Play Dough!

TODAY'S ACTIVITY
Making playdough with Sonya. This is a fun activity that incorporates math, science, and produces a useful art material. I posted the recipe at the end if you want to try it at home. It costs about 1/5 what you'd pay in the store, and the batch is 4 times the size!

We begin by counting out cups of ingredients, comparing quantities relative to one another (more/less). Then we examined the properties of the ingredients (dry/wet, soft/scratchy). Each child gets to choose an ingredient cup to add as the child next stirs it in. We go around once more to make sure the lumps are gone.

Then the teacher pours the mixture into an old electric skillet and stirs constantly, carefully to prevent scorching. Nobody likes hard scratchy bits in their playdough. We ask the children to watch as the mixture changes as it cooks from a liquid to a solid (less shiny, thicker, color intensity).

Here is the recipe if you'd like to try it at home:

• 2 c. flour
• 2 c. water
• 1 c. table salt
• 2 T. cream of tartar
• 1 T. vegetable oil
• food coloring as desired.

3 tips for the best batch:

• Combine all dry ingredients first, then add wet.
• Remove from heat when the shine is gone and it's still plenty sticky. Residual heat will finish the job. If you keep cooking until it looks done, the residual heat will make it dry and crumbly.
• Use a vinyl mat or slick table covering to play with it as it cools. They kids LOVE the excitement of the hot temperature, and the kneading helps it cool and makes it more stretchy.
  

TODAY'S STORY
Blue Rabbit and Friends, by Christopher Wormell. Blue Rabbit is unhappy with his cave, which is too big and in a dark forest. Bear is unhappy with his pool. Goose is unhappy with his doghouse. Dog is unhappy with his hole in the daisy-covered hillside. You see where this is going? Of course each animal, in turn, gives the others the homes more suited to them. Blue Rabbit, however, decides to set of on his bike for adventure! We learn about his adventure with the sequel, Blue Rabbit and the Runaway Wheel.

A Sense of 'Touch'

Bongo crosses the bridge from Sean to Messiah.

ACTIVITIES: Temperature
Usha has planned activities involving temperature this week. With this experiment in comparative temperature, children place hands in one cold and one warm bowl of water, simultaneously. After a minute or two, they place both hands in a tepid bowl of water. They are then amazed that the very same water feels warm and cold at the same time in different hands. Needless to say, such discovery bears repeating until sufficiently amused.

The activity that followed the next day was making 'snow.'

Bongo slithers from Ella's arm to a warmer place. Don't worry, she found her way out through the bottom of the dress after Ella did a bit of careful wiggling of her own part!

STORY
From Head To Toe, by Eric Carle. In our first music class of the school year, Annette read a delightfully interactive book. Our movers and shakers wee challenged to move and balance like many of their favorite animals.

Anticipation!

A lesson in patience, as we relish the slow motion of the stretching flubber from the wire above. Urges to cut the dangling substance were curtailed by the hypnotic noodle-like patterns forming below.

TODAY'S ACTIVITY:
Today we painted our remaining boxes with rollers - an altogether different experience than brushes, requiring different techniques and movement. Now that our source cardboard is all painted, we can begin cutting and assembling our fire engine/ambulance/bus for use in the classroom. It'll be interesting to see how our lettering on the side comes out.


TODAY'S STORY:
I Don't Want To Go To Bed, by Julie Sykes and Tim Warren. A tiger cub resists his mother's insistence that he go to bed. She relents. The tiger cub gleefully bounds from one friend to another, only to be rejected one by one. Fortunately, a nocturnal bush baby leads him home just in time to fall asleep as the sun comes up.

Solid or Liquid?

THE ACTIVITY: FLUBBER!
Using glue, water and a 'magic' solution of water and Borax. We turned a liquid into a solid*. It all happened right there, before our very eyes, in our own hands. This richly tactile activity is always a favorite, providing hours and hours of classroom enjoyment and stimulating brain development.

*Based on the simple definition of a solid as something you can pick up with your hands. In reality, Flubber is classified as a 'Non-Newtonian Fluid', possessing properties of both a liquid and a solid. You can pick it up, yet it will very slowly pour and return to a puddle-like form when left alone.

Raccoons and Beavers!

TODAY'S ACTIVITY
Today was our first math lesson and exercises in democracy. Our primary groups of 12 voted on different animal names for our groups. The first was a double round resulting in the 'RACCOONS'. The second group voted in one round with three choices, electing to call themselves the 'BEAVERS'.

Our primary emphases were on estimation, counting and comparing quantities and size of the stacks.


TODAY'S STORY
Please, Say Please: Penguin's Guide To Manners, by Margery Cuyler, illustrated by Doug Hillenbrand. When a group of animals goes to Penguin's house for dinner, their manners are atrocious until they're told about rules of good behavior. There's a "That's right/That's wrong" refrain throughout. For example: “When a hippo sits down for dinner, she should put her napkin on her head. How pretty! Is that right? No, that’s wrong. When a hippo sits down for dinner, she should lay her napkin on her lap. That’s better!”

Up and Running!

"This is me. I'm in the garden." ~ Sofia

We just completed our first day of the school year, with great enthusiasm and energy!

TODAY'S ACTIVITIES
Getting acquainted with our classroom. We began with plenty of exploration, locating learning materials, and establishing basic safety precautions for taking care of each other and our learning environment.

One motto of a good classroom environment is "A place for everything and everything in it's place." Our class was remarkably cooperative when it came to clean-up time once we explained, "We put things back where they go SO YOU KNOW WHERE TO FIND IT AGAIN." We'll be explaining this on a daily basis several times.

DO try this at home. It works...eventually!


TODAY'S STORY
Who Shares?, by Ewa Lipniacka, illustrated by Jane Massey. Jack and Georgina are two siblings who do not like to share. So when Mom says they must, they decide to do it in their own way. Georgina shares a worm with Jack (by dropping it in his pants, and Jack shares his peas with Georgina (by flinging one at her). This interpretation of Mom's request is unconventional in the least, especially when they share the chicken pox! But in a sweet, funny surprise ending, they eventually discover something wonderful that they already share - their Mom!

Welcome to Room 4!

Sonya, Usha and Andy welcome you to our online journal of the 2007-8 school year. Each new school year brings a new group of friends eager to experiment, explore and expand their understanding of their world and themselves.

We feel privileged to guide and participate in their endeavors. This will augment our daily announcements so you will have an idea of what we do and how we learn. We will also post books, stories, photos, observations and important announcements here. It's a fun way to recap your child's day at home. The children love seeing photos from their day that often stimulate discussions, observations and lessons learned.

The prevalent theme of September will be "Getting To Know You."
The primary focus will be socialization, learning names and all about our classroom.

GROUPS
Parts of our day will be all-inclusive, while activity periods will be with primary groups of 8-12 at a time. These primary groups will remain intact, though all three teachers will alternate between them to expand their friendships and social development. Each week, teachers will rotate responsibilities for art/science activities, literacy development and sensory/movement activities.
Groups are determined by social dynamics and development as observed by the teachers in the classroom.

ENRICHMENT PERIODS
Trapeze Arts, Gymnastics, Music Class and Art Studio are enrichment activities we are fortunate enough to have, thanks to the fundraising efforts of the Parent committee. Being the oldest class on the main level, we are first to go, at 9:00. Please be prompt. If you are late your child may miss a session. In this case, simply report to the classroom. Accommodation will be based on attendance.

IMPORTANT REMINDERS:
• Please arrive early enough to say goodbye before 9:00. A SHORT routine (a book, playdough, etc...) makes it easier. We will help your child transition into the daily routine. If your child requires more than 5 minutes to separate, arrive a few minutes early to compensate.

• Be sure to make contact with the teacher in the morning and in the afternoon when picking up your child. Please communicate any information that may be relevant to your child's mood (e.g...he saw something scary, she didn't sleep much last night, parent out of town, housegueasts, etc...) so we can provide needed support.

• Keep the following items in your child's cubby at all times:
2 pairs of socks
2 pairs of underwear
1 pair of pants
1 extra undershirt
1 sweatshirt or fleece pullover.
(Please, no costumes or superhero clothes, except underpants)
Remember, they grow fast, so check sizes in 2-3 months.

• Your child may bring a soft, quiet toy for security at rest time. During play time and activities it will remain in the cubby. No other toys, dolls, or play jewelry are permitted. Be especially aware of coins, which usually get lost and pose a hazard for younger children who share our facilities.

CONFERENCES
Watch the info board next to the classroom door for a conference sign up sheet next week. Once we have a few days to work with the children, we will offer conferences to compare notes, exchange ideas and establish goals for your child for the school year.

We are excited to begin our new school year together!