Color Review Week!

Color Review Week served as an excellent vehicle to highlight the changing colors of the leaves, and to interchange English and Spanish color names.  Water Color Painting and Spiral Art captivated the children as all the colors blended to create beautiful masterpieces.  We continued to work with "our apples" as we made and ate apple sauce for snack.  Of course the highlight of the week was our amazing Field Trip to Ioka Valley Farm!

Thank-you to Lisa and Kelly Walters (Landon's parents) for their wonderful donation of a toy Refrigerator and Stove/Sink Island to our Dramatic Play Area!  The children have had a grand time cooking, exploring and playing together with our new classroom additions!

Divertido con Espanol / Fun with Spanish

In addition to her gentle and skillful Spanish presence, Rosalba assisted the children in another Fall Art Project this week.  Together they glued ojos (eyes), nariz (nose), and boca (mouth) on felt calabazas (pumpkins)!

Palabras de la Semana en Espanol / Words of the Week in Spanish

Calabaza / Pumpkin

Ojos / Eyes

Nariz / Nose

Boca / Mouth

Muy Bien / Very Good

Looking Deeper: Exploration and Learning through Play

Upon first glance at the three photos above, one sees Benjamin and Chelsea sorting colored items, and the entire class listening attentively while I read a book at story time.  However, there is so much more going on beneath the surface of these photos!  Of course all of the children "know" their colors, but for the last five weeks, the weekly color has been a bridge between home and school, it has been the vehicle through which the children have learned routines and engaged in activities, and it has been the focus of our Spanish activities.  The children are so excited about learning Spanish, so......when I put out the color sort games this week, they immediately began sorting and naming the colors in Spanish as well as English, and at story time as I read to the children, we translated all of the colors into Spanish as well!

"How does it work?"  When I look at this next sections of photos, I am struck by the total focus of each child; they are completely absorbed in their activities.  Young children are captivated by "cause and effect" because they possess an innate curiosity, sense of wonder and deep desire to know and learn.  Upon looking deeper at these photos one can readily see that children learn by doing, and there is great joy in the learning! 

We moved our classroom beyond its four walls once again this week, and clearly the faces of the children reveal that they are active learners totally absorbed in the wonders of their world!  It is a joy for them to share that with you!  

Thanks for joining us, and making our Field Trips possible!

Have a fun and restful weekend!