ST. JOHN'S PRESCHOOL
  • Home
  • Brown
  • Rainey
  • Tucker
  • KW
  • Participation at St. John's
  • Home
  • Brown
  • Rainey
  • Tucker
  • KW
  • Participation at St. John's
Search

                                      TUCKER ROOM

Keeping Connected

4/17/2020

0 Comments

 

Monday Open Zoom Whole Group: A Puzzling Morning

*A CHANGE IN MONDAY ZOOM TIMES: The call will now be from 9:30AM to 10:15AM 
Puzzle pieces were everywhere! Many of the children have enjoyed puzzles since the onset of school. It was a pleasure to see so much investment from the children as they worked on their puzzles at home. Sometimes the joy of a puzzle comes from sticking with the process in finding the precise fit for each puzzle piece, one after another.  The success is as much in the effort to achieve the result as it is in the final outcome.

Puzzling requires patience, perseverance, and a willingness to appreciate engaging in trial and error. Puzzles also support strengthening attention to detail (color, shape, patterns, etc.) and spatial reasoning. The child can take ownership in self-directing and feel a sense of pride in achieving when able to put a puzzle together, with minimal support from an adult. Each puzzle piece has more than one side; trying to fit the puzzle piece into place is  based on approximately four configurations. The child can try fitting in a puzzle piece, if it doesn't work, the child can ask for help. We can coach and assist the child by suggesting to turn the puzzle piece until all four options have been tried. We can also coach and assist by bringing attention to the detail in color, shape, or pattern. In this way, problem solving skills and memory are  supported. Sorting, organizing, and strategizing can also be part of the play and the process. My mom always sorts out all of the edge pieces before beginning a puzzle. As work is done to fit each puzzle piece, focus, concentration, and determination can increase, which can also affect a state of presence and mindfulness. Puzzles also support hand-eye coordination and fine-motor skills in the manipulation of the puzzle piece when fitting it precisely into place. 

Wednesday Small Groups: Exploring Paper

Paper is a material and language that is very accessible and versatile. It can be used and appreciated by virtue of its accessibility and versatility because without a doubt there are numerous ways to play and work with paper!

Our Wednesday small groups were a continuation from our initial paper provocation which introduced three properties  of paper:  folding, crumpling wrapping. We have since introduced a few more properties of paper: rolling, curling, quilling as a response to George's use of paper, during our small group call. (Thanks, George!)

Of course, paper connects to so many of our recent provocations: symbols, drawing, light and shadow, lines, construction, collage, etc. Almost all the languages cooperate with paper, in some way. In what ways can you connect the language of paper with another language we have been exploring? Keep playing with paper and its properties and post the results on Seesaw!  
During our Wednesday morning small group, George joined us with a piece of paper that had been rolled around a paper tube. The paper still held the tube shape. George peered through it. So, the rest of us rolled up a paper and peered back! 

​GeOrge SPaRks an Idea!
PEERING AT EACH OTHER!
Lucia arrived with five different types of explores properties of paper: surface, crumpling, folding, and wrapping.  
Audrey shows us her paper messages (properties surface, folding, perforation, collage, absorption)  that she has been making. C.C. draws with a marker on her paper (properties of surface and absorption). Jane shows us a photo of her and Yaya and also colors with crayons on her paper (properties of surface and absorption.) 
Cedar and Janie were working with the surface of paper too: coloring and using adhesives. Cedar shows us her "boo boo."
Reed (and Leigh) had lots of materials for exploring surface and absorption properties of paper. She also sniffed the paper! 
(The many expressions of Reed!)

Friday Open Zoom Whole Group: Making Messages

*A CHANGE IN FRIDAY ZOOM TIMES: The call will now be from 9:30AM to 10:15AM ​
Messages are a great way to keep connected! What a pleasure it was to make messages with each other! So much thought and thoughtfulness was evident. Sylvie worked at cutting and tearing her paper and was so joyful to share her lovey, Lilac in a bunny suit. Lucia worked hard at a message for Audrey. Violet shared a message she received, from a friend outside of school, while Jane worked on a message, for a friend also outside of school. Audrey shared about the butterfly family she made, Lochie worked on drawing a spooky ghost, and Reed shared a unicorn symbol, perfect for thinking about Audrey's upcoming birthday celebration. Hopefully, we can be active in making messages and patient in receiving them. 

List of Provocations 

Carry over from last week: We hope that you've all had a chance to look at Seesaw and the provocations that we have been offering.  Please know that we are constantly working to make the threads and responses clear so that our work is as cohesive as possible; no platform is perfect, but we appreciate your cooperation and patience as we all figure this out!  It has been so uplifting to see all of the work that you are doing at home.  The photos, video, and audio are incredible and so meaningful to the work that we do!  

A list of our current (ongoing) provocations: (week 1 blue / week 2 yellow)
1. Show us your favorite place in your home 
2. Finding Green 
3. Construction 
4. Symbol Hunt 
5. How are you feeling?: Exploring Emotions through Portraiture 
6. Light and Shadows 
7. What do you see in the sky? 
8. Finding Yellow
9. Finding (other) colors 
10. Our animal friends at home: Drawing and Building 
11. Exploring Paper: Surface, Folding, Crumpling, and Wrapping

12. Where is...? 
13. Exploring Paper: Rolling, curling, quilling
14. Making Paper Journals
15. "I See A Song" by Eric Carle - drawing or painting to your favorite song
16. Making a Light Table at Home
17. Making Messages
18. The Language of Collage
19. The Language of Drawing
20. Exploring Patterns
21. The Language of Clay
22. Lines and Connections 
23. Tic Tac Toe in response to exploring lines
24. Upcoming birthday celebrations: Audrey and Violet (April)


*We will continue to offer a variety of provocations that are in response to the children's work and words.  The work and responses of the children are the core of the work that we do.  ​

An Upcoming Birthday Celebration for Audrey! (Friday, April 24th!)

Please take time to think about a horse/unicorn inspired birthday gift for her celebration. It can be shown and shared on Friday or a photo can be taken to share and the gift can be mailed to her.
Picture
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Home
  • Brown
  • Rainey
  • Tucker
  • KW
  • Participation at St. John's