i don’t know why i haven’t thought of this sooner.
the exploration with the same magnets, the same metal pieces, the same sorting trays had a new element with hanging magnets!
h is for hanging magnet
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Daily Archives: January 7, 2009
m is for marker
in general, markers are a pet peeve of mine. i don’t like how they smear a child’s work. but dry erase markers are different. we almost never use them, but in between art displays in the hallway, we open up our cases and set out the markers.
the kind of writing and drawing that happens in this easle-type setting is wonderful to watch.
knowing that their work can (and will) by wiped away ensures that it is the PROCESS not the PRODUCT.
k is for kitchen help
“we’re too tired to stand up to do the dishes and cook.”
i know what they mean.
p is for pond around the train
oh, good times. when we’ve pushed furniture to the side to make room for our christmas program, there is room for train play!
i cut a hole in one of our white pieces of fabric (thank you, sarah) and set one of our mirrors under it.
ta-da! a frozen pond for the train to go around. and for the train to go off the track and slide around on.
a is for advent candles
we made our own “pull the tab” advent candles. definitely more teacher prep than we typically do, but it was fun for the kids to have the experience of “lighting” their candles
there was lots of counting and careful work as they chose pieces to glue/slide in the right spots.
Advent! Advent! A candle burns!
Advent! Advent! A candle burns!
First one, then two, then three, then four!
Then stands the Christ child at your door!
k is for kernel
oh, that tricky k.
yes, we do kites and kangaroos. but as our letter of the week, it falls close enough to christmas that we focus on kings. this year we also used out-of-date popcorn kernels for some fine motor practice. preschoolers cover dots or lines of glue kernel by kernel.
i don’t know how many kindgergarten teachers would say this today, but a couple of years ago, i was told at a collaboration meeting that one of the greatest areas of need is fine motor control. so we continue with strengthing those little muscles!
r is for red bird
even though this project is low on the scale of “child led,” it sure is cute.
the kids had the joy of sprinkling glitter (or pouring glitter in many cases). they could pick red, white or a mix (a combination of what had been used previously!). by the end of the project, we had only a mix. : )
these red birds were used during our christmas circle time for this poem:
2 little red birds sitting in the snow
this one is mary
this one is joe
fly away mary
fly away joe
come back mary
come back joe
