We started our investigation about balls and the children are excited. They play with them in many different ways.  They throw them, catch them, kick them, and roll them with seemingly endless delight. Children learn how natural forces, such as gravity and friction, affect the movement of balls.  They enjoyed making balls, marbles, and other rolling objects change speed and direction. Like a ball, the boys and girls took turns rolling their bodies. This led to two questions.  First,“How did we make our bodies roll?” Secondly, “ What do you think it takes to make balls roll?” We discussed how using force from our muscles made our bodies roll and we needed to use force or gravity for a ball to roll.  The children paired up with each other using force to roll the ball back and forth. They had a ball!

We also talked about gravity and used a ramp to roll different balls.  I asked the boys and girls “Do you think some balls roll faster than others?”  We recorded and discussed our predictions. Using a golf ball and a soccer ball we tested out our theories.  The boys and girls were amazed with the results. Putting a ramp in the classroom gives the children a chance to interact not only with me, but the other children as well.  This type of play influences the way children approach learning and influences other aspects of their cognitive development.

Valentine's Day is approaching and we’ve been making decor for our classroom.  Using a golf ball and paint each child designed their own heart. As children draw, paint, and construct they make new discoveries and integrate what they are learning.

This week we started the second semester of school and had two new students join our class.  For everyone to get to know one another we sang a song called “Friend.” The song was written on the board with a blank space to put their name.  As each child identified their name card, they placed it on the board. The children enjoyed getting to show everyone their name and singing. Not only did the boys and girls learn each other's name, they practiced learning how to recognize everyones written name as well.  By age 3, differences in children’s understanding and use of literacy skills are enormous. When children are excited about what they are hearing and learning, they are motivated to learn to read.

We are still studying about trees, and we discussed how we could measure the trunk of a tree.  This led to teaching the children about circumference. Using yarn, we measured different tree trunks and discovered which tree had the largest and the smallest circumference.  Measuring an object with links or yarn and later measuring the same object with rods is an essential step to understanding why standard measuring tools are important for comparing measurements.  

We are glad to be back at school.

Last week Luna’s mom and dad volunteered to take the Pre-K3 classes for a nature walk on our school trails. Luna’s dad, Clint, is the Southern Arkansas Project Manager for The Nature Conservancy's Arkansas office.  Since 2005, Clint's focus has been on habitat restoration for the entire southern portion of Arkansas, working with both private and public land partners to ensure lands and waters are protected and restored.  We were fortunate to have Clint help educate our boys and girls about nature. During our nature walk Clint talked to us about why leaves fall off of trees, pine cones, fungus, and algae.  He discussed why trees get sick, what animals live in trees, and showed us what deciduous and evergreen trees looked like.  What an adventure!

A fun game we played was called Feely Box.  I collected several items from trees and placed them in a box so that the children couldn’t see them.  Each boy and girl had a turn to reach inside the box, feel the item, and describe it. Everyone tried guessing what was in the box.  Then we passed the item around for the children to examine. After discussing the five senses, we tried describing the item by the way it felt.  As they used their senses to explore things, they learned about shapes, colors, textures, weight, temperature, and how things move and change. As teachers talk with children about the properties of objects and materials, children develop vocabulary and important background knowledge.

On one of our nature walks the boys and girls collected sticks to make letters.  Each child picked one letter in their name that used big and little lines. They had to count the lines to see how many big or little sticks they would need.  Knowledge of letters is an important component of literacy. The children are learning that written words are composed of letters that represent sounds.

We are still studying the collection of clothes and how clothes come in many different patterns, shapes, and sizes.  Halloween day we dressed up in costumes and discussed the different materials everyone was wearing and how they felt.  We also had a costume/fashion show for our family. Afterward, we sang Halloween songs and had a party. The children put on a great show!

Hippity Hoppity, Hippity Hoppity, How Many?  What a fun game we played!  Being a productive member of a group involves complex interactions.  Children must gradually learn to cooperate, negotiate, lead and follow, and express their feelings and ideas in socially acceptable ways.  The game began with one child setting out five pumpkins. The boys and girls covered their eyes while he/she took some away. At the end of the chant we opened our eyes and had to say how many pumpkins were left.  The boys and girls did a great job taking turns at being the leader.

Next week we will start are new study about trees.

Clothing is a perfect way to express your unique personality.  There are many features of clothes that make them unique. This led to one of our questions, what are the features of clothes?  Each child stood up and showed the class features on their outfit. We discussed pockets, buttons, logos, shapes, colors, and size.  I asked them, “Do you think everyone wears the same size clothes?” Most of them said yes, so I tried to put on one of their jackets and had them put on my jacket.  They all laughed and we decided to put the clothes in order: small, medium, and large.

The children also learned a variety of ways to measure items.  Through the essential process skills of problem solving, reasoning, communicating, making connections, and representing, children learn mathematics content.  In groups of two the boys and girls measured the length of clothing items. We used a tape measure, ruler, blocks, and our feet. We then put the clothing items in descending order.  The children had fun!

We then discussed how to classify buttons in our sensory bin.  The children had a chance to sift through rice to look for buttons.  Once they found a button, they used a tong to put it into the matching colored container.  Working with tongs helps children learn to grasp and release objects using fingers and hands.  It also helps by using both hands together and often coordinating these movements with the eyes.  This requires hand and finger strength and dexterity.

As you can see, there are a lot of fun educational activities to do with clothing.