Last week we started exploring sounds and friends were curious to know the different sounds around us, both internal as well as external, and wanted to know how does sound travel, why can we hear, and many more intriguing questions. This definitely was a learning moment and we planned ahead to explore sounds for the entire week.
To give them most of their answers, we first experimented on low and high sounds, internal body sounds, and external environmental sounds. It was great to hear them come up with so many. They started listing them one after the other. With the sound of vehicles and trucks being the most common one, friends even paid attention to their tummy sounds when they gurgled out of hunger :) Another friend right away picked on the sound that our voice box makes and after that the list was infinite :)
Videos can be a very good tool for exploring the world around us. As a result, we decided to use technology to help our children better learn more about their interest. We watched two videos during the week. The first one was a quick video on The Science of Sound, a NASA connected segment that explores the basics of sound including how it works, how it travels, and how the ear works. They were amazed to see the inside of the ear and we pointed out how it looked like a snail.
The other video was Bill Nye, The Science Guy Season 1, Episode 12 all about sound. This video expanded our knowledge with different vocabulary and the important elements that help us hear. This video is used frequently at schools and even airs on some PBS stations.
Parents, there are numerous amazing short videos out there that are so developmentally appropriate. However, it is always wise to watch the video once before exposing the children to it.
Soon the videos made us aware of three important things - the vibration, the sound waves, and of course our incredible ears. We slowly experimented with these three things in the classroom over a period of time. The first thing we tried was the "singing bowl" which makes a distinctive pitch when brushed in a rhythmic way. Children were figuring this out by touching it and by putting their ears closer how the bowls work.
Later when we went outside they tried it individually and even tried many other sound-making items.
Containers and bowls to drum on...
Listen to an echo...
L and A having a telephone conversation :) and learning how voice can travel through the pipe and be heard clearly on the other end.
Finding the matching sound game: here two boxes have the same materials inside and they had to shake them close to their ears to find the two similar sounding boxes. We as teachers had put matching numbers on the bottom of the boxes but they didn't know about that. Many children sat there so focused listening for a match.
Yeah, A and R found a match and are calling a teacher to check it for them. Yes, they did it!
We gave the children many open ended materials to make musical instruments. They created some cool ones and many instruments were two in one. They made all varieties of string instruments, drums, maracas, and bells.
L and D begging to put their plan in action...
Z finished up with a cannon ball instrument that had a string in the middle that made sound when it hit the toilet paper roll. Interesting! Prospective future designers?
L cut the toilet paper tube and added some rubber bands in a foil container. He used his best fine motor skills to put on the foil lid. He did it carefully and finished the circumference in no time. He then showed us how he could shake it and make sound, as well as use it like a drum. Neat, huh?
On the other hand, D used a similar style, but he found some broken crayons and added those, too. He said the crayons will make a louder sound when you shake it.
In the end it was amazing to see such unique instruments!
Sound experiment....
We did an experiment with glass and water and tried to understand the pitch. We filled the glasses with different levels of water and when we tapped the edge of the glass with a metal rod, we could hear the various high and low pitches depending on the level of water in the glass. Yes, we were pin drop silent so that our ears could capture the best sound.
We tried adding bouncy balls and checked if the sound pitch changes in any way. This was a little tough to understand. It still sounded just like before when no balls were added.
Over the course of the week we could hear children talk among themselves about the different sounds they hear, and also use vocabulary words such as vibration, and sound waves to explain what they were hearing.
Letter G....
We made letter G collages using a few shades of green color. Here children as old as 3 got a chance to practice their cutting skills.
Children got involved in making the Golden Gate Bridge and driving their cars over it.
We also learned about basic geometry shapes and trying to color them distinct from each other. Some friends even used the wooden shape puzzle as a stencil and traced their own patterns and filled them with colors.
Playing with green play dough....
Working on giraffe spots doing finger painting....
Making Gak and exploring its new consistency....
Usually Gak is gooey and similar to a jelly fish. However, this time due to a little water mixture going wrong, the end result turned out to be different. We still used it and children, as usual, found their own ways to be creative with it. They made tiny balls and soon we found out that when the ball dropped it was super duper bouncy, which is usually not the case with Gak. It was one of the most hilarious moments and then everyone was trying to make and bounce balls of different sizes learning all about bouncing.
D trying to bounce a big ball...
L making all possible sizes and checking which bounces the highest.
L checking his Gak flop...
Accidentally D caught a spider in his share of Gak. He checked out his broken legs, feeling sorry about it. How empathetic!
We placed the Gak on the rope and saw it stretch down. Friends blew on it and even saw it swing :)
L trying out Teacher Rosemary's glasses :)
We read many books with the letter G. One of the favorites was Gruffalo!
We read Green Eggs and Ham and later made them, too...
Cracking eggs! They all did so wonderfully and we learned how to crack them open using both our thumbs!
Whisking eggs! We tried whisking the eggs both with a traditional and a modern whisk. Once the green food color was added, all the children were excited and we made the best green that we could taking their suggestions into account. Some said too light, some said may be a little bit more food coloring. It was great to see the various perceptions of green that they had in mind.
Egg eaters!
Other highlights...
Happy birthday D. It was D's fifth birthday. Here she enjoys her cupcake and making a wish with Mommy, big sis, and all her friends!
Friends starting to build structures with magna tiles. More modern designs!
A close up :)
By the end of the week we experienced optical illusions with this spiral and seeing the crystal ball move up and down when it was actually not. How amazed each one of us were! It was also funny to see a friend upside down from the other side of the crystal ball.
Overall, it was another busy week for us and our exploration of new ideas!
See you around!
Hugs,
Teacher Rashida
