Kids Taking Photos!

Lily had a wonderful time today taking photos of her classmates and teachers!  She is a natural!

Science Talks...

 

Three-to five-year-olds have been exploring water all their lives, whether in the bath, at the sink, in the rain, or on the beach.  Ideally they have had regular opportunities to explore at the water table in the classroom too.  This open exploration of water builds on children's prior experiences by giving them plenty of time to explore water with materials selected to highlight water's movement and its ability to take the shape of its container.  In addition, open exploration introduces children to science talks with the whole class, which continue throughout open and focused explorations.  Science talks give children opportunities to reflect on their observations, experiences, questions, and theories, and they create a group sense of shared purpose and excitement.

During our morning circle we invited the children to fill up little cups of water , select an object in the classroom, and place it in the cup of water.   Then we asked them the following questions:
-What happens to water when you put it in the freezer?  Micah -"It freezes."
-Does water move when it's frozen?  Noah-"No it becomes hard."
-Will the water or toys change color?  Noah-"Yes it will turn brown because when my Mom put bananas in the freezer they turned brown." 
-How how does water freeze?  Adam- "Like this!"  Adam put his arms out to the side of his body and became still...Frozen!

Following our science talk a few children walked down to the Community Room kitchen and placed the small cups of water in the freezer.
Stay tuned for an update on our observations and explorations tomorrow morning!

How do you play with mud?

Adam took charge of the Mud Ship! Guess who he pretended to be? Captain Adam Mud, of course! He sailed the Mud Ship all morning long! Allison decided to take a bath in the mud. She announced, "I am a pig taking a bath in the mud so I don't get a sunburn!" Eliza and Hannah packed mud on big rocks and called them "slippery rocks." Eli made delicious "mud cupcakes."

Everyone had their own ideas as to how to play with the mud! I can honestly say that a good time was had by all!

Tel Aviv takes a Fall walk!

Since it was such a beautiful day we decided to take a Fall walk. We took a few bags with us and ventured out over to the wooded area, on the outskirts of the TBSCC parking lot. The children walked and picked up colorful leaves, acorns, sticks and believe it or not Jacob found a shell that you would find at the beach. As we filled the bags with interesting items from nature, we noticed there were large tree stumps that made great seats. The children took turns balancing and walking along the large thick branches that laid on the ground. At first some of the children were apprehensive and unsure of themselves as they attempted to climb onto the tree branches. With a little bit of encouragement the children climbed up on the branches, walked across the branches, climbed up the steep hill to the Temple parking lot and then climbed or scooted on their tush (what ever worked best and made them comfortable).

The risks the children took today were amazing! They were so proud of their accomplishments! Lily kept saying "Lauri are you going to tell my dad I did this?" All of the children kept saying, "Look at me!"

When we arrived back at the Temple everyone was tired and hungry including the teachers. We asked the children to share with the group their favorite part of the Fall walk...

Rachel-"Finding acorns and sitting on the tree stumps."

Max-"I liked hearing the dog ruffing and ruffing(we heard a dog barking as we explored the wooded area)."

Hannah-"Going onto the path."

Lily-"Climbing and balancing on the tree."

Jacob-"Climbing up the tree."

Dylan-"Climbing up the mountain (hill)."

Ezra-"Balancing on the tree."

Aviva-"Climbing up the tree and up the mountain."

Eliza-"Climbing in the tree."

Eli-"Climbing up the big mountain."

What a special day we all had!

Discovery and Beauty

Once again we explored and experimented with colored water and cornstarch, the children took action and observed the results about what was happening. Eli, "Red and yellow make orange." Rylan, "Mine looks like a volcano!" Jacob F, "Today I made red blood!" Molly, "It's sticky." Dylan, "The cornstarch is messy and dry." They shared their thinking and observations with each other. This is work of artists and work of scientists, creating a "museum" of discovery and beauty from the simple elements of colored water and cornstarch.

I don't know who enjoyed experimenting with the colored water and cornstarch more Sasha or the children!

A New Challenge!

After spending some time exploring the colored water, the children were ready for a new challenge, a next step in their investigation of color. We offered each child a bowl of cornstarch and a spoon.

In circle time we introduced the children to cornstarch, a kind of powder made from corn that people sometimes use in cooking. "See what you can discover about what happens when cornstarch meets colored water."

The children spooned cornstarch onto a piece of construction paper and added drops of colored water to it. We encouraged the children's exploration with a few questions.

"What does dry cornstarch feel like on your skin?"
Eli- "It's dry like flour."
Rylan- "It's dry and slippery."
"What happens when water meets cornstarch?"
Jacob F- "You see blue blood on mine!"
Jake- "You see the color that is in the dropper."
"Which do you think is more powerful corn starch or water?"
Dylan- "The colored water because when you drop the colored water, some of the white goes away."
Zach- "The color part because it hides the white."

Exploring Color!

Today in Lunch Bunch we invited the children to do the work of scientists and artists, and see what they can discover about color! First we introduced the children to the materials. Colored water (red, yellow and blue), trays, paper towel and eyedroppers which was a new tool for most of the children; so we demonstrated how to use them.

After this simple orientation to the materials, we invited the children to dive into their research, exploring the possibilities that the colored water holds!

We asked Alison "What happens when the blue water meets the yellow water?" Alison's response, "You get green of course!"

We asked Drew and Zach, "How did you make purple?" Zach said, "Blue and red." Drew's response, "Red and blue!"

Rylan was so excited when he discovered that blue and yellow make green!

Eli announced, "My colors are just soaking through!"

Jake was pleased and let everyone know that he made a rainbow!

Rachel shared, "When I mix my colors I make Tye-dye colors!"

Later in the week the children will be ready for a new challenge, a next step in their investigation of color. We will offer each child a bowl of cornstarch and a spoon. We will discover about what happens when corn starch meets colored water in the mixing tray.

Mirrors and Building Toys!

At "Peace Out Time" the children were drawn to the small colorful wooden blocks placed at the rectangular table. This building toy was placed on small mirrors across from a sunny window, taking advantage of the interplay of light, reflection, and the colors of the blocks. The children sat at the table creating designs and patterns with the colorful blocks for a long period of time. Look closely at each of these photos and notice the patterns, lines, light, shapes, and colors.

Gak Here, Gak There...Gak Is Everywhere!

Making gak was a big hit with the Tel Aviv All Stars! Yesterday the teachers could not find the borax so we had to put the gak on hold until today. Well, it was worth the wait! The children enjoyed measuring and mixing all the ingredients together. Eliza asked if we could make blue gak, everyone else liked that idea as well...So blue it was! Once the gak was the right consistency to play with, the fun started! Jacob made "a hot dog", Dylan, Max and Rachel stuck toys and rocks in the gak. Eli experimented with the gak and let the gak drip off the table, onto the floor. Everyone came over to observe the gak as it slowly dripped off the table. Once all the gak was on the floor, Eli picked up the pile of gak and started the whole process again. Eli decided/announced he was going to make a bridge! Lily asked him if she could help. Eli's reply, "Sure!" As we were putting the gak away for the day the children asked if we could play with the gak tomorrow. "Of course we can!"

A Busy First Day for the Tel Aviv Children!

The Tel Aviv All Stars first day was BUSY! Jacob created a foot with the lime green play dough. Dylan and Max built an "old elevator from New York". Molly spent some time drawing a colorful picture at the easel. Hannah and Eliza created a "tunnel slide" with magnets and kindly informed us that "it is only for kids".

Playing on the playground!

The counselors set up paint at the easel with paper and brushes, as they have done many times throughout the summer. Today the children had another idea as to how we could use the paint at the easel. Eliza and Hannah decided to place their hands in the paint and finger paint the paper as well as the easel itself. Then they started to move the paint with their fingers up and down their arms. Lizzie liked their idea a lot. She came over to the easel and proceeded to paint her hands and arms with her fingers. When she was done, Lizzie announced, "I am an alien!" Zach was observing the activity at the easel for quite some time. When he approached the girls he asked them ,"Can I paint too?" He had a different idea, Zach picked up the paint brush and painted his hand then his arm with the brush only. Hannah and Eliza just finished washing off when they saw Zach painting with a paint brush. This inspired them to do the same thing! The girls then proceeded to paint their hands and arms with the paint brush.

At that moment I said to myself, "It does not get better than this, this summer has been great fun for children!" They have had the opportunity to play with sand, water, mud, paint, glitter, and glue outside on the playground!

Photos from Mud Day!

Climbing, climbing, and more climbing!

The children are really feeling successful climbing the jungle gym on the playground. The photos say it all!