Process art, plants and more
The children created some process art. Process art encourages children to enjoy the learning process and making mistakes, which can lead to “out of the box” thinking. Children gain confidence in their abilities and ideas because there is no right or wrong way to due process art. They painted using toy cars and potato mashers. They observed the different patterns and prints that each material made. They rolled cars across paper and stamped the potato mashers. Some of the children thought the print from the potato masher looked like a waffle.
The children observed our class plant. They observed that there were a lot of leaves and it looked bigger than when we first got it. I pointed out the dying leaves and asked if the leaves looked “happy” or “sick.” The children answered “sick.” I explained it was because the plant was getting too big for its pot. I compared it to when people grow out of their clothes. I asked the children what happens when their clothes become too small because they out grew them. We talked about how people get bigger clothes instead of continuing use the clothes that are too small. I brought out a new bigger pot with some potting soil. The children took turns scooping soil into the pot. When the pot got full enough we took the plant out of the small pot. We observed the roots and I explained how the roots were all wrapped and looped around the bottom because they had no room to spread out, which is why we need a bigger pot. We placed the plant into the new pot and added some more soil on top. Now we will observe to see how “happy” our plant is in its new pot.
The children explored in the sensory table with popcorn kernels, scoops, funnels and water/sand wheels. Activities like pouring and scooping can help children develop fine motor skills. They observed the kernels coming out of the funnel and spinning the wheels below.
When we cleaned up the kernels on Thursday. The kernels were put into a smaller tub. The children put their hands in and discovered that the more concentrated kernels felt very cool on their hands. It was a fun sensory experience.
On the rug, the children built garages and roads with blocks. They drove around the trucks and we talked about what each vehicle does. Including the fire truck, mail truck, city bus, and school bus.
The children used their fine motor skills to play with Mr Potato heads which also helps build hand strength.
In this week’s music class, Mrs. Wada introduced us to a new instrument. The children took turns playing it and described the sound it made. It looks like a xylophone, but it is actually a Glockenspiel. It was originated in Germany. German pronunciation: (/ˈɡlɒkənʃpiːl/ GLO-kən-shpeel. Its clear, high-pitched tone is often heard in orchestras, wind ensembles, marching bands and popular music.
The children got to play outside in the snow. Some of the children engaged in pretend play and served “ice cream” and “hot chocolate” at the playground structure’s “storefront.”
On our cooking day, we celebrated one January birthday with frosted vanilla cupcakes. The children helped mix the ingredients and pour the batter into the pan. We then sang Happy Birthday to our friend and ate the cupcakes for snack.
