Counting, Adding, Mixing and Running: Friday in Turtleland

Carol and Tamara continue to be inspired by the math workshop they went to this week. Today, Carol worked with the unifix cubes. We learned that there are many stages to being a "counter": precounter, chanter, reciter, corresponder, counter, producer, counter and producer. Working with the unifix cubes and trays, the children could stack up cubes to reach a total, working on one-to-one correspondence, (the idea that one object correspondence to one number). They also worked on the idea of "more and less," grouping, and of basic addition.

We also made play dough, which is such  rich math and science experience: measuring and counting cups of ingredients, watching liquids and solids transform in front of us, and watching the mixing of colors to make new colors. The final result of the blue and red mixing was a mystical looking purple, shot through with blue sparkles.

Outdoor time brought much swinging and very involved games of hide and seek. The Turtles are not letting the cold weather slow them down!

In the Minds Eye: Imagery and Music

The Turtles have been actively creating stories to go along with music, and today we took it one step further. Carol introduced the idea of the "mind's eye." She had the children close their eyes, and then she said, "Make a picture of a red balloon." Then she led them through steps visualizing the balloon changing.
We also did a visualization to Yo Yo Ma's rendition of Morricone's Sergio Leone Suite: Ecstasy of Gold. The children heard horses galloping in a forest and a bear!

We extended this at Choice Time with more Classical Music Watercolors. The children painted evocative pictures of waterfalls, instruments, and balloons.

Another Choice Time activity was a new sorting center on the window sill where children sorted buttons into glass jars by color and size.

In the block area, amazing building with the magnatiles continued. Carol and Tamara went to a Continuing Education Workshop on mathematics and young children, and were inspired by the many ways that math can be taught in the daily life and play of young children. The Turtles are often very planful in their block play - discussing with one another what they want to construct and sharing ideas about how to go about it. Today, many of them referred to a sheet of printed plans and worked to recreate the ideas on the page. The Turtle's block play demonstrates their increasingly complex planning and problem solving skills as they develop ways of moving from ideas to two and three dimensional constructs.

A Rainy Day Obstacle Course!

Stuck inside on a rainy day, the we worked together to create a wonderful obstacle course. Using big blocks, tubes, chairs, tables, and a tunnel, the children did everything from belly crawling to tight rope walking, to tunnel crawling. Besides being a great exercise for developing large motor coordination, it was so much fun!

Choice Time today featured Classical Music Water Coloring to Yoyo Ma's Bach Cello Suite #1 in G. The children talked about how different sounds sounded like different colors and lines.

At Morning Meeting, Robby shared two musical instruments from his house, an accordion and a shaker or maraca. We tried to figure out if the accordion was a percussion or wind instrument, and the children had lots of theories about that.

Plan-Do-Reflect, Day Two!

 The Turtles have really gotten the hang of this Choice Time thing! When the teachers announced that it was time to clean up for Morning Meeting and Choice Time, one child even exclaimed, "YES!" After a bit of yoga and ballet, we were ready for Morning Meeting.

At Morning Meeting, Tamara told the children that next week one of her friends would be bringing in a bassoon, and wanted to know what their favorite songs are. So we made a list of the songs, and it is a very eclectic list!

Noah also shared his sea shells that he had gathered from the beach in Florida. He showed us how they make different sounds, depending if they are big or small, thick or thin. One of the choices at Choice Time was to explore the sounds the shells make.

Other choices included the Sound Table with lots of cool instruments, Writing Center to make cards for Carol who was home sick, beading, sand box, and books. At the Sound Table, the children were working on playing instruments, and did a great job taking turns and trading instruments. They were also trying to figure out how to get the songs to all start and stop at the same time, and Tamara introduced the idea of the conductor.
After Choice Time, we gathered again for our first Reflection Meeting. This will be a time when the chidlren talk about what they did during Choice Time, and what discoveries or learning they did. Here is what they said about today's Choice Time:

Noah's castle, that David protected with his rocketship.

Davie: Drum work. It makes a loud nose.
GK: I played with the guitar. It make music.
Naomi: The Writing Center. I made a card for Carol.
Robby: I played with the drums to make good sound by banging. Banging on the drums.
Maggie: I did beads and then I played guitar and did the drums. I made a crown with the beads.
Juls: The sound of the drums was making loud noise when I was banging it and then I went to the snack table.
Kailyn: I was playing on the guitar and it make a different sound. A little stars.
David: I played with drums and the guitar and then boom boom boom! I made my rocket ship with green triangles.
Miranda: I ate snack and played with the drums. I discovered of the drums that they they go boom boom boom.
Max: I discovered the sand box. I was breaking bad guys. They didn't come back together again.
Noah: I made a big castle so kings and queens could live in it and I discovered that it might fall down and I could use blocks. And I played with the drums, and I discovered that it made different noises than the other instruments.
David: I put it down to keep it safe. My rocket ship keep Noah's castle safe so it doesn't crash.
The children are already getting the idea of carrying out their plans, and reflecting on what they have done. As they continue to build this skill, they will carry ideas from day to day!

We also enjoyed playing on the playground and listening to Ann read the book, How to Catch a Star, by Oliver Jeffers.

During lunch, we listened to Peter and the Wolf and the children were so excited by the combination of the music and story! They were worried about when the wolf music would come, and excited when the duck escaped from the wolf's tummy.

Plan-Do-Reflect: The Next Step in Learning Through Play

Carol and Tamara have been noticing the increasing focus of the Turtles as they work during Free Choice Time in the morning, and decided that the Turtles were ready for a new level of structure. Today, we began Choice Time, where the children will have the opportunity to make a plan, do an activity, and then reflect on that activity. This cycle of activity promotes children's planning and allows them to learn from what they have done, and return to projects day after day. To introduce this to the Turtles, we had clean up at 9, and then Morning Meeting. At Morning Meeting, Tamara told the Story of Choice Time, introducing the chart (above) which shows what centers are open and talking about the idea of open snack. The Turtles were excited to get started, and we went around the cirlce, each Turtle sharing his or her plan for Choice Time, and setting off to  do their plan.

One popular center was the Sound Table. There, Carol introduced several new instruments, and the Turtles experimented with them, exploring ways of playing together, while singing along to familiar songs.

Maggie brought in some instruments to share with her friends, introducing them to the glockenspiel, two microphones, shaker sticks, a triangle, and a harmonica.

Movement with Missy was so much fun, as she made the obstacle course even more intricate with TWO hopscotch courses and hula hoops!