Verbal Snapshot!

Unfortunately, I left my camera at home on the charger, so we'll have to make do with a verbal snapshot of today's activities. On the plus side, the verbal camera produces 360 degree panoramic images. Time - 9:35 AM -'Click!'

Athena and Lola are painting at the easel.
Belle and Christopher are applying multiple coats of multiple colors of glaze to their ceramic pieces as Dorri and Sonny look on. All three are talking about the pale glaze colors and Bongo's pale colors.
Taye is making another 'tiger' mask and preparing to cut out two more snake drawings.
Madrid is building an "airplane to ride on the race track."
Henry and Benjamin are repairing a train track with a few pieces of rail that fell off the 'cliff'.
Sebastian, Nate and Mollie are building a big block house "for Jabari to live in."
Idries and Saiff-Deen are cooking and setting the talbe in the dramatic play "bachelors' pad."
Alex and Nadia are reading 'Litle One Step' in the library.
Aidan F. and Liam are building elaborate "flying cars" out of Lego.
Luca is constructing a moveable "snake" with the Gear Builders.
Samantha and Sheyla are "making cookies" with playdough.
Aiden S is using the Design Builders to build "a love machine that can send love wherever you want it to go."

TODAY'S ACTIVITY
Pattern Bears. Using little toy bears of 4 different colors and sizes, we matched them to pre-printed cards to identify the patterns. Each sequence is followed by a square to place the next appropriate bear in that pattern sequence. Today we worked in groups of two, to keep it conversational and fun. The initial exercises are simpler, varying only one aspect (size or color) to make the patterns. We will use this activity for a time as a supervised activity to teach the concepts, then gradually make it accessible for independent play.

TODAY'S STORY
The Wildest Brother, by Cornelia Funke and Kerstin Meyer. Young brother Ben has a vivid imagination. He practices protecting his older sister from monsters, green ghosts, wolves, foxes and bears ready to eat her at every turn throughout the day. He is steadfast, brave and always victorious. Until night. At night he seeks his sister to protect him from his own imagination.

Wednesday

TODAY'S ACTIVITY
Both groups drew self-portraits on large paper cutouts of the human form. Facial features were the first details to emerge, followed by...socks? It was interesting to interesting see the order with which they approached these monumental (for them) drawings. Some applied colorful clothes while others focused on inner anatomy.

MUSIC CLASS
The groups had a great time with Annette today. We began our session walking, skipping, sliding and hopping to different tempos. Then Annette played her ukulele as we sang songs about animals in the winter. She began each round by giving clues until the children guessed the animal. After a few, she invited them to name animals in winter. We had penguins, polar bears, seals, orcas and...a lion. Who'd have thought a preschooler would know about A Lion In Winter?

TODAY'S STORY
The Mitten, by Jan Brett. Nicky requests white as the color of the mittens Grandma is making for him. She does so, telling him,"When you come home, I will first see that you are safe and sound, and then i will check to see if you have your mittens." Not surprisingly, he drops one in the snow. A mole snuffles in to keep warm. One by one, he is joined by a snowshoe rabbit, a hedgehog, an owl, a badger, a fox and finally, a bear! All is fine until a little mouse, no bigger than an acorn climbed in. Her whiskers tickled the bears nose, triggering a sneeze that scattered the animals in every direction. It also lauched the mitten high against the blue sky, where nicky saw it and caught it. When he returned home, Grandma checked to be sure he was safe and sound, and wondered why one mitten was so much bigger than the other.

Bongo Reaches Out

BONGO'S OUTREACH
Our pet snake, Bongo has been very shy, lately. She has often chosen to burrow in the soil or coil up under the tree bark. Today, after giving her a health check, she livened up considerably. Each week, we give the children opportunity to touch her scales with a gentle "two finger pet". This, on the condition of thorough handwashing before and after. What do you do when Bongo reaches out to your petting hand and begins to slither up your arm? You smile and hold still and feel what it's like to be a tree. You giggle as she moves along your arm and over your shoulders, her tongue tickling your skin all the way. For our animal lovers (just about everyone) it was a most rewarding friendship formed!

TODAY'S ACTIVITIES
What a full day of art activities we had today!

We began by making "Doorknob hangers" by collaging brightly colored shapes on a big "key". You can then hang it on a door to indicate someone's room, the bathroom, or any other door designated for a specific purpose. They are brightly colored to clash with any decor!

Groups alternated between doing movement and coordination exercises with Usha and finger painting with Sonya. By using a specially colored "under-paper" the children drew and smeared, repeatedly practicing letters and figures. This activity not only provides a low-risk-to-ego practice plate, but provides a stimulating, enjoyable sensory experience. The sensitivity to light touch and pressure helps with fine motor control needed for writing later on.

The pinchpots have been bisque fired and ready for glaze. Nearly all in attendance were able to apply glaze to their clay creations for next week's firing. They demonstrated outstanding listening skills and followed directions to the tee. Not only did each pair patiently share the brushes, but they also diligently used the color-coordinated brushes assigned to specific colors to keep them vibrant. The only direction given on the actual pieces was to cover the entire visible surface. Most made sure to do so thoroughly, and with many colors.

TODAY'S STORY
Little One Step, by Simon James. What do you do when you're little and lost and your legs feel all wobbly? The littlest duckling discovers he can walk under the tallest trees and through the widest fields when he does "one step". By putting one foot in front of the other, Little One Step finds his way home, even before his bigger brothers. The students liked the repetition of "Little One Step" recovering from being lost - something that seems a very real possibility to them.

Something New?

There's something there that wasn't there before...

You may hear the children mention a new fence...or in the case of Room 4, a "castle wall." This beautiful new redwood fence will enhance an enlarged garden area and provide much needed space for class mural panels over the years. In addition to providing enhanced privacy, will also contain our soccer balls in spite of increasing strength and coordination.

TODAY'S ACTIVITY
Sonya led both groups through two playdough making sessions, resulting in a big ol' batch of Tiffany, er..robin's egg blue playdough to strengthen those fingers and writing muscles.


MAGIC PAINTS
The pinch pots of last week came out of the kiln today. We will begin glazing them this week with vibrant colors, some opaque, some translucent. We'll photograph them before and after firing next week so the children will have a record of the "magic" color change that takes place.

TODAY'S STORY
Derek the Knitting Dinosaur, by Mary Blackwood and Kerry Argent. Derek is not so interested in learning how to roar or practicing his scratching at dinosaur school. He enjoys the solitude and creative calm of knitting. As you might expect, this does not go unnoticed by the other dinosaurs. They chide him at first. He politely ignores them. When the ice age begins to fall, guess who all the dinosaurs flock to? Yep. Derek saves the day(at least before permafrost sets in) and earns the admiration of his friends.

Drawing On Their Talents

Snakes and Mice by Taye

Q: "You used a lot of orange in this drawing."
A: "Those are the snakes. That big one is Bongo and those are the smaller ones and those are the mice for them to eat. There's five there and two there and the snakes are 1, 2, 3...4!"
Look at all that information triggered by describing one element - the color orange. There is visual description, narrative and math.

We've had an explosion in drawing recently. The beauty of this work is that it originates wholly from the students, with no direction from us. We teach by asking them questions about their work to refine their perception and descriptive vocabulary. Here are a few interesting samples from today's flood of wonderful work:

Dragon by Lilya Rose

Q: "This is a very different kind of shape. I've never seen this before. Can you tell me about it?"
A: "I made a dragon. It has pink and red and there's the mouth where I cut it and it goes around there and then there's the tail."
Once again, the focus is on asking a question that encourages the student to look carefully and describe what she sees, rather than what I think of it.

Dog That I'm Coloring Green by Christopher

Q: "Hey, I notice that the right side and the left side of the body have the same shape. How did you do that?"
A: "I cut it out when I folded it and I drew the face and cut out the legs and can I have some tape?"
Q: "Did you draw it first or did you cut it out first?"
A: "First I cut it out and then after that I drew the face and the legs and I like the kind of tape that is see-through."
Q: "So if you didn't draw it first, how did you know it would be a dog?"
A: "Because I looked at it and knew it was a dog. That's when I cut out the legs to put on it. I need four pieces for four legs."

This one is all the more fascinating after having done the "butterfly" paintings to illustrate symmetry. Notice how much more you get when you ask them to look at what they've done. I've never received so much in exchange of a compliment of "That's so pretty" or "You did a really nice job."

TODAY'S ACTIVITIES
Today's activities were basically an inverse of yesterday's schedule, with the squirrels doing the sensory/science activity with Usha while the raccoons did music, movement and parachute activities with Andy.


TODAY'S STORY
If You Take A Mouse To A Movie, by Laura Numeroff, illustrated by Felicia Bond. laura Numeroff has made a career out of this simple theme that children love. A child endures the endless stream of demands from unsuspecting animals. The continuous thread of associated indulgences lends itself to practicing recall and sequence in developing readers. Recall, sequencing, and prediction are valuable skills for reading comprehension.

Purple Snow?

"Red Monster" by Belle (amazing what a few papar discs in the side tray will do for the easel)

TODAY'S ACTIVITIES

Today was action-packed, with a good balance of guided and independent work underway . The raccoon group made purple snow today in a science experiment with Usha. Yes, purple snow. The children ooh'd and aah'd as the tiny grains mysteriously expanded exponentially (with water) into a cool, fluffy "snow".








A secondary activity that has taken hold spawned from a curiosity about glasses. One of our students just began wearing glasses and so has Andy (primarily for moral support). Recently drawings have emerged of faces with glasses. Today, we actually had drawings of glasses, cut out and worn like masks.

LISTEN AND MOVE
In the multi-purpose room, the squirrel group was busy following musical cues to denote various types of movement: walk, gallop, tiptoe, run, skate and hop. First it is done with the verbal cues. On the second round the cues are solely musical.

TODAY'S STORY
Alphabet Mystery, by Audrey Wood, illustrated by Bruce Wood. Audrey and Don Wood are one of the most accomplished in modern children's literature. Their son Bruce illustrates this interesting mystery. One of the letters is missing. Which one is it? By reciting the letters in their beds our class discovers it is "x". The rest of the alphabet launches on a search and rescue only to find "little x" in the company of some misguided uppercase letters. They all fly back home, all misunderstanding cleared up. As in another popular book, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, the letters take on the personalities of children,.

Trapeze Arts Thursday

STANDING PYRAMIDS AND THE CIRCUS BIKE
Today was a remarkably productive session at trapeze arts with Stephan. The class listened carefully and followed directions in order to perform all the slated stunts. After a session of stretching and building standing human pyramids, the "Circus Bike" came out. Even our most timid of souls raced at the chance to ride this contraption. We adults may clamor for a seat or five when the gas price gouging reconvenes. Two things amazed and thriled our brave young acrobats the most: 1) "We're riding a bike inside!"; and 2) "There are six kids on there with Stephan!" The photo doesn't do it justice, but if you have any calliope music on hand, you'll get the idea. As with all images here, you can click on the picture to enlarge.

TODAY'S STORY
Action Alphabet, by Marty Neumier and Byron Glaser. The cleverness of this book is in how the letters of the alphabet are represented. Each letter is used pictorially to illustrate a descriptive or functional word that relates to its shape, size or orientation. In this way, the development of visual literacy (descriptive) matches the more common verbal literacy. There will be much more on visual literacy in future posts.

More Pounding, Punching and Singing!

Chris Molla squeezes out a tune with an enthusiastic choir.

A DOUBLE DOSE OF MUSIC
We are so fortunate. In addition to our enriching hands-on music program with Annette, we had a guest musician visit today. Chris Molla has been entertaining children at our school for over a decade with his guitar, accordion and bottomless well of songs that educate and invigorate. Our classes had a marvelous time.

TODAY'S ACTIVITY
The raccoon group mad their clay pinch pots today. Despite everyone receiving the same instruction, we have a wide array of designs. Some fanned out like dishes while others widened and tapered in tightly at the top like a bud vase. One thing our artists all had in common was a willingness to RUIN their creations. Think about that. I mentioned this briefly in yesterday's post below. The act of "ruining" a painting, sculpture, ball of clay, perfect sheet of handmade paper is the courage to change it completely into something else: the process. It is absolutely essential to creativity and learning in general. Many of your childrens' paintings that are muddy smears of mixed colors and scribbles often obscure initial representations of human anatomy, architecture, flora and fauna or the sorting of ideas. In order to appreciate chldren's art I have learned to nonchalantly snap a photo of a painting or drawing while the child is at work. In this way you can appreciate not only their succesful stages while still celebrating the most important: the process.

TODAY'S STORY
Leaf Man, by Lois Ehlert. Our storyteller today was Annette. She read this story as part of a music session about autumn. With repetitive text and everchanging (blowing) illustrations we see all the birds, ducks, fish, turtles, rabbits and other animals one finds in nature. The most amazing part is that all illustrations are done by collaging real, colorful autumn leaves from all over the world.

Hitting and Pinching Allowed

TODAY'S ACTIVITY
The squirrel group made pinch pots out of real clay. They are used to working with playdough and eagerly jumped into this new medium. They began by wedging the clay to remove all air bubbles. This involves slamming it as hard as you can on the table repeatedly. When else do you get to do that? After forming the clay into balls, they poked their thumbs in the middle and repeated the pinch and turn technique. Some quickly pinched out a thick pot, while others pinched, poked, squished, smashed and slid their clay through a multitude of unrecognizable forms before forming a pinch pot on the fourth attempt. It is so important to give them room to explore the limits of new materials before directing a specific project. It requires time and patience, but the payoff is boundless enthusiasm and creative courage every time.

PIZZA PARTY - Thursday, Nov. 16 @ 4:30
We invite all the families of Room 4 to attend a Pizza Party to get acquainted. The children know each other VERY WELL. Here's the perfect opportunity to meet the parents of the friends your child talks about (or the "nobody" s/he claims to have played with, in some cases). The pizza is from one of the best pizzarias in the city, so don't miss out! Please check in with the teachers or sign up by the door to let us know if you will be coming. Also, any contributions of juice, sparkling water, salad, or fruits or veggies are most welcome. This is a non-alcoholic event, so any contraband will be swiftly sequestered for the "Clean-Up Committee" to take home afterwards.

TODAY'S STORY
Pink Lemon, by Herve Tullet. This book has minimal text and can be read entirely with the illustrations. Our age group loves the absurd. Any commonplace object taken out of context or represented in an unusual way are always engaging and, more often than not, amusing. Each spread has a rich painting of a familiar object in an unfamiliar color. On the right margin are three color/pattern swatches to choose the correct one or two. Once children are shown how this works, they love to independently challenge themselves and one another.

The Right Touch

Brave students touching BONGO's scales for the first time.

FIRST CONTACT WITH BONGO
Our students were so careful and gentle in their first encounter with Bongo. They practiced the two-finger pet, stroking her scales gently towards the tail. She was very good. she did not try to bite me or anyone else, though a few good squeezes on my arm indicated that she was scared a couple of times. The children could not get enough of petting her and discovered that she was cool and dry. We look forward to many hands-on visits in the future as she grows more comfortable.

TODAY'S ACTIVITY
Today the raccoon group made "stained glass" collages with tissue paper and waxed paper. The main skill stressed in this activity was gluing technique. We demonstrated how to dip and scrape the brush before applying glue to avoid messy drips. Also well practiced was applying the glue with strokes AWAY from where the paper is held. These seemingly simple skills we often take for granted. The students took great pride in their craft, as is evidenced by the multiple pieces assembled.
















































TODAY'S STORY
Char Siu Bao Boy, by Sandra S. Yamate. A boy feels alienated at his new school because his friends make fun of the BBQ Pork Buns he brings to school for lunch. He loves the delicious flavor of his traditional family's food and decides to bring more to share. One by one, the other children taste the delicacies only to dicover that they too enjoy the sweet flavor within.

Stained "Glass" and Scales

"3 Color Vertical Composition" painted by Mollie

TODAY'S ACTIVITY
The squirrels made "stained glass" by ironing various colors of tissue paper between sheets of waxed paper. Of course, the children did not iron. They did select the colors and glue them in place as desired. Identifying new colors made by overlapping is the most interesting aspect. The racoons will participate in the same activity on Monday.

OUR SNAKE HAS A NAME
The many names suggested ranged from direct (snakey) to behavioral (tree climber), from funny (pasketti) to functional (chokey). One name resounded among the groups. Therefore, she is named BONGO. She celebrated by showing the children how she eats a mouse. (Don't worry, it wasn't alive - we're not running a Coliseum)

TODAY'S STORY
Pet Show, by Ezra Jack Keats. Keats returns us to the old neighborhood and all its familiar characters. They are a few years older and bigger, yet possess the same charm as they round up neighborhood animals for the pet show. Archie searches and searches for the neighborhood cat to no avail. Ever clever, he brings an empty jar with a "pet germ" inside. Each pet owner gets a blue ribbon for their unique virtues: slowest turtle, the loudest parrot, the orangest goldfish, the and for Archie, the quietest pet.

Seeds Are Planted...

Due to illness, I was unable to post for Mon. or Tues.
Here are some seed cups we decorated with Sonya on Tuesday.
We're watching closely for sprouts.

TODAY'S ACTIVITIES
Our activity period had three favorite stations that students freely rotated through:

• Beading on elastic string - fine motor skills, color sorting
  
• Shaving cream on trays - sensory experience, drawing and writing with fingers
• Washing the babies in the water table - more sensory play, with loads of bubbles.

PIZZA PARTY - Thursday, November 16th!
Please mark your calendars for this get together for all the families of Room 4. It is a great opportunity to meet new families and visit with old friends. Watch the blog and the classroom board for more info.

TODAY'S STORY
The Day The Babies Crawled Away, by Peggy Rathmann. Dramatic silhouettes illustrate a story of a young boy's recovery of a gaggle of curious, adventurous babies. They sneak away while the parents are in a pie eating contest. They crawl through the grass, forest, cave, off a cliff and into a tree. By some resourceful tying of diapers and T.L.C. he affects a rescue and becomes hero of the day. All the parents give him a trophy in gratitude for his heroic deed.

Friday, Schmiday... We Have A Snake!

SAY HELLO TO OUR LITTLE FRIEND
We adopeted her Friday. She is an Okatee Albino Corn Snake. She is about 2+ years old, 22 inches long, and eats mice. We thawed a frozen one to feed her. The children were fascinated by this act of nature. Not one of them exhibited one bit of fear. Though a few did pop out of their chairs when she struck the mouse and coiled around it. This week we will give her a name and learn more about her.

FORMULA FOUR RACING
The most popular morning activity was a gravity grand prix constructed of big blocks. Students built cars and raced them down the track. Idries especially enjoyed delcaring each person's car "The Winnerrrrr!" as they jumped the crocodile pit and rolled down the finish ramp and across the floor.



TODAY'S STORY
The Wolf Who Cried Boy, by Jeffrey Dinardo. The classic tale reversed to the animal kingdom. A young wolf cub learns that boredom is no excuse to cause panic among his friends. When they disguise themselves as a large boy, he learns his lesson. The students found it most amusing that "wild" animals would be afraid of children.

Rain, Rain You Can Stay...

...we can still play anyway!

TODAY'S ACTIVITY
We mixed up a good batch of "Oobleck" by mixing cornstarch and water. This viscous substance invites vigorous tactile activity. Scooping up a handful and rolling it quickly produces a round ball. The catch is that the ball melts between the fingers when you stop. When it returns to the bin, the solids and liquids start to separate until "re-animated" by busy hands. The constant shifting between solid and liquid form holds their attention well. Their favorite act is rolling a ball as a "present" for a friend and handing it over. Mock surprise at the "bait and switch" tactic is humorous, for once.

PARACHUTE PLAY!
Today's parachute play was the game "sit and spin." One person sits in the center as the circle of friends slowly moves around them, gradually wrapping it around their lower body. At this point, everyone pulls back, spinning the seated person like a top. They loved it, and demonstrated the essential turn-taking, cooperation and ability to follow directions to make it successful.

TODAY'S STORY
Alpha Oops! - The Day Z Went First, by Althea Kontis and Bob Kolar. "Z" is tired of always being last and seizes control to shake things up a bit. All of the letters get their turns, in random order, showing things that start with them. "A" goes last, but has so much time to prepare that he fills a spread with many things that begin with "A". This book is hilarious mostly due to the letters arguing much like young children do. Also, there are gems in the subtext, such as, "Hey, 'U's been in the bathroom since 'P' took over!" Brilliant!

"Butterfly" Paintings + Monoprints

TODAY'S ACTIVITY
"Butterfly" paintings are made by dabbing paint on paper and folding it in half. "Butterfly" sounds so much nicer than "Rorschach." It is a simple concept they can understand: beauty of symmetry. Having witnessed symmetry emerging in block building and manipulatives (small toys, not people), she prepared an art activity that illustrated the concept clearly and beautifully. The kicker came when faced with papers oozing with paint and a need to lighten them - she had them place another paper on the opened painting, creating a monoprint in the exact likeness of the original. Even though "exponent" isn't a part of their vocabulary yet, their puzzled, extended gazes suggested a discovery of great interest.

TODAY'S STORY
Inside A House That Is Haunted, by Alyssa Satin Capucilli and Tedd Arnold. This whimsically illustrated book uses a "trick-or-treat" theme in the same structure as "The House That Jack Built." The opening show the house. As you proceed through the story, one more character is added to the verse cumulatively. As a result, repetition, recall and sequence are the real stars of this book. To make matters better, the text is illustrated with REBUS. A rebus is a pictorial icon that replaces a word in the text, helping very young readers master the sequences independently, confidently. The class eagerly anticipates the moment when the little monster lifts his mask to reveal his human form, frightening all the scary things away.