We had an exciting week in the JK classroom and want to share some highlights of our time together!
Construction
The children continue to enjoy building, both with the Kapla blocks and the unit blocks. It is important that children have time each day for many weeks and even months to explore materials so that they can deeply understand their properties and gradually use them in more complex and intentional ways.
Their learning and growth is evident when comparing examples of the children’s constructions at the beginning of September with those created this week.
The children continue to enjoy building, both with the Kapla blocks and the unit blocks. It is important that children have time each day for many weeks and even months to explore materials so that they can deeply understand their properties and gradually use them in more complex and intentional ways.
Their learning and growth is evident when comparing examples of the children’s constructions at the beginning of September with those created this week.
Constructions from the beginning of September
Constructions from this week
Spanish
Ms. Harpole spends time with us each day joining us for either Morning Meeting, the park, snack, or Indoor Choice time.
Ms. Harpole spends time with us each day joining us for either Morning Meeting, the park, snack, or Indoor Choice time.
Some of the vocabulary she has introduced to the children is listed below with a brief pronunciation guide:
BASIC COURTESIES
por favor (pohr fah-BOR) = please
gracias (GRAH-see-ahss) = thank you
de nada (deh NAH-dah) = you're welcome
yo quiero (yoh kee-YER-o) = I want (to/it)
tú quieres (too kee-YER-es) = You want (to/it)
FOOD/DRINK
el agua (AH-wah) = water
la leche (LEH-cheh) = milk
la piña (PEEN-yah) = pineapple
la naranja (nah-RAHN-ha) = orange
la galleta (gah-YEH-tah) = cracker/cookie
el batido (bah-TEE-doh) = milkshake/smoothie
el queso (KEH-soh) = cheese
el melón (meh-LOHN) = melon
ANIMALS
el pez (pehss) = fish
el pecesito (peh-seh-SEE-toh) = little fish
el tiburón (tee-boo-ROHN) = shark
el perro (PEH-rroh) = dog
el pato (PA-toh) = duck
la libélula (lee-BEH-loo-lah) = dragonfly
la araña (ah-RAN-yah) = spider
el conejo (coh-NEH-ho) = rabbit
el mono (MOH-no) = monkey
The vowels in Spanish always have the exact same 5 sounds:
A (ah) as in father
E (eh) as in pet
I (ee) as in tree
O (oh) as in forest
U (oo) as in boot
por favor (pohr fah-BOR) = please
gracias (GRAH-see-ahss) = thank you
de nada (deh NAH-dah) = you're welcome
yo quiero (yoh kee-YER-o) = I want (to/it)
tú quieres (too kee-YER-es) = You want (to/it)
FOOD/DRINK
el agua (AH-wah) = water
la leche (LEH-cheh) = milk
la piña (PEEN-yah) = pineapple
la naranja (nah-RAHN-ha) = orange
la galleta (gah-YEH-tah) = cracker/cookie
el batido (bah-TEE-doh) = milkshake/smoothie
el queso (KEH-soh) = cheese
el melón (meh-LOHN) = melon
ANIMALS
el pez (pehss) = fish
el pecesito (peh-seh-SEE-toh) = little fish
el tiburón (tee-boo-ROHN) = shark
el perro (PEH-rroh) = dog
el pato (PA-toh) = duck
la libélula (lee-BEH-loo-lah) = dragonfly
la araña (ah-RAN-yah) = spider
el conejo (coh-NEH-ho) = rabbit
el mono (MOH-no) = monkey
The vowels in Spanish always have the exact same 5 sounds:
A (ah) as in father
E (eh) as in pet
I (ee) as in tree
O (oh) as in forest
U (oo) as in boot
Blommer Park
We returned to Blommer Park on Tuesday. Swinging, climbing, walking up the slide, and sliding down a “fire pole” were fun ways for the children to develop their large motor skills!
We returned to Blommer Park on Tuesday. Swinging, climbing, walking up the slide, and sliding down a “fire pole” were fun ways for the children to develop their large motor skills!
The children also found time and space for conversations with each other and their SK friends.
Watercolors
To extend the children’s exploration of color, we invited them to use watercolor palettes. We discussed the importance of rinsing the brush each time they changed colors, so that the colors in the pallet would remain pure.
While the children's exploration of the three primary watercolors was focused on color blending and creating secondary colors; they now began to explore the concepts of line and shape to create both abstract and representational art.
Bookstore
Several children suggested that we turn our reading corner into a bookstore. As they began to think about the roles of seller and customer, the teachers asked if the customers needed money. Using images of real money as reference photos, the children drew and cut out both bills and coins for the customers to use. In a Reggio-inspired classroom, the teachers listen carefully to the children’s ideas and then offer a provocation (a question, an idea, or a material for the children to consider) that will scaffold their thinking and enhance their learning. In this situation, asking the children if they needed money and providing reference photos encouraged the children to talk about the role of money and concept of numbers while also developing their fine motor and visual-spatial skills.
The children decided to move the table from the dramatic play area to use as the “counter”, and wrote a sign with the bookstore’s name - The School Store. It quickly became a hub of activity in the classroom, with children buying, selling, and writing the names of all the books that were sold! As they played, the children saw the world from another perspective (What does a bookstore employee say and do?), practiced problem-solving and negotiation skills (Who will be a seller? Who will be a customer? What books are for sale? How much do they cost?), and engaged in meaningful literacy.
Thinking about the children’s continued interest in dictating and illustration stories, the teachers asked the children if they would like to include their stories as a book for sale at the store. Ms. Bell combined their stories into a binder. The children listened intently as she read their very own stories, and then they decided to add them to the bookstore.
The children’s interest in writing and illustrating stories and in creating a bookstore offers many possibilities for exploration and learning. The teachers will continue to listen, observe, ask questions, and offer provocations. Only time will tell if this is a long-term interest, one that evolves in a new direction, or one that is replaced by another topic that the children want to explore!