Exploring Our Creativity
2/2/2018
Child Lead LearningLast week I noticed a lot of creative and collaborative play centering around "doggies" and "families." We had dogs in the wheel center, dogs on camping trips, dog nests on our bean bags, and many moms and dads caring for these dogs. Our Explorers were clearly into dogs. After seeing this interest, and how detailed they were getting in their pretend play, I knew we needed a center to allow them to further explore this play. We now have a vet and pet center with doctor tools, bandages, a pet washing station, towles, brushes, blankets, costumes, and more. And our Explores have been loving it. I have noticed how their vocabulary is expanding and that they are communicating more detailed messages to each other "Dr. please give my bunny a check up. She hurt her paw." They are also drawing on their own experiences at the doctor's office; many of our pets get flu shots. I love being able to adapt the classroom to the students' interests. It makes for some wonderful, unexpected learning. WheelsIn our Wheel Study this week we focused on what objects have wheels. We started an ongoing list of "Things That Have Wheels and Axles." We looked at what powers wheels and sorted our wheel cards based on what makes them go: motors, pedals, or pushing. We also talked about how gravity can make wheels go. We then used our ramps to experiment with how different materials affect how fast wheels go. Our first experiment was with a blank ramp, a ramp with a towel. and a ramp with a rubber mat. We found that the blank ramp allowed the cars to go the fastest. Our Explorers had lots of great ideas about why: "the plain ramp is smoothest," "the fur on the towel grabs the car's wheels" We learned that in science the word for what we were seeing and describing is "friction." We have been making lots of vehicles with wheels and axles. This week we made cardboard vehicles with wooden axles from an art kit and we made clothespin button racers. The students expressed both this week and last week that these cars were too wobbly or that the wheels came off frequently. We needed cars we could make that could also withstand play. So on Friday we made blueprints of the type of cars we would like to design. I then showed them pinewood racing blocks for making cars. Our Explorers worked hard sanding down the blocks to get them ready for painting on Monday. What Learning Looks Like in Early KindergartenComments are closed.
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April 2021
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