Thought of the Day

(Source Unknown)

Bear Surgery

There was an emergency play dough removal that took place in our classroom the other day. . .

I'm sure the bear's the better for it :)

It amazes me what children come up with. A lab coat from the science center (must've had those masks still in the pockets), a wrench from the magnet station, and a teddy bear from the reading corner turned into something excellent.

I live for the brilliant, unexpected moments like these. Children are so incredible. What an honor to spend my days with these creative little humans.

Making Paper

We did this activity as part of our study on solids and liquids. It was also a great tie-in with our recycling theme the following week. I try to consciously incorporate "bridges" most weeks -- activities that suit our current focus but also link to whatever we're planning to cover the following week. It gives the children an additional reference point to help them connect with new learning.

After morning circle, we spent some time tearing old paper scraps (more leftovers from this project) into very tiny pieces and left them to soak in a tub of water.

A few hours later, the paper had absorbed a decent amount of water (and those big pieces in the photo above had been re-shredded!). I used an immersion blender to pulverize the wet scraps a little at a time. The children thought it looked like ice cream! (But we all agreed it was probably best not to take a taste.)

Unfortunately, there are no photos of the blending step, as I was teaching on my own this particular day. However, the fact that we managed to finish this project, just one teacher and 22 little ones, tells you how fun and easy it is!

Finally, we spread our paper mush out on some towels and patted it out like a pizza crust. We also pressed dish towels on top to absorb the excess water. Once our paper "dough" was nice and flat, we placed another thick towel on top, as well as some heavy bins. Two days later, voila -- we had paper! Not sure what we'll use it for yet, but I'll be sure to share once we figure it out!

Recycling in 1-4

In honor of Earth Day, we've been learning how to recycle. Yesterday we practiced sorting materials into plastic, metal, and paper. We also cleaned out our messy (pretend) fish pond and talked about how trash can hurt the fish. That's one reason why it's important to throw our trash in the waste bin, instead of on the floor or ground. Some trash can even be used again to make new things, or recycled! 

School-Home Connection: Recycling

We'll be watching the video below at school soon, but feel free to watch and talk about it at home, too!

Story of the Week: Stars

We spent last week exploring solids and liquids. Towards the end of the week, Salwa and I co-read the book Stars by Mary Lyn Ray, illustrated by Marla Frazee.

Because this book is a bit longer and requires some deeper thinking on the part of the children, it was easier for them to engage when listening in both languages. I'd start by reading a page in English, then Salwa would translate and clarify.

We found Stars to be a very soothing book; our class was drawn in slowly, calmly, one page at a time.

After reading we posed a question to the children: What is a star?

The children knew stars were neither solid nor liquid, and it was interesting to watch them contemplate the possible answers to the question. We touched briefly on the idea of gas (which we explored again the next day . . . but more on that later!). The idea wasn't to reach a concrete definition or give them any kind of direct explanation -- we just wanted to get them thinking and hopefully asking more questions.

As a follow up to the book and discussion, we explored a new-to-us process: bubble painting! 

We mixed dish soap, paint, and water in a small container, then used a straw to make colorful bubbles.

After giving the children plenty of time to explore the bubble-making process, we gave them star cutouts to make prints with the bubbles:

It was a great way link what we already knew about liquids with a new concept (our breath as the gas that makes the bubbles), and in the context of a beautiful story and project.

Yet another one we just can't wait to display!

Press Here Display

Below, some photos of our (beautiful!) completed Press Here collages, now on display outside our classroom.

Color Word Step Books

As the children's understanding of English has grown, their enthusiasm for reading and books has exploded! Inspired by this activity, I decided to have them make their own books (they loved it!), adapted to suit the needs and abilities of our class.

Here was our process:

1| Gather colorful rectangles in various sizes.

2| Layer them by size and staple together.

3| Match and glue the corresponding color word to each page.

4| Display as a beautiful banner for all to enjoy!

This past week we moved on to accordion books. The children just love the process of making something beautiful, familiar, and functional to call their very own. I do, too :)