Origin of Light

              This learning group was inspired by our students interest in the observing the moon in the sky both at night and during the day. We then showed them a projected image of the moon in the sky on the wall, and this led to exposure to movies of the sun, stars and comets in space that were projected onto the wall. During other explorations, the students were also very interested in turning different lights on and off. These two observations of the children’s thinking has formed the big question, “Where does light come from?”

                When first introduced to the image of the moon, Casey and Mustafa identified it but were not as interested in it as they were when on the walks with their parents. So then I projected a video of the sun onto the wall and they were intrigued by the movement, the colors that they saw. At first, Casey identified it as the moon, and then he placed his hand on the wall and said, “Hot!” Jad made the connection between the projected video and the red cellophane that he then placed over his eyes to look through at the image. It wasn’t until we projected a video of stars that the children made the connection that they all give off light. When Connor saw the stars, he pointed up at the projected video and said, “Light!” When Abigail saw the projection, she looked at the wall and said, “Wow,” in soft whisper. 

                After this exploration, we went on a search around the building for different lights. We walked into the art studio and observed where the lights were and then in the teachers office. When the lights were turned off, it became very dark and the children found flashlights that they turned on and pointed at each other and on their bodies. When we explored the lights in the seminar room, they were very interested in where the light went and where it came from when the light was turned on and off multiple times. They would turn their heads in search for how it happened. This showed us that they the children knew the light came from somewhere, so the next exploration we decided to have them explore light sources that they can directly manipulate.

 We brought out the tap light that created stars on the walls and ceiling when turned on along with the other tap lights and flashlights. We had them in the darkest part of our classroom so when turned on; the children were able to focus directly on the light source that they manipulated. As Mustafa turned the tap light on and off, he would look around the room to observe what was happening when he turned it on and off. When a teacher would turn a light off, Mariana would say, “Turn light on!”

The children have explored how they can control where the light comes from and whether there will be light or no light. I wonder what their ideas are of how they get the light and where it comes from? Do they associate it with the on and off switches? Are they curious how light can come from all of these different things? I intend to further explore these questions with the children to gain a better understanding of their thinking.

                

Reflection of Light

We have been exploring with light using the flashlights and tap lights. We have been using these materials with mirrors and reflective surfaces to observe how the light changes when on a reflective surface. We have been observing how our reflection changes when light is on a reflective surface and how the light appears on it.

       

    We first placed the tap lights inside of the triangle along with the flashlights. The children sat next to the mirror and shone the flashlights inside the triangle, while others would sit directly inside of it. They seemed very excited about their reflection from the three different perspectives and would shine the flashlight onto the mirrors and on to their bodies.

          Another exploration that we did was we taped foil to the underside of the table so the children would crawl underneath the table with the flashlights and look up at their reflection. Some of the children crawled under the table without the lights and would bang on the foil. Others lay under the table on their backs and held the flashlight against the foil, then shone it onto the floor and back 
to the foil again. They were comparing how the light looked different on the two surfaces.

  

          Next, we stood the table up on its side with the foil still taped to the underside of it providing a new perspective. The flashlights were placed next to it and the children explored holding the flashlight onto the foil, then moving it so the light shone on their hand that was also on the foil. Again, they were comparing the appearance of the light on the two different surfaces.


      We would like to explore light next week on the surface of water using submersible mini tap lights in the water table. The students will be able to see the light reflected off of the surface of the water as well as underneath it. Students will be encouraged to manipulate the tap lights with the water.

Motion of Light

            The children in the classroom have been very interested in light and concepts related to light.  We have noticed while using the flashlights that the children were interested in how they could move the light from one location to another.  We wanted to expand on this idea and see what would happen if the children were introduced to a light beam they couldn't alter themselves.

 We found a neat video of a laser show.  During the video, the children were able to see laser beams that changed.  The colors changed, the amount of laser beams shown changed throughout the video, and the pattern and direction of the light changed also.  We wanted to see how the children would react to this since they themselves would not be able to change how the light was moving – they would just be able to respond to what they saw.

At first we tried the video on the large projector and showed the children on the wall.  The children seemed interested in the video but their attention did not last as long as we would have liked.  We think maybe since they have seen images and videos on the large projector in the past possible the novelty has worn off. 

We then tried the video on the laptop in our classroom.  This was much more interesting for the children and adults alike.  The children began to trace their fingers on the screen along the beams.  We wonder if they were trying to feel the beams or if they thought they could alter the direction and motion of the beams with their fingers, like with an IPad.  Their engagement was sustained for a very long time and the children were much more engaged in how the light was moving.  We also think that when the children saw the video on the computer the images were more clear and more engaging.

It might be interesting to see how the children would react to something on the IPad that they would be able to alter themselves.  We would like to explore this avenue with them and see what they think.

October 2013

Dear Families,

            Welcome to October!  We are so excited that all of the children seem to be adjusting to the classroom and our school day.  It has been nice to see happy faces not only during the day but when coming to school too!

            Ms. Dunbar and Ms. Salame have been working with Mrs. Stone and Ms. Rodegher to plan and implement lessons in the classroom.  We have noticed an interest in ideas surrounding light.  This is seen in shadows, how light moves, and even in the sun and stars.  We would really like to continue exploring and expanding on these ideas with the children.  To help with these investigations, we would love any donations of flashlights, rope lights, disco balls, or Christmas lights. 

            We are also inviting parents to check out our communication board and idea web at the front of the classroom.  We are collecting ideas here of what the children are interested in and what we want to pursue with them.  We would love if you had ideas to contribute or things you notice at home that might be related to what we are exploring in the classroom.  We will be updating our learning group information also which is located at the front of the classroom.  We will keep documentation of what the children are saying and doing related to specific ideas we are pursuing with the children.

            At the end of the month, we will have a Halloween Walk.  More details will follow as to specific times but we will be asking for donations of candy and other trick-or-treat items (pencils, playdough, goldfish crackers) which will be collected near the front desk. 

            As always, if you have any questions or comments, please don’t hesitate to let us know.  Have a great month!

Catie Stone and Charlene Rodegher

Motion of Light

We have been incorporating the flashlights within the classroom these past two weeks. The children have been very interested in moving the light and observing how it looks when shone on different surfaces. They have been shining it onto the floor, the wall, the ceiling, and clothing and into mirrors.

During a lesson where the children were observing their shadows, many of the children brought over flashlights. They would aim their lights onto the wall, onto their shadows and then back towards the projector where the light was coming from. They were testing out how the light looked when shone on these different surfaces.

Then we placed a mirror underneath a table where the children would crawl on top of it. As they would crawl underneath the table, the children would bring the flashlights with them and shine the light into the mirror.  A few children would lie on their backs looking upwards shining their flashlight to the bottom of the table. This has showed us that the children’s thinking by how they associate the light to be aiming upwards while lying down. We would like to place foil or mirrors to the bottom of a table so the children will be able to lie down and look up at themselves with the flashlight.

Many of the children have also been walking around with the flashlights and shining them onto the ceiling. They follow the light with their eyes and have been spinning their bodies to make the light move. One child held two flashlights up to the ceiling and was observing how they made light on two different spots on the ceiling.

These are a few of the explorations we have been doing that are focused on the motion of light. These explorations will become more in depth as the weeks go on.

Light

     At the beginning of the term we introduced the children to multiple types of light sources.  We brought flashlights into the classroom, let them explore with tap lights, introduced the children to our light table, and brought in the projector.
     We noticed that the children were very excited about the flashlights and how they could move and manipulate the light source.  They would take the flashlights and move them about the classroom, shining them on various items and surfaces.  Since there seemed to be an interest in how the light moved, we wanted to bring in a stationary light source for the children to see how they would react.

     The children seemed very interested to see where the light was coming from.  We set the projector on a shelf and projected light onto the wall across from it.  Many of the children were attracted to the light, where it was coming from, and would put their fingers up to it.  They followed the light to the wall and noticed there were shadows.  The children noticed their shadows, but not all of them were quite sure where the shadow was coming from.  They also noticed shadows of other children and adults in the area.  A few of the children also began to interact with the shadows.  We are excited to see where the idea of shadows leads us.

September Newsletter

Dear Families,

            Welcome to a new school year!  We are very excited to get to know all of our new families and can’t wait to let the children explore in the classroom.  We look forward to a busy school year.

            We wanted to start off by inviting our families to bring in a family picture.  These will be displayed in the classroom and will give the children an opportunity to see their family when they are at school.  Sometimes it gives the children comfort knowing they can look at their families while they are at school.

            We will have two early childhood student teachers in our classroom this term.  They are students at U of M who are towards the end of their teaching program.  Maya will be with us on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and Sherrell will be with us on Thursdays and Fridays.  You will see them around the classroom and they will be working collaboratively with Charlene and I on explorations and learning groups with the children. 

            One of the important aspects about our program is the documenting that we do.  We take photographs, video clips, and write down notes about what the children are saying and doing.  This helps us to find out what the children are thinking so we can help scaffold them to the next level of thinking and learning.  You will see documentation around the classroom and notice webs of thinking, which children are in which learning groups, and documentation regarding specific things happening around the classroom. Please feel free to take a minute at drop off or pick up to check these out.  We would also love if you wanted to write down on our communication board interesting things you may have seen at home related to what we are talking about at school, or something you think we could expand on at school.  We would love for our families to be as much a part of this process as possible.

            Please know that we have some severe allergies in our classroom this semester.  For this reason, we ask that parents refrain from bringing in food from home other than what is in your child’s lunch.  Any breakfast from home or snack a child had in the car should be finished before entering the classroom.  We know you will join us in maintaining the safety of our children, which is our first priority. 

            We know that starting your child at school for the first time can be stressful and exciting at the same time.  One of the strategies we usually talk to parents about is maintaining consistency.  After signing your child in for the day, hang up coats, and put lunches away, we would invite you in to get your child acclimated to the classroom.  You are welcome to spend some time playing with them in the classroom.  When you are ready to leave, we will make sure to continue extending that play with your child.  We recommend letting your child know you are going to leave, telling them you will be back in a little while, and then leaving.  If a parent seems anxious at drop off time, their child will sense that and feed off of it.  You are welcome to call the front desk and they will transfer you down to the classroom so we can give up an update on your child.  We want parents to feel secure having their child with us at school, so if there is ever anything else we can do to help, please let us know. 

            Some parents have asked us about donations to the classroom.  At the beginning of the school year, we would be interested in non-toxic house plants.  Some examples of these are: African Violets, Bamboo, Begonia, Jade, Spider Plant, or a Boston Fern.  As we get to know the children and their interests, we will let you know if there are any types of recycled materials we might be interested in incorporating into the classroom.

            We will also start to update our classroom blog in the next few weeks.  We will post documentation from the classroom. It will be another neat way for families to keep track of what is happening, and something you can share with your family and friends.

            This school year should be exciting and we are very excited to get to know the children and all of our families.  If you ever have any questions, comments, or concerns, please do not hesitate to ask.  Thank you in advance for all of your support this school year!

Catie Stone and Charlene Rodegher