Last week we had many children who were either talking of their upcoming camping trip or a past one. When asking them about their favorite part of camping, the highest votes went to the tent and the campfire. Also last week we were working on red and orange colors. It was a great Reggio project to introduce the two colors with their love of campfires. So, we made our own campfire and spoke about the different color flames we see that come out. Red, orange and yellow were the most often mentioned colors. But as you see, silliness lies in our blood. Soon they started saying even purple, green and rainbow! Hahahahahaha! But the gist is that it was fun to make fire using the red, yellow and orange construction paper.
Additionally we added some marshmallows (made of cotton balls and skewers) and they chose their favorite chocolate color.
Discussions like how should we stay careful with fire, how can fire help us (food, fuel, light for caves in olden days, to scare forest animals, etc) as well as how is it dangerous (burns, forest fire) sparked up all through the week.
Seeing their interest, we decided to make a portable pretend campfire that we could carry around the classroom or outdoors!
Choosing brown for logs and black for burnt logs..isn't that smart! Coloring, stacking, and gluing the logs on a thick cardboard for stability and mobility :)
Adding pretend fire with orange, red, and yellow flames!
Deciding to add more logs so the fire goes higher :)
Time to enjoy the campfire outside!!!
That week we also got involved in a lot of art activities!
Making poster board collages is always a loved project...the knowledge of layout, spacing, choice of materials, creativity by mixing two or more materials, putting their thoughts on paper, are basic fundamental skills that can be archived through these simple and easy activities...
Play dough is always a fun sensory project...
Exploring the big blue sponge...
They dropped water colors on it, but it did not soak in. Then they brushed over the puddles and saw the water soak in. Next they put in all five fingers and saw that the pressure let out bubbles of water that the sponge had soaked. We called it "the magical fingers." Last they figured out that their fingers left prints and they started finger drawing. A thorough science experiment!!!!
Spin art!
We tried mixing red and orange during circle time and discovered that it makes rust or reddish brown. This inspired us to mix colors and we thought of introducing mixing colors through spinning. They were fascinated to know about this and couldn't wait to try.
Adding choice of tempera paints and spinning the salad spinner...
We had another transparent one where they could see the spinning in progress...
Checking the result and finding a color that they did not choose...
Taking the art out...
Decorating it with sparkles...
Teddy bear picnic...
At circle time we came with our teddy bears and shared a few things about them...and then posed!
We danced with them and even placed them in front of us to see us perform songs like Head, Shoulder, Knees, and Toes...
We set up spray paint for friends outside for the picnic...
A friend said that it looks like a world map...I bet it does :)
While another set of friends enjoyed rainbow coloring!
Getting set with bagged lunches on the picnic sheets and enjoying the ambiance!
We all tried different flavors of teddy bear graham crackers. Some had their specific preferences too, but we were willing to give other flavors a try!!!
Teacher Aimee's and my birthdays were presented by the children crowning us as queens, singing a loud birthday song, and taking a group picture. Well, well, well it was not the end...I was even asked to ramp walk like a queen and behave like a queen for the entire day! Hehehe, how sweet of them! Muuuaahh to all my kiddos!
Next week we have a walking field trip to Branham Park. Just a gentle reminder to turn in the slips. Also, please feel free to volunteer that day..any extra help is always appreciated, and gives you a chance to spend some quality time with your child.
Keep seeing you around!
Stay cool and hydrated,
Rashida :)
