Cork Board Investigations

Purposeful Play with Push Pins

The children have been investigating the cork board for a few weeks now. We placed the cork board on the back of the math and numeracy shelf. Included with the cork board were four tins. Two of the tins have push pins in them and in the remaining two tins are chenille yarn and elastics. I created this invitation for the children to explore and create envisioning the board as a giant geoboard. I hoped that they would not only develop their fine motor skills but also other important learning expectations from the Full Day Early Learning Kindergarten document. It has been that and so much more. Here is a look at some of their explorations.

 

This is one of the first explorations at the corkboard by the children.

Can anyone spy the letter "J" created using push pins?

I asked them to share what their work was

about they said, "It is a celebration for a birthday party."

 



The girls carefully placed the push pins so that they could stretch the elastics

out between two pins. If the tension on the elastic was not just right they would

move the pin and try again until it was just right. What wonderful problem-solving

and perseverance they displayed. They described their work. She said," We are

making connections. Can we sign up for shared learning?" 

 

 

As the children have continued their explorations their work has

gained in complexity of the design. As well, they have become more

intentional in the placement of the push pins when creating a design. They are

using both the chenille yarn and elastics together creating shapes and lines

with these materials. We could also observe their careful planning and

problem-solving as they worked together on the corkboard.

 

They described their work. He said, "It is a big machine."

 



 

Each morning before announcements the children would gather at the

corkboard. They either began a new design if the board was empty

or worked on an existing design. The children would discuss their ideas

and how to best use the push pins, chenille yarn, and elastics.

  This morning something very exciting happened. The children chose

to only use the push pins and the elastics. Then they began to pluck the

elastics. They were so delighted because they discovered that they

could create a sound. They shared, "Miss we made music."

 

The children were so proud of their work. They demonstrated many personal and

social skills as they worked together on their designs. We look forward to many

more explorations with the children at the corkboard.

 

 

Sugar Cube Explorations

Sugary Sweet Construction

 

 

 

We were inspired by a sensory bin on Pinterest that included sugar cubes as it's base. 

Since the children were still exploring their ideas around building, constructing and

manipulating materials we decided we would create an invitation for the children to

explore with sugar cubes. We set up the invitation at the table next to the sensory bin.

 

 

At the table, we placed two boxes of sugar cubes, a wooden cutting board, a clipboard, 

and pencils. We were so excited to see what the children would create and build with

the sugar cubes. We like to add paper and pencil to most of our invitations to play so

that the children can record their ideas or wonderings.

 

 

The following day other children became interested in a peer's work. This often

happens as the children share their ideas and wonderings with each other. They worked

together adding rows of sugar cubes stacked on each other.

  

 

The boys continued their explorations with the sugar cubes.

 They began creating animals.

 

 

To conclude their sugar construction they created a person.

 

 

The children continued to choose to work with the sugar cubes for the next several

weeks. Each child would bring new ideas and construction to this open-ended play.

 

One of the children shared with the educator, "I put them in lines connected."

 Next, she counted the cubes and stated, "There are 21 of them."

 

Another one of the children built this structure during play block. I encouraged him 

to record his structure on the whiteboard. He explained how he built with the 

sugar cubes and asked if he could keep his structure on the board for the next day. 

He printed a sign and placed it next to his structure on the board.

 

When we began our animal inquiry we moved the sugar cubes to another area of the

classroom on a small table. We changed the items with the sugar cubes and put the

 silver tray and spoon as a simple invitation for further work with the cubes. The table is

closer to the kitchen space and science area. It has been interesting to see the children add

to the workspace. They have included the tweezers and sugar bowl to this display. Their

explorations continue and just the other day. They used the spoon to scrape one of

the cubes into the sugar bowl. When they were finished they said, "Miss I made sugar."

 

 

 

 

This exploration has shown us so many of the expectations from the Full-Day Early Learning Program. The children have worked together to develop personal and social skills. They have also demonstrated many mathematical skills as they have counted, sequenced, and matched cubes using one-to-one correspondence. We have also seen literacy in their printing of the do not touch signs. As well as all of the oral language skills used to describe, discuss and share their ideas.

 

 





Valentine's Day Activities

Celebrating Friendship and Love

  



The children participated in Valentine's Day activities last Friday. We would like to extend our most sincere thanks to the many parent and grandparent volunteers that helped us with our celebration. We are so delighted to have had such wonderful volunteers for each of our activity days. We hope that you know how much your assistance is appreciated. Here is a peek at some of the happenings from our morning together. Hoping you all had a wonderful Valentine's Day.

 

 

Yummy Love Bugs

 

 

Thank you to Miss Virban for finding this delicious treat.

The children built yummy love bugs out of marshmallows and candy.

 

 

 

Playdough Explorations

 

 

The children enjoyed working with the playdough and the tools at this

centre. We saw Valentine's snowmen and Valentine's pizza created.

They molded the dough exploring it's qualities with their hands and used

the rollers to create texture and patterns. 

 

Valentine Books

 

Some of my favourite Valentine's Day stories that I have

collected were shared with the children. They loved the

pop-up book titled: "Love Bugs."

 

 

Valentine Songs and Games

 



Valentine Tic Tac Toe

 

 

 

Valentine Sensory Bin

 

The children were eager to explore the sensory bin. They helped

me to create this initial display in the bin. Then it was Valentine's Day

fun as they pulled and uses their sense of touch to explore the

various materials in the bin. The children filled the heart containers

with petals and mini erasers. They also scooped the mini erasers

with the measuring cups and then counted them. It was one of

their favourite activities from the morning.

 

 

 

Valentine's Day Cards

 

The children created their own unique Valentine's Day card

to give to someone they love. Teaching them to share and express

their feelings is an important aspect of our Full Day Learning

Kindergarten program. 

 

 

Valentine Crowns

 

The art studio was the quietest space during our Valentine's Day

Activities. Each child was so engaged in creating their crown.

 

 

 

Sensory Balloons

Sharing Ideas and Exploring Our Senses

The children were provided with an opportunity to explore sensory balloons. The balloons were filled with a variety of materials. Then we presented the balloons to the children with clipboards, pencils, and the invitation to guess what was in each balloon. I wrote on the picture frame with a dry erase marker: "What do you feel?" The children were intrigued right away. They asked what the frame said and we read it together. I encouraged them to record their guesses as to what was in each balloon. I was so impressed with their eagerness to write down their ideas. We helped them sound out the words to record their guesses and they also helped each other. For several days the children took turns recording their ideas about the sensory balloons. Their work is displayed in the classroom with several of the anecdotes we recorded during this experience. The children still investigate the balloons daily. They are noticing changes in some of the materials that were put in the balloons. Many of the children continue to share their ideas and ask questions about this sensory experience.  We are wondering if they will ask us to open up the balloons and see what is inside. Until then we continue to encourage them to continue to think about and discuss their ideas.

 

   

 

 

 

Welcome to Inquiry Spaces and Wondering Places

An Invitation To Look

We are so excited to be sharing our ideas and explorations from our Full Day Kindergarten Program. Each day we celebrate the wonders and curiosities of the children within our classroom. We strive to provide them with inspiration to explore the world around them and express their ideas. The classroom environment is an extension of our beliefs about early childhood education. We continue to learn about the reggio approach, play based learning and inquiry within the FDK model. This blog celebrates our journey together, growing in faith and learning. Thank you for stopping by and taking a look.