Works Wednesday: New Works in the Classroom

We call activity trays "works" at Beansprouts Preschool.  But just because they are work, doesn't mean they aren't a whole lot of fun!  Fun...and developmentally meaningful.

We set up a table of activity trays in the middle of the classroom to appeal to the visual impulsiveness of some of our newer, younger children. It totally worked! This table has seen continuous use as children walk by, take a seat, and get to work. It calls upon something within each child that I cannot articulate, something that craves order and completion and a feeling of competency.

Each day we update the works a little bit by changing the materials or tools on the tray, and they become new and fresh and interesting all over again.  Strategies like this make a classroom manageable in these early months of the school year. If you have four little stations in the room that engage two to three children at any given time, this makes for a very focused (and calmer) classroom.  We are very much Reggio Emilia inspired in this way. The classroom is most definitely a "teacher" here at Beansprouts Preschool.

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*

Yoga Studio

A surge of interest in yoga (and using my yoga mats) made me want to offer a little space for yoga and movement.  We set it up so that the children can choose to use it alone or with friends.  I tried to set it up in a way that I would want it for myself...enough space to move, some greenery, softness and natural light.  Turns out, a reading nook like this one can be opened up wide to create a soft barrier anywhere!

Wordless Wednesday--Indoor Trampoline Fun

Article of interest: lymphatic cleanse on the trampoline

Wooden Planks in Preschool

Some of my favorite bloggers refer to "loose parts" in the preschool environment. This refers to materials that are undefined and ready to be used for whatever open-ended play that the children devise. I've watched how these wooden planks have enlisted many skills:

sheer physical strength

planning and strategy

predicting and cause/effect

experiencing trial and error

building on a team

working through conflict (everyone thinks they know the "right" way!)

identifying safe ways to build

persistence and following through to project completion even when it gets frustrating

keeping up with the storyline of the play while doing all of this work!

I just can't think of a teacher-directed activity that could even compare.  These kids are getting experiential learning about the fundamental elements of living and working in school, family, the workplace, and society.  (How I wish I had gone to preschool as a child!)

 The boat above eventually became the boat below...

 Za appreciated some alone time to build this structure just right.

 Za contemplates her next move, and after some intervention with Sa, they create this:

 T discovers the fulcrum

They like to tinker with the finished product, always making improvements or testing theories about "what if we..."

Plywood is the perfect implement for meaningful, open-ended play.

The Rope Tree

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Mulberry Tree.  

In the fall, it provides fallen leaves that make worms and creatures feel safe enough to come out of the ground.  That's because we rake so rarely that the leaves begin the composting process and worms just love that.

In the spring, new leaves begin to emerge in preparation for 1. feeding silkworms, and 2. providing shade in the summer.

But my favorite contribution of the mulberry tree yet...it's role as The Rope Tree.

One day, we took about ten minutes to hang some ropes and tie some knots and drill some holes and make some swings.  Later, Brianna (our student teacher from DeAnza College), brought a ski rope and hung that from the tree as well.  This has been  most popular activity area for the children.  When they climb, all of the muscles engage, including the core.

There are a few safety features of the ropes we hang on the trees.  First, the hand holds and foot holds are small enough loops that they don't fit over children's heads.  We also have a rule in place that if they want to swing the swing (which is a large, heavy piece of wood), the children must be sitting on the swing.  Otherwise it becomes a huge solid pendulum ready to knock someone out.  Brianna found a way to feed the children's interest in pendulums as well, but I'll post about that later!