AFC PINE PM

  This afternoon the kids were quite engaged in playing with the ancient overhead projector taking up precious real estate in our room. They enjoyed being able to put different transparent materials on and seeing the colors and shapes project on the wall in front of them. They tried tracing the shapes they made, attempted some finger puppets, and created beautiful colors by stacking different pieces on top of each other. It was very basic play that did not necessarily require much interaction between them.  We revisited the activity after snack and their play had changed dramatically. At first they began playing similarly to how they were in the beginning of the day, but were using their whole bodies for the shadows. They giggled as they watched their shadows do the same silly dances they were.  "Okay, everyone, I am the cameraman!" L announced. Without hesitation the others started listening to the directions L was giving. This game went on for quite awhile as L used the...

  It's always fun to watch kids engage in pretend play at school. One of my favorite places to observe their play is on the hillside in the mud kitchen. It is a place that every child seems to know exactly what to do with the materials inside. Today, L took the time to problem solve a few things and show off her cooking skills in the kitchen.  She started off by serving some of her friends and then getting back to work. In the video you can see how she navigates the environment with ease, but also takes the time to problem solve where she will get more "food." She encounters some barriers, but with a little guidance she pursued and stuck with the activity most of our time out on the hillside. She made comments to her friends, asked questions, and engaged in a lot of self talk.  Pretend play is such an important part of development for all young children. It expands play skills and gives them a little taste of what the world is like outside of school.  Have a safe, fu...

  This afternoon the boys took a walk around the block with the boys in Dogwood. They did a scavenger hunt of sorts looking for different colors around the neighborhood. With enthusiasm, they were able to find all kinds of different things! As soon as we stepped out the door both boys were pointing and commenting on all of the different colors they saw on every day objects.  We are once again so grateful for the community we go to school in! We have so much access to all kinds of different experiences that it is easy to take advantage of no matter the day. 

The kids enjoyed being out at the sculpture park this afternoon! They enjoyed being kids and being able to run, jump, scream, and laugh! We took today to just be happy and joyful.  Have a great weekend and stay safe out there!

  Our paper airplanes made their way to the forest this afternoon. The kids noticed how all of the leaves and trees were swaying in the wind and wanted to try out the airplanes to see if they would fly too. In the video below you can see how F tries to hold the airplane up in the air and lets the wind carry it out of his hands. About halfway through though, he notices that the leaves on the ground were having an easier time flying than his own plane.  All 5 of the afternoon kids are quite observant during their play. F noticed that his airplane wasn't flying, but the leaves under his feet would when he kicked them up. It's always great to see how kids change up their play when it isn't going as intended. Sometimes kids get frustrated and sometimes they go with the flow. Today was a day where everyone just went with the flow and allowed for unprecedented obstacles to happen and adjusted. 

  Continuing on our paper airplane construction yesterday, the kids were anxious to get them back in their hands and have them sail through the wind tunnel! They each picked out their planes from yesterday since most of them either wrote their names or made a particular mark so they knew it was theirs.  L asked if we could use the meter stick in order to help get some of the planes that were getting stuck out. A good solution, but today not many of the planes were getting stuck so it wasn't serving that purpose anymore. They did notice though that there were numbers.  "Why are there numbers?" Ms. Margie quickly explained that we can use it to measure. This gave them an idea! For the next 10 minutes or so the kids would take turns putting the planes into the tunnel, seeing where it landed, and then reading off the numbers it landed by. It was such a fun way for them to stay engaged and make a little more purpose of out the wind tunnel play. 

  In order to really nail down the words of the week this week, the Pine kids the chance to play with the wind tunnel this afternoon. We have been working on "up" and "down" so this was a perfect activity to test our knowledge. The kids put in a bunch of different kinds of paper to watch go up and then gently float down.  "Um can we make a paper airplane?" L asked as he handed me some well used tissue paper.  After a quick fold, L put the paper airplane and watched it launch out with the power of the fan. It came out no problem! Unfortunately after a few tries the tissue paper did not hold the shape of an airplane.  "It's not working anymore. We need different paper!" L ran to the basket full of paper and picked out a heavier weighted paper and once again asked if he could have a paper airplane.  L placed the newly created airplane into the tunnel. He waited in anticipation as it slowly made its way up the tube. But, it got stuck...  "He...

  The thing with playdoh is that it usually ends up all over our floor. Such a bummer! Today, however, a happy surprise ensued as L noticed that something happened to it when it was stepped on.  We continued this playdoh shoe print activity outside so everyone had a chance to make a print of their shoe!  Every child and adult were quite fascinated by the differences in the prints our shoes make. The kids would comment on the different patterns and shapes they saw for everyone's shoe print. We love a good happy accident in the Pine room, they typically lead to some pretty interesting exploration activities.  Have a great weekend and stay safe out there! 

  Every week we are visited by Ms. Ann and her calming friendship circle activities. I wanted to give you all a little glimpse into what her friendship circles all entail and the amazing things that come of them. It is a meeting all the kids really enjoy and are often able to use the strategies she provides in other settings. I love these meeting times because it helps us continue to build our Pine class community. Enjoy!

  F showed a deep level of determination today. Whatever it took, he was going to find a way to successfully balance as he walked across various parts of the sandbox. He first tried out the rocks that enclose all of the sand. F used his little toes to grip the rocks as he tried to walk across. His feet kept slipping from the thin coating of sand on the stones. He would make it a few feet and begin to wobble. He threw his arms out to his sides to try and balance out his weight and not fall. This strategy did not always work, but he continued to do so once he was beginning to feel a little uneven.  J noticed what F was up to and decided to join him. As J walked he began to list the reasons why he was scared.  "I'm scared! I don't want to fall. I might get hurt and get a cut. I don't want to get hurt." As I watched both J and F they definitely had two different approaches to climbing. J was very clear in what he was afraid of. He was cautious and constantly checked h...

  One of the boys' favorite games to play is chase. In the past, however, this game has either ended in tears or frustration due to the lack of body awareness and listening to friends. They so desperately want to play together, but sometimes have a difficult time remembering one of our most important classroom agreements: keep hands and feet to self.  Today, before heading outside, we first practiced listening to each other by playing some self regulation games at meeting. Each friend took a turn telling the others to "go" and "freeze" when either clapping or stomping their feet. They did SO good! Each one of them listened to one another as they made the command. I was hopeful that their ability to do it in the classroom would transfer to any outdoor games. The boys lived up to the expectation! We spent about an hour and 20 minutes outside on the playscape and I am not exaggerating when I say the boys played chase for a solid 45 minutes! They listened to one ano...

  About a month ago Mr. James visited both Pine and Dogwood in the forest. He brought his guitar and played some of our favorite songs that day. Well, we were once again graced with Mr. James presence, BUT this time the kids got to help play some songs! Everyone enjoyed being able to strum along as Mr. James changed chords. They followed his directions as they waited patiently in line to take turns strumming one at a time. It was such a nice way to spice up a regular day at the forest. Music and nature are powerful! 

We took advantage of the warmer weather and walked all the way to the Sculpture Park with Dogwood! The kids were quite excited to go play at another space today with one another. The Sculpture Park is always an intriguing place because of the giant mosaic bird right in the middle! Every kid immediately runs to it and begins to climb around and look at all of the beautiful tiles.  While climbing around today though, L noticed a teeny tiny friend hanging out.  "LOOK! It's a grasshopper!" L got super excited and began telling the others about what he saw. He attempted to have the grasshopper climb on his finger, but the poor little thing got spooked and jumped right onto my shoulder! I screamed, of course, and he then jumped into the surrounding grass.  From there, the kids continued to play like the small insect they observed. They all began hopping around the grass, pretending to eat, and take rests.  It's fun to watch kids engage in pretend play, especially like some...