During our study of the different types of people and animal homes we discovered that we can live in houses, apartments, houseboats, and tents; but one thing they all have in common is they are all "home" when we have our family to share it with us. One of our favorite parts of this themed unit has been the Map of the World (thank you Mother Goose Time!). It has allowed for MANY conversations about locations, continents, countries, animals, climates, homes of the world, methods of traveling from place to place! A day doesn't go by that one of my littles isn't asking me another question. "Where is this, Ms. Donna?" "Why does the whale live here?" "Can we fly in a plane to here?" "Will you take me?" I L.O.V.E. these little moments of conversation that equal big learning for little minds. They are prompting the inquiry of information. They are engaged and interested. They are coming up with genuine questions about the world around them and it allows for lots of chatter about who we are, where we live, what we like, and where we want to go! In the above image on of my little four's comes up to the map multiple times each day and states, "Ms. Donna, I want to go see the leopards...those right there in Africa!" He didn't know it was a leopard prior to displaying this map. He didn't know that leopards live in Africa, or where Africa was on a map....He does now! Big learning, little minds, big conversations... All in a day of play at Woolsey Academy! I wish you well and I hope you get to play today! -L
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Erupting Eggs in Creative Arts! I was bored with the typical Easter Egg coloring methods....BORED! Is that a terrible admission? Teaching preschoolers is my passion. I have been at "my passion" for over 10 years and when holidays roll around and the "typical" crafts to go along with it, I am less than enthused (insert sigh...) If you are the parent of more than one little one, I am certain you can share my sentiment. I originally ran across this idea when looking into some letter "V" activities on several other blog sites. Here and Here When I ran across Dinosaur Eggs I KNEW I would have a major hit on my hands! These kiddos LOVE everything messy, everything fizzy, everything creative! Set up was easy, clean up was a breeze, but the place did smell like Easter for a few days because when you have 10 children coloring eggs it takes a TON of vinegar! THAT LOOK! This little guy is a HANDS ON learner!! I allowed the children to mix all their own ingredients. I simply provided the baking soda, vinegar, and food colors with appropriate clothing and let them create, mix, and observe the show! Here he has just dipped his paintbrush into the vinegar and baking soda, then colors and it watching it erupt at the end of his paintbrush. Sensory, Creative Arts, Science...all rolled into FUN!!! Fizzy fun that resulted in questions, observations, color mixing, and LOTS of colorful eggs. Perfect for pre-k!! I wish you well and I hope you get to play today! -L "We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths." Curiosity...that fully explains this picture. This sweet little bundle of curious energy keeps me hopping. She is curious about everything and everyone. She tests all the boundaries of her abilities all the time, she retests, and retests, and retests...she is destined to be a great thinker. Like Walt Disney, and many other great thinkers, it can be challenging for those of us trying to keep up with them. They are big picture people. They test the envelope of conventional wisdom, not seeking to prove or disprove, rather, seeking simply for the sake of "what if?". It is so easy to discourage this type of curiosity. First, it can be difficult to keep a very curious child safe from them selves, not to mention others. It can be exhausting explaining hours of "why?", and "how come." But, if we are to raise children that will continually advance our culture, make breakthroughs in current knowledge and move forward in the love of changing the world for the betterment of all, we must allow for it; even encourage it (gulp!). I have a class FULL of these little brilliant world changers and often find myself chasing them around saying, "Stop, wait, NOOOOOOO!!!" In a feeble attempt to contain curiosity, and safely return them at days end to the loving families that entrusted them to my care and keeping. I place quotes around my home based classroom to remind myself that this level of inquisitiveness is a unique blessing and my ability to embolden it is as well. So...I begin each new day refreshed and ready to accept the triple-dog-dare of excited determination as I do my part to equip each little explorer with faith in ones self that they are doing exactly what they were created to do... |
Life is made of moments..."There isn't anything more full of hope, joy and peace than a child's smile... It captures the mundane and makes it extraordinary." - LaDonna Woolsey I am a Mother Goose Time Blogger. I decided to become one after trying their products because I they are comprehensive and serve my mixed age group well. I do receive products to review from Mother Goose Time and do so with my own honest and thorough opinions. For more information, please contact me at Ladonna@woolseyacademy.com
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