Cars down ramps

The children have been very interested in the movement of cars as they travel down ramps in the classroom.  We have found different ways to manipulate the ramps so they are at different heights and have different textures on the actual ramp.  We began to change the surface at the bottom of the ramp.  We wanted to see if the children made the connection between the bottom surface and the distance the cars traveled – looking to see how friction impacted the distance of the cars.

We used two ramps and changed the surfaces under each ramp.  Under the first ramp, we added a shiny, smooth mirror.  Under the second ramp, we added several thick carpet squares.  We knew the surfaces would elicit different responses from the cars as they reached the bottom so we were curious to see if the children noticed.

The children noticed immediately.  They could not right away verbalize what they saw but pointed, laughed, and smiled as their cars traveled down the ramp with the smooth mirror at the bottom. Later in the week, the children were using words like “fast” and “go” to describe their cars.  Responses from the ramp with the carpet included looks of confusion, and children pushing their cars down with more force to see if they could get their cars to go further.  It was interesting to see that some of the children connected force to distance right away while others took a little longer to figure out effective strategies.

We will be continuing this with the children, manipulating the ramps with different bottom surfaces again.  We want the children to continue drawing comparisons and contrasting the textures and how they relate to the distance the cars travel.

Rolling Cars in the Sand

Moving Cars in the Sandbox

In the classroom we have been working on the concept of motion and the various aspects of motions. The concept that I have been focusing on with the children is making motion visible to them. We have been exploring motion with cars by making the motions of the cars visible by using paint, crayons, and markers to track the motions. For this exploration we used cars in the sandbox. I placed the sand box on top of the table so the children would be able to stand around it as they explored the cars and the sand. I was curious to see if the children noticed what happened to the sand when the cars were moved through it.

The children were initially intrigued that the sand box was on the table and curious as to what they could do with it. The children first touched the sand with their hands and then began moving the cars around in the sand. I think the children were curious about the cars because they picked them up and looked at them before moving them around in the sand. I think that Max was curious about the tires because he picked up the car looking at and touching the tires of the car before placing it back in the sand. The children moved the cars in the sand at various speeds and directions. Adam moved his car all the way across the sand table and then back again. Ali moved the car he was using back and forth very quickly, using a small space in the sand box. I think that Adam was curious about how far he could move the car and I think Ali was more interested in the speed of his car. Lana and Ayeden pushed the cars in the sand without taking their hands off of the cars. I believe that they were interested in how they affect the movement of the car. Amir was curious about cause and effect because he pushed the car in the sand letting go.

                              

       

Ramps and Angles

Last week the children were working towards figuring out why the cars moved down a ramp propped up on a shelf but the cars did not move as easily down a ramp that was placed much lower to the ground.  Many of the children while using the ramp placed near the ground ended up pushing their cars down on their own and pushed the cars all the way along the ramp.  I think the children were pushing the cars all the way along the ramps because they felt like the cars should move all the way down the ramp like they do on the higher elevated ramp.  I’m not sure at that point they were making the connection between the movement of the car and the angle of the ramp.

This week we propped up the lower elevated ramp a little bit to see if the children noticed a difference in how the cars moved down the ramp.  Initially, some of the children tried to push the cars down the ramp again, but then began to notice the cars moving on their own.  Some of the children looked surprised to see the car moving down on its own.  For weeks we have left the lower ramp at the same elevation so I think the children expected that the car would perform the same way, even if the angle was changed.

A few of the children attempted to change the angle of the ramp again, possibly trying to alter the results as the car moved down the ramp.  Most of the children realized physically pushing the car down wasn’t necessary.

I am interested to see what will happen this week – to build off this interest in the angles I would like to increase the angle of the higher ramp now.  I am curious to see if the children begin to comment on how the cars move down the ramp or notice that the distance of movement is greater with a higher elevated ramp.

Newsletter from our interns

Hello Families,

I’m Ms. Swift, an intern student at The University of Michigan-Dearborn. I’m working collaboratively with Mrs. Stone and Ms. Jones in your children’s classroom for the fall 2014 semester. Our goal is for each of our students to experience a rich educational environment. This school year, our classroom’s big idea is movement and motion. Through traditional lesson plans and inquiry work, the children have been exploring, sound through movement. Children, were given the opportunity to use musical instruments to explore sound, while simultaneously using imagery (children viewed live images of themselves on a television screen), as a result some children have connected vision to movement.

Next, I began to wonder, “What does sound in motion look like?” During, a finger-painting exploration, I observed a student, represent “sound in motion”. To illustrate, she, places both of her hands in the finger paint, then she moves both hands across the paper, while using a swaying motion. She sings, “The wipers on the bus go swish, swish, swish all through the town.” The children appear to be very interested in sound, movement and motion, therefore we will continue to explore the concept of “sound in motion”.

Furthermore, most of what children learn and do requires coordination of multiple systems that mediate production of speech, efficient limb and whole body movements, as well as dexterous movement of hand and fingers. As early childhood teachers, we measure cognitive development in young children, through their behavior and actions, specifically their motor output and verbal out. Considering, our students age group, it is appropriate practice to engage children’s learning through sensorimotor activities. The developmentally appropriate activities we are using in our classroom, will aid in identifying your child’s current level of sensorimotor abilities, so further development of those types of skills (fine motor, vision, hearing, gross motor and cognition) can be sought after through the planning and implementation of future lessons.

 In our classroom, we have posted a communication board. Please feel free to share your thoughts, ideas or any observations you’ve witnessed your child partake in at home, as it relates to movement and motion. In the future, I look forward to discussing your thoughts about your child’s interests, in reference to our classroom’s big idea.

Thank you,

Ms. Nicole Swift

Hello Families,

                I just wanted to take the opportunity to introduce myself and the work I have been doing in the classroom. My name is Kelsey and I am interning this semester with Catie and Julianna. I am pleased to be working with in the classroom with Catie and Julianna and all of the children. I have enjoyed my time in the classroom thus far. I have been working with the children on movement and motion objects. We are focusing on how we can impact the movement of objects with our own bodies and also making those movements visible to us. This seems to be of interest to all of the children within the classroom as it is a main idea that Catie and Julianna are also exploring with the children. I have been working on exploring visible motion with children by using mediums like paint and crayons to track their movements. Recently we explored the movements of cars by placing paint on the tires of the cars. Throughout the semester I will be working with the children on tracking their movements and making them visible.  You will be able to see the work and explorations we have been doing at Curriculum Night which is November 12^th after school.

I look forward to an amazing semester and seeing everyone at Curriculum Night.

Thank you,

Kelsey Hadyniak

Movement and Angles

Over the past few weeks in the classroom the children have been very focused on the idea of motion and movement.  We decided to break this large idea into several smaller threads to explore more specifically with the children throughout the week.

I decided to look at angles with the children and how various aspects of angles can have an impact on how objects (specifically cars) move down the ramps.  We started off by bringing in large gutters into the classroom that the children could use as ramps.  We initially explored how cars moved down the gutters when the two gutters were at two different angles.

The children were very excited to see their cars roll down the ramps.  After that, I wanted to see how the children would react if there were obstacles placed on the ramps for the children.  I taped bumps onto the ramp sand bubble wrap onto the ramps as obstacles for the children to figure out strategies to.  The children were very frustrated when their cars would get stuck on the way down the ramps and began to utilize different strategies to get their cars down.  Some of the children tried to tilt the ramps while others just tried pushing the cars past the obstacles with their hands and fingers.

Some of the children also tried to change the angles of the lower inclined gutter to see if that would help the cars to go down the ramps easier.  Since the children began exploring with the angles of the gutters on their own, I wanted to explore this with them further in subsequent weeks.  It will be interesting to see if the children notice the connection with the angle of the ramps and the distance and speed of the cars moving down the ramps.

October 2014

Dear Families,

It’s hard to believe October is already here!  We have been transitioning to school, exploring the classroom, and really getting to know what is interesting to the children.  We are going to be exploring the concept of Motion with the children this semester.  We are starting to break the children into learning groups depending on where we see their interests lie.  Each learning group will be documented and the documentation will be posted for families to see.  We are also constantly adding to our web of thinking at the front of the classroom which expands on the ideas we are exploring with the children.

Our communication board is also at the front of the classroom.  Please feel free to share your ideas of what you are noticing at home with regards to movement and your child.  We will try to make sure we are continuing some of the concepts you are seeing at home.

October 29^th is a Wednesday and will be our Halloween Walk at school.  This will take place from 4-5pm that afternoon.  Parents are encouraged to participate and everyone is welcome, even those children not signed up for the Wednesday session.  If your child attends school that day and you would like to attend, please bring your child’s costume and you can sign them out of the room at 4 to go on the walk.  If you are unable to attend but your child comes to school on Wednesdays, you can pack a costume in your child’s backpack.

If your child does not attend school Wednesdays please bring your child dressed and ready for the walk.  Because of the size of our classroom, we are asking that if children are not attending school that day they not come back to the classroom to prevent overcrowding.  We will try to make sure we see everyone on the walk or in the hallway!  Donations of treats to pass out will be welcomed at the front desk in the weeks leading up to the walk.

As always, if you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please don’t hesitate to ask!

Catie Stone & Julianna Jones

Welcome to School!

Dear Families,

            Welcome to a new school year!  Mrs. Stone and Ms. Jones will be your child’s teacher this year.  We wanted to welcome you to the classroom and make you aware of some of the things that will be taking place at the start of the school year.

            We are excited to get to know the new children starting in our classroom and hope they are excited to start school!  We have lots of new materials in the classroom for the children and hope that this will make for an easy transition to the room.  Transitions can be difficult at the beginning of the school year until the children get accustomed to the routine.  We recommend parents establish a drop off routine with their child at the beginning of the year.  A consistent routine helps the child transition easier to the classroom.  When first arriving, your child will have a cubby to put backpacks and personal belongings into.  Lunches for children staying all day should be given to an adult to put into the refrigerator.  Please remember to sign your child in for the day.  We ask that children wash hands in our bathroom with their parents when they come into the room.  The children are then welcome to come and explore the materials around the room.  When parents are ready to leave, be very matter of fact and remember to say, “goodbye” to your child.  This helps the child to know you are confident in leaving them with their teachers in the classroom.  If your child cries we will do our best to engage them in activities around the room, sing with them, and console them until they are ready to explore.  You are welcome to call the front desk to check on your child throughout the day and at pick up time we will be honest with you about how your child’s day went.  We are excited to get the children used to school and can’t wait to get to know them individually.

            We wanted to make parents aware that there are several allergies in our classroom this year.  For this reason, we ask that breakfast and snack from home be finished before your child enters the classroom.  We want to ensure the safety of all of our children, so thank you for keeping our children healthy.  Lunches from home for full day children will be stored in the refrigerator.  Snacks made at school have each child’s allergies taken into consideration when preparing.

            We have a few things still on our wish for the classroom this year.  If you are able to bring in any of these items, we would appreciate it!  We are interested in: white icicle lights to hang inside, non-toxic indoor plants, packaging materials (bubble wrap, Styrofoam peanuts, etc).

            Again, we are looking forward to getting to know the children and can’t wait for the school year to begin.  If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please feel free to ask!

Catie Stone & Julianna Jones

Tumble Mat

            Over the course of last semester and this semester, the children have been working on their bodies and how to balance them.  This is very important at their age because they are gaining a lot of body awareness and learning that they have control over how their bodies move.  We wanted to offer the children multiple opportunities to explore that this term as it if something they are still very curious about.

            Last time, the children had the opportunity to walk on the balance beam.  This was a good way to see how their strategies would chance depending on how comfortable they were on the beam and with their own body movements.  We saw a range of strategies used by the children.

            To continue this with the children, we brought a tumble mat into the classroom.  This gave the children the opportunity to practice their balancing in a different way.  We first looked at videos of gymnasts performing floor routines and talked about how they were moving their bodies. 

            The children loved this and began to try some different ways of manipulating their own bodies.  We saw some of the yoga poses that the children had worked on last semester incorporated with some new moves that might have been inspired by the gymnastics we were talking about.

            Throughout this experience we were able to see lots of new ways of moving on the part of the children and they were able to watch and each other and challenge each other.  We are going to bring in the shadow screen next week so the children can watch their bodies and the bodies of the other children as they move about.

Balance of Weight

            The children have been using the wind tunnel that we created with the fan and clear plastic lamination.  Previously, the children were using pieces of Styrofoam to see how they would respond if the sizes of the pieces were different.  The children noticed that the smaller pieces flew higher than the larger pieces did.

            We wanted to offer the children a new material to try in the wind tunnel.  I chose Tin Foil because I wanted a material that could be manipulated easier and something that the children could have more control over as they used it with the fan.

            We started off by using large flat pieces of foil and we talked about it as a group.  We looked at what happened when large pieces were put into the fan and the children tried to base their predictions off of their previous experience with Styrofoam and feathers.  They were really surprised when they saw the long flat piece of foil fly up.

            After that we explored the foil in small groups.  The children at first used the large flat pieces and were commenting on how the foil flew up.  Once they began using it more, the foil became crinkled and smaller.   A few of the children noticed a change in the height of the foil as it flew.  I’m not sure if they made the connection between the change in the shape of the foil and the flying, but they noticed that some pieces did not fly as high as other pieces.

            We are going to look at foil in different shapes next week to see if the children make those connections with how the foil flies.  I want to see if the children really do make those connections between the shape of the foil and the flight patterns of the foil in a specific shape. 

Building on a Slant

Week of 5/19/14

            This week I had the floor mirror elevated on a few ramp blocks so that it was slanted. There were small wooden blocks and the mirror blocks to build with on the slanted mirror. I was curious as to how they would react when the blocks would begin to slide down the mirror. What strategies would they use to keep their structures from falling or moving?

            Nathan had placed a block at the top of the mirror and then watched it begin to slide downwards. The block stopped. Nathan then used his hand to push the block further down the mirror. He repeated this process again with the other block. It appeared that Nathan was exploring why the block was moving on its own and seemed curious as to why it stopped. Connor stacked four blocks vertically on top of one another near the top of the mirror where it was the highest elevation. He added the fourth block when they fell. Connor attempted this again, but now he had the blocks stacked horizontally on top of one another. He added the fourth block and they did not fall. Braden used a bridge block that was bigger than the other blocks and placed it on the mirror in the middle. He then stacked two smaller blocks on top. The tower did not fall. I’m curious if Braden knew that the bigger block would create more stability for his tower or if he just liked that block because it was a bridge.

            The sliding of the blocks as the children built their structures seemed to create a challenge to keep their towers from falling. They have started use building strategies to attempt to keep their towers from falling. I wonder what they will do if they built their structures on a lazy Susan? How will they keep it from falling down? What building strategies will they use? Will the children use the same ones or think of new ways to balance them?

            

Spinning Light

Spinning Light

Week of 5/19/14

Catie Stone & Charlene Hughes

            The children have been exploring the Lazy Susan and how objects move when they spin it. I wanted the children to explore how they could balance or keep the different materials from falling off of the Lazy Susan when it was spun. This week we used light spheres on the Lazy Susan where the children were excited about watching the lights spin on the Lazy Susan. I wanted to see how the children would keep the lights from falling off while the Lazy Susan was spinning.

            Ali had first placed one light sphere on the Lazy Susan and then spun it. The light fell off. Ali had laughed and retrieved the light and placed two more lights on the Lazy Susan. He had one light in the middle and the other two closer to the edge. Ali spun the Lazy Susan and two lights fall off, the one in the middle had stayed. “Ali, why didn’t that light fall off?” I had asked. Ali then placed the two lights that had fallen next to the light that was still in the middle of the Lazy Susan. Jad had been spinning the Lazy Susan repeatedly with the several lights on it. Each time he had spun it, all of the lights would fall off. Abby had placed a few lights in a plastic container and was shaking it. Jad had watched Abby and then found a container and placed the lights that were on the Lazy Susan inside the container. Jad then placed the container in the center of the Lazy Susan with the lights inside. Jad spun it and the lights did not move. I think Jad had been getting frustrated when the lights repeatedly fell off the Lazy Susan. He seemed to have been inspired by what he saw Abby do and it worked!

            We have been exploring the Lazy Susan and how to balance objects while they are spinning on it. What if it was the objects themselves spinning? How would they keep the objects from falling? What will they do to balance a spinning object on a stationary surface?

Balance While Spinning

Week of 5/12/14

Catie Stone & Charlene Hughes

            This week we used wooden beads that were different sizes and different shapes. Some were rounded, some were cylinders and others were square shaped. I was curious to see how the children would explore them on the lazy susan and how they will choose to use them.

            At first, the children would place a round bead in the center and then spin the lazy susan. The bead would fall off. They were very excited about this and began to add two then three beads at a time. When they would spin the lazy susan, some beads would fall off, others would not. Jad looked at me and said, “No fall!” I think he was confused as to why others would fall and some would not. Casey discovered that when he stacked the beads in the middle of the lazy susan that when it spun, it was still standing. Abby was most interested in the spinning motion of the lazy susan. Reed would spin it fast and Abby would stare at close and say, “Round and Round.”

            There are two strong interests in this investigation. One is how the beads react when the lazy susan is spun and the other is how the lazy susan moves and at what speed. I would like to use the light spheres next week and see how the children use them since they are all the same shape and size. How will they balance them when the lazy susan is spinning? Will the children discover new ways that they move?

            

Balance While Building

Week of 5/12/14

Catie Stone & Charlene Hughes

            We were building on a board that was elevated last week. This week I had them use an even thinner building platform, a yard stick. This created more of a challenge for the children to build on because the platform was so thin. It was elevated between two wooden blocks, but was adjustable and removable.

            At first, the children would build on the yard stick and see how tall they build until the tower fell down. Connor would keep building higher and higher and testing the point in which his tower would fall. He was able to stack 8 blocks high on the yard stick. Braden seemed to be interested in stacking blocks that were the same. It appeared that he had this theory that different shaped blocks would stack different or balance different. He first used cylinder blocks and stacked three until they fell. Then used rectangle blocks and lastly, square blocks. Casey discovered that he could remove the yardstick from the blocks and placed one side of the yardstick on top of the wooden block with the other end still connected. This created a ramp. He then picked up a block and placed it on the yardstick. The block began to slide down.

            I am curious as to how the children would balance their building while on a slanted surface. Will their structures still be building upwards or will they explore new ways to build to prevent it from falling?

Balance of our Bodies

            Last week we were balancing on the balance beam in the classroom so we could see what kinds of strategies the children were using to keep their bodies on the beam.  It was very difficult for the children to do this so we wanted to see what would happen if the beam was next to the wall.  This way, the children would still be able to use their strategies to balance but would have that comfort and support of the wall there to use if they needed to do so.

            We noticed that the children were still using several types of strategies to cross the beam.  Some of the children who were very comfortable balancing would minimally use the wall for support and would walk forward, one foot in front of the other.  Other children who were less comfortable would walk sideways across the beam and use the wall as constant support.  A couple of the children would use one foot on the beam and the other foot on the floor so that it was like walking along a constant step across the beam.  One of the children started to go across on his stomach because he wanted to cross in a different way.  We thought this was interesting and wanted to try to think of a way to expand on this for a future investigation.

Balance of Weight

             The children have been experimenting motion and how various materials react to the wind tunnel that we have in the classroom.  We have previously been working with feathers in the wind tunnel and the children have been able to see how they react when placed in the tunnel.  Some of the feathers fly a little higher depending on how big they are – but we don’t think the children have noticed that yet.

            We brought in Styrofoam for the children to experiment with in the wind tunnel.  We had large chunks out at the same time as the feathers so the children could compare and contrast how the materials were moving.  The children noticed immediately that the large chunks of Styrofoam did not move as high as the feathers – in fact – they did not even get high enough to leave the wind tunnel at all.

            They were confused by this and did not know what the reason was for the difference in height as they moved.  Some of the children literally tried to throw the Styrofoam into the air to get it higher than the fan was getting them.  We are going to continue this with the children but want to switch things up a little bit more.  We want to see what might happen if the children are provided with the feathers they are used to, the large Styrofoam pieces they experimented with this week, and also provide small pieces of Styrofoam.  By doing this, the children will see the difference in height with the same material.

Balance While Spinning

Our big idea last term was movement and motion. We started the term by exploring the lazy Susan and how objects moved on it. This term, our big idea is balance. I would like to explore how the children balance various objects while they are spinning.

To introduce the children to the lazy Susan again, I brought out the cars that the children were familiar with. Connor placed a plastic car, a wooden car, and a small plastic car each on the Lazy Susan one at a time. He would place it on it, spin it, and then the car would fall off. I think that Connor was testing how each car would move on the Lazy Susan. At first, Jane would place a car on the Lazy Susan and then spin it fast so the car would fall off. She repeated this process many times. Then Jane decided to use two cars on the Lazy Susan. She would spin it and they both fell off. Jad placed both of his hands on the Lazy Susan and began to walk around the table, turning the Lazy Susan as he walked.

          I would like to change the object that the children use on the Lazy Susan to the wooden beads. The children seemed to only be able to get one result with the cars. With the wooden beads I anticipate the children will explore multiple ways to keep them from falling off.

Balance While Building

           Last term the children were exploring motion and movement. While reviewing our documentation from the last term, we decided that our big idea this term would be balance. I have noticed that the children are very interested in ledges throughout our classroom and balancing various toys on those ledges. I was curious as to the different strategies the children would use while building on a thinner platform, similar to a ledge. How would they keep their materials from falling? Is the height of their structure dependent on the type of building platform? How will they choose to build?

   

        I introduced this idea of building on a thinner platform by tapping a thin board to two large blocks to create a low building platform. Connor and Jad sat on either side of the platform and took turns adding a block to the structure that they were building. They would add blocks until it fell over. They would then build it again. Will chose to place a one block on the platform at a time and lined them up so that they were about two inches apart. I’m curious as to why he chose to build this way? Was it because the platform was long? Would he build differently if it was a square platform instead of a rectangular one? When Nathan saw the platform, he chose to use the cars and people on it instead of the blocks. He moved them both on the board like it was a road or sidewalk. Again, I’m curious if it was because of the size and shape of the board.

            I would like to use a yard stick next and have that taped to the blocks as a building platform. I’m curious if having the platform thinner will determine how the children will choose to build. I also wonder if it will make balancing the blocks on the platform more challenging.

Balance of Weight

             The children last semester were introduced to a wind tunnel – a fan with lamination shaped like a tunnel over it so they could test out materials to see how they move.  We wanted to get more specific with the children on the types of materials they could use in it so we brought out the wind tunnel to use again this semester.

            We started off by just putting feathers in it.  We wanted to give children the opportunity to see how one specific material moved in the wind tunnel.  We also wanted the children to be able to use the feathers as a point of reference so we wanted to make sure we got a good idea of how they moved in the tunnel before we moved on.

            Some of the children had never seen the wind tunnel before so it was a new experience for them.  Some of the children were excited to see the feathers get almost to the ceiling while other children were excited to see how many feathers they could get to float up at one time.

            One little girl in particular was very interested in how the feather felt in the wind as she held it up above the tunnel.  She stood with the feather blowing in her hands for several minutes at a time and would smile and giggle as she felt the wind and feather on her hand.

            To expand on this, we want to offer the children more opportunities with different objects.   We wanted to see how styrofoam interacts with the fan and have the feathers available to the children also to use as a reference point.

Balance of Our Bodies

            The children were working last semester on balancing their bodies on various objects and in different situations.  We wanted to continue with the idea of balance with the children and see if they were still interested and still used various strategies to achieve their goals.

            We decided to put long pieces of tape onto the ground.  This wouldn’t really be a concrete object to balance on off the ground, but the children would still need to use strategies to keep their feet on the tape.

            We also played a video for the children of a person walking on a tight rope above the ground.  We wanted the children to see what kinds of strategies the person used to balance his body and we talked about them together at whole group time before we placed the tape onto the ground.  We talked about how the person was moving his arms and his feet.

            During the lesson, the children tried to mimic what they saw with the person walking on the tight rope.   Some of the children chose to walk on the tape, one foot in front of the other, while others chose to walk sideways on the tape.  One child tried to stretch her legs to fit the two different lines of tape on the ground so one foot was walking along a separate line of tape.

            We plan to bring the balance beam into the classroom next time but we want to have it against the wall.  This will give the children another opportunity to balance without as much assistance so they can be more independent as they walk along the beam.

Movement of Bodies - Yoga

      The explorations taking place this week was for the purpose seeing how the children’s balancing skills could be put to use by participating in yoga moves. These yoga cards look like a mouse, cobra, bridge, windmill, cat, squirrel, mountain, bird, frog, and a butterfly.

At first the children were a little apprehensive with replicating the moves they had seen. In this picture, Jad is showing other children how to complete the butterfly move. This move is particularly difficult because of how the bottoms of their feet must meet. Olivia was also very ambitious with these moves and the other children seemed to be watching how she got to the end result with the moves. They were watching what body parts she was moving and how. Then, other children started to participate as well. I also demonstrated many of the moves on the first day. Yet, the second day of exploring was much different. I would show a yoga card and the children would immediately replicate the move without any demonstration. This time, their moves seemed to be more accurate than before. They were noticing the fine details of each move.

            On the second day of explorations, the children seemed to work together and gain ideas of how to improve their poses from watching others. In this picture, there are a few children that were working together and bouncing off of each other’s move ideas to incorporate them into their own poses. Olivia, Braden, and Marianna were looking at each other while they were flapping their “Wings” like a bird. Next week, we are going to see how long they can hold these poses and they will have yoga cards in which their pictures will be the ones to replicate. 

Animal Movements

           The children have been very interested in various types of animals and how they move.  More specifically, the children have been excited about how various animals eat and how they move as they eat.  The children have started to recognize that as animals eat, they use different strategies.  Some of these strategies might depend on the shape of the animal, or the type of food it eats.

            We have been exploring this with the children by looking at video clips of different animals.  We have seen these clips on the IPad, on the computer, and projected onto the wall.  Throughout this, we have seen the children react differently to what animal they see in the video.  We have noticed that the children seem to be making specific movements based on the animal they see.  Some children will comment to us about how an animal is moving but are not quite sure how to initiate the movement themselves.

            We have focused on clips of ducks, fish, frogs, horses, giraffes, and cows as they eat.  The children were most interest in these animals, and some children suggested them from the beginning.  Each animal eats differently, and as we explored this with the children we began to take video clips of the children reacting to the videos.  These videos will hopefully be shared at the Exhibit at the end of the semester.

The explorations taking place this week was for the purpose seeing how the children’s methods could change over time when using the same object. Yet, I added a new material to their explorations. The intentions I had when adding a mirror was so the children would see how their body is moving on the beam and possibly improve their balance. I was wondering if they would use a trial and error method to continue to improve their balancing skills. After all the observations with the children exploring, I did see how their methods of balancing were growing. After all the observations with the children exploring, I did see how their methods of balancing were growing. Many children did notice the mirror, but it was difficult for them to look down at the mirror while they were on the beam. They would have to get off of the beam to look at the mirror (like in this picture.)

The children also have been transferring what they have learned from the incline we were exploring to the balancing beam. This week, something new happened with the children. There was self-initiated teamwork! Marianna was trying to walk on the balancing beam when she felt unstable. Casey seen Marianna becoming unstable and he offered her his hand while he was on the floor, and he walked her up and down the balancing beam. To explain the second picture, Ali knew that bending his knees has always helped him to balance. He would then bend all the way down to his toes, but then he realized he couldn’t walk on the beam when he did this.  Then, he would scoot his feet sideways to get across the beam without assistance. Next, the students will have the opportunity to put their new skills to the test when we try to do yoga!

What Makes Cars Move?

Week of 3/10/14

Mrs. Stone & Mrs. Hughes’ Room

           

The children have been becoming more aware how cars move. Through explorations of materials that do not have wheels, the children seemed to prefer the cars due to the way they move. I am still curious if the children have made the connection between the movement of the cars and their wheels. A few children have turned the cars upside down and manipulated the wheels with their fingers, but I still wonder what their thinking is in regards to the wheels and the motion of the car.

I wanted to see if the children would make the connection between the wheels and the movement of the car if the motion of the car was made visible. So this week I placed black paint in a tray and taped it to the large ramp that was covered in paper. The children would dip the cars in the paint and then move them on ramp, leaving marks created by the wheels as the cars moved.

Laya was very excited and as soon as she saw the cars and paint she placed her car in the paint and then moved it back and forth very fast on the paper. This created a large space of black paint as she repeatedly moved the car over the same area on the paper. Will placed his car in the paint and then walked to the bottom of the ramp and placed his car on it. While still holding onto the car, Will began to move it up the ramp, leaving long marks of black paint. Nicholas used two cars, and placed each one in the paint with each hand. He then sat alongside the ramp and moved the two cars up and down repeatedly.

Based off of my observations I still am uncertain if the children have made the connection between the wheels and the movement of the car. I would like to explore other materials that have the same motion as the wheels on the car.

Movement of Feathers,

Using our bodies!

Week of 3/10/14 – 3/14/14

Madelyn Mollison

This week we explored how we can move our bodies to make feathers move differently. The children were very interested in the movement of the feathers. Many children including Olivia, Jane and Conner were moving the feathers with a blowing motion. Jad associated the feathers with a bird and threw the feathers saying "fly!"
            Abby picked up and dropped the feathers to the ground watching them float down to the ground. Reed and Olivia wanted to see what would happen if they dropped more than one feather at a time, saying "faster, faster!" When Reed was asked to describe how the feather felt he said "quiet". He was associating the qualities of the feathers with something that was quiet, soft and calm.
            To continue to explore the new materials we are going to compare them to paper like tissue paper and heavier papers to see how they react to our body movements.  We want to see how they move differently and how we can make them move. The children all made interesting reactions to the feathers being thrown or blown at them. Even though they are light weight, they all flinched like it was going to hit them. Most children; Abby and Jane for example would laugh if the feather landed on them.

Guinea Pig Movements

              The children were very excited when we brought guinea pigs into the classroom.  We brought in the guinea pigs because they were large than the gerbils and the children could see them move a little easier.  The children watched them move and began to really talk about how they were eating.

                To expand on this, we began to feed some different foods to the guinea pigs – things the children have eaten for snack that they are familiar with because they all seemed a little confused by the pellets in their food bowls.  We gave the children oranges and apples to feed to the guinea pigs.

                 The children began to talk about how the pigs were eating and commenting on how fast they were eating. Nathan and Liana continually pointed to the guinea pigs as they ate and said, “Ooo” and “look!” to draw attention to what was happening.  Other children began to comment on the teeth and mouth of the guinea pigs.  They seemed surprised that the guinea pigs had teeth.  Jad continually called the guinea pigs, “bunnies.”  We think he thought they were a similar size.  When we showed him pictures of what a bunny looked like, he was still persistent with his idea and did not change his mind.

               As the children watched the pigs, a couple of children began to bring over pretend animals from around the classroom and pretend that they were eating near the cage to the guinea pigs.  We thought this was very interesting and began to reflect on what the children were trying to tell us.  

Movement of Bottles: Using our Bodies

Ms. Mollison

Week of 3/3/14-3/7/14

The children have been exploring different bottles filled with different materials with weight and size as a factor. They rolled them, kicked them and moved them on different surfaces. Connor was exploring the different textures of the surfaces, he noticed that the bottle rolled well on the foil and made noises on the wax paper. Reed liked to roll the bottles when we covered them in the materials rather than rolling them on the surfaces. He liked the bottle with the foil and said, “Moves fast!”

To wrap up using the bottles this week, we discovered new ways to move the bottles, including using their knees and feet. Jane found that she could use the bottle to roll on her stomach and back. Olivia explored using her elbows to make the bottle move. She also tried to move the bottle with her knees.

  The children will now be moving onto exploring different kinds of materials and the ways they can make them move. Next week we will explore with feathers and other various materials. We will be focusing on how they moved them differently and how we can make them move. The children are working on their coordination and how they can move their bodies to manipulate other objects. They have been focusing on how they make things move, rather then the movement of the object.