So Much Learning Through Potions and Play

Here at the ECC we are not allowed to have Halloween parties so we have a school wide Pajama Day instead, which both students and teachers love!  There is nothing more relaxing than wearing your pajamas to work! It was a cloudy day so the room was dark with only our lamps turned on for light, making thhe atmosphere even more relaxing. Of course, being an early childhood educator, I couldn't let them stay relaxed for long so I announced that since it was Halloween, we would create a magic potion!  It had three ingredients: 1/3 of a teeny, tiny cup of vinegar (cummunion cup sized), one drop of red, yellow, or blue food coloring, and one teaspoon of baking soda.

They had to use self regulation skills to only squeeze one little drop of color into their cup. 

They were partnered with a friend who had a different color in their vinegar. They put their cups very close together on a plate. 

On the count of three, they all added the last potion ingredient together. Listen to their reaction in the video below! Their reaction was priceless! It makes me smile and brings me joy every time I listen to it!

Next the kids documented what they noticed. I love how kids document experiences in different ways. 

Here are some of the learning experiences taking place during play in our room this week! 

Comparing heights in the block area. They kept adding blocks and comparing height until finally the blocks were the same size as a friend! They also noticed the tower was taller than another friend!  I love how excited they look in the second picture when they met their goal!

Some Engineers were designing catapults and measuring how far they projected objects. 

They recorded how far the dolls went on post-its. The one below flew 43 unifix cubes away!

89 unifix cubes away! Wow!

Some scientists were documenting what they noticed on our Look Closer table. 

Some architects were creating blue prints and designing buildings and animal habitats. 

The snake zoo was very well designed and thought out! The high area is where you can safely view the poisonous snakes directly below it. The two beams help keep them from getting out. 

The building below has an area to park their airplan on top! Creative!

Exploring grouping and patterning. 

Designing beloved characters from favorite authors. 

Strengthening fine motor skills and exploring lines by creating yarn art. 

Creating our number line for our classroom to help us recognize numbers, number words and what they look like on a five or ten frame. 

Some sculpturers have been obsessed with three dimentional shapes, but I will get more into this when I blog about the blocks we are creating for another class. 

Working on designing and creating a block set for Miss. Fischer's class. 

As you can see parents, the only homework your child needs at this point in life is play!  Just provide them any materials and see what they do and learn!  It is amazing to watch!

Last but not least, we discovered that our praying mantis that died a while ago had left us a surprise! An egg case! If all goes well, we will have thousands of baby praying mantises to let go in our outdoor exploration area next spring! We are keeping our fingers crossed!

We are hoping to be finished with our Block Project this Friday if all goes as planned! Stay tuned to see the process of this project and all the things we learned through that experience hopefully next week!