Growing Week II

Growing Week II bore witness to the miracles of nature as the seeds planted just last week, sprouted and grew!!! 

At Story Time we examined our germinated seed and our sprouts which had grown solely with water.  Our "sprouts" had sprouted and our "seed" had shed its casing and emerged with roots, stem and leaves just as we had predicted!

We also took a closer look at the progress of our flower, bean, basil and grass seeds which had utilized soil, sun and water in their growing process.

At Music and Movement time the carpet became "soil", the light fixtures became the "sun", and the children became "seeds" that "grew" after I "watered" them.

At week's end, we garnished our snack salad with our home grown "sprouts".

Many thanks to Emily and Brittani for all of their help this semester.  They completed their HVCC Field Placement this week.  It was wonderful having them with us and we wish them well.

Looking Deeper:  Exploration and Learning through Play

Let's take another look at Block Play.

Sometimes we do not have to look deeper, we just need to keep looking!   

Renewed interest in Block Play was generated as a result of our rotating our Unit Blocks back into the classroom last Friday.   I would like to share, once again, my descriptive excerpt on Block Play, which I featured on the blog when we rotated classroom blocks in November and again in February. 

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 following photos do not really need words to describe them.  One need only look at the intricacies and patterns that have emerged in the children's structure designs to know that growth, development, and learning has been ongoing.  These structures exude skill, planning, critical thinking and growth in physical development!

Have a fun and restful weekend!

Growing Week I

Growing Week I marks a continuation of our over-arching unit, All Living Things Grow, which began several weeks ago with "Baby Weeks".  This week we focused on plant life that "grows" from seeds!  We read both fiction and non-fiction books on the topic, and sang several "growing" songs.  Our class discussions were focused on the Science of how seeds grow.

We spent time planting flower, bean, basil, sprout and grass seeds.

Additionally, we spent time observing and exploring all of the lovely flowers and tree buds that are now in bloom at Parker School.

Our classroom activities included:

Flower Printing

Flower Arranging

Painting Bird Houses

Plant Puzzles

Stitching Bird Cards

Looking Deeper:  Exploration and Learning through Play

 Let's take a closer look at the on-going Science concepts we explored this week.

As I mentioned "Growing Weeks" are part of a larger unit of study that I call, "All Living Things Grow".  Generally speaking, "Growing Weeks" are a time to explore and discuss plant life that grows from seeds.  It is strategically scheduled to coincide with Spring so that the children can simultaneously observe and explore all of the things that are beginning to grow once again after our long cold winter. 

As you may remember, we began this unit in early April with "Baby Weeks".  During "Baby Weeks" we explored and discussed our personal growth since we were babies.  We discerned that babies need three important things in order to grow; healthy food, plenty of rest, and plenty of exercise.  Incidentally, these are the same three things that assured personal health and growth as per our discussions during "Doctor Weeks" in mid-March.  As you can see the children's learning is iterative, as concepts interconnect, support and build upon each other.  This week as we explored, discussed and planted seeds, we discerned that seeds also need three things to insure their growth; namely, soil, sun and water.

Growth happens over time, and cannot be observed directly  in the moment, yet the children demonstrate in many ways their understanding of this concept that all living things grow.  One of the fun ways in which they do so is during a game we call "Can I Plant a Seed in the Soil and Grow......?"  We play the game during our class discussions at Story Time.  Basically, I ask the children "Can I plant a seed in the soil and grow a tree, a carrot, a flower, a car, a block, an apple, a potato, a hat etc."  The game exercises the children's thinking skills, and they always discern which things are living and can therefore grow, as well as which things are inanimate and cannot grow.  After a time, the children take on the part of asking the question; "Can I Plant A Seed in the Soil and Grow......?"    Guessing games are a wonderful "play" genre for teaching, learning, developing thinking skills and are also great fun!

In addition to the general concepts of seed growth, we discussed some very specific facts as well.  We used multiple visual tools to illustrate that as a seed grows it first sprouts its roots, then its stem, then its leaves, and then its flower and/or fruit.

We are currently germinating a bean seed that will concretely demonstrate this to the children.  I never cease to be amazed at how much the children love "doing" hands-on Science.  

We planted lots of seeds this week, both in reality and metaphorically.  

The children are looking forward to seeing their seeds grow over the coming weeks, and I derive great joy in witnessing daily the growth of those metaphoric seeds!

Have a fun and restful weekend!