Pine Cone Investigation
The children were curious when they walked into the classroom this week to find a tray of pine cones. They wondered where they came from and wanted immediately to touch them. Some friends found they could balance them on their hands. Other children put them on the scale to see how many they needed in order to tip one side of the scale over. They decided that heavier things make it tip over.
There were even pine cones placed in the kitchen as part of our ongoing "loose parts" dramatic play area. The children were so imaginative in how they used them. Some said it was chocolate, others said they were bread pieces, and other children happily stuffed them in the class suitcase and purse and went shopping with them.
The children asked to paint some pine cones, so they chose their favorite colors and gave the pieces of nature some pizzazz. Some of our friends opted to paint the butcher paper underneath as well :)
Pine Cone Rolling
After the children examined, weighed, painted, and used the pine cones as food they did a collaborative art activity with them. They chose four colors as a group: pink, red, blue, and purple and each friend dipped and rolled a pine cone in the color of their choice. Some asked to add some glitter to which the others happily agreed!
The children placed their colorful, sparkly pine cones in a cardboard box lined with white paper and watched as the teachers sealed it up with tape. Each friend took turns showing their strength by picking up the box and rolling it gently.
They all sat in anticipation while the box was opened. And they were not disappointed:
The children all wanted a peek and described what they saw as "Rainbow!" "So many colors" and "Beautiful!" The next day we talked about what we should do with this beautiful creation and friends suggested putting it by the entrance of the classroom "so the parents can see." What a wonderful and thoughtful idea they had! So please have a look at our pine cone rolling art work above the cubbies when you visit our classroom!
Developments with Oil Clay
Although the children were introduced to the oil clay just last week, it has been impressive to watch how creatively they have worked with it. Their favorite thing to do is still to add wire as well as wooden pieces. This week they made a castle, a mommy, a daddy, and a horse. They share the clay so nicely and are so responsible with cleaning it up! We can't wait to see what they will do with it in the coming weeks.
THE Box
From the beginning of the school year, on any given day, Teacher Julie and Teacher Natalie have noticed within the children's play there is one item that they have used creatively and for us, unintentionally. We call it the Box and we have begun to take more note of the children and how they use it. Some of the ways they have used it have been: a bus, rocket ship, a restaurant, a train, and an airplane. This was a wonderful reminder to the teachers of how simple items in the classroom that may not serve an important purpose to us as adults, can be a treasure to the children. We plan on moving it to a more accessible place next week to let the children continue their play.
Finally, there has been a lot of conversations and stories related to museums happening. Claire said she went to a museum over the weekend and was eager to share her experience where she pointed out that she could not eat or drink water inside the building. Other friends shared that they had visited museums before and talked about paintings that could be found inside. The teachers read some books about these topics (including "Katie and the Sunflowers") and also shared that other things can be found at museums including dinosaur bones which excited the children. As their interest grows, we will continue to read more books about museums and follow their investigations!
Thank you for an exciting week. Have a lovely weekend and see you all next week!
-Julie and Natalie
-Julie and Natalie