Colossal Collections!

............ I wish this season could stretch ...........

I wish that the changes we are witnessing could last a while longer.

The children taking a moment to take in the

fresh scents of autumn by our pond

Thank you so much for sending in pressed fall leaves that you collected on your walks. We marveled that each collection was unique, as were the methods of pressing and preserving these little gems. The children have been so proud to bring them in, and we put them straight to "work".  The first collection which was presented last week, provided the initial inspiration for one of our bulletin boards. The leaves were pressed in three separate sheets of wax paper, and labeled with "kid print" : oak leaves, maple leaves and basswood leaves. When the next presentation was made, the children identified the "Canadian" leaves (maple), and it was suggested we put them all together. The children were identifying shape as a feature of their collections, and so the bulletin board emerged.

"We can sort by shape."

Four categories were created "on the fly" - leaves that look like the have little fingers similar to the oak leaves, leaves that are more rounded like the basswood leaves, leaves that have points like the maple leaves, and leaves that look like feathers. Over the coming days, more leaves came in and we added to the bulletin board, allowing everyone a chance to contribute.

 In our focus groups, we took the remaining leaves and brainstormed other ways that we could sort our collections. The process engaged the children and the morning flew by.



Sorting leaves by colour

Creating a "rainbow" of leaves

Another "rainbow"

Our second bulletin board that documents

the childrens' sorting collections

And then there was the MASSIVE leaf that was presented. Compared to their little hands, it was a shocking size and begged to be displayed. As the leaves came in, we sorted from largest to smallest, featuring maple leaves.

Part of the leaf sorting process

After sorting their leaves, one of the focus groups were inspired to make a long leaf train. That's a lot of leaves! How long is it?

The children use link-its to measure

 the chain of leaves

And once we had exhausted the leaf sorting activities, the paints came out. Brushes were dipped, and colour was applied. We did a water colour painting of maple leaves, focusing on one leaf at a time. We paid attention to the amount of paint necessary to add pigment to the paper. We replicated a pencil grip, using our brushes.

Water colour painting on dry paper

This activity was a precursor to a painting activity completed a few days later. The children had lots of "hands on" experience with the leaves at this point, and had observed the contours of the leaves, the colours and the veins on each leaf. Our next activity incorporated these observation skills and replicating the symmetry we observed. They were presented with a piece of paper, on which was only half of a leaf. Being fully aware that our little people are still developing fine motor skills, we encouraged them to take a risk and try their hand at tracing the other half of the leaf in pencil. Admittedly, we did not know how this would turn out. Both teachers and students took a risk with this one. The next step was for the children to pick up their paint brushes and interpret how the other half of the leaf would look. The results are amazing. 

So many curriculum expectations were covered. We touched on mathematics, literacy, science and social emotional needs. Creativity was employed, and critical thinking skills were exercised. We cannot thank you enough for sending in your collections! It is wonderful to witness the children engaged in "play", using natural materials.

Counting with our fingers, the children can

"read" this poem

Thank you stopping by our atelier!

Little Tree Huggers!

" Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature. It will never fail you. "

~ Frank Lloyd Wright

Inquiry : How many children does it take to form a circle around the tree?

Earlier this week, we took advantage of the remaining warm and sunny weather and head for the field to go exploring. There was no specific outcome planned. We simply needed to use our skills of observation.

We were intent on listening. What would we notice?

We were intent on watching. What would we notice?

We were intent on smelling. What would we notice?

We were intent on feeling. What would we notice?

We noticed that some trees have leaves, and other trees have needles.

"It doesn't have any leaves."

"It's a little bit darker on the skin."

"The bark."

"That one has pointy sticks on it."

"Branches."

"Branches grow leaves."

"The tree is so big and has lots of branches."

"The leaves fall off and the trees are naked."

"Leaves are for summer."

"Leaves are for the birds."

"One has changing leaves and one doesn't."

"The other one has needles."

We spoke to the differences between deciduous and coniferous trees, and asked the children if they think the trees will look the same next week?

In reference to the leaves, one little person said,

"If they're still on - they may change. They'll look red." 

I had anticipated that we would make our way around the entire yard, but our adventure took an unexpected turn. Someone tripped. They were ok, and many friends stopped to help him up. But they wondered, why did he trip? Remember, the little things are the big things in kindergarten. They notice, and they observe... 

Roots growing out from the base of a tree = tripping hazard.

 We spent a l-o-n-g time checking out the roots in this part of the yard, and didn't move beyond this point until it was time to come in.

"There's logs coming out of the tree."

"The grass is growing up to cover the logs."

 "It's like a log, but it's not."

"It's connected to the other tree."

"They're roots."

"You can step on the roots."

"It reminds me of a river."

"Maybe the roots are making the leaves fall off the tree."

 Our nature walk was a 'jumping off' point for a number of follow-up activities. We did some yoga - 'tree pose', and tested our balance, comparing it to a tree swaying in the wind. Our 'limbs' helped us balance. We spoke to the function of roots, and how they provide nutrients to the tree, ensuring its survival. We read a story, The Tree, written by Dana Lyons & illustrated by David Danioth. It is a personal experience narrative, told by an ancient tree on the west coast. The story highlighted the fact that trees are homes to birds and other wild life, and its roots hold back the river banks. Towards the end of the story, the tree expresses its gratitude for the children who embrace it, and the wind which carries its song.

This got us talking about the sounds trees make and how they communicate. This conversation was fascinating, and I got caught up in the "I wonder ..." discussion, momentarily forgetting that ideas were coming from 3 & 4 year olds. This alone, could be a separate post.

We were also inspired to pick up our paint brushes again, and create another collaborative art work, in the form of a mural. 

Just the basics (grass, a few outlines, and a couple tree trunks) were prepared on the mural as a provocation... 

To play.

To explore.

To observe.

To create.  

Ideas are shared, and details emerge.

  

A view from above - above ground.

Roots are added, showing an "underground" perspective.

You can imagine my delight, when, one of our friends shared a little "root" vegetable from their garden! How timely, and how wonderful.



  

These two little carrots reminded us of the roots we explored on our nature walk! And I was reminded of how we are all interconnected. The beauty of nature fills us with wonder.

Thank you for visiting the atelier.

The Bustle About Buses!

Our picto-graph: How We Travel Home

Do you remember, in the last post, I mentioned that the seemingly small things are big things in JK? Not much has changed since the last post. Though, this time, I`m speaking of buses. Every morning, there is much anticipation for the arrival of the bright yellow buses. Even the children in the EDP can relate, because when the buses start rolling in, the yard starts to get even busier.

Some of the "bus" books we have shared

We are so proud of our little people, who took a leap of faith and arrived at school in September on board their bus. There has been much much discussed and read on this popular topic, and many activities have been inspired as a result. Bus safety has been highlighted, but then more recently, our focus groups (*focus groups take place when 3 educators are in the room) rotated through activities that incorporate play into our everyday learning.

Through our name recognition, ABC books and Morning Message, letter recognition has been incorporated into daily practise. With our focus being on the big yellow modes of transportation, we were often encountering the BUS word in print. In upper case, and lower case. Children have been developing fine motor coordination and tracing over the key letters using yellow manipulatives they could scrounge.

 Recreating the word : bus

 Note the use of lower case letters

 This person opted to use the colours : yellow, green & red.

"The colours of a traffic light"

Creativity has been explored, and various art materials used, when the children took to painting a collaborative bus mural. The collaboration piece is essential when building a sense of belonging and cooperation in the classroom.

Our beautiful collaborative bus mural

School Bus by Donald Crews

Full of environmental print that inspired our signs

After revisiting the book, School Bus by Donald Crews   the children were noticing the illustrated stop signs, bus stop signs and traffic lights. This inspired the creation of signs for our dramatic play centre. There were many opportunities to incorporate writing into the centre. The children decided to write GO for green, STOP for red, and SLOW for yellow.

And of course, the children are becoming more comfortable in the classroom and sharing a bit more. A little person working at another centre overheard our discussion about traffic lights and shared, "When my daddy sees the yellow light, he says hammer it!"

Our "bus" dramatic play centre

Child created signs for the dramatic play centre

 Detail of the inside of the Donald Crew book. 

Note the SCHOOL BUS STOP sign in the illustration

Note the traffic light in the illustration

We continue to be inspired by the important things that are happening in our lives. In JK, this is how we are incorporating play into our full day.

Thank you for dropping by our atelier!

We Love Our Shoes!

Welcome!

 

Indoor shoes, lined up in a row.

The last two weeks have been spent settling into the "new" classroom, meeting new friends, and establishing routines. Each and everyday, we are growing more independent and our confidence is developing. Each September, I am reminded of how the seemingly small things are BIG things to a group of 3 and 4 year olds. For example, shoes.

Yes, shoes. Identifying the difference between "outdoor" shoes and "indoor" shoes. Which shoes belong to who? (*Thank you to those families who labeled the shoes! It makes a difference!) Which shoe goes on which foot? How do you slide the velcro piece through the little slot it came out of? (* What did kindergarten teachers & children do before velcro?!?) Where do our indoor shoes go? Where do our outdoor shoes go? How do you line them up, together, so they don't get lost or kicked down the hall. (*sigh)  We're getting there :) With the help of song, Pete the Cat and perseverence.

On our shared writing chart, we identified shoes as one of the independent goals we are meeting, and took a photo of our beautiful shoes all lined up in a row (seen in photo above).

Shared writing

We enjoyed the story, "Pete the Cat" written by Eric Litwin & illustrated by James Dean. The story features a cat named Pete, who struts down the street in his brand new white shoes. He proceeds to step in things that change the colour of his shoes. But does Pete cry? Goodness no. He keeps walking along and singing his song. The moral of the story: No matter what you step in, keeping walking along, because everything is good. You can find a live recording of the story by Eric Litwin by clicking here.

Pete the Cat, top / left

We are fortunate to have 3 educators in the room during a period of our day, and we have taken advantage of this to "break-out" into 3 different groups and integrate play and a learning focus. One of the fundamental principles of the FDK program weighs heavily on play. In the Ontario curriculum document it states, "Play is a means to early learning that capitalizes on childrens' natural curiosity and exuberance." Each of the three groups was given materials to "measure" their shoes. Limited direction was given ... it was a chance to explore.

Of course, the questions began. This is what we love! Inquiry from the children. What does "measure" mean? How do we do it? (...using the materials provided) ? This brief "break-out" session lended itself to several language and math curriculum strands.

For example, one curriculum goal is, "...demonstrate, through investigation, an awareness of non-standard measuring devices."

Measuring length, using pattern blocks.

The children explored length, then they spontaneously starting "measuring" the perimetre. We made connections to language ~ we use the word "perimetre" to describe the edge of the carpet when sitting down at circle time ~ and made the connection when measuring around shoes.

Measuring "perimetre"

Chart paper and markers were grabbed, and we started recording "data" in groups.

Overall, we were pleased with the direction our focused learning and "play" seemed to go in. Social interactions, fine motor practice, numeracy, measurement, and language skills (verbal and written) all seemed to blend together. Our "work" has only just begun!

Thanks for visiting our atelier.

 

New Beginnings!

My family and I are so grateful for the lazy days of summer, and the chance to recharge & refresh! And, with the end of summer, comes the much anticipated trek back to school. Usually, I relish the process and take my time preparing for the new year ahead. This year, I was thrown for a loop.

3 days to unpack, prepare and start anew in the renovated FDK room. Where does one even begin? It's been a journey that that I haven't travelled alone (thank goodness!). Family and colleagues have provided tremendous support, for which (and whom) I am grateful for.

Although far from perfection, I strive to create an environment that embraces the childrens' interests. It is important to me that the natural environment is reflected inside, and an atmosphere of "calm" is available for all persons who move about the room throughout the day.

With the commencement of FDK, there are so many changes to embrace this year. I look forward to the journey, and bringing forth the "voices of our classroom" with this blog.

The progression of classroom setup has been documented; stage by stage, from each of the four corners.

 

Corner 1 (Before & After)

 

 

 

Corner 2 (Before & After)

 

 

                                                

Corner 3 (Before & After)

                     

 

 

Corner 4 (Before & After)

 

 

What a relief it was to put the room together, and finally meet the new families and little people we'll be working with this year.  

 

The atelier awaits!