Connecting To Construction...

 The childrens' interest in building, construction, tools and builders has been growing steadily as we watch the final days of our amazing outdoor classroom play structure completed before our eyes ! At lunch yesterday , Wyatt was talking with his friends about how his dad is also a builder and has lots of the same tools that our "school builders" have.  We asked Lauren, Wyatt's mom if she could bring in some of the tools from home  that Wyatt thought would be interesting for the children to see.   At Morning Meeting today, Wyatt shared the tools he brought from home and described how they worked.  We looked at a hammer, screwdriver, combination square and a stick rule. Lauren joined us for our meeting and helped out in our discussion about tools. Wyatt was so proud to lead our meeting discussion and seemed to love making the connection between home and school.

 We set the tools out for further exploration at a table during Choice Time and the children were especially interested in looking at the set of blueprints that Wyatt's father uses in his building projects.  Wyatt explained that his dad puts his ideas in a drawing and we came to the realization that the drawings are like the directions for the builder ! We invited children to make their own blueprints using large paper and blocks to trace the shapes of "buildings". When we were finished working inside, we decided to go and take another look at the construction site.  Marty, one of the builders offered us wood pieces to bring back into the
classroom . We are thinking that we may use the wood scrapes to create our own buildings !

 

Interest in the  block area has been growing as well.  The children are learning to work cooperatively and collaboratively and are exploring blocks in many  ways.  Some children are starting to build vertically and are exploring concepts relating to balance.  

 We placed dry, shredded paper mache on trays with small cups of water in the art area today.  We recognized that the children need a variety of sensory experiences everyday and decided to dedicate one of our tables in the Art Studio for sensory exploration.  Several of the children were excited to touch, squeeze, role and shape the dough,while others enjoyed  merely watching their friends sculpt. We learned that some of our Cardinals do not like to get their hands mess!  Children sculpted nests and we experimented with making letters of the alphabet with the dough.

Happy To Return To School!

Back in Action

The children were so happy to return to school after a long four day weekend!  The confidence and sense of belonging is so apparent and a true joy to see.  The Cardinal classroom has clearly established strong connections with each other and their teachers. We began the day with a special celebration for TWO Cardinals' birthdays. We recognized Carlito's and Violet's birthday by singing them a song and reading The Special Birthday Message by Eric Carle. We also learned how to say "Happy Birthday" in Spanish, which is Feliz Cumpleanos. Your child can assist you in learning how to make the sounds in this Spanish phrase. Violet and Carlito then passed out a delicious and decorative snack of cupcakes on the rug to each friend as we dined together!

As we chose centers during Choice time, many of the children began to notice the building that had taken place and was continuing to happen right outside our classroom window! This led to building structures with our own wooden blocks and then a visit to the construction site. The children showed a strong interest in the workers and began asking questions such as, "What is that arrow for?" and "Are you going to paint the roof red?" We are becoming more aware of the people in our classroom and school community and as we continue to interact and talk with them, we gain deeper insight into jobs, roles, and other responsibilities in the larger Global community.

Our busy morning included a visit to our Second Grade partners in Sandy's Class. We delivered a "Thank You" card showing our appreciation for the kindness they showed when coming to visit our class. The children expressed a sense of happiness as they smiled and looked around in awe at the Second Graders and their classrooms. Their bond with the group is only just beginning but is showing growth as many friends asked, "When can you visit us again?" We look forward to sharing our classroom with our new friends sometime soon.

 

 

 

We ended our morning together exploring centers in the basement. Relationships continued to grow over common interests as friends were drawn to centers that sparked their curiosity. Social interactions were abound with the children practicing conversation skills, role playing, acting out different choices and initiating problem solving ideas!

We hope everyone had a great day after the long weekend and look forward to what tomorrow will bring!