Bed and Bath Week!

Bed and Bath Time Week provided a forum within which the children could reflect upon and share their thoughts regarding their Bed and Bath Time routines.  In addition to our discussions, the children took great pleasure in the wonderful bed and bath time books that were read daily at Story Time.

As the photos illustrate, the children took very seriously the task of bathing the baby dolls in the water table.

Of course the Week's highlight was wearing pajamas to school, making popcorn, and enjoying our Pajama Party!

Looking Deeper: Exploration and Learning Through Play

This week I would like to once again take a closer look at Block Play.

At its most basic level, Block Play provides exercise of fine and gross motor skills.  Block building provides the children with opportunities to think, plan, collaborate and problem solve while moving freely and working with their whole body.  Mathematically, building with blocks helps the children to understand and practice classification as they observe and sort blocks according to size and shape.  They learn about cause and effect, spatial relationships, balance, area, length, width, weight, and quantity, as they select, build, and put away blocks.  Blocks help children learn through experience the purpose of number.  In terms of stages, children begin by carrying blocks and simply piling them up.  As their development progresses, layering begins, leading to connecting blocks, facilitating the emergence of roads, towers, enclosures and unique building designs.  Block Play is also a catalyst for social interaction and language development, as the children work, share, collaborate and problem solve as they construct.

The above excerpt first appeared in my blog last November during Brown Week!  At that time the children were exploring and building with Unit Blocks.  In late November our Unit Blocks were replaced with Waffle Blocks, and during the first week of February we rotated our large Hollow Blocks into the room.  While these blocks differ from each other in many ways,  the stages of use, as well as the skill base that is reinforced and extended remains the same for each of them.  Providing the children with a variety of blocks helps to keep them interested in, focused on, and engaged with block play which is such a valuable catalyst for the children's growth and development in so many physical, social and cognitive areas. As a result of their continued engagement in a myriad of activities, not the least of which being a variety of block play, the children have experienced a great deal of growth within the classroom since November.   Interactive play is now abounding in all areas of the room, and this is quite evident within Block Play.  There is limitless planning and collaboration going on in the gross motor area as the children build cars, boats, stages and community dwellings! Ultimately, play begets learning, learning begets greater sophistication in play, and greater sophistication in play begets greater sophistication in learning!

Have a great rest of the week and a wonderful Winter Break!