" I Am"

 

We began our week with an inquiry about MAGNETS.  Magnets are powerful, and we explored their power by painting with them. One child noted that the magnet worked through both the paper, box, and paint!  

We asked the question: Do magnets work in water? and How can we find out?  We decided that we needed water and magnets to explore that question.  When we have scientific discussions we use the words "hypothesis" (making a guess, and all guesses are good!), "experiment" and "discover".  These words empower the children to explore! 

When we combined water and objects that stick to magnets and the magnet wands, we found that YES magnets work in water. 

Magnet blocks are a favorite activity in the classroom, and through our play we have discovered the properties of magnets. 

In our painting experiment, the children held a magnet wand under the box, and found that when they moved the magnet, the magnet moved the marble which moved the paint. 

To continue our Black History Month celebration, we were introduced to the artists Jean-Michel Basquiat and Jacob Lawrence, and began work on a  window project based on the artist Faith Ringgold. 

Part of our exploration included looking at "colors of the world" markers and our own skin and discovering that there are many shades of skin colors. The children drew a small self portrait using the skin color marker that best matched their skin.  We will put these self portraits together with our background paintings and a "window" made of waxed paper, and the children's answer to the question "who are you at school?" will be a part of the display.  

Through identifying our own skin colors and using our own words in response to the "I am" prompt, each child is given space to celebrate their own place in the classroom.  

Their words almost read as a poem:

I am a friend

I am a nice friend

I am nice. I could give you a balloon.

I am I love you mommy. I am a helper.

I am unique.

I am love.

I am kind, thankful, and I love you. 

I am myself. I am special.

I am a builder.

I am nice. 

Together with our identity work, we are using loose parts to create faces and friend's faces. The faces are very friendly!

The weather allowed for lots of outdoor play and a few snow pals to be built. Ice and water created a fun space too.  

We are taking part in a project to create pictures with kind messages for seniors. The children have each drawn a picture and dictated a kind message, and we will continue the project next week. We celebrate the power of our words!

AND there's a new challenge in the classroom-sign in please! We like challenge here, and we always rise to the occasion. 

Until Next Time,

Michele

Love and Kindness

We read the book Last Stop on Market Street   a few times this week, and continued our conversations about the power of our words and actions.  We often talk about being kind, respectful, and helping each other, and this book is an example of a child who learns to see the beauty in his surroundings as his Nana reminds him to really look. 

"CJ saw the perfect rainbow arcing over their soup kitchen. He wondered how his nana always found beautiful where he never even thought to look."   (we talked about the soup kitchen as a place to go to eat together where people help each other, and that it helps everyone get enough to eat).

As we learn to be a part of a cooperative and caring group, we see that our words have consequences. When there is a need in the classroom, teachers are apt to say something like "look at _____; they are  very sad (angry, upset, etc). Please check in with them." This intervention gives the child notice that they had an effect on their peer, and the peer the opportunity to speak up for themself.  We also spend time talking about our own feelings and emotions, and that, as Pete the Cat says, "Because it's all good." It's important to give the children the opportunity to express themselves in an environment where they feel safe and known.   

Even though we don't celebrate holidays at our school, we do celebrate LOVE and KINDNESS!  We asked the children "What is Love?" and wrote their quotes on a heart that they decorated with paint. There is a lot of love in these children's lives, we can tell by their words! They never hesitated with their explanations. 

We tried "spin art" this week, and then made shakers to celebrate SOUND !

We shared encouraging words with the assembly crew on Friday-and the shakers helped to calm the babies....

 

Magnets are a big topic in our classroom. The sensory table has been set up with a collection of magnets and materials that are attracted to them.  The force of the magnets is a surprise to the children, as well as the attraction of materials.  This has been a week of exploration, and we'll add some concepts to the free exploration as time goes on. The children have been trying to make a chain of magnets to the floor from the side of the table, and with their persistence I'm sure they will figure it out!   

getting there!

And, finally, some scenes from a busy classroom!  

Until Next Time,

Michele