Apples and Honey for a Sweet New Year!

Nothing beats the sweetness of Rosh Hashanah, or Jewish New Year.   Apples and honey offer hopes of a sweet new year, and also give us great focal points for the week's curriculum.

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A couple of simple activity trays get us in the mood for our apple picking adventures at Gidzich Ranch!

Sorting "apples" (wax paper balls covered in masking tape) by color  into bushels (dixie cups covered in masking tape with masking tape handles)

Stick the apples to the tree, then pick them off with the tweezers

This is why we have been continuously introducing new works...the children eat it up!

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It wouldn't be Rosh Hashanah if we weren't satisfying the sweet tooth with some honey cake.  With a few adaptations, we used this recipe and it turned out delish.

L'Shanah Tova!

Thrifty Thursday: Duct Tape

I told the children that I would take off the broken basket on our very old, second hand scooter. It was already past its prime when it landed in our play yard. Yet we find it a beloved vehicle and can't seem to throw it away.

The children suggested we tape the basket instead of throwing it away. I guess I'm rubbing off on them.

The application of duct tape is equivalent to buying a new one, as far as we're concerned.

The thing is, during the "fixing" process, all they cared about was holding the tape for me.  Preschoolers are so unpredictably predictable in this way. It's not about the fixing, it's about the process. And in this case, there was one micro-component of the situation that received the ubiquitous attention of every child involved--"when is it my turn to hold the tape".

It's moment like these that we get to introduce (and practice) basic, yet very meaningful, social skills.  How to ask for a turn, how to get a turn, how to share, how to not share, when to wait, when to speak up.  

We also just spent a few minutes together, with a common purpose, a common interest.  A community of friends and learners.  Lovers of duct tape.

Tactile Tuesday: Sticky Wall

When I added a contact paper covered wall for block play (idea comes courtesy of Deborah Stuart), the children immediately stripped their feet bare and began "walking" their feet up and down the sticky wall.

Being a teacher that knows how to take a cue, 

I added a second sticky wall for the very purpose of FEET!

With a soft rug placed in front of the sticky wall inviting the children to lay down, the children couldn't help but indulge in some foot tapping on the sticky wall when they walked by, and even days later, they still use this sticky wall constantly. In pairs, solo, or in small groups, this has been a sensorial staple in our preschool classroom for the past week.

Consensus Problem Solving

First of all let me tell you about my latest hobby: Yard Sale-ing! I have found some great treasures for pennies. Here is one of my latest scores. It is a building set using pool noodles with magnetic connectors and pieces of fabric that clip on to make partitions. I got it for a whopping $3 at a yard sale.

It is however only one set. The typical preschool classroom requires at least equivalent to two sets of things to maintain harmony. Once there is an insufficient amount of material to work with, children start getting a little, er, grabby and argumentative.

In any case, the scarcity issue has been a great opportunity to practice working together, problem solving and thinking outside the box. (There's always a silver lining, right?)

Working together, listening to and sharing ideas, and employing the use of other sets of learning materials all led to independently solved problems.

Of course, there was the occasional disagreement that required teacher intervention.  In my ECE classes, I have heard this protocol that has always guided the way I help children solve conflict:

1. Listen as each child identifies the problem
2. Ask if either child has an idea about what to do next
3. Use their ideas to propose a solution
4. If no solution can be reached between the children, offer a solution for them.

Well, one day after visiting my friend Liat's preschool program, I saw a wonderful new way to modify the last two steps.  At the end of each conflict negotiation, she would ask each child if the proposed solution was okay with them. She didn't offer ideas, and she didn't impose judgment. She simply allowed the children their process and made sure there was consensus among them before proceeding.

It's a subtle difference, but brought about a huge change in the way I manage conflicts in my program.  By not imposing a last resort strategy (step 4 in the above sequence), I am forcing myself to step back and allow the children to take 100% responsibility in their own conflict. I am the facilitator of discussion rather than the final decision maker.

Sometimes, the children simply get tired of talking and will give in or walk away.  But who is to say that this also not useful for them? Learning to compromise is a great way to practice coping when things don't go our way.

Sometimes, the outcome will not be what I consider to be "fair", but since both parties are okay with it, my opinion is irrelevant.

Usually, children come up with a solution beyond what I would have imposed.  And the older they get, the more creative they are with how they manage their own conflicts.  Although I expect this now, I am still taken by surprise to hear how they use outside-the-box thinking to manifest solutions.

Further, by requiring consensus, the children are given a last little nudge to meet in the middle.  When I was resorting to the enforcement of a "fair" solution, I robbed children of that last little piece of the resolution process--that which offers a true learning experience. And, of course, I was robbing them of the opportunity to take ownership of their own process.

I am fortunate to have been exposed to a more consensus style of conflict resolution.  It has opened up areas in my teaching that have benefitted both me and the children.  My mentors are everywhere when I stay open-minded and receptive.  I've been doing this teaching thing for over a decade now, yet I have so much to learn.

Bl enjoys being able to go inside the structure that they have worked hard to build, and fine tunes its construction from inside.

Have a good week!

*Stephanie*

Playin' Ball

Oh my goodness, like I really needed yet another reason to love PVC pipes!!!

Just hammer it into the dirt and voila! A perfect T-ball stand. 

Well, not perfect:

A few rocks around the base made it stand up straight after the first few times it was hit with the baseball bat.

A motivating time to practice waiting in line. Some early childhood educators think lines are a developmentally inappropriate practice.  I disagree--if they are voluntary.  This line was for a turn at bat. Very motivating.

I love my new really fast camera! It got all of the awesome postures---those mid-movement body positions that we miss with the naked eye.

Some poses were more intentional : ) She did lots of post-batting poses.

Stay tuned for a post about our baseball-inspired board story and some reflections about that!

*Stephanie*

D.I.M. (Did It Myself) Light Table!!!

I was so inspired by Deborah's Teach Preschool post about light tables this week (why link it? You already saw it all over the blogosphere and Pinterest, right??? NOT linking is me tipping my hat to you, Deborah!!!*), and ever since, I've had light tables on the brain.  I got into one of my stubborn moods and drove to Home Depot to buy some supplies.  Stubborn comes into play here because I have no carpentry skills but insist on taking on these building projects.  Turned out pretty good, though, wouldn't you agree?

Was I blessed with a miraculous yet fleeting spell of carpentry expertise? No, no, no.  I just figured out a way to make it a very easy, low-risk process.


And it all cost me under $50.


I will try to give you the best DIY instructions possible, just in case you are a not-so-handy person like me.


Start with an already measured shelf set. The front of it should be the size that you want the top of your table to be. I used this:

Assemble the above shelving unit (or one of your choosing) but put the bottom shelf on the very edge so you end up with a complete rectangular frame. 


You also need some thick polycarbonate (a.k.a. plastic!) sheeting like this (find it in the window aisle at Home Depot) that is at least large enough to fit over the front (ie. top) of the frame:

I chose a .93 gauge so it was thick enough not to be too flimsy.  To cut it, trace the shape of the frame and then, using a straight edge, take a razor over one of the lines a few times until you have a nice groove.  Now line up the plastic on the edge of a table and snap the unwanted piece off. Do this to adjust the length and width of your plastic. Your plastic top should fit your frame so all edges are flush.

Next, you'll put a piece of 1"x1" pine (or other cheap wood) in your plastic to hold the plastic in place:

Cut the wood (hand saw comes in handy here) so that it just fits the inside edges of two parallel sides of your frame.  The shorter it is than the inner edge, the more your table top will slide around, so try to make it pretty precise and err on the side of "tight".  


Put the plastic on top of your frame, and mark where you'd like to attach the wood and the plastic. You'll need four short screws or nails.  With a drill bit, drill holes (slowly!) through the plastic:

Once you have your holes, fasten the wood to the plastic table top. Don't try to screw or nail right into the plastic--it will crack!!! 

Now your plastic will fit, wood side down, into your table:

See how the wood fits right in? Nice.

There's your blogger friend, Stephanie:

Oops, are your corners too sharp? Just snap off little pieces with the razor until they aren't too sharp. We don't want the kids cutting themselves on your state-of-the-art light table, right?

You'll need a hole on the bottom of the back side of your table so your electrical components can inconspicuously exit the light table.  Drill one or  two holes in the back (I used a spade bit).

Lastly, I painted the inside white on the sides that weren't already so I'd have maximum reflective power.

You'll need a shop light or other lamp that will fit into the light table:

We started out with some colored lights: 

But since we don't want to see the lamps, I used wax paper (and later changed to parchment paper), taped well, to turn the top from transparent to translucent.  This will be something I need to problem solve later on. Don't they make some spray paint that makes clear glass look smokey? I wonder if that would work.

Total time, including the Home Depot trip: 3 hours!!!

Since I think I've used up my photo quota for one post, I'll post more photos in a separate post.


*Here's that Teach Preschool light table link, in the off chance you didn't see it!




I linked up at:

and

It's Playtime!