Caper Tuesday

Today, we put tubes, funnels, and scoopers in the in the sensory table....  The children first scooped and poured as always. Then slowly they started to add the tubing to the funnels.  There was different sized tubing and funnels, so that they had to match the right size tube to the correct size funnel. The older children from the 3-5 year old classrooms discovered the matching sets. Thankfully there was a little acorn at the table when the discovery was made, and was able to assist the older children.  The schema of scooping and pouring still exists, it has just added the schema of connecting to the mix.

He then used that new knowledge in a new way in a different area of the classroom.

The beauty of our job..... observing a child interacting with other children and then watching that same child take that new knowledge and transfer it in a new way.

“I am the little acorn that becomes the oak.”- John Winger


We would like to take a moment and let each and everyone of you know that we are thankful that you allow us to spend so many precious moments with your children. We hope you have a wonderful long weekend with your family.

The itsy bitsy spider....

We were so happy that the sun was out today!!  We explored outside this morning, with our new found bag of recycled containers some lovely person dropped off! Thank you to whoever dropped off the  great stuff! The seecorns loved the new materials. 

Once we came inside, we were finding the letters for our name and getting ready to go for a neighborhood walk. We started hanging out at the tree house when a friend found an itsy bitsy spider.

Here is the conversation that ensued

 "Oh, look he is so cute."  

"Lets kill her"

"Where did she go?"

"He is so small."

"I cant see him."

"There he goes again."

Look closely and it really is crawling around the floor....

You will have to guess which child said which statement.... I'm going to leave it up to you to figure out which child said "Lets kill her".  

This sparked an adult to intervene and comment to the children that we should let the bug live and care for living things. 

While listening to the conversation, I wondered why some of the children called it he, and some called it she.  Are we practicing pronouns? Are we practicing labeling? 

Or, are the just using the pronoun that they themselves are?  Pronouns are tricky, and children usually start using them when they are three years of age or closely approaching three.  

"I am the little acorn that becomes the oak."-John Winger

Water World

Caper Day is a favorite in the Acorn Room-- some children start asking on Monday if it's time for Capers yet! Capers are exciting because it gives the children an opportunity to check out new areas in the school and meet new friends. Some Acorns have bonded with older children over the past few months, and seek them out every Friday! We also have several Acorn friends who have older siblings in other classrooms. As you can imagine, it is very exciting to get to play with your brother or sister in their classroom and show them yours!

Unsurprisingly, I and C tend to stick together every Friday. Today, they hung out in Acorn to explore the language of water. We had two large tubs next to each other on the table. One was full of water, and there were tools to try to move the water from one tub to the other. I watched to see how each girl was going to manipulate the water." I" was concentrating on the feel of the water. She plunged her whole hand into the tub and swirled it around, watching the motions she created. Next, she picked up a cup and dunked it under. Then, she poured it over her hand, smiling as she enjoyed the warm wetness. She repeated these actions several times. 

C had a different approach.  She worked diligently to figure out how to get the baster to hold water. When she discovered how to hold it under water while squeezing, her face lit up. She filled it, then squeezed the contents into a bottle, finally transferring the bottle to the other tub. She showed her sister how she was moving the water, and then they began working together. I love getting to see these special relationships each week! Have a wonderful weekend!

The Magic of Music

Ms. DeeDee has been out of town this week, so we have been meeting lots of new people in the Acorn room. Today, Ms. Rebecca hung out with us.

She brought a special surprise with her, and asked the Acorns if they wanted to see it. Of course, they  said "yes!" She went to the closet and brought out a blue case. Everyone watched with interest. Ms. Rebecca unzipped the case and showed the instrument to the children. She asked if anyone knew what it was. "It's a guitar!" shouted T and J. Ms. Rebecca explained that her instrument looked like a guitar, but it was a little different. She told us how a guitar has six strings-- so we counted the strings on her instrument to check. There were only four, so we knew it wasn't a guitar. Finally, she told us the name: a ukulele! We practiced saying "ukulele." What a silly word!

Then came the best part: Ms. Rebecca played the ukulele for us and we sang! We clapped, stomped, patted our bellies, and had a great time learning silly songs.The Acorns thoroughly enjoyed the experience. We are lucky to meet so many talented people in the WG community!

Reflections in Water

We are still experimenting with water in the Acorn  room. Each time we explore water, the children take it a bit further and create new unique experiences. It is so neat to watch them figure out how to move the water in different ways.
Today, L was most intrigued by the water. I had the tub set up with bubbly water to "wash" the pumpkins, a favorite activity in the Acorn room. L came over and sat at the tub. She picked up a sponge and slowly squeezed it, letting the water run out over the pumpkins. Then, she rubbed the sponge roughly across the pumpkin's ridges. A moment later, she noticed that the tub was situated right next to the mirrors. She grabbed a cup and held it under the water, letting it fill. Then she dumped the contents into another cup, watching as the water spilled over the sides. She turned toward the mirror and repeated these actions, smiling as she watched her reflection. Next, she poured the water more slowly, watching the stream carefully in the mirror.
She remained at the table for all of choice time, moving and working with the water.

Sunny Day Lovin'

We decided to meet up with the Seedlings and hit the streets on this beautiful day! We love our train spot, but we also love CONSTRUCTION! So, today we decided to see how the construction was coming along. It was a doubly good day, because while we were on our way to the construction spot, we spotted a train, too! We sure get excited about trains, even if they happen to be a few blocks away. :) We also got to see the miniature train the nice lady in the printing shop puts out every winter-- always a favorite. She really loves to see the little folks enjoying her display.

"There's a digger!" B shouted as we strolled up to the construction site. "Oh! Yeah!" C responded. They laughed and cheered, raising their hands high in the air. We sat and ate some crackers while we watched. Snack and construction... a recipe for a wonderful day for a two-year-old.
But wait! It gets even better. We chose to take the longer way home, which took us by the fire station. The fire truck was outside, so we sat and checked it out for a bit and looked for shapes and numbers. Then the ambulance came out, lights flashing and sirens shrieking! What a perfect end to a fun day.

Autumn is Here!

Our little Playscape had been overtaken by all of the leaves that fell from the trees, so today Ms. Julia  got out the rake and began raking them up. Of course, the Seecorns were ready to help! They jumped right in and began gathering piles of leaves. Ms. Sandy opened bags and the children took turns dumping their armfuls in... after maybe jumping into the piles a few times. ;) (who could resist?!) 

We used many different methods to collect the leaves: some friends used their hands, some grabbed buckets and bowls from the kitchen area, some used sticks to scoop. "I'm getting sweaty!" T exclaimed. We were working hard!

The Seecorns worked so well together, helping to make our area beautiful again. 

The Language of Water

We were going to caper today.....until the other two rooms didn't want to play with us, and our germs. 

So the Seecorns continued frolicking this morning. 

 After our frolick we noticed that the wind chill went up to 31 degrees.  We could go out for 15 minutes!!!  Once outside, we all ran to touch the snow.... then all the children wanted to go inside because their hands were cold.   Yes, we put on their mittens..... they took them off to touch the snow.  Have you ever put on 10 pairs of mittens on little acorns?  It is quite a site to see. 

Then T notices drops coming from above, its raining.  I tried to explain that it was not raining..... and pointed our the ice cicle dripping form above.  Ms. Carrie was nice enough to get one for us to explore.  

 It's cold

 Once inside, I placed the ice cicle in the sensory tub. We all got a chance to touch it and see how cold it really was.

 How do you make an ice cicle? C- It comes for snow.

How does snow make it an ice cicle?  It snows and its cold. 

 What happened to ice cicle?  It melted.  What does melted mean?  It means it melts. The children could not explain what melted means..... or they could not articulate what melted means....

"I am the little acorn that becomes the oak."- John Winger