Exploring Materials on the Science Table
As it is mid-autumn and Halloween is approaching, the teachers put out little pumpkins and leaves (collected by the children on the walk to the supermarket last week) on the science table for the children to explore. One friend went to the park over the weekend and collected sticks and acorns which we also added to our growing collection. The children looked at the materials through magnifying glasses, built with them and used their hands to feel the different textures of the materials. Some friends discovered that the leaves "broke" and "crumbled" if we pressed them too hard. They said that the little pumpkins were hungry so they fed the broken leaves to the pumpkins.
To prepare for the sweet potato dig on Thursday, we read the story "The Gigantic Sweet Potato" by Dianne De Las Casas. In the story, many friends had to help pull the vine that was attached to the sweet potato and everyone ate sweet potato pie. The book even had a recipe for sweet potato pie that the children were interested in baking...especially Zoe! We will look into baking the pie soon.
After discussing the book, we talked about what to expect on the sweet potato dig and what the day might look like. The children were so excited to discover that we would be riding a bus to get to the dig so they decided that the symbol on our calendar for the sweet potato dig would be a bus.
We also discussed finding potatoes under the dirt/soil, finding big and small sweet potatoes and having to use our muscles to PULL them out. Some children said that they had seen and eaten a sweet potato before but many friends said that they had not, so the next day the teachers decided to bring in a sweet potato to show the class.
After discussing the book, we talked about what to expect on the sweet potato dig and what the day might look like. The children were so excited to discover that we would be riding a bus to get to the dig so they decided that the symbol on our calendar for the sweet potato dig would be a bus.
We also discussed finding potatoes under the dirt/soil, finding big and small sweet potatoes and having to use our muscles to PULL them out. Some children said that they had seen and eaten a sweet potato before but many friends said that they had not, so the next day the teachers decided to bring in a sweet potato to show the class.
Along with the sweet potato, the teachers brought in some Japanese autumn materials including two different kinds of susuki (Japanese pampas grass) and tsunonasu (orange pointy looking fruit) for the children to observe and touch. The susuki seemed to be very popular as many children said it could be a broom. Other children thought it would be fun to use to tickle each other and the class dragon!
When we showed the sweet potato during Circle time, many children guessed that it was a "potato!" Mina knew right away it was a sweet potato and when the teachers asked what we should do with the sweet potatoes we bring back from the dig, Zoe enthusiastically suggested that we should make sweet potato pie (just like in "The Gigantic Sweet Potato" book) and many friends agreed!
The children were able to feel the susuki with their hands and some friends described it as "furry" and "fluffy." Michael said that it felt "like a carpet" and Zoe said it felt "like a comfy blanket!"
We also discussed the differences between the two little pumpkins we have in our classroom. The children pointed out that the green pumpkin is bigger and that the yellow and orange pumpkin is smaller. They described both the pumpkins as "pokey" - the green pumpkin being pokey on the bottom and the yellow and orange pumpkin being pokey on the top and all around (there are bumps around the pumpkin).
Birthday Celebration
We were lucky enough to celebrate a friend's birthday on Tuesday. Happy birthday Wesley! Thank you for sharing your favorite story about the airport with us and for bringing in delicious treats!!
Wire Exploration
This week, the children were able to use different colored wire on the table. As it was our first time using wire, we talked about being safe with the wire and not waving it around in case we scratched our friends with it by mistake. The teachers also made sure that the ends of the wire were curled in as sometimes the ends can be very pointy. The children called the wire "string" and went straight to work using the wire in many different ways. Some children twisted and bent it, some threaded it through different materials, some tried to wrap it around other things and some friends made things with the wire including a necklace, a ball and a ship! Some of the girls also decided to thread some colored beads through the wire!
The beads on the wire, which we hung from a branch was so eye-catching that the children decided that they would like to display it somewhere in the classroom. They decided that they would like to put it somewhere high on the wall or ceiling and place it somewhere close enough to the door for mommies and daddies to admire it as well. Please come and take a look our beautiful art piece!
As the children continued to call the wire "string," the teachers brought some actual string so the children could touch both wire and string. We talked about the "string" we used in the morning was actually called wire and we talked about the differences between wire and string. Some friends said that the string is soft and fuzzy while the wire is hard. The children tried to "wrap" the different pieces of wire onto the pink string saying that they were trying to tie the wire onto the string as well as connecting the string and wire.
Moving Dragon!
Now that the taco party has finished, the children wondered what they could with their friend, the dragon. When the teachers asked if they would like a moving dragon with wheels, the children were VERY excited! The children chose to have four wheels and chose where the wheels would go, which the teachers carved holes for. Once the four wheels were in, the children tested to see if the dragon really moved..... and it did!! After a few moves on the carpet, the wheels fell out of the dragon, so we decided we will continue to work on this to make sure that the wheels stay inside the dragon without falling out.
Sweet Potato Dig!
What a beautiful day the sweet potato dig was ! Thank you to everyone who was able to join us and help. The children sat patiently on the bus and were so excited to arrive to the sweet potato field. They worked hard to pull out the vines and use their hands and shovels to dig up different sized sweet potatoes! Some were teeny-tiny while others were much bigger than we expected. Some children also loved finding different insects in the dirt and had fun observing them. After enjoying a lovely picnic with their friends and children from the other Nursery class and kindergarten, they had fun playing in the playground!
When we came back to school the next day, many children were very excited to look at and touch the sweet potatoes and vines that they had picked the day before. There was a table with various materials for exploring what they had found and many friends drew some of the sweet potatoes that were in front of them. They asked what we were going to do with so many potatoes so we thought we could decide as a group next week.
Using the monitor, we reflected on the sweet potato dig. The children said that they pulled lots of potatoes and Michael remembered that they were attached to vines. Some friends said that they needed help to dig the potatoes with shovels or with the help of their parent while others said that they did it all by themselves. The children were very happy about their discovery that sweet potatoes could be so many different sizes and they picked so many different kinds!
We all felt the vines that we picked and the children described the vines as cold, old and many said that the vines were several colors- purple, pink, green, red and one friend even said they saw black!
We all felt the vines that we picked and the children described the vines as cold, old and many said that the vines were several colors- purple, pink, green, red and one friend even said they saw black!
When we asked the children where we found the sweet potatoes, the children answered under the dirt. Mya, Mia and Mina had the great idea that if we put "lots of water and paper on the potato," the sweet potato will grow "wriggly", just like the bean did in the story that we recently read called, "One Bean" by Anne Rockwell. In the story, the bean was covered with a wet paper towel which eventually grew a sprout that turned into a plant with bean pods. To honor this idea, we did just that with one of our sweet potatoes but added a step. We cut the sweet potato in half because Mya said it needed to be small, and poured water onto the paper towel which we wrapped around the sweet potato.
Chase had another great idea: If we put the sweet potato in water, it would eventually "split in half and another sweet potato will come out of it." We decided to try this and watched as Chase poured some water onto the sweet potato in a container. When we asked the children where to put the two sweet potatoes as we wait for them to transform, the children suggested that we put it in the sun because the sweet potatoes need the sun to grow. We will see what happens to our two sweet potatoes next week and as time progresses!
Chase had another great idea: If we put the sweet potato in water, it would eventually "split in half and another sweet potato will come out of it." We decided to try this and watched as Chase poured some water onto the sweet potato in a container. When we asked the children where to put the two sweet potatoes as we wait for them to transform, the children suggested that we put it in the sun because the sweet potatoes need the sun to grow. We will see what happens to our two sweet potatoes next week and as time progresses!
Library Books
As we missed library last Thursday due to the supermarket trip and yesterday due to the potato dig, Teacher Mayuka kindly invited us to the library today after lunch to borrow a book. Thank you, Teacher Mayuka, for letting us come to the library! Please enjoy reading the book with your child and return it by next Thursday morning.
Thank you for another lovely week! Have a wonderful weekend and see you all on Monday.
- Julie and Natalie
- Julie and Natalie