Why Do the Cars Move?

Week of 2/18/14

Mrs. Stone & Mrs. Hughes’ Room

            The children have been using the plastic cars on the large ramps and observing how they move when the children let go of them. I have noticed that some of the children are curious about the wheels of the cars but have not yet made the connection to how the cars move.

            This week I introduced during a group time small wooden blocks of different shapes and they move on the ramp. The children observed that when the block was placed on the ramp and I let go, it did not move. I showed them a triangle block, a thin rectangle block and a square block. When I demonstrated each one, the children were all curious to see what would happen. Then I showed them the car and demonstrated how the car moved on the ramp and asked, “Why does the car move?” This seemed to have sparked more interest.

            That afternoon I then brought out the large ramp and placed the blocks on the ramp and had the basket of cars next to it. Connor saw the blocks on the ramp and said, “Ramp!” as he picked up a car. He then placed the car on the ramp and watched it move down. Then he picked up the blocks and lined them up next to each other. I asked, “How do the blocks move?” Connor then pushes the blocks down the ramp as far as his can reach and says, “Push!”

            Several of the children did similar things with the blocks. Nadia tested each block on the ramp like she observed in group time. When she saw that they did not move she then picked up a car and placed it on the ramp to watch it move. Laya stacked the blocks on the ramp and knocked them down to make the blocks move. She then began to move the wheel of the car with her finger. This week it seems that the children are beginning to see that the cars are different in how they move than other objects.

Ms. Mollison's Introduction

My name is Maddy Mollison I am 26 years old. My major is Early Childhood, Elementary Education. I am an intern this semester on Tuesday and Thursday from 8am- 4pm, last semester I also worked with the same group of children as a strategies student in the afternoons.

            I am the oldest of six children, with three brothers and two sisters. My mom was a special education teacher; this is why I wanted to become a teacher. I have always worked with young children, babysitting and as a nanny. My dream job is to work with first graders.

            Currently I am exploring objects in motion with the children. We are looking at what makes an object move and why different types of objects move differently. We are using empty pop bottles filled with materials such as pennies, toothpicks, cotton and plastic forks to see how they move when they are rolled. We are starting to explore different surfaces like; foil, wax paper, carpet, tile and saran wrap. We are using bottles filled with water to see how they move on these surfaces. 

Ms. Bolling's Introduction

     Hello my name is Rebecca Bolling and I am an intern this semester in Mrs. Stone's and Mrs. Hughes room. I was previously a staff member in this room for about two years, and I am close to the finishing line within the early childhood program here at the University of Michigan Dearborn. I student teach in a public school setting in the fall of this year and graduate in December. I recently bought a house and am getting married in the beginning of April, so this year is going great! Within this classroom, I help foster learning and group investigations/explorations about what the children are interested in.

     We have a variety of explorations going on this semester in this room dealing with movement. There is the movement of animals, objects, and bodies. We are also exploring with ramps, bridges, and tunnels. I am specifically guiding the students explorations with the movement of bodies. There is a wide range of skills developed and strengthened when working with this specific investigation.

     Within the explorations of the movement of our bodies, we are working on strengthening various skills. Balancing on a variety of objects, center of mass, becoming able to move our lower and upper extremities simultaneously, gross motor development, fine motor development, communication, taking turns, team work, autonomy, and self-help skills are some of what we have been working on so far in this semester. I am excited to continue to guide their own theories and ideas into concrete learning.

Gerbil Movements

            The children in the classroom have been very interested in animals and how they move.  Several of the children are excited about the pretend animals we have in the room and how they look.  They have started moving them around on various surfaces as well.  We wanted to give them the opportunity to see some animals up close and see their movements first-hand.

            Ms. Kurtjian recently got gerbils in her classroom.  Her children have been excited about them so we decided to bring them into our classroom so we could see how they moved.

            For safety reasons, we placed them in their ball so they could move on the ground and the children couldn’t touch them.  The children would be able to see them and how they move in the clear ball, but everyone would be able to stay safe.

            At first the children did not know what to make of the gerbils.  They seemed confused at first and weren’t sure what they were.  I provided them with the name, gerbil, and after that we started to focus on the movements.  The children seemed surprised when the gerbils began to roll around the classroom in their ball.  The children were trying to predict where they would go.

How do Cars Move?

How do Cars Move?

Week of 2/10/14

Mrs. Stone & Mrs. Hughes’ Room

We have been exploring bridges, ramps and tunnels using the toys cars to explore these different structures. After observing the children’s thinking and how they interact with the materials, I saw that the students focus was on the cars and not so much on what the cars were moving on. So we began to explore the cars using the large long ramp for the children to move the cars on. I also brought in the wooden trucks to introduce something that moved the same as the cars but still different. I would ask the children, “How does it move?" or “Why  did that happen?” I was curious to see what the students thoughts were about how the cars and trucks moved.

            Laya came over to the ramp and laid down on it and picked up a car. She turned it over and began to move the wheels with her finger. Later on, Mustafa had done something similar where he manipulated the wheel to move with his finger. This showed me that the children’s thinking was leading towards the wheels of the cars and that they were curious of how they worked.

            
      This week I projected a video of cars, bikes and motorcycles driving down a street so the children can see these different modes of transportation and how the wheels moved on them. The ramp was set up in front of the video with the cars and trucks again to see if the children make the connection. This time, when the children came over the cars and trucks were flipped upside down to see if the children would notice how they were not moving. Connor and Nadia came over and saw this and their first instinct was to flip the car back over and watch it move down the ramp. The children watched the video as they played, but I was unable to see any evidence that it affected their play and thinking.

February 2014

Mrs. Stone & Mrs. Hughes’ Classroom

            It’s hard to believe another month has gone by! With all of the snow days we feel like it’s been a very fast month.  The children have been very busy this semester so far.  We are looking at Movement and Motion a lot this term.  Our learning groups of children are all looking at different aspects of this big idea.

            Our learning groups this term are: Movement of Animals, Bridges and Ramps, Movement of Objects, and the Movement of our Bodies.  The children are exploring various concepts and ideas within these learning groups.  We have documentation posted at the front of the classroom with the words and actions of the children in each of these groups, as well as our Idea Web and our Communication Board.  If you notice something at home related to what we are discussing in school, please feel free to write it down on our board to let us know and we will think of ways to expand on it at school.  Ms. Mollison and Ms. Bolling are helping us along in this process so any questions related to our investigations can also be directed towards them.

            We are also hoping the weather warms up a bit more so we can enjoy more time outdoors.  Please bring snow pants, boots, hats, mittens, etc, for your child each day just incase we are able to go out.  We want to make sure the children are prepared for the weather.  Outdoor gear should be labeled with each child’s name or initials.

            For those children who rest with us, we are encouraging parents to bring a familiar blanket from home for their child to use during rest time.  This helps the children to rest better and more comfortably with items they are familiar with.  We will send them home each day in your child’s backpack for safe keeping.

            The week of February 24-February 28 there is no school.  We are on spring break this week.

            As always, if you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please don’t hesitate to ask.  We are looking forward to another busy month!

Catie Stone & Charlene Hughes