The Dandelion Fluff Calls for Us

This is a wonderful time of year to be outside in Virginia! Harmony's House is seeing SO much joy, curiosity, courage, and learning happening on the playground. Please be inspired by these young learners, and spread the ideas like dandelion seeds in the breeze! Children everywhere ought to have wonderful outdoor experiences in spring!

Little Bit of Wild

Check out this fascinating caterpillar we found on the playground this week!  Within minutes of discovering this creature, we noticed and caught a walking stick insect on the back of a school friend!

Two creepy critter discoveries prompted a huge bug hunt on the playground.  We spent the rest of the time searching for and attempting to catch insects and a small spider.  (*All bugs were released at the end!*)  Even though the playground was dew covered and a bit muddy, this bug hunt made our trip outside to explore the little bit of wild worth it.  The children were intrigued, focused, and dedicated to finding more bugs!

In addition to studying the fauna, we also worked with water mills and Squig structures.  The suction cup ends of the Squigs provide an interesting building experience, especially with added buoyancy and adhesive effects of water.

Perhaps the Potato Head families were underestimated in their ability to attract preschool students!  These fun little guys have been a table choice outdoors for a few weeks now, and STILL bring almost every student to the table every time.

The children make different Potato Heads to represent people in their families.  They consider different body parts and are so proud of what they make.  The children want to photo document their creations and ask that the pictures be sent to their parents.  :)

Sometimes reading outside is just the best isn't it?  Unless rain prohibits it (water and books don't mix!), we always have a few readers take a seat on the benches to check out a book.

Finally, everybody loves to stretch their abilities by climbing steps and ladders, crawling through tunnels, and even balancing on the bosu ball.

We LOVE Outside Time at Harmony's House!  Being outdoors helps to mellow our moods, soothe our senses, stimulate our interest in life, earth, and physical science, sync our brains and bodies, and just HAVE FUN.  <3

Rainforests and Jungles

During March, the students at Harmony's House have been studying the rainforest and jungle habitats of the world.  These are some of the ways we worked with the theme:

Kapok Tree connections:  During Circle Time, we read this fascinating book about animals from the Amazon Rainforest.  They in turn, speak to a man who has fallen asleep on the job, and beg him not to cut down their tree.  They emphasize how they get their food, homes, and family from this tree.  If he cuts the tree down, they will lose everything.  Indeed, the tree is about connections.  Each child then chose to be a certain animal from the story.  We used string to connect them to Ms. Harmony who represented the tree.  The man in the story did not cut down the tree, but we cut the strings in our activity to see the impact it had on the animals.  The children were startled when the ties were cut and they were left standing all alone, not connected to the tree or any of their school friends.  What a powerful experience!

Explore Table:  The rainforest trees and plants grow in layers with different animals occupying each area.  In the Explore Table, the children used tree blocks, foam platforms, and a variety of jungle animals to make tree houses, shelters, dens, etc. for the animals.

Small Group Taste Testing:  We sampled different fruits from tropical regions and charted who liked which kinds of fruits.  We tasted mangos, pineapples, avocado, and bananas.  The children frequently said, "I didn't know this was from the jungle!"  "Oh I love pineapple!"

Balloon Painting in the Art Area:  This discovery happened quite by accident.  On a "home day," (non-school day), Ms. Harmony and Kyra were working with paint when a balloon got tossed/rolled into some paint.  We decided to go with the flow and see if balloons make good tools for painting.  We discovered that the balloons made really interesting prints that mimicked leaf venation in large leaves!  We decided to share this discovery with the school friends when they came the next day to school.

Small Group Build-A-Bug:  More bugs and insects live in the jungles than anywhere else in the world.  For this activity, we first looked at a variety of books with bugs and insects.  We talked about features that we saw using vocabulary such as "antennae," "legs," "compound eyes," "wings," and "stingers."  Then we used precut shapes to assemble our own jungle bugs!  Everyone's turned out completely unique.  Finally, Ms. Harmony labeled the bug body parts according to the child's explanation.

Greeting Time Summary:  Ms. Harmony asked the the children what they knew about the equator.  This drawing is made from the children's words:

Friend "Bread" said, "The equator is the line in the middle."  We drew a globe and the imaginary line that divides the globe in half.

Friend "Kangaroo" said, "There are lots of trees and flowers there."

Each child named an animal that they could think of that lives in the jungle habitat: jaguars, snakes, parrots, sloths, and monkeys.

Friend "Sunflower" described the weather at the equator as "warm and sunny."

Friend "Kangaroo" added that jungles also had a lot of rain because plants need lots of water to grow.

And there you have it... just a few ways we learned about the rainforests and jungles of the world!  <3

Family Fun Day- Halloween Style

Wow we had a blast today at our last Family Fun Day of 2018!  Here's some of the ways we made our Halloween party rock!

• We wore costumes
• We used two explore tables: one had pumpkin pie spice rice with spoons, cauldrons, pumpkins and skeletons, and the second one had water beads, pipettes, insects, and eyeballs
• We had two art activities: eyeball (bouncy ball) rolling in paint, and contact paper with Halloween colors, q-tip bones, googly eyes, and a giant 'H'
• We had snacks with funny names like "Melted Ghost" water, "Goblin booger" raisins, "Bones" veggie straws, and more
• We had a Haunted House tunnel to get from room to room
• We had a photo booth
• We played in all the Areas
• We invited family members to join in our fun

That is the recipe for a perfect Halloween party!  Enjoy the pictures!