a coconut shell that had fallen off our sensory wall display. He picked it up, showed it and gave it to me, pointing on the wall where it fell.

On the deck the child found a piece of wood with screws on it. One child was touching and exploring a screw and decided to call on her friend to let him experience what she had discovered. The other child came closer and felt the screw. They took turns holding the screw for a couple of minutes before I brought out some toys for us to play with.

Another child joined us and they decided to play with the lawn mower. Pushing it around and towards the small hill we have in our quiet cove playground.

I decided to bring more toys out. BLOCKS!

I started balancing the blocks on my head and the children started doing the same!

After the blocks , it is time for some music!

Being outside is so much fun! Especially when you spend it with your friends.

-Mrs. Javier-