Posterboard Ramps in the Block Area

Ellie's mom recently donated boxes of poster board remnants and frame corners. We re-used some of the frame corners as picture frames around the room. We used some for collage art. This provided weeks of play.

We barely tapped into the supply, so I added a bunch to the block center: 

One of the kids said, "Ms. Gina, I wish we could paint these!"

I purposely placed longer pieces out to encourage cooperation, which you'll see later on...

Every time a child paints across his/her body, crossing the midline, it increases communication between the left and right sides of the brain. This practice literally grows brain cells!

Here is that cooperation I was hoping for. Giovanni and Braeden share a small space quite well, and when they finish, they proudly tell me, "This is OUR painting, and no one else's!"

I kept waiting to see when they would start mixing colors.

This is inevitable when painting with children. Eventually, they will start painting their hands and arms. This is okay! The paint is washable, and it's a wonderful sensory experience.

Another shared space.

"Ms. Gina, we're painting a ROAD!"

FINALLY! They started mixing colors! Remember, let them mix and mix and mix until the paint is an ugly, muddy brown. They don't care about the final product. It's all about the process.

More hand painting. :)

Ashley crossed her midline to paint over the black. This is important for pre-writing.

The adult in me cringes at the beautiful colors beneath being covered, but sometimes you just have to (excuse my language) shut up! Let them discover on their own what happens when you mix colors. They don't care. Let me say it again. THEY DON'T CARE. They simply enjoy the process of it all.

"Children are artists.The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up." --Picasso

These will be used next week as ramps in the block center. :)

 Happy playing!

The Waterfall

There is something about water that is so irresistible, although living in AZ, one might argue it's because it's 127 degrees outside!

Regardless of the reasons, during the summer time, it's a given that there will be water available at all times when outside. 

We have a two sides to our playground--the toddler side, and pre-k side. On the pre-k side, they have a large sandbox (big enough to fit at least 30 children at a time). On my side, we have a couple of water tables and a hose.

I need to make it a point to have more outdoor water toys available like cups, scoops, and funnels, without which promoted creativity in water containers on this occasion. Ellie recycled a used chip bag to carry water. The boys found sponges left over from our Tire Washing day.

It was business as usual, until Braeden and Giovanni decided to bring over the climbing ramp from one our play structures.

What do you see happening in this photo? I see pre-writing, science, and sensory happening simultaneously. The water provides a cool, sensory experience while squeezing a sponge strengthens little hands for holding  a pencil. Meanwhile, the children learn about ramps, inclines, gravity, and motion all in one beautiful moment.

As the water inevitably ran out, more was retrieved from the near-by water fountain.

Braeden uses the sponge to catch the water falling from Giovanni's squeeze, and then recycles it for the waterfall. 

Around 5pm, we normally join the older kids at the other playground. Not wanting to disrupt the waterfall action, we transported the water table and ramp over to the sandbox.

It drew a large crowd--the tell-tale sign of a good activity

Taryn, quite the opportunist, takes advantage of all that free water at the bottom of the waterfall!

This lasted for the rest of the afternoon. Because of the heat, we have to continuously hose them down and make them drink water to keep them cool, but making time for outdoor play is worth it.


Happy playing!

Toilet Paper Tube Marble Run

There is one thing I love about blogging: the community of other like-minded teachers to share ideas with. Two weeks ago, I read about what Tinkerlab did to create a marble run out of toilet paper tubes. 

Inspired, I found our stash of cardboard tubes and started cutting them up. I cut one inch squares from the top to catch falling marbles. I also cut a 1/2 inch wide strip along the length of some tubes. The marble run was set up in the block center, of course...

We're re-painting our class this week, so this was just a sample run. Next time, I will have the children paint and decorate the tubes first, and then set up the run themselves! This one took me about twenty minutes to cut and set up, and it stayed up for about 4 days.

They experimented by testing various points of entry along the run. There is a long, shallow plastic bin at the bottom to catch most of the marbles. Sometimes, if the tape became loose on a toilet paper roll, a marble would hit the edge of a tube and fly! 

It was low enough so that even the most petite child could reach with very little difficulty.

Look at the cooperation going on in this photo!

Emily stands back and plans her next point of entry.

In this one I added an arrow so you can see the ball rolling through the marble run.

Leave it to Robert and Cordy to find a new use for the marble catching bucket!  

Robert had the idea of adding pon poms to the marbles.

During this little episode, they experience the effects of gravity and motion, varying weights, inclines and speed!

"Look, Ms. Gina! This one is going the fastest!"

Oh, the giggles!

All in all, it was a successful activity! Thanks, Tinkerlab!

Happy playing!