"The Shadow Is Dancing. We Got To Catch Him!"

What an intriging day we had! Our morning began with French with Deborah. We sang Les Petites Poisson and she read The Three Little Bears in French. During snack, we revisited our individual "Leaf Man" collages by looking at the work we have done so far. We came to the conclusion that we want to keep working by gluing on more materials and using a brush with paint mixed with glue.  

Then the children played in the sandbox. Suddenly something happened. The children noticed light in the sandbox! Everyone got very excited. Here is what they said:

Nico: "The shadow is dancing. We got to catch him!"

Scarlett: "Leave him alone. He's okay."

Nico: "He's not okay! We got to catch him. It's a shadow. Come on! Stand in the sun. We got to catch the shadow in our mirror. I'm making light."

Brandon: points to the floor sees balls of light on the floor and says "Look guys! It 's a rainbow!"

Jamie and Lili continued to investigate by building with both wooden and translucent colored blocks. Nico and Scarlett decided to go on a bear hunt. "Hey guys! We are going on a bear hunt! We are going to pack all of our things and go on a bear hunt!"  Brandon joined them camera in hand. I noticed him taking lots of pictures throughout their adneture.

During lunch, we read Shadows and Reflections by Tana Hoban. The children looked at the images on the pages. Then we reflected on our morning and the children shared what they loved about the day:

Nico: "I love Nadia and Jenny. Shadows."

Lili: "I love Jenny. I love to eat. I like to play."

Jamie: "I play."

Scarlett; "I love French."

Harry: "I love to eat. I play with trains."

Brandon: "Trains."

""Like this! It's a harp!"

At Morning Meeting, we talked about our field trip to Guitar Center. Hudson shared with us some instruments with might see: "a horn, a drum set, violin, bass, guitar, and harp." He drew us a picture to show us what a harp looks like and showed it the class. "Like this! It's a harp!" Hudson said with pride. Jenny showed everyone another image of a harp, too  We sang Old McDonald Had a Band with our instruments. Next we marched to We Are the Dinosaurs by The Laurie Berkner Band. 

During snack, the children spontaneously began to sing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star together! It was so sweet to hear them break into song! Next, we read Little Gorilla by Ruth Bornstein. The children investigated light and shadows through dance and play. We painted leaves with watercolor and corn syrup for our "friendship/ thankful" tree. At Goodbye Circle, we sang Sambalae and read Little Gorilla by Ruth Bornstein once more. We are looking forward to our trip to Guitar Center on Thursday!





What Do You See?

The children settled into the day happily. Harry, Brandon, Nico, Scarlett worked on stamping with the letter blocks. Lili was a doctor. She came over to Jenny with a stethoscope and magnifying glass in hand and said, "You need a checkup. I need to check your ear. I need to check your head".  And so she did.

At Morning Meeting the children watched yesterday's video of the Itsy Bitsy Spider. First, they watched the video without sound. Then they watched with fascination with sound several times. Here is what they said:

Nico: "It's so beautiful. It's a black hand."

Scarlett: "No it's not a black hand. It's a spider man."

Nadia:" Why do think it is beautiful?"

Nico: " Because I like it. It's a hand."

Lili: "Jenny's finger. That's Jenny's fingers."

Nico: "Rain."

Lili: "That's a hand. Jenny's hand is a spider. He's climbing a fan."

After snack, we went on a bear hunt around the classroom reading Going On a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen and Helen Oxennbury. Next, we had Yoga with Lakshmi. Then we investigated the sunlight shining through the window by turning out the lights and exploring it with our bodies and materials.. Our imaginations ran wild as the children peeped through colors and mirrors at each other. Scarlett and Nico danced and sang Ring Around the Rosie. (Videos coming soon) Then we went out for a walk. It was wonderful to observe and interact with shadows outside. 

During lunch we read Olivia by Ian Falconer. We noticed that the illustrations in the book were light and dark. This reminded Lili of the sun coming in the through the window earlier in the day.

A Day Filled With Music, Dancing, and Lots of Discovery

We began our morning by calling Brandon at Morning Meeting to see how he was feeling and to let him know that we hope that he feels better soon. Next, we acted out the story We're Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury. We ventured through the Daisies' classroom until we reached the bear's cave and found a bear! Then we quickly came back into classroom just like in the story.

While the children were eating snack, Nadia put a tissue box, metal pots and lids, cups, and a colander out on the table. "How can we make music out of this stuff?" she asked the children.

Scarlett: "I can make a drum." 

She took a metal pot and tapped on the pot with a pen. "I'm making music."

Max: "I want to make music."

Then Max tapped on the drum with a pen.

Suddenly, Hudson went over to the rug and began dancing to Sax for a Pax by Moondog and the London Brass and Saxophonic. Max and Scarlett joined in.Here is one of two videos of this spontaneous moment (Video 2 on it's way)

Before dance with Elizabeth, Jenny noticed the sun coming into the classroom. She shut the lights off and began to sing The Itsy Bitsy Spider. She used her hand shadows to act out the story.

The children were very intrigued by the sunlight and shadows. After dance they discovered their own shadows and played with light. We took out a mirror and used it to reflect light in the classroom. The children chased after the light. We cannot wait to continue this investigation!

"A Different Collage"

Our day began with a very engaging Morning Meeting. First, we sang Hello, Hello, Hello and How Are You? to each other on the telephone. Then Lili showed us the shells and rocks she collected by telling us, "It's my basket. I found them on the beach. It's Scarlett's turn." Lili shared with Scarlett. While Nico was looking inside Lili's basket she shared, "I saw these in Bermudas." Then we revisited the collage we made using paint mixed with glue by thinking of a name for our piece.

Jenny: "What is this?"

Nico: "A collage."

Lili: "Yeah, a different collage."

Nico: "It has lots of colors: orange, yellow, pink, and purple."

Lili: "Yeah I like pink and purple."

We came to the conclusion that we should our work "A Different Collage Pink and Purple"

During snack we called Brandon, Jamie, and Jacob on the telephone see how they are and to let them know we miss them. We hope that they feel better soon. Then it was time for French with Deborah. For project work, Harry experimented with crackling leaves onto glue. We talked more about "Leaf Man" by looking at each other's facial features to plan how we would make "Leaf Man." We read Leaf Man by Louis Elhert while the children were worked. Then they shared with us what they had made: 

Scarlett: "I'm making cheeks." 

Nico: "I'm making a chicken."

Harry: "He has a head. I made cheeks and lips."

Lili: "I like leaves. I'm making a mouth."

During Lunch we read Going On A Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury. Perhaps we will act out this story on Friday?

"Hm...I wonder...what is music?"

The children eased into their morning interacting with one another as they played  with  materials around the room. Hudson and Brandon gravitated towards the instruments that were on the rug. Scarlett made "hearts" out of Model Magic and Max was intrigued by the magnets in the sensory table.

We began our Morning Meeting singing Hello with instruments. The children greeted each other by saying "Hello" with the instrument of their choice. Max shook his Maraca and Hudson, Brandon, and Scarlett used the "bells". (cymbals) Then we had a discussion about music:

Jenny: "Hm...how did we say "hello"?

Children: "Instruments."

Jenny: "What do instruments make?"

Children: "Music."

Jenny: "Hm...I wonder...what is music?"

Hudson: hummed a song, stopped and said, "Sounds. A drum set."

Scarlett: "Instruments. A guitar."

Max: clapped his hands.

Jenny: "Wow Max! I liked how you made music by clapping your hands. I am going to make music by stomping my feet and snapping my fingers. I wonder if we can all make music together."

The children followed Jenny and we made different sounds.

Then listened two different songs one fast and one slow. The first song the children said made them feel "good". After they listened to the slower song they said they felt sad.

Next, we had a surprise event! We were invited to the Sunflowers' classroom to watch the Sunflowers and Daisies' classes act out Three Billy Goats Gruff. They acted out the story using with their shadows! We sat in the front row and watched as the children put on the performance behind a white sheet using a flashlight, their hands, and bodies. We found it to be very fascinating. 

When we returned back to the classroom we had a Free Play and then gathered on the rug for story. We read Dancing Feet by Lindsay Craig. During Goodbye Circle we sang Old McDonald Had a Band, London Bridge, and Alice the Camel. 

Let's Go Out and Find Leaf Man!

Our morning began quietly as the children watched the We Are the Dinosaurs video Brandon shared with the class. We sang Good Morning and shook hands as we greeted one another. Next, the children were ready for Yoga with Lakshmi. They made different animal poses, sang along with her, and made many different body movements.

Then we were ready for our walk to find "Leaf Man". We walked down the block, crossed the street, walked past Integral Yoga collecting beautiful leaves we saw on the ground. Harry and Jenny found a purple leaf for Nico. When we came back to school we sang 5 Little Pumpkins, Autumn Leaves, and The Wheels on the Bus. During lunch, we showed the children the leaves we had collected. We are eager to see what becomes of Leaf Man next week.