Dramatic Play Becomes The Artic!

There's "snow" in the sensory table and small figures of Inuits, dogs and their sleds, arctic foxes and polar bears.  Great conversations occur all the time and we love to listen in as the children talk about their own recent adventures in snow and ice, and what they might do if they visited the frozen Arctic.

We're making the northern lights! First, the children carefully spooned out their choice of colored paint in a line.  After putting a piece of foil on top, the children used a rolling pin to spread all the colors.  There was so much excitement as we peeled off each piece of foil....different colors and amounts of paint produced very different pictures

What would the arctic be without snow and ice?  When we looked at pictures in non-fiction books, we realized that snow is not just pure white.  Iya, Norah, Lilly and Evie are  using a different kind of paint brush to create our snow.  It is a big piece of paper so they must reach and stretch using many large muscles in the process!

Jack, Dylan, and Will are creating an igloo using a block as a stamper.  You can see that Jack must use good fine motor control to carefully place another "ice square" on the paper. 

One of the coolest things we learned was that many kinds of flowers bloom in the Arctic, but not for long!  When the snow melts,  patches of water with dirt beneath it can be found.  Flowers on very short stems start to bloom.  See if your children can remember which flower is the wooly lousewort....they loved that name!

Ice fishing in the Arctic...what could be more fun!

Grandfriend's Day 2011

We want to thank all our Grandfriends for  coming  to school on Friday! The children were so excited to sing their special song at Shabbat, and to share our circle time activities with their Grandfriends. After a snack of Challah and juice, the children showed their Grandfriends their art, and took them to see our new Artic center.  We enjoyed sharing our morning . Come back and visit us anytime!

A Special Visit From Rabbi Knight !

Thank you to Rabbi Knight for coming to our room to tell the class about Habitat for Humanity.  Rabbi Knight started out by asking the children if they had a house, a bed, a table for eating etc.  Of course everyone said yes, and many even remarked, "Everyone has a house."  When he told the kids that wasn't really true,  you could see them trying to imagine what life would be like without those basic comforts.  Rabbi Knight then spoke about the many hours of work and the dollars needed to build a home for those who don't have one.  He also brought interesting  pictures of himself, working alongside the future home owners, to build the house.
  Judaism teaches us to share what we have with others. We appreciate your donations so the children could learn about a new charity and also have an opportunity to participate in a mitzvah.

  

The 2011 Art Show

The Pre-K art show was a wonderful culmination to our art unit!  The children learned so much about the different artists and their techniques.  We appreciate your donations which we will be sending to Habitat for Humanity.  Thank you to all our families for sharing in the excitement of this unit, and we look forward to showing our art to our Grandfriends on Friday.

Who came home with polka dot feet?

On Monday, we read a book titled "Action Jackson".  The story was about the famous American painter, Jackson Pollock, who was best known for his dynamic drip paintings.  Instead of painting on an easel, Pollock placed his canvases on the floor of his studio, and walked the four sides.  Pollock would fling, drip, splash and splatter the paint on his canvases.  In order to paint in the style of "Action Jackson" we placed a huge tarp on the floor, jazz on the CD player, and told the class they'd have to take off their shoes and socks. You should have heard the giggles!  Then we gave them bowls of paint, forks and spoons. As you can see from the pictures, our little Pollock's had a wonderful time, and we have some amazing pieces of art in our Pollock Gallery! Are you wondering why the children are jumping on their t-shirt smocks??  Come to the art show on Friday and find out!

Wires, Beads. Feathers, Pipe Cleaners and Hangers!!

After our week of snow days, we were excited to know that the children had remembered our "art talk" on Alexander Calder.  Alexander Calder was an American artist best known for his mobiles, suspended moving sculptures.  Calder's abstract works were made of natural and man-made materials including wire, sheet metal , wood and bronze. To make our moving sculptures, the children used hangers, wire, pipe cleaners, feathers, straws,and beads.  The children were very focused as they decided on the materials for their mobiles.  The mobiles provided the children with a new way to apply fine motor skills to design their art, as they twisted pipe cleaners and strung objects through the wire.  Our Calder Gallery is quite impressive!