Tunnel Fun

Another Groundhog day activity - tunnels.

I enjoyed watching the ideas the children had of how the tunnels should be set up.

I wish I had room to leave the tunnels set up all the time.

The physical energy used and the problem solving that happened was thrilling.

Plus the imaginative play was contagious.

Who's hiding in the tube?

 Ready to spring.

Waiting to take turns.

Art vs Craft

This topic is something that I've been struggling with for a while now.
I know and appreciate the value of letting children explore and experience different art mediums.  Watching them discover what they can do with the materials versus following a model.
But I've discovered this past week that a craft can have many positive and fun results.

Last Wednesday was Groundhog Day and I had found this really cute craft from Let's Go Fly a Kite
that I couldn't resist providing for my families even after much back and forth in my mind about the value of it.

Well I learned that it held alot of value.

1. Families enjoy making something they recognize at the end.

2. So much language can happen while making a craft.  Following a set of instruction is a prelude to reading.

3. The fun and excitement of playing with the craft when it's made.

4. Sharing experiences and making connections.
This little guy's grandma started to sing "All around the Mulberry Bush" and when she go to the part when "the monkey thought it was all in fun but ____" she waited and pushed the groundhog up out of the cup.  He said "pop!"  The rest of the morning he walked around playing with his groundhog and saying "Pop, Pop".

5. Extensions - I added flashlights at the table so they could try to see their groundhog's shadow.  But it was too bright in the room.  I quickly grab a big box and called it the "Groundhog Hole".

Children that didn't even make the craft crawled into the box and played with the light.

 

 

 Making the spotlight small and then big again.
                                                        

What a great morning of learning for me.

Sign of the Week - Bear

This week's sign is 'bear'.
Cross your arms across your chest with fingers spread open.
Bend your fingers down into claws, repeat

Bear is Sleeping

Bear is sleeping, bear is sleeping
In the cave, in the cave.
I wonder when he'll come out,
I wonder when he'll come out
In the spring, In the spring.

Story - The Sweetest Song

The Sweetest Song is an African American tale that I just learned.
It has a lovely little line to sing throughout.  I taught it to the children so they could sing it with me.

The Sweetest Song     ---     An African American story

Once upon a time little daughter was picking flowers

Once upon a time little daughter was picking flowers on the far side of the fence

Her papa had told her not to, her mama had told her not to but her papa and her mama weren’t watching and little daughter had seen a beautiful yellow flower, nodding in the breeze just beyond the fence.

No harm in opening the gate and picking one little yellow flower she said to herself

then she saw a red one further away shining like a little flame

No harm picking a red one to put with the  yellow one.

Then she saw some blue flowers further away again

No harm putting the blues with the red and yellow

Soon the fence and gate were far behind her and she had her bunch of flowers in her hand.  They were shining and shining with such yellows, and reds and blues and purples and pinks that she started to sing with happiness

“ Trey blah, trey blah coom qua ki mo”

Suddenly she felt a shadow

She looked up and saw a wolf

A great gray wolf looking down at her with its yellow eyes

The wolf opened its mouth and spoke  “sing that sweetest, goodest song again”

So little daughter sang the song again

“ Trey blah, trey blah coom qua ki mo”

and as she sang the great gray wolf closed its eyes and smiled

and as she sang little daughter tiptoed tiptoed back toward the gate

as soon as the song was over the wolf opened his eyes and came bounding bounding behind her

Did you move?

Oh no said little daughter

Oh no why should I move?

Why indeed? Said the wolf

Now sing me that sweetest, goodest song again.

“ Trey blah, trey blah coom qua ki mo”

and as she sang the great gray wolf closed its eyes and smiled

and as she sang little daughter tiptoed tiptoed back towards the gate

as soon as the song was over the wolf opened its eyes and came bounding bounding behind her

Did you move?

Oh no said little daughter

Oh no why should I move?

Why indeed? Said the wolf

Now sing me that sweetest, goodest song one more time again.

So little daughter sang that song again

“ Trey blah, trey blah coom qua ki mo”

When the great gray wolf closed its eyes and smiled

Little daughter tiptoed tiptoed back towards the gate and through the gate

As soon the song was over the wolf came bounding bounding after her

But click the gate was shut

And clack the gate was locked

And little daughter was safe

 little daughter was sweetest, goodest safe inside the fence with a bunch of bright flowers in her fist.

And that was the end of that story.

Pendulum Funnels

I first saw this idea at Irresistible Ideas for Play Based Learning and loved the it.
We used the same frames that we had used for the pendulum painting but switched the cups for funnels.
They are attached with paper clips and made it easy for the children to remove them and use the funnels in different ways.

I love the look of concentration of this child's face.

He went from experimenting with pouring, watching it go through and dumping the sand to...

plugging the hole with his hand to stop the flow.

Once the funnels were off the clips, I added more and varied sized funnels.

This boy was busy making chocolate cookies.  First you fill it, then you pat it, then put it in the oven for...
you and me.  Ah he was reciting Patty Cake Patty Cake.  Wonderful when literacy becomes obvious in their play.

Then the 'what ifs?' started.

What if we piled all the funnels together would the sand still go through?

Which funnel is plugged?

After mastering plugging the hole with his hand this child started to estimate how many scoops it would take to fill the funnel.

We recorded his guesses and the results.

We found other items to use as plugs.

And realized the plug either stopped the flow or slowed it down to a trickle

The pendulum funnels have been a lot of fun.

That even little brothers want to give it a try.

Ice Fishing

Last week we went ice fishing.  We used styrofoam packing peanuts and magnetic fish and rods.

                    




Reeling in a  big one.

         



We needed a basket to hold them all.

Amazing that the fishing lines didn't become tangled.

Forget the fishing rod it was easier just to dig and find the fish by hand.

Build a Tree for Snack

Here's an easy and delicious tree to make for snack.

I took step by step photos and made a recipe for the children to 'read'.

The materials are simple; bread stick for the trunk, kiwi slices for the branches, raisins for pinecones, sunflower seeds for seeds and I found snowflake sugar confetti to sprinkle on.

1. Place the breadstick tree trunk on your placemat.

2. Count 6 slices of kiwi and add them to your trunk.

3. Sprinkle on one spoon of snowflakes.

4. Sprinkle on one spoon of raisins.

5. Sprinkle on one spoon of sunflower seeds.

                                                                  Enjoy!

This little guy was allergic to kiwi so we quickly substituted apple slices for his branches.