Movie Mania!

We suspect that over the holidays, many families went to the theatre. The children were talking a lot about movies, and from here, we decided to open a new dramatic play centre.

In terms of materials needed for new centre, popcorn was a high ticket item. We gathered up some kraft paper bags, writing tools, and white tissue paper. The children were once again, encouraged...

To play.

To explore.

To observe.

To create.

Literacy is immersed into the program, as the children sound out the word popcorn and record the letters they hear. 

The tissue paper was balled up to form the popcorn!

In order to purchase items from the canteen, the children put their creativity to work, and made purses.

The children enjoyed selecting the movie that they wanted to watch - recorded on sheets that were displayed in the centre. With tickets in hand, popcorn bags and 3D glasses, our theatre was hopping with activity!

Thanks for visiting the atelier.

Fabric Fun

   Daily, the children inspire us to exercise creativity. During 'loose parts' one morning, a gigantic bag of fabric scraps was spread out over the carpet. Fabric is a wonderful medium in the classroom - the pattern, the texture, the nature in which it can be rolled, smoothed and folded, adds to the whole sensory experience.

We wondered what would happen if we added dolls to the mix. We rummaged through the cupboards for extra dolls, and borrowed from neighbouring classes. We sat back and watched the magic happen, as the children were free ...

To play.

To explore.

To observe.

To create.

Fine motor skills were utilized as the children wrapped and tied the fabric to create diapers and wardrobes for the dolls.

The dolls were dressed, and nurtured.

The children shared stories about taking care of their baby brothers, sisters, cousins.

They shared resources, and collaborated on plans.

When the curriculum expectations begin to unfold, and there is a buzz of excitement in the room, it is a tremendous experience. As this activity picked up in enthusiasm, we were inspired to print up some paper dolls, and prepare for another activity.

A talented, scrapbooking parent generously donated some terrific art materials last year. We still had some beautiful paper leftover, so we set the stage for the children to engage in creativity, exercise spatial sense, and practice cutting & fine motor skills.

Creativity was abound, and the morning passed by so quickly! Recently, I have been reading more journal articles related to the development of creativity in children. There is increasingly more value given to creativity, and research into the different subcomponents of creative development, which are closely related to general cognitive development. I feel very strongly, that when the children are provided open ended opportunities, deep learning is taking place. We feel very lucky to work with these little people, as they taking their learning to the next level.

Thank you for visiting the atelier!

Buoyancy

The children are settling in so quickly, and each day a new centre for exploration is introduced. We wanted to get the JKs started on the water table earlier this year, and we were inspired to call upon our families to help. We asked that the children bring in an item from nature to "show & share" with the class, and release into the water table.

We had predicted that buoyancy would be an outcome. One of our driving questions was, "Do you think it will sink, or float? Why? Explain your thinking." ( ... or some variation of this inquiry). And true to their own curiosity, the children made observations.

"The apples float."

"All the rocks sank."

"The leaf floats. Now it's sinking!"

"Yesterday the cones were floating. Today they sinking."

And more exploration occurred...

"When the rock is ON the leaf, it sinks."

"When the cone is on the leaf, it sinks slowly."

When attempting to explain their understanding of buoyancy, one child predicted that a stick would sink, "Because it is heavy." They were surprised when it floated. We determined that weight is not the only determining factor for buoyancy.

While exploring at the water table, one of the children noticed that the pine cone had undergone some changes. At this point, the pine cone had been in the water for about 30 minutes when he said, "The things are coming up."

I had to ask some more questions to get to the bottom of what he was saying. The 'things' were the scales of the pine cone. I had to look that up! I did not have the vocabulary for the spiny parts of a pine cone, until that day! Scales. They called 'scales'. [ More on this in a later post ...]

We continued to predict, and explore. We recorded our data, and called ourselves Scientists.

I continue to be amazed at the insights and the connections made in class. One activity can branch out, and lead us down several different paths. From this buoyancy experiment, we were led to explore the many materials and items that come from trees. There is never a dull moment at the atelier!

Thank you for dropping by! It's good to be back!

Loose Parts - Fifth Edition

More natural materials were used in this version of "loose parts". Corks and small wood cubes were distributed in a haphazard fashion, across the carpet. There is an element of surprise now, when the children enter the classroom, and we hear it in their voices.

 

Presently, the children are eager to create and want to have a picture taken of every design they come up with. We value each of them, and are encouraging the children to explain more about why they are proud of their creation. As much as we want to preserve each piece, I feel we also want to move towards letting go, resilience, being in the present moment. We want the children to recognize the feelings that accompany taking a risk and creating a piece that reflects their interpretation, in the moment. 

Balance and placement were important here.

Organic shapes flowing.

 

Spatial sense revisited.

Colours of the rainbow.

"It's a Disney castle."

This child liked that this piece would start to roll, and

challenged themselves to make it taller.

Simplistic beauty.

 

We find that children are deciding to work alone, beside somebody, or collaboratively -- depending on the day. Perhaps, depending on the materials presented? And sometimes, depending on the moment.

 

There is much collaboration that takes place. The children have to share the resources -- not "hoard". They are encouraged to take from the pile as inspiration leads them. We hear that they are asking a friend to pass them an item, or asking if they could use something in particular when finished. And when our time has passed and it's time to clean up, more skills are exercised. Bins are placed in the centre of the carpet, sorting occurs, and they move like waves in the ocean --  ebb and flow. This allows for more continuous movement and a relatively quick clean up.

 

We took a risk and embarked on a new project. We are so glad we did! There is so much to be gained through this open-ended exercise. The children love it, and everyday we discover more reasons to continue with this initiative.

 

Thank you for visiting our atelier.

Loose Parts - Fourth Edition

Who can resist the texture of beautiful fabric? Years ago, there used to be a group of parents who would quilt in the front foyer of our school. Their beautiful creation would be sold, via raffle tickets, and a lucky family would go home, the recipient of a stunning quilt, made with love. Somehow, I acquired a bag of scrap materials from this group of quilters. I vaguely remember using these batiq fabric scraps in some creative work with the kinders. But alas, this scrap material ran out. And since the tradition of quilt making at Castor Valley seems to have taken a hiatus, I have been searching for a new line on scrap fabric. This spring, we scored! My mother joined a quilting group -- never having quilted before in her life! Aside from being so proud of her (these quilts are made for patients undergoing cancer treatment) I was also eager to find out if there would be any fabric scraps to donate. I am very grateful for the donations we receive, and there have been numerous art projects that have made use of these scraps.

While brainstorming open ended materials that could be used for our "loose parts" project, the notion of adding fabric to mix, seemed to fit.



Fabric, alphabet letters and dinosaurs. Oh my!

What the children had to say about the fabric:

"It was soft."

"It was flat."

"The fabric can be folded."

This child appeared to enjoy the process of placing

the fabric on in layers.

This collaborative effort required 

communication and teamwork.

Exploring letters in this "title" 

This child was using fine motor skills,

rolling up rugs.

This "pile of laundry" was weighted down.

I'm sure there was a story evolving here!

Fitting pieces together, to make a quilt or mosaic.

Simplistic beauty.

The use of fabric in this edition of "loose parts" reminded me again of the versatility of materials. When I'm at the hardware store, or a yard sale, I'm looking at items with new eyes. Our collections of seemingly random pieces are spurring creativity and wonderful social interactions in kindergarten. 

Thank you for stopping by the atelier.

Loose Parts - Third Edition

This version of "Loose Parts" was so exciting for the children.  There was an element of surprise in the novelty of having new materials to work with -- newly acquired the metal washers, and blue "gem stones". This exercise is a reminder to never underestimate the value of simple materials. The washers were picked up at the local hardware store, and they were a hit! The versatility of simple objects; in the hands of 4 and 5 year olds, is amazing!

Metal washers, plastic gems and frog counters

presented in a haphazard fashion, on the carpet.

 

The children spoke to what they enjoyed about the materials:

 

"The were smooth and sparkly."

"The washers could make towers." -- they can stack.

"These are frogs on lily pads."

"It's a tower."

"Check out my robot!"

The simple replica of an alphabet letter derailed to

create a wonderful form.

"I like dragon cages."

"Frogs at the pond."

 

The children loved their time exploring with seemingly, unrelated objects. "Loose parts" has helped me better understand their skills at drawing connections and making meaning. What began as a light hearted experiment, is quickly gaining momentum and establishing itself as a very valuable practise in our JK classroom. In fact, I now see the value of "loose parts" well beyond kindergarten. It is more than "play" -- innovation comes from expanding upon our schema.

 

Thank you for joining us at the atelier!