not at all in the lesson plans…and if i had been asked if playmobil pieces could be taken to the project table, i likely would have paused.
but this lasted a long, long time. little fingers got a work out. and nothing was ruined or lost.
p is for picnic
surely there is time for a picnic…way back when style all wrapped up in a cloth of your own.
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note: this activity was done during a week long camp
called “way back when…” for 4 & 5 year olds at our local museum.
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during our week of exploring life way back when, we ate snack on bandanas and called them our “picnic cloths.”
the first day children chose a bandana and we wrote their names on them.
there was a place in our “classroom” to hang them when they weren’t in use.
our snacks for the week were related to our themes:
on transportation day we ate wagon wheels and horse food (honeycomb cereal and carrots)
on homes day we ate big and small logs (pretzels).
on clothing day we ate washtubs and fabric squares (individual applesauces and saltines).
there was also quite bit of creativity expressed during our relaxed snack times:
it sure was funny to go home and tell families we ate logs, wagon wheels, horse food, wash tubs and fabric squares. hee hee hee.
it was wonderful to be graced with beautiful weather for outdoor picnics 3 days of the week…but our inside picnic worked just fine.
h is for home work
this post from my personal blog reminds me of the work that can happen during those unstructured moments. posted first in 2007 when my kids were 2, 5, and 9. wow.
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w is for wedding
i’m reposting this over a year later in honor of my marriage…15 years ago today. it’s been as full of color and intensity as this photo.
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i was simply taking a picture of the “wedding” that was happening and then helped clarify that if someone wanted her name to be sally it could be even though that is the name of another someone’s (ah-hem) dog.
i didn’t realize i captured this on the photo (and the dozen others taken around this one).
i am fascinated looking at each child. it seems as though everyone is aware of the conflict and reacting in their own way.
we work every day to find ways to work together. lately one class is working to include anyone who wants to join in already established play. the latest “rule” is that everyone has to have a role and they have to be pleased with it (within reason…if this isn’t able to be figured out, we teachers move in to facilitate a bit). just today i watched a little girl with puzzled expression grumble to no one in particular, “yeah, but if i tell him to do that, he won’t be happy.” somehow it all worked out.
m is for mirror
come on, find a child safe mirror and shaving cream and take it outside! this post is from last june.
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and s is for shaving cream. : )
our mirrors came in handy for a multi-age kids club meeting (the first ever). the activity was shaving cream and water play. honestly, shaving cream play always makes me nervous…the eye stinging possibility.
there was one moment. luckily he is 10, can stay calm with his eyes closed and can even laugh when i said i would take a picture of him.
the mirrors not only provided a place to see our silly selves all shaving creamed up, but a finger painting surface and most exciting, an instant fun house. because these are shatterproof acrylic, they are bendable (yes, one mirror did crack, but one out of 6 isn’t bad…and then we knew how far they could be bent):
this is the outside of our original and now returning preschool.
and ahhhhh, this big boy was a preschooler of mine way back in the early days.
newcreationpreschool.com 