The weather is getting warmer. Please consider including sunblock and a sun hat in your child's backpack. We will also be happy to store these items at school if need be.
Last week's interest in trucks and trains is still going strong. We introduced a wooden truck toy to go with our train, which was a huge hit. S and T spent a lot of time in this; glass stones were offered for cargo and the dark border around the rug became the track. We looked at books which identified various kinds of trucks and utility vehicles (including the previously discussed car carrier) and the children regularly brought me truck books to read over the week. "Truck Driver Tom" is still a favorite; the pictures are pored over, questions asked and different modes of transportation identified.
At our Morning Gatherings we continue to work on counting items. On Wednesday we used a ramp; each child rolled five items down to the floor, where we then counted how many stayed on the mat at the bottom of the ramp and how many rolled off. Then I wrote the numbers in two separate columns on a white board so that the children could see them. Our dot counting cards were available too, and the children seem to have warmed up to them. I've also been having them practice counting out items to share. Asking a child to count out three or four of something to pass on to their friend gives them a bit more control in 'how' the sharing will take place and provides yet another application for making counting relevant.
Along with our numbers, we have been exercising our fine motor skills this week with some challenging--but fun--activities. On Tuesday and Thursday we revisited using small droppers and watercolor. Tuesday's activity involved dripping the color onto a piece of paper, then moving the paper so that the drips made tracks. Thursday we worked outside as a group, dripping color onto a large piece of paper on an easel. The process of getting a full dropper of color out of the bottles is still a challenge, and I saw a lot of improvement from the last time we had tried this activity earlier this year. On Wednesday I made up a batch of pasta dough and we worked at making noodles. Each child helped me crank it through the rollers of the pasta maker to flatten the dough and then they were given a butter knife to practice cutting strips with. I gave them very little instruction, other than showing them how to hold the dough flat with one hand while using the butter knife in the other. The strips were rather irregular and a couple of children ended up using the dough more as playdough, which was fine. Like most everything we do, this was all about the process and very little to do with the product!
Thursday ended up being one of those days that takes on a life of it's own. At our Gathering we heard the recycling truck outside and so we headed out onto the porch to watch the action. The sunny day, the flowers and passing butterflies inspired us to head out for a walk to sniff flowers, pick up masses of "pricklies" (the sweet gum seed pods) and just explore all the different things the neighborhood has to offer. The kids were especially captivated with a cartoony "no dog poop" sign in a neighbors yard and spent a great deal of time discussing it amongst themselves.
Because the day was so beautiful, we returned to the school and washed our hands, then headed outside for snack and our eyedropper/paint art and lots of sandbox play. J played drums with two sticks on the watering cans while S and V worked at the drip painting for quite a while. Plenty of plum tree house play ensued. A few buckets of water were fetched so that V could make 'soup' in a flowerpot. The big washtub was brought out with the small water play toys to be used just for that purpose, and J and S spent a lot of time there. V and I spent some time inspecting the peas; there were plenty of aphids and a few helpful ladybugs. It was lovely to be outside for so much time that I'm sure we will be moving school to the backyard more often in the coming days.
Other moments of fun from our week:
T and J playing with the wax block crayons. They stacked them up into towers. At one point, J stacked his on their narrow sides and deemed it a 'piano'. S and J stacked them into 'a crane'. S and T cut up their pictures into pieces because scissors are just so much fun to practice with.
On Wednesday we did some texture rubbings with the crayons. Again, they were stacked up. The rubbings, however, turned into mail and the mailboxes were busy once again. S sent her mail to V, and T sent his to S; I transcribed notes and enjoyed watching the children identify each child's mailbox based on the letters in their names.
S and J playing restaurant while also playing with the drums and shakers. Later, everyone joined in for an impromptu jam session. Maybe they're recreating the old "Dine and Dance" restaurants? One can only hope...
V and S playing baby and mama. The baby is very squeaky these days, and the mama is very attentive!
A quiet moment: S and J working on dot counting cards; V building a shape puzzle. All heads were down with focus and concentration.
T in the backyard, balancing the driftwood 'snowboard' on the edge of the sandbox, piling sand onto it and then tipping it over.
Our carrots have sprouted at last! We all agreed that it felt like it took a long, long time. I hope we have some baby carrots to harvest before the school season ends.
All the children like little frogs, hopping up and down off the rounds, and rock, counting to ten before they jumped off.
Here's looking toward next week, more open-ended artwork and more fun together. Until then, cheers!
