More Watery Capers

We are continuing our water studies: we have moved from movement of water to exploring volume and working with a scale. You may recall that we added a scale to the water in the sensory table. It has been a big hit! The Acorns have been trying to figure it out, but mostly having more fun making it splash. :) Today, the older children joined us for Capers and they spent time working with the Acorns and trying to help them balance it.
Capers are such a special time here at the AFC. While it's always fun to explore other areas and classrooms, it's also wonderful to see all of the children getting to know one another and working together to help each other. Have a wonderful weekend!

Finally, the Forest!

We were so happy to emerge from our room and soak up some sunshine this morning! We thought the Forest might be a little muddy today, and it did not disappoint. Thank goodness for boots, because we found puddles up to our knees! And of course we needed to thoroughly check them out. So, just a heads up, your Acorn may be a little muddy this afternoon. :)

It's amazing how much our little friends love interacting with nature. There is something so magical about watching the children run through the woods and explore, creating relationships with each other and the world around them. Sticks, rocks, crunching on frost, the sunlight streaming through the trees-- seeing it all through the eyes of a child makes you realize how valuable all of these seemingly small things are. I know I say it all the time, but we are truly lucky to have these opportunities here at Ambrose! 

Much Fun With Magnets

If you've ever visited the Acorn Room in the afternoon, you've probably noticed our fascination with magnets. The Acorns seriously love experimenting with them! Everyday after nap we put out choices, but they always seem to gravitate towards the magnets. It is always interesting to watch what they decide to create. Usually, the magnatiles turn into trucks, trains, tools, or birthday cakes! It is also fun to try to make the tallest tower-- I love how they work so well together with the magnets and are so kind to one another, all on their own.
The Acorns also explore different materials, objects, and areas around the room to see what the magnets will stick to. Through their trial and error, they have found some really neat new ways to use the magnets. They discovered that the magnets stick to the screws on the treehouse, so they have been expanding their construction to reach all the way across the carpet. They also figured out that the white board and the black sliding cabinet door in the back of the room. They have transformed the magnets into so many wonderful things!

More Water!

Today, more provocations were added to the water areas to see how to Acorns would react. We put a scale in the sensory table and put out some tubs with cut up pipe cleaners in water and a couple magnetic wands. Of course, B ran right over to the sensory table. DeeDee asked him, "can you make the scale balance?" He got to work exploring the possibilities. He started putting various containers on both sides of the scale and filling them with water, watching to see what would happen. He realized that when one side fell, it made a good splash! So then he experimented with making bigger splashes, laughing as the water splattered around the table. After awhile, he had a new idea and set the whole bucket on the scale, continuing to add water.
The Acorns love using magnets in the afternoon, so we had a feeling they would love combining magnets with water and trying to pick up the pipe cleaners with magnetic wands. They spent lots of time gathering the pipe cleaners, picking them off, and then repeating the process.
It is so much fun to watch the Acorns work!

Stages of Writing

We have been watching the Acorns as they experiment with various kinds of writing and drawing this year. They all began in the pre-literate stage, making random scribbles and symbols on their papers.
Lately, they have been demonstrating hand-eye coordination and developing fine motor skills, no longer holding their writing utensil in their fist. They have also been drawing and writing to express ideas and convey meaning. Now, their scribbles turn into actual shapes and serve a purpose. "This is my family!" J said as she showed her picture, "and this is a rainbow!"
They have also been working to form letters. "This is my 'O'!" O exclaimed as she marked her paper. Watching the Acorns learn and grow is truly an amazing experience! They are making progress in so many areas everyday.

Caper Day

We switched it up with water this week.  We put sponges and soapy water.

eye droppers

ramps

pulley

sensory tunnel

which clearly, everyone enjoyed!

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

http://afcwillow.blogspot.com/

http://afcsycamore.blogspot.com/

http://afcseedling.blogspot.com/

Black History Month

We kicked off Black History Month in January with the help of B's dad with a book about Martin Luther King Jr. the title of the book is The Cart that Carried Martin.   The Acorns talk about the cart, what color the cart is, and how the cart is being used. 

In addition to the book on Martin, we participate in We Stories. IF you have not checked out We Stories, you can take a look http://www.westories.org/blog
This month, we have the series of a new child coming to a school. These books help us talk about our differences and how those differences just make us who we are and to be proud of our differences, because we all have features that are the same.  Ex. we all have hair (well most of us) we have a nose, we all have skin, etc.

Yesterday, we discussed Walter Ambrose. We talked about how and why our school is named after Mr. Ambrose.  Today we drew pictures of Mr. Ambrose.

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