Tai and I were deep in building tall towers and making homes for small animals. When he asked if someday "when we are both here" if we could take a trip to the secret forest. My response was immediate and positive. The conversation then shifted to what the forest might be like this time of year. We haven't visited it since late spring. Charlie who had joined our chat thought that there might be less new flowers. Ellliot was pretty sure we'd find a bear sleeping. The continued their explorations while I thought about a secret forest trip. Today would be a good day. The weather was beautiful and Tai and were "both here" So I made the suggestion. We cleaned up and began the process of heading to the forest. Once we got to the playground I let the children direct themselves to the forest. Tai was sure " you had to go around the bleachers to the left while Ada thought you could go either way. Ella wasn't sure which way to go because " there were NOT Porta Potties last time" Charlie was confident you needed to stay really close to the fence and the it would just appear. They successfully led us to the forest. Once there we took a tour. I reminded the children of my boundaries. We made sure there was no big trash or glass that was unsafe. Once we were all clear on the expectations and it was safe to do so they began exploring. The majority of the kiddos where interesting in moving BIG sticks and logs. They were making piles and exclaiming " Look at this one Rachel" while holding a 7 foot long log over their heads like He-Man. In an effort to be constructive. I set up an invitation to make a lean to. They quickly began taking their sticks and logs and leaning them against the stick. Each child found a part of this activity that they enjoyed. Ella really took pleasure in balancing the sticks against the log. While Elliot and Charlie enjoyed going into shoulder high weeds and pulling out the biggest sticks the could find. Spending unstructured time in the forest is such a gift. While participating in these activities the children engaged in several Vermont Early Learning Standards (VELS) including, but not limited to:
Domain 1 (Approaches to Learning), Elements 1 - 3 (Play and exploration, initiative, and problem solving) Domain 3 (Science) Element 4. (Engineering Design)
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I enjoy bringing real tools in for children to experiment with. Allowing an experience that gives the Teacher opportunities to say yes when normally a child would hear NO! “Put that Hammer Down” “ Those nails are sharp!” “Be careful” For this experience we used dry florists foam (wood) and golf tees (nails). We also used a variety of REAL hammers and play hammers. Most of the children preferred the real hammers even if they were a bit heavy of some of the little hands. The children experimented with many different ways to use the hammers! Some tried them upside down. Others would push the “nails” in with their hands and they pry the nails out with the backside of the hammer. No approach was wrong and experimenting was encouraged. You never know where the day with take you. It all began when Isabel painted a piece of paper and noticed that it looked like signs she had seen at the Womens March that she attended with her mom in January. " It just needs sticks Rachel " I agreed. I gathered up some sticks. Sela overheard this conversation and decided she would make a sign as well. Then she said well we could have a pretend march inside. I asked why it had to be inside? She responded that " We couldn't really go on a march..." I exclaimed sure we can. We could march up and down the street. My little group of girls got right to work. I offered to add words to their signs. Many of the girls didn't know what they wanted their signs to say so we talked about how when you are marching for something you carry words on signs that you feel are important. This seemed to help the girls and they came up with important words and we added them to signs. Before we left for our march we invited more friends to make signs and join us. The girls went over to other groups and exclaimed " We are going outside to have a womens march. Boys are invited too!" Alas we didn't get any takers. We marched up and down Hayward Street. We paused at the corner or Hayward and Howard and had lots of cars drive by and wave. First steps in learning that we all have important words to say. While participating in these activitiesthe children engaged in several Vermont Early Learning Standards (VELS) including, but not limited to:
Domain 1 (Approaches to Learning), Elements 1 - 3 (Play and exploration, initiative, and problem solving) Domain 2 (Social/Emotional Learning), Element 3 (Relationships) Domain 4 (literacy Development), Element 3 (Writing ) Domain 10 (Social Studies), Elements 1 and 2 (Inquiry Family and Community: Civics , Government & Society) You never know where play will take you. Following the interest of animals and our daily reading GOODNIGHT GORILLA by Peggy Rathmann. The girls had sneaky animals and they were taping them to their bodies so that they couldn't "cause trouble" I suggested that we put them in a ZOO and began taping them to the half wall. We then thought about what we see in zoos and realized that our zoo needed signs. Our writing practice interested other children who soon joined us for sign making. The children would pick an animal and then we would work together to write the sign. The emerging writing was seen in many different lights. Some kids felt comfortable having me write the word and they copied. This gave them the letter formations and order and they could then work at their own pace. Others asked for the spelling verbally but then worked on letter formation themselves. Still more sounded out and used their own knowledge to create their signs. The biggest surprise to me was how so many children were eager to write. The had something they wanted said and worked out how to get it said. I enjoy supporting the children as these interests emerge and look forward to more occasions where it just flows into the play. While participating in these activities the children engaged in several Vermont Early Learning Standards (VELS) including, but not limited to: Domain 1 (Approaches to Learning), Elements 1 - 3 (Play and exploration, initiative, and problem solving) Domain 2 (Social/Emotional Learning), Elements 1 - 3 (Emotion and self regulation, self awareness, and relationships) Domain 4 (Language Development), Elements 1 - 5 (Listening, speaking, and knowledge of language) Domain 5(Literacy Development), Element 3 (Writing) I have been teaching for a number of years and it still amazes me that I can offer the children as something as simple as a pumpkin and with absolutely no expectations watch math, art ,science and social skills emerge.
The trick is being open and willing and offering opportunities to expand and be willing to go with the flow. On Halloween I offered just that. A pumpkin. With no expectations. Felix and Seamus wanted to cook the seeds. Gael wanted to crave a jack-o-lantern. He didn't think it was fair that only the kids who were currently playing with the pumpkin pick a face so we survey the other children. I carved the Pumpkin and then we shared it with our neighbor that evening because she didn't have a Jack-O-Lantern. These moments are happening every day. Its import to take a look occasionally and realize that it might just look like playing but so much learning is happening. Vermont Early Learning Standards (VELS) including, but not limited to: Domain 1 (Approaches to Learning) Elements 1 and 2 (Play and Exploration and Initiative) Domain 4 (Language Development) Elements 1 - 4 (Speaking/Listening and Social Rules of Language) Domain 7 (Mathematics) Elements 3-4 (Measurement, Classification, and Data) Domain 8 (Science) Element 1 (Physical Sciences) Personally I think Oatmeal is boring. I don't love eating it unless its covered in brown sugar and heavy cream. On Monday Oatmeal is on the menu for snack. It's a good nutrient packed snack. It should be on the menu. On Monday I am the kitchen teacher. You see the problem.
The first week or so I served it up with raisins as a topping and a little touch of sugar. Personally I wasn't a fan of adding sugar. The children ate it up but I was left feeling dissatisfied. I asked myself the question how will I make this better? Over the past few weeks I'm been doctoring up the Monday morning Oatmeal. One week I added Apple and Cinnamon. The next it was Pumpkin puree and nutmeg. We've enjoyed banana oatmeal and oatmeal with a generous helping of dried cranberries. The children have been adventurous in trying the different flavors. I have a couple of more ideas in my pocket but I continue to look for new ideas. If you have a great oatmeal add in let me know. In weeks to come look for charts and surveys about our Oatmeal project. Ask your child what we added that morning and feel free to stop in for a bowl. |
AuthorRachel is excited to be part of the Steppers community! Archives
October 2017
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