Before I get started on this week's update, I wanted to share a rare opportunity with all of you.
The National Governors Association (NGA), in conjunction with the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) has unveiled its proposed Common Core Standards Initiative. These proposed standards would become the backbone for the Obama Administration's Race To the Top program (to replace No Child Left Behind) for establishing criteria for state school funding. From now until April 2, 2010, the NGA and CCSSO are accepting feedback from the public. You can find it at the link below:
http://www.corestandards.org/
No matter how you feel about the proposed changes and benchmarks, this is a great opportunity to chime in and express your opinions and concerns to the agencies which are currently shaping the educational future for many children in our country.
This week we welcomed our newest addition to the group and set about getting him a name necklace and mailbox. The other children had fun playing with the beads and revisiting the sticky paper (which we used for the mailboxes), dropping pinches of crayon shavings and sequins onto it before we chose a piece of colored paper for a backing. The pictures are now up on display in the housekeeping area and it's fascinating to see how different they are.
We had a bit of sharing time this week: one child brought an early reader magazine (Tessy and Tab) from home, so we read the story and then discussed how it came to him in the mail. Investigating, we could see the child's name and address on the back cover, and he showed us the games in the book as well. Another child brought an alpine strawberry plant to school to put into the ground. She chose a great spot right at the base of the Children's House in the backyard and we all helped to dig the hole, place the plant, and fill it in. I'm looking forward to enjoying the dainty white blossoms and tiny fruit.
Planting peas was one of our outdoor activities. I'd prepared the ground beforehand and the children were interested in planting a great many pea seeds. We've built a screen of bamboo stakes and bird block to grow the peas up onto. This screen, close to the Children's House, will also create more designated playspaces so that the House play isn't tumbling into the new sandbox once it's built. We noticed that the color of the seeds are dissimilar to the pictures on the packets and that one kind of seed had tiny spotted patterns on it. It will be interesting to see what comes up!
"Pancakes, Pancakes!" by Eric Carle is one book that the children absolutely love. We've been reading it at our Morning Gathering time and acting out the motions of the boy who wants a pancake. We pantomime cutting the wheat, threshing it, milking the cow and so much more. We also have felt pancakes in our housekeeping area to cook and enjoy. Discussing what we like on top of our pancakes, honey, blueberries and syrup were the most popular toppings.
A few other notes:
Two children sticking playdough to the tops of their fingers, creating 'people' which then spoke to each other.
Lots of drum play--yogurt containers, big pots and pans. Some children want to line them up, others like to heap and cluster them into a big pile and some added blocks to the percussion festival.
More cutting practice, with paper, crayons, stickers and scissors available.
Lots of puzzle work. I'm setting up puzzles at the large table as an alternative to storytimes and gatherings when children need quieter activities available to them.
We also have a new lacing activity which is delightful: a wooden tree filled with holes, laces and lots of leaf, bird and animal charms to lace onto the tree. Beautiful!
The kitchen play in the housekeeping is regularly being extended into the block area. A table was made, cups and teapot were brought over and a very lovely teatime was had.
Watercolor painting: children were asked to make a 'sunny day' or a 'rainy day' on paper, then given crayons to work with and finally watercolor to paint over it. While the wax resist effect didn't quite work, I was intrigued by the colors they chose.
Outdoors the children have invented a new game: standing on the big rock near the rain garden and counting that person to ten before they jump off and give the next person a turn. This simple activity lasted for a surprisingly long time.
We'll see you next week for more fun!
