Tuesday, September 22, 2020

Picture Day!

Today and awesome photographer name Susan came to take individual and class photos.  This limited our normal outside time.  Tucker B opted instead to have a fun dance party in Blake Hall!

Nora's Birthday Committee

In addition to some cool moves on the dance floor, Tucker B also started working on Nora's birthday gift!   Classmates generated ideas that would make the personalized pot perfect for Nora.  They thought about the colors pink and purple, fancy beads, unicorns and rainbows, and sparkly tape.    We're looking forward to the celebration on Friday!

Watercolors

Both groups explored watercolors today.

Fletcher was working on a family portrait. "See that orange spot right there? That's Nana."

Gigi said, "I'm putting them in the spaces where they kind of match the colors. (E.g. putting orange near red, blue near green.)

While using blue, Cannon said, "This is water, the waves (moving his brush like waves).." Later he added, "I'm making snakes."

Tucker A

Working with Wire

Both yesterday and today, our group explored wire.  Children used tools and thrown strength to cut and bend this material.  Children twisted it, wrapped it and made loops, like the lasso shape fashioned by Nora.  Children discussed things that they already knew about wire and things they noticed today.  
    Palmer - It's pointy.
    Cannon - It's springy.
    Wolf - It shines in the light.
    Maren - Does it sparkle in the light?
    Wolf - Yes..  
    Nora - I notice that I could make a snake.
   Lane - This wire is SO thin.  Me and mom have to get wire.  We don't have any.  

We also noticed the way children shared ideas as they worked. Cannon and Palmer had previously been playing with animals in construction.  They brought some animals over to the wire table.
  Palmer - (While twisting)  I'm making a gorilla fortress.
​     Cannon - I'm going to make a lion fortress.  

As we introduced wire, we talked with children about some of its  properties.  One feature of wire is that it is like a line, and you can use it to form identifiable shapes, almost like "drawing."   Yesterday, Dakota took this to heart and started making her name.  Today, Lane and Gigi followed up on this idea.

Revisiting Hopscotch

When school closed suddenly last spring, the children were in the process of making a Rainbow Hopscotch game for the Hyde Addison School.   Today  we revisited this big project by watching a video taken yesterday of Maren and Lane creating hopscotch out of carpet squares. There was enthusiasm both for the work already done and for the possibility of completing the process.  Here's the conversation:
Dakota: I saw that they’re helping to make hopscotch. I can see that the carpets are light but they don’t have numbers.
Wolf: They’re not together. (meaning squares aren’t touching)
Lane: You can do them (hopscotch) in different ways. There’s so much ways.  When there’s one space (square) we went on one leg and two squares went out (our legs went out).
Nora: Why don’t they have letters?

Palmer: Because hopscotch only has numbers.


(looking at documentation)


Palmer: I see when Wolfie and me and the 1 and the 9 and we were printing out the numbers. Below, that’s Melanie and me playing hopscotch.
Wolf: We used tape to put it together.
Palmer: We used lots and lots of tape.


Brooke: And why were we doing hopscotch?
Cannon: We did it Rainey Room.
Lane: Because we were making one for the school across the street.
Brooke: Do you remember why we started thinking about making a gift for the kids at Hyde Addison? (children are unsure…. Long pause no responses) I’m going to point you to the first picture up there.  What are the girls doing?
Wolf: Chalk.
Brooke: Do you remember how the hopscotch project started?
Lane: Oh yeah, we did chalk.

(get out the hopscotch - we notice the colors)


Brooke: Do you remember that we were making a rainbow hopscotch? So it all started when the girls were outside coloring the brick with chalk.
Lane: Yeah! And we were thinking to do chalk all over the world, me and Grace?
Brooke: Why were you and Grace thinking to do chalk all over the world?
Lane: Because…so people couldn’t just have a old sidewalk.
Wolf: But we can’t do it all around the world because it would take a long time.
Brooke: I remember that Grace said something like they would feel jealous if we had a rainbow hopscotch and they didn’t.
Lane: Yeah, what does jealous mean?
Cannon: You want something that other people have.


Brooke: And then what happened? Why did we have to stop our project?
Palmer: Because it’s almost at the end of the paper.
Wolf: Because it was getting too big.
Brooke: We had to stop going to school. Do you remember?
Lane: Or maybe we ran out of numbers to think of.
Palmer: Cause it only stops at 20.
Jill: But why did we stop going to school? Wasn’t there something going on?
Multiple kids: Because of corona virus.
Maren: But now we’re here and it’s the corona virus.
Palmer: So then this might have germs on it!
Brooke: It’s ok it hasn’t been used in so long that there are no more germs on it because it’s had enough time.
Brooke: Is this a project we should finish? (Lane, Maren, Wolf raise hands in interest)
Palmer: But since Melanie’s not here how are we going to know how to do our hopscotch?
Jill: Is Melanie the only one? I think Lane, Maren and Cannon could probably teach us, right?
Lane: Yeah, Me and Maren are experts at hopscotch.


Brooke: Palmer brings up a good point. What about Melanie, Grace, Oliver, Fletcher and Olivia who worked on the project last year. Do you think they should get a chance to help finish the project too?
Wolf: Maybe we could bring it to them and then they give it back and then we give it back to them.
Palmer: How will fit in the classroom, in Melanie’s classroom if it’s so small?
Wolf: It will not fit. They will have to do it in the hall.
Lane: No, because then people will slip and fall on the wet paint. 
Palmer: And they will get their shoes dirty.
Gigi: One number’s empty with no square.
Brooke: So she’s already noticing something that she’d like to work on.
We're looking forward to continuing this work with our classmates.    We feel it will  foster relationships with new and returning children.  Thinking, planning, and working together are some of the ways we build community at this preschool.  We can't wait to dig in!