"Where's all the pictures?" - Pierce, 3.2 years The first thing that the children noticed today were the changes to the classroom walls. The documentation is changing throughout the room, and the children were enthusiastic about identifying the changes and looking for the new photos. Our morning meeting was spent looking around the room to see what was missing ("The bell tower." - George) and what had been moved ("I found a big toad over here." - Lou Lou). As they were reading the images on the walls, it sparked a lot of conversation about where Toad might be, how he got there, and more. They also referenced the parts of the bell tower and those ideas came to life in the construction area this morning. We encourage you to take some time to read the documentation with your children in the mornings. The children read the images each day and reference them as they work. Documentation is so important to our work, and we want you to share in this process with us.
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"What's that noise?"As you have all read, seen, and heard, the sound of the bell ringing during snack (and other times of the day) is where our interest in the Bell Tower and other parts of the school began. The children continuously mention the bell tower, the bell, the steps, and more. While working, they seek out materials to help build "the bell tower and St. John's". Most recently, Pierce, Henri, and George collaboratively constructed "the inside of the bell tower". This was a plan that they independently made when their first plan was to work in construction.
From the beginning, the actual bell and the sound it makes, has been a driving force for the work. Each time they construct St. John's or the bell tower (almost one and the same), they seek out a variety of bells to add to the structure. Throughout our day they stop to listen to the bell ringing 10, 11, then 12 times, and there have been a few comments made about making a bell; if you recall, George mentioned this back on September16th when he suggested that we could make a bell out of clay. Exploring the bells
What do we remember about the bell in the bell tower? "It looked round." - George, 3.1 years "And dirty. I touched it with my hands, and then I ringed it with my giant hands." - Lou Lou, 3.1 years It [roll of copper] not make any noise. This [bell] does make noise. I don't know why." - George
Even more bells
We paused to draw some of the bells, which drew their attention to the different parts of the bells. This is when we discovered that we did not know the names for all parts. What we did know what that most of them have "a jingle bell" (Cully) on the inside.
Realizing that we did not know the names for each part of the bell, the next day we had photos with each part labeled. These were on the table with the bells and metal materials.
DrawingsHappy 3rd Birthday, Georgia!The Celebration, the Gift, and the Making of the Collage Many children were interested in adding circles to Georgia's circle themed birthday collage. Happy celebrations, so glad you love your gift!
"I added some blue." -Eliza Taking the tempera to the table: Plastic domes and small wooden blocks were available to paint. The act of painting the different and identified materials offered sustained engagement and delight.
We want to start by thanking all of you for hanging in with us through the sickness and absences recently. We know that it is not easy for the children to have to miss school, and please let each of them know that they are loved and greatly missed when they are not here. We also want to thank you all for taking the time to join us for Parent-Teacher conferences. We appreciate your thoughtfulness and willingness to share with us about the children. For today, we want to share our upcoming projections with you, along with a few photos of the children working that support our plans for the upcoming week. We also encourage you to sit with your child and read the images together. As they are reading the images, here are a few things to discuss: -What do they notice in the photos? You can start with a statement about what you notice and see if they expand. -What do they think is going to happen in the Brown Room next week? -Why do they think there might be a photo of _____ (e.g. spinach)? -What do they know about _______ (e.g. the stairs of St. John's or Thanksgiving)? -What do they remember about _______ (e.g. the stairs or Thanksgiving or the drums)? -Do they know whose birthdays we will be celebrating next week? -What do they remember about the past two weeks? (e.g. who started in the Brown Room? Why did we wear pajamas? Why is there a photo of Tucker Room on our projections? Who is Tucker Room?) -What does the photo of the instruments mean? Please feel free to share any comments or questions that you all and the children may have. The feedback and conversations from home are very important to our work here at school. The children workingThe rain let up and later the sun came out, warming us up, as we walked the neighborhood viewing all the amazing decorations. While our Halloween walk (#2) was a smaller crew, it was just as memorable! Hope you all had a memorable Halloween evening out, in costumes. |
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April 2024
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