This week, the Nursery children continued investigating reptiles. They have blown us away with how many facts they can remember and it has been reflected in their work. Children added finishing touches on their individual turtles using junk art materials. They paid attention to detail such as flippers, tails, and heads and were very creative with materials and colors. (We had many pink turtles by the end!)
Some friends came back from the weekend and had remembered some of the things that we had talked about regarding reptiles. Mya brought in a turtle eraser that she borrowed from her sister. The children said that it must be a sea turtle because it had flippers and tortoises and regular turtles don't have flippers. James brought in a piece of soft netting that had been used to cover an apple his mother bought. It reminded the children of the pattern and texture of snakeskin after it had shed.
The children continued to investigate textures of the snakeskin so they could think about how to use it for a real snake! They referred to a video on the iPad again to remember what a snake's skin looks like when it sheds and they continued to be fascinated by what they saw!
The Big Class Turtle
The turtle group continued to work hard on the giant class turtle as well. Last week they had covered an old broken suitcase with colored tape for the shell but they still needed a body. A group of children was determined to finish so they asked to use a type of foam for the body. They decided on a shape while the teachers helped them cut and they figured out how to stick tape on the body so it would not separate from the shell.
Other friends added a head, flippers and a tail. This whole process was interesting for the teachers to observe as well as the children were very specific about what they wanted and were sure to follow through. For example, they were sure they wanted a circle for the head. They examined turtles that we have in our classroom and wanted the eyes to be the same color as the models, so they did. The entire process involved questioning, observation, team work, compromise, and LOTS of tape! :)
Other friends added a head, flippers and a tail. This whole process was interesting for the teachers to observe as well as the children were very specific about what they wanted and were sure to follow through. For example, they were sure they wanted a circle for the head. They examined turtles that we have in our classroom and wanted the eyes to be the same color as the models, so they did. The entire process involved questioning, observation, team work, compromise, and LOTS of tape! :)
The Process of Making a SNAKE!
As many friends worked hard on the big turtle, others decided that they wanted to make a LONG snake together as well. They had a choice of many materials and after trying a cardboard roll thinking it was too short and skinny, they chose to roll up some foam pieces and combine them with tape to make a lonnnng snake! They looked at pictures of snakes to observe their qualities such as patterns, skin texture, and details on the head and tail. They also remember that they had the mesh netting from previous days that they wanted to use. It was fun to watch the children use their creativity to decide what to use for what parts.
After working on the snake on Thursday, Aila came to school the next day with some sticky mesh for the kitchen that she thought would be perfect for the snake's skin so she added that to the surface of part of the snake. Friends continued to add more detail to the snake to make it look more realistic and it really came together nicely!
Now that the children have worked so hard on their reptiles, they need a home for them. Mia had a suggestion of putting the turtle in the ocean since it's a sea turtle. She recommended using blue paper for water so we will begin that process next week. Along with that, Michael suggested brown and green materials to make a rainforest (Mina's idea) for the snakes since many snakes can be found in the rainforest. We love how intentional and thoughtful our children are in the planning process. We can't wait to see what they come up with in the coming weeks!
Birthday celebration!
This week, the children were ecstatic to celebrate Aila's birthday. Her parents visited us on her special day and read "Little Tug" to the class, which Aila had chosen as her birthday book for our ELC program. Afterwords, the children ate a special snake with Aila's picture on it. Happy Birthday, Aila! We are so happy we could celebrate with you!
Thank you again for a fantastic and very productive week! If you haven't already, please have a look at the video book that our children made about snakes. You can access it here!
Enjoy this long holiday weekend, everyone! See you on Tuesday.
-Julie and Natalie
Enjoy this long holiday weekend, everyone! See you on Tuesday.
-Julie and Natalie