Exploring the piano

              The children have been showing an interest in music this school year.  After our exploration of the auto harp, I decided to introduce the children to the piano that we have at the front of the building.  I decided to explore the piano with them because they seemed interested in the idea of a new instrument based on some of the new instruments we brought into the classroom previously.  I chose a piano because it is a common instrument and it is possible that some of the children have seen one in the past.  I wanted to see how they would explore.

                The children seemed very excited to explore with the piano and immediately figured out that the keys made noise.  They were very gentle and used their fingers to press lightly with the keys.  I introduced the term “keys” and they immediately began to use that term when talking about the piano and what they were doing.

                There was not a lot of verbal language coming from the children as they explored.  They seemed interested in the different notes but did not seem to make the connection about the ascending or descending pitch as they moved down the piano.  Most of the children seemed interested in the ability to make sound by pressing on a key.  I would like to explore this instrument again with the children to see how they will react to continued exposures.

Weaving

     We have been exploring many aspects of weaving. Some of the children have showed an interest in threading different materials such as wooden beads, tree cookies and tiles. We have used shoe laces, wooden rods and yarn to thread with. Ms. Rodegher brought in a standing loom into the classroom .The students used ribbons to thread through the holes one side and back through the other. The multiple skills involved in weaving will further be investigated in the upcoming week along with various materials to weave with.

February 2013

     It is hard to believe another month has come and gone!  It has been very exciting to see the children come back into the classroom and get excited about the interesting things we are exploring.  Our interns, Ms. Stine, Ms. Kerby, and Ms. Gingell are exploring various aspects of habitats with the children.  We are doing this through sand, paint, collaging, noises and music, and interactions with materials around the classroom.  We have also been exploring with clay and weaving, giving the children an opportunity to explore and use various strategies to interact with the materials.  We will update the progress of these investigations through photos and written documentation which we will post on our classroom blog.  The teachers are beginning to think about which children are interested in specific aspects of our investigations so we can form our learning groups.  When we do this, we will update our board at the front of the classroom.

     As you know, the weather in Michigan is very unpredictable!  It is important to make sure the children are prepared for the weather if we get the opportunity to go outside at school.  If snowpants, boots, and mittens are brought to school, we will make sure they are put on your child before we go outside.  Please remember to label each item from home with your child’s name.  This makes things much easier when trying to remember which apparel belongs to which child.

      We also wanted to remind you that the week of Feb. 25^th through March 1^st is our spring break.  There is no school this week.  We return to school the following week.

     As always, if you have any questions or comments, please do not hesitate to ask!  Have a wonderful month.

Catie Stone and Charlene Rodegher