Ooblek and Pajama Day

Dear Parents,

We began our week mixing cornstarch with water to get Oobleck. It was the same potion as in our red bottle from last week. We put it in a bowl and the children came in pairs to use their sense of touch to feel the mixture. Children said, “It’s very bumpy on the bottom.” “It looks like milk.” “It looks like glue.” “It feels like glue.” “It feels like dough.” “It feels good.” Someone asked,“Does it have any glue in it?” When we stopped playing with it, the cornstarch sank to the bottom, just like in our red bottle. 

Pajama Day was not sleepy. We played with our Oobleck, our sand bin, drew with stencil shapes using pencils, and played on the carpet with our doctor kit, and telephones. There were a lot of sick children and the teachers needed shots.

In the bigroom this week we have been building with blocks, cooking and eating galore in our kitchen, playing in the rice table, drawing at our dry erase board, and riding our new Sit n’ Spin. Some children said they were dizzy when they got off. 

On Friday we spent an extra long time playing in the bigroom. We added our basketball hoop to all of the above. The choices of activities in the bigroom allow children to choose between high action running and climbing games, sitting while building or eating at the kitchen table, drawing at the dry erase board with one friend, or on the Sit n’ Spin alone. They also include gross motor skills, fine motor skills, and hand-eye-coordination challenges. Many games encourage interaction between children who are learning to speak up for themselves, and foster listening skills. There is plenty of negotiating and asking teachers for help when needed. 

We have been reading and discussing books about feelings during circle. We have read and reread: When Sophie Gets Angry, Really, Really Angry, Ahn’s Anger, Ravi’s Roar, When I Feel Angry, and Feelings A to Z. After reading several books about anger, one child said, “Anger is red.” 

We asked the children, “What can we do when we feel angry?” They responded: Run, take a deep breath, count to four, cry, watch tv, ask a friend to help me, play in the snow, take a nap, take a deep breath in and out, hug, punch a pillow, rest, take a hug from mom, tell a grownup, drink water, talk about it, ride a bike, go away, and hug your unicorn!

What a great list. 

Have a peaceful weekend,

Therese

Potions and Obstacles

Dear Parents,

We started our week playing in the classroom with math manipulatives, and reading books. During circle we worked on I words for our alphabet chart. Ice and igloo were the first words which was funny because we were ice cold. 

We read The Greedy Python, When Sophie Gets Angry- Really, Really Angry, and Feelings A to Z. Everyone made angry faces like Sophie, and we talked about why she was angry and what made her feel better. Someone said that the outdoors and the beech tree made her feel better. It was true. 

We mixed four potions this week. We used quart sized seltzer bottles, adding water and oil to one, water and cornstarch to another, water and dish soap to the third, and corn syrup to the fourth. We also added different colors of food coloring to each: yellow, red, blue, and green. We observed how the cornstarch and oil sat on the bottom of the bottles until we shook them like crazy. The corn syrup was very slow and thick, someone said, “Like syrup.” 

The class made more observations about the four potions: "The blue one looks like the ocean." "The yellow one looks like a pineapple." "The blue one is like a bath." "Because of the bubbles." "The red one is like strawberries because it's red." 

On Friday we did an obstacle course. We balanced on a long trail of big wooden blocks, stepped through a hula hoop, climbed up the big slide, down the little one, crawled through a long tunnel, over two bean bags, and then did it all again. Around and around we went until our line went mumbo jumbo. Afterwards we played in the big room.

Have a restful warm weekend,

Therese