Happy Birthday Play

It all started with an invitation.  

There was going to be a birthday party!

 How exciting for the first day of preschool with all of our friends?

The news spread quickly.  G had to call her mom to invite her.  

I was summoned.  We talked about what we need to properly celebrate a birthday 

(possibly prompted by our celebration last week of a classmates REAL birthday).

It was determined that we would need food, presents, invitations, and decorations.  

First things first, the decorations.  I grabbed the party box and pulled out the streamers.  You should have seen their faces!  They could't believe that I would let them use them.  Next, they needed scissors and tape.  Having direct access to scissors is a new thing for 4s.  In the 2s and 3s room, scissors are used with close supervision.  When you are 4, we trust that we have taught you to use them responsibly and we trust that you will.  I showed them where they could find scissors if they needed them and gave them the tape.  

Everything in the vicinity was decorated in no time!

There was teamwork, sharing, and an atmosphere of community; 

everything you could possibly hope for on the first day of preschool with all of the kids.

Next it was time for the menu.  The "birthday girl" wanted ham, so ham it was.  The other party planners added their own ideas of party food to the list.

We used shared pen (where the child writes the sound they hear first, and the teacher adds the rest) to make the remainder of the list.  

All in all, the play sustained for at least 30 minutes.  Children worked their way in and out, some staying a while, some just passing through.  Everyone was interested!  

Tomorrow, we will build on what we started today.  Maybe we will learn to make party hats, or wrap some presents.  We could sing happy birthday, since we never got to that part today.  We were so busy decorating! I'll pull out the birthday books and look forward to seeing how the play is extended tomorrow.  

I noticed at the end of the day that even my red rocking chair had been decorated!

It is sometimes difficult to explain how children learn through play, but little illustrations  like this one help.  In one center, in one corner of our classroom I identified the following happening while children were engaged in meaningful play: mathematics (counting the guests, counting years, comparing numbers, measuring) social studies (observing customs and traditions), literacy (beginning and ending sound identification, oral language development, writing letters) motor skills (cutting, taping) and much much more.  

This truly is the best job ever!

Setting Sail!

I remain convinced that long before pinterest, I had my own ideas!  Sometimes I think I have come up with a brilliant idea, only to discover that it has already been done.  Well, this one is all mine!  (Please no one find it on pinterest!)

Glyphs (been around forever, NOT my idea) are a fun way to get to know each other at the beginning of the school year.  A glyph (like hieroglyphics) is a  way to display data using pictures or symbols instead of words.  For preschoolers who are often shy and a little nervous about a new year, new friends, new teachers, words are not always easy to come by. As we set out on our journey in 4 year old preschool, we want to get to know each other and begin making bonds that will hold us together this school year.  The community that we wish to establish greatly depends on the first few precious days together.  

So we tell about ourselves using symbols.  This year we have a nautical theme for our classroom.  Since we are about to "Set Sail", I thought it important to identify our ship.

At open house the children worked together with their parents to make a flag that symbolized  themselves, their likes, and their families.

I made this key to show each family what they needed to add to their flag. 

(This is the part I thought up!) 

Each flag was so different!  Even the ones made by twins.  

It is neat to look at each flag and see the child's personality peek through.  

I said add stripes, but I didn't say which direction.  We said circles for girls, but didn't specify a color.  For this reason, each flag truly represents its own individual.  

They are a cheerful reminder of the many little personalities that we have in our classroom.  

I love that we ran out of stars because I "thought" I knew my kids.  I didn't count on the thinkers in the bunch who had big brothers and sisters that would most definitely need a big star too, or the pets that the children think of as siblings- they need stars as well.  "What about grandma?  She's in my family too?"  Okay, I'll cut more stars!

Our bunting sets the celebratory mood for the beginning of a big year for our little learners.  Big things are on the horizon for these sailors.  I can't wait to see what they accomplish in the coming months.  Until then, we will be busy getting to know one another and making waves at SDS!

Climbing with Jack!

Today we read the story of Jack and the Beanstalk.  

This little fellow wanted to retell the story just like we did with Rapunzel.  Here you see his beanstalk, cow, and Jack!  What can't they do???

For snack today we built castles with our cinnamon square cereal.

The boys and girls were so creative with their shapes.  We had an ice castle, a round caste, Rapunzel's tower, and some traditional castles.  I love to see what they come up with when given the opportunity to create freely.  

We learned how seeds grow.

Then we planted our own beanstalks.

We made castles in the clouds for our beans to climb. 

Now the boys and girls know how to take care of their plants.  

Our Jack math lesson had us using non-standard measurement and estimation skills.

We found things that were bigger than, smaller than, and equal to the size of our Giant's foot. 

 

Look at us doing yoga!  We learned Dragon, Twisted Dragon, and Warrior today.

Only really amazing teachers post humiliating pictures of themselves to show how proud they are of their kids!

Going on a Dragon Hunt

Yesterday we tackled the Giant, today, we slay the dragon!

On Monday we made crowns in the art center, yesterday we made shields.  

Today we made jewels for the royals.  

This little royal made his in "Bu-dog" colors!

More dress-up fun in the castle!

In the block center we built a pretty amazing castle.  

Can you see the pattern in the roof line?

Peek-a-Boo!

In our story today, The Paper Bag Princess, a bad dragon burned down the Princess' castle and stole her Prince.  This tough princess went after that dragon and outsmarted him.  She saved the day!

Well, we chased that dragon all day.  We went on a dragon hunt and got close...

We know we got close because that dragon toasted our marshmallows for our s'mores!

We crafted these little fire breathing dragons to remind us of this special day at summer camp. 

Working with a mixed age group is so rewarding. 

This project was one that required skills that our littles don't yet possess.  

In order to give them the same opportunity, we cut the curved lines of the dragon face for them, and asked them to practice cutting the scraps.  Everybody got a dragon and cutting practice, we just modified the project to meet each individuals' needs.  

No 2 dragons are the same, so they say :)

We ended our day with a ridiculously silly game of telephone.  We remembered how Rapunzel and her Prince had a hard time communicating, and we did too!

A link to a you-tube video of some kids "Going on a Dragon Hunt".  Dragon Hunt

Falling for Rapunzel

Oh boy, you know that any book that starts with the throwing of underwear is going to be a good one!  Today we read Falling for Rapunzel, a fractured fairy tale about a prince and princess who are having trouble communicating.  He calls for her to throw down her hair, and she misunderstands him and throws down all of her underwear!  Once we recovered from the silly giggles, we read the rest of the book, exploring rhythm and rhyme.  Then we came up with other silly things that Rapunzel could throw out of her window.  Simply too much fun for a Monday morning!

Morning choices include play-doh beanstalks. 

 We threaded beans on the stalks for a fun fine motor exercise.

During centers, we dug for treasure in the sand.  

F found countless rare gems!

In the art center, there were lots of materials and an open invitation to make a crown.

The prince and princesses did an amazing job using the tools available to make their crowns. SO fancy!

Mike the Knight was on the scene to keep us all safe!

Couldn't have fairy-tales without prince and princess wear.  

 We dressed up and told our own fairy-tales. 

Finally, we made the characters from our story, Rapunzel and the Prince.  

We also constructed towers, as part of our setting.

Look at those golden locks on Rapunzel.
So proud of the boys and girls for using their scissors responsibly today.

Tomorrow we get to take these story-telling kits home and share the story with our families.