Stopping points, Super heroes, and Soup Making
November 11, 2016
Our friends have been especially interested in shapes and letters. The children are now comfortable enough with the routine to predict what comes next and what we need to do to make it happen.
It came as no surprise that friends were interested in telling us about rules they know, one of them being to “Stop!” at the end of the hall on the way out to the playground.
“We should make a sign!”
David suggested during a morning meeting discussion.
What shape is a stop sign?
What letters are on a stop sign?
What color is a stop sign?
What does the sign mean?
Where do we find them?
Where should we put ours?
These were all questions we answered while discussing stop signs during our morning meeting. We decided that we needed three stop signs, since we stop three times before we reach the playground throughout the day.
So, we broke into small groups that morning. Those of us at the “sign making” table grabbed:
scissors, red fabric, letters, and circular shapes such as mason jar lids and embroidery hoops.
“This is perfect!” Rose cheered with a smile.
Prepping for the sign:
Rose worked hard to unscrew the embroidery ring and carefully lay the fabric across the ring before pressing them back together and tightening them in place. In this picture above, she is trimming the excess fabric from around the embroidery ring.
Rose dumps out the letters, finds the letters that are in the word “Stop,” and places them on the embroidery hoop one-by-one.
Rode places the final letter on the stop sign, and take a hard look to see what else the sign needs.
Rough draft.
After examining the sign, before gluing, we reviewed what the word “Stop” sounds like letter by letter, then adjusted the order of colored letters.
Rose and Maddie work together to glue the final letter to the sign. Maddie needs some help squeezing the glue, and Rose is happy to help.
Maddie gets the hang of gluing, and Alexander joins her for the second stop sign. They find the letters together, and take turns gluing letters on the sign.
For the third sign, Alex is more confident with the glue and carefully places a line of glue on each letter while his friend Lila holds the foam letter in place.
-GREAT TEAMWORK, FRIENDS!-
Alexander excitedly watches Lila place the last letter down on their final stop sign! He celebrates shortly after!!
Cooking with Friends
Friends have expressed constant interest in cooking. We bake cakes in the sandbox, make soup with materials gathered in nature, and make pancakes and cookies with clay. We introduced a new cooking station in our dramatic play area, inspired by the children. They were eager to explore the cookbooks and find something yummy to make. Some friends even made foods they have at home, such as “Matzo Ball Soup.” (Jack R)
We carefully placed spices in different bowls. Measuring cups and a hand mixer were placed close by.
Dominic chooses the “mixer” and gets to work mixing up spices for the soup.
Friends collaboratively mix and add spices for the soup being sure to add it to the large blue soup pot when finished.
ON YOUR MARK, GET SET.. GO!!!
The race is on! We used orange cones to block off the covered parking lot and hosted a series of super hero races, complete with capes and head bands.
We loved seeing the wind in our capes as we ran “super fast!”
After working on who’s the fastest super hero, we wanted to know who could jump the farthest!
Above, Donovan checks to see where his feet landed to we can mark it with purple tape, and put his “D” on it!