Where Do I Put My Feet?

 

The Tel Aviv class has been talking about how to make thing stable. On Thursday we were playing with some big blocks and together they built a stable bridge to run across. The bridge was made with five long blocks resting on two big blocks. I didn’t want them to run so I added a challenge to make them slow down and think about where they put their feet; I separated two of the long things blocks from the other three. This created a choice. Should I cross on the think section that is three blocks wide or the long thin section that is only one block wide? What happens if I put one foot on one and one on the other? Kids started to test the different ways they could cross the bridge. 

Elias found out that if he crossed it on the wide part he only needed to take two big steps but he used smaller steps when the bridge was narrower. Josie realized that she moved faster when was walking with more stability but she liked that challenge of balancing more than moving across the bridge quickly. It was neat to watch them take safe risks and navigate a new challenge in different ways to find out what worked best for them. 

Bean Bag Balancing!

Yesterday the Tel Aviv class practiced balancing with Dancing Nancy! We did spins, hops and jumps across the room to practice gross motor balancing and then the bean bags came out! We did lots of different kinds of balancing with bean bags! We balanced on our nose, toes, knees, elbows and our heads. It was very exciting to practice walking with beanbags on our heads. Max and Dylan balanced four bean bags on their heads! it was quite impressive. The Tel Aviv children took ricks and tried a variety of new types of balancing with Nancy. We had a great time!