Apples, Math, and Engineering

The weather is finally getting a bit cooler!  Here at Harmony's House, we are getting ready for Fall by exploring apples this week.  Some families enjoy going to orchards and picking their own apples in the Fall for pies, applesauce, and cider.

For Small Group, we figured out how to use a hand-crank tool to skin and core an apple.  While learning to use the tool (which was AMAZING!), we also talked about the apple anatomy: skin, core, seeds, stem, and flesh.

We taste tested three kinds of apples, identified as "green," "red," and "pink" (Gala).  We wrote down what each person liked the best.

For Circle Time, we took our written notes and turned the information into a graph.  We described a graph as something that helps us see groups that have more or less.  We counted the number of people who liked red, green, and pink apples and colored the bars onto the graph.  Once we had the bars colored in, we could easily see which group had less votes (green apples), and which groups were equal (red and pink apples).

Friend "K" asked a great question: "Why do you have lines going up and down, and to the side?"  Ms. Harmony explained that each line helps us count different things.  The line going up and down is a number line.  We can count HOW MANY people liked the apples.  The sideways line helps us see WHAT KINDS of apples we tried.  There were three different kinds of apples.  When we make the bars in the three different colors, it's easier to see which group had the most, the least, or equal amounts of votes.

During Work Time, the children spent a lot of time working with the new Explore Table contents.  Ms. Harmony dyed rice red and yellow, and scented it with Pumpkin Pie spice.  Then she added red, yellow, and green pom-poms to be "apples."  The trees were made from cardboard pieces and red, yellow, and orange fuzzy sticks.  Finally, the "acorns" could be filled with the rice, or pom-poms, and matched lowercase letters to uppercase letters.

Baby "K" is always observant of what the school friends are doing!  :)  She's getting bigger though!  We are seeing more and more "toddler" coming out by the day.












The school friends did a lot of scooping and pouring with the rice to fill and dump the acorns.  They also pretended to pick up "apples" from the "orchard" for making "pies" in the baskets.  Fall, here we come!

We Belong to Families!

 

This week we celebrated our families.  We are an important part of our families; they wouldn't be the same without us.  The children were given an assortment of body cut-outs in flesh tones to make themselves.  After choosing a body to represent self, they used felt scraps, paper shapes, googly eyes, feathers, wiki sticks, and yarn to clothe and add physical features to the body.

Everyone's body turned out differently depending on how each child chose to represent herself.  Friend "B" really liked using the felt squares to make her outfit.  Friend "K" said, "I know, I can use a wiki stick to be my necklace!"  Friend "S" used the wiki sticks to be her smile.  :)  We measured ourselves to document how big we are right now.

Each child brought a picture of their families.  We put "ourselves" on a picture with our families.  Just as they wouldn't be the same without us, we really need our families too.  The children had lots of ideas of how families help us, things we do with our families, and who is a family member.

Ms. Harmony recorded the child's words to complete these Self and Family posters.  They look great on the wall and the children love seeing the pictures of their families during the day!

Ms. Harmony learned a song about families when she was small (in Joy School) that she shared with the children this week.  Parents at home may have heard the words to this song:

"My mommy and daddy wanted me,
To come and be part of their family.
They love me and they tell me so,
And in my heart I really know!
They wanted me, they wanted me,
To come and be part of their family!"

Just Some Fun Photos of Kids Hard at Work

Duplo Lego buildings 

Building the "tallest monkey tower ever"

   

Painting on foil 

Taking care of animals in the Animal Hospital

Giving shots and bandages at the vet clinic

  

Wearing hats

Tell Me a Story... about Friends

This week for one Small Group activity, we used fabric squares and Little People to create a story about friends.  First we chose which person we wanted to be.  Then we looked at the fabric squares and decided where our story would happen.  We used blue fabric to be a swimming pool; the balloon fabric pieces were for the birthday party; the flower fabric is where we would picnic.

Ms. Harmony chose to be this boy named "Nick."  He was six and introduced himself to everyone at the park.  He especially liked jumping off the diving board at the pool.

Friend "S" chose to be the baby and Mommy in the story.  The baby wasn't big enough to jump off the diving board, so "Nick" played with the baby on the steps of the water.  We can play with people who are smaller than us.

Friend "B" was a girl named "Sophie" who was three.  She liked jumping off the diving board with "Nick" and carried the PBJ sandwiches in her purse for the picnic.  She shared sandwiches with everyone at the park.

Friend "K" was a girl named "Kaylee."  She didn't want to join us in the pool, but she did participate at the picnic in the garden.  Sometimes friends like to do the same activities as you, and sometimes they'd rather do something else.  To be a good friend, you have listen to other's ideas too.  This is why "Nick," "Sophie, "baby," and "Mommy" went to the garden after swimming, instead of swimming the whole time.

What makes this activity so interesting is that it is 100% open-ended.  From the Little People to the setting to the plot, the school friends use their imaginations, language, and real life experience to tell a story.  Through play, they met the developmental objectives to

• make a plan
• use objects to symbolically represent something real
• balance the rights of self and others
• take turns in conversation
• use empathy to animate the characters
• develop a story with a beginning, middle, and end
• practice elements of friendship including self-introductions, invitations to play, joining others in play, playing with children of different ages and abilities, talking about sharing, taking turns, and trading, etc.

That's a whole lot of objectives that we practiced in a simple activity for a few minutes!  But the benefits are immediately obvious when the school friends leave the table and begin Work Time.  They take the language and ideas and apply them to their own plans.  Following this activity, we saw more collaborative play between the three school friends and they were more successful in including Baby "K" in their plans as well.

The Makings of a Turtle Shell- Calm Down Strategies

Over the course of the past two weeks, the school friends at Harmony's House have been helping to make a "Turtle Shell."  At first, they did not know what it was for, or what it would become.  They were just helping Ms. Harmony paint a large box green and then glue shapes all over it.

Later, Ms. Harmony taught them the real purpose of the box as a calm-down space, how, and when to use it.  In Circle Time, we read the story When Sophie Gets Angry-- Really, Really Angry... by Molly Bang.  In the story, Sophie gets very upset when her turn is over with the gorilla, and she trips and falls down.  She erupts like a red hot volcano and runs outside where the sights and sounds of nature soothe her.  Ms. Harmony explained that everyone, even grown ups, feel big feelings like being angry, sad, frustrated, or lonely.  Going outside can be a great way to calm down, but when we are at school at Ms. Harmony's House, we can't run away outside.  The teacher needs to be able to see and hear you.  That's why we have a "turtle shell."

Using the turtle shell finger puppet, Ms. Harmony explained that Turtle used to get very very upset too.  He would scream and shout.  Sometimes he would kick and stomp.  But then he learned to use his turtle shell as a safe place.  When he noticed his body getting angry, he would go into his shell and do these steps:

1. STOP (stop screaming and crying so he could hear his thoughts)
2. Take three deep breaths.
3.  Say, "I can calm down." (tells himself something positive and giving himself control)
4.  Count to five.
5.  Problem solve.  (when he leaves his turtle shell he has an idea of how to solve a problem, like asking for help, taking turns, asking for an apology, etc.)

The school friends helped turtle review each step and taped the cards in order inside the turtle shell.  Then we each practiced climbing inside.  Turtle has a friend Hedgehog who is there to help him if he wants someone else to talk to during his calm-down routine.  The school friends understood that anyone can go to the turtle shell when they need a safe place to calm down; it is not a place where you are in trouble.

The school friends picked a corner in the kitchen to be where they could always find the turtle shell.  We moved it there at the end of Circle Time, and that's where it is every time they come to school.  Since implementing the turtle shell, no one has yet needed it, although Friend "K" did go to check on turtle and help him get tucked into his shell for a nap.  Sometimes, just knowing you have friends that care and a safe place to go when you are upset is all you need to have to regulate feelings.  But when big big feelings come, Harmony's House DOES have a real place available to use.

*This technique is not unique.  Ms. Harmony has used this in other classes previously, and when doing research for college papers, she found that social emotional curricula for preschool (like The Incredible Years- Dinosaur School, or Conscious Discipline) often include creating a safe, comfortable place for children to calm down.  It is important to teach the calm-down strategies in addition to creating the space.*

Noodles, Fuzzy Sticks, Colanders and Fun!

The new Explore Table is so fun!  We have a variety of dry pasta, some are long and straight, some are ridged, and some are curvy.  We use the pasta and fuzzy sticks to make all kinds of noodley creations!

Art, with a Little Help from our Friends

Today we did an art project for Small Group that we couldn't do alone!  We needed friends to make this possible, and we had to communicate with each other during the process.  First we put paint in bowls and dipped an assortment of sensory balls in each color.

After tossing all the balls into the swimming pool covered with paper, we stood up and made the balls roll around, and even bounce like popcorn.  We decided who was going high, low, and when to shake it or jump up and down.  We put it down together to add more paint to the balls, and picked it up at the same time in a team lift.  This was super fun!

Old Friends, New Friends

We are welcoming back old friends and new at the beginning of the Fall Session.  :)  For this Small Group activity we worked on hearing beginning sounds of friends' names, and matching up the correct letter link.  Ms. Harmony printed the names and letter links separately, and reused this idea later as a Planning tool.  This activity was a great way to practice reading and saying our friends' names and developing phonemic awareness.

Another way we talked about friendship this week was through finger painting and storytelling.  Here, Ms. Harmony presented the idea by talking about "Red Friend" who liked to play alone.  She had a great ideas and really liked working on her own plans.  Another friend at school, "Blue Friend," also liked to play alone.  That's why we have an Alone Table.  Sometimes that's a great place to choose.  But one day, Red Friend and Blue Friend started working together.  They SHARED their ideas by working on the same plan at the same time!  When they worked together, they got something new!  "Purple ideas!"  When we work with other friends, we also get to play in new ways and hear new ideas.  Sharing a plan is fun!

Then the school friends were given their own opportunity to tell a story about Blue Friend and Red Friend.  We talked about whether the friends were playing alone, next to each other, or if they were playing WITH each other.  

(Friend "K" prefers not to put her fingers in the paint.  She solved her problem by getting paintbrushes from the art easel so that she could still participate in the activity.  Good thinking "K!")

Then when friends moved into Work Time, we could use the same language that we had just practiced in Small Group.  When we work together on the same plan at the same time it's called "sharing."

We can also choose to work alone and that's a great way to hear and practice doing our own ideas!  Friend "S" was celebrating her birthday and used the monkey peg board to make a birthday cake!  Happy Birthday, Friend "S."  You are going to have a great time being FOUR!  Wow!  :-O