Keys for Fun
The keys pictured on the home page for this entry have two meanings. They can be the literal keys that open all the different areas that bring us fun at MWS, or they can be the theoretical keys that are the foundation of the fun at school. One of the keys is used to open up the many activities in our Big Room that enable the children to engage their large (gross) motor muscles. These activities help strengthen muscles, grow their balance and coordination systems, and climb vertically. Each week the Big Room has a rotating selection of 5 or 6 activities. Below you will see the equipment that was available this week; there are more options that are in the rotation. but this will allow you to see some of what your children will use during their time at MWS.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the Up-Down-Go-Thru does not exist anywhere else but at MWS. I do not know its origin story but can tell you that when my eldest daughter started at MWS in 1986 it was already in the Big Room. This is probably my favorite piece of equipment because of its versatility. There are multiple ways to use this, but when the preschoolers start in September, they are shown only one way. Each child puts his/her head inside the circle and lays flat on his/her tummy. The goal is to pull him/herself up the contraption. By using their arms to pull up, their upper body strength grows. In September, very few children are able to do this on their own. The teacher will push the child up from their feet while having the child ‘pull’ with their arms. With help and encouragement, all the children are able to pull themselves up, usually by February. The development of their upper body muscles is apparent when they are able to pull themselves up unassisted. When they reach the top, they are taught how to change position so that they can slide down the other side on their backs. In late winter, when they have mastered pulling themselves up, it is opened up to other ways of climbing. They may walk up by straddling the pole along the top of the circles then slide down inside on the other side, or they may walk up the pole along the side and slide down inside on the other side. The Up-Down-Go-Thru builds upper body strength, encourages balancing when walking along the side, uses motor planning to transition at the top from going up to going down, builds self-confidence, and is a lot of fun on which to climb.
This week the children made projects with the three primary colors, red, yellow, and blue. They used sticky contact paper with colored pieces, foam stickers, large paintbrushes at the easel, and small cotton swabs, which are shown here. Each child approaches their project in their own way. Some kept the colors separate, some covered large areas with paint, some drew lines and added dots, some did color mixing. Each one is beautiful.
Every week we have a special visitor who comes to our Circle Time. Last week Clifford visited and this week Biscuit joined us as we read a story about him. It’s always a surprise for the children to see who will visit. Every day we sing our Hello Song to each of the children and teachers individually, but often our visitor doesn’t understand English. Ask your child how to sing the Hello Song to Biscuit. Feel free to ask me if your child is unable to tell you.
On Fridays, our class consists of the three children who attend MWS Monday - Friday. Eventually, as our class grows, we will have more children on Friday. We may be small, but we are mighty. The only other class in session is Mrs. Chen’s preK class. We have found that it works out great for our two classes to combine in the Big Room and the Playground. Today, there was a large piece of cardboard that had been used for shipping. Preschool teachers are always finding ways to use items that others think of as trash. Our three boys enjoyed covering the cardboard below with these solid tempera paint sticks.
