Squeeze it, Squish it, Wet it......

 Our study of trees has evolved into a discussion about forests. Today, the children had the opportunity to use clay and create animals, trees, etc. for our growing forest. They used popsicle sticks to smooth the clay and make lines,  their hands to make ridges,  and their imaginations to tell us about the  caves, rocks, bores, monsters, and porcupines that live in the forest. Tomorrow the clay will return for Act II.

Not a Box

The large box that the Keshet children have been exploring with was put to good use again today.  It presented physical challenges: climbing in and out takes some planning, coordination, and balance.  It was also a way to play close to one another and a place to hide.  Was it a boat, a rocket ship, a train, or a hideout?  Perhaps you could ask your child!

Flubber Recipe

The flubber was a big hit! The children enjoyed touching, rolling, squeezing, banging, pinching the flubber. Justin made balls, Ellie created a big puddle, and Samantha L spent a lot of time decorating the flubber with colored pasta.

Here is the Flubber Recipe try it at home...

-1 1/2 cups warm water
- 2 cups glue
- food coloring
-1 1/3 cups warm water
-3 teaspoons borax

Mix water,glue, and food coloring in bowl number one. Mix 1 1/3 warm water and borax in bowl number two. Then mix both mixtures together. Place in tray and let sit in air tight container for two hours.

Have Fun!

Cute Monkey Robots!

Help children learn to play by joining in the play yourself! Children learn play skills and vocabulary for friendship by the way adults speak to and play with them!

Modeling and coaching how to speak to and play with others is one of Jesse's many strengths! Grace and Hannah asked Jesse to play "monkey robots". Jesse was more than eager to play! Jesse had to hide and Grace and Hannah the "monkey robots", had to find her!

Everyone had so much fun and the game was bonding for both the teacher and the children!

The Outdoor Classroom!

It was beautiful summer day today! We took our classroom and learning outdoors! Alex decorated the playground wall with chalk, Lindsey's supported and guided him all the way! He also enjoyed hanging out on the bikes,and rode our horses in the back!

Hannah and Grace spent time climbing up and down the slide, played "mommy and baby" and invited Alex over to the kitchen area to bake cookies. What a day!

The Outdoor Classroom!

It was beautiful summer day today! We took our classroom and learning outdoors! Alex decorated the playground wall with chalk, Lindsey's supported and guided him all the way! He also enjoyed hanging out on the bikes,and rode our horses in the back!

Hannah and Grace spent time climbing up and down the slide, played "mommy and baby" and invited Alex over to the kitchen area to bake cookies. What a day!

firefighters in training

Rose, Bennett and Josh did some serious firefighting today.  The cleaned and filled their fire hoses, used the fence to hold hoses while they put out flames, and used tools to view potential fires in the area.

When they finished putting out a fire at a house near the climbing structure, they were sure to tell the owners that it was safe to return, "but everything is soaked".  Job well done!

Off to see the World!

We are off! The Tel Aviv class is currently now in ISRAEL! We had a blast building our very own plane to travel to Israel. We are excited for this visit because throughout the week we are going to do and see so many exciting things but also Israel is a place where people we know and love have visited before. It is a land that many members in our families have connections to. Last week the Tel Aviv class made a beautiful Israel wall hanging with Rohan and this week we are using it as a map to display all the AMAZING pictures we have of the Tel Aviv parents throughout their lives in different Israel sights. We are excited to see the Dead Sea and float like Zach's dad or go to the Western Wall where both Elias's mom and Micah's Rosin's mom have been.  This home-school connection has been so fun and it sounds like the conversations are continuing at home!
 Thanks for sharing your pictures and memories with us!
We are excited to share our pictures and our memories of our trip with you as well!!

Not a Box

The creative exploration continued with the house that several children imagined today.  They closed up the doors and giggled quietly inside.  They took in some magna-tiles to add to their fun.  What will they come up with next?

 

                                                                           

Caution: Imaginations at Work

Today the large cardboard box was not a box, but a fire station, and then a three dimensional canvas inviting artistic expression.  It was fun to see how Joseph and Ethan worked at climbing the large wooden platform outside of the fire station and hoisting themselves onto the other platform we placed inside.  At different points over the course of the morning, Joseph and Harrison individually maneuvered the very large box around on the floor in order to better suit their play.  Muscles and imaginations worked together to add to the enjoyment of the children's explorations.

Abby and Eva are working their arms as they paint on the walls - positioning their fingers in the pincer grasp as they strengthen the muscles in the shoulder girdle.

Look who is caring for the baby!

l

Josie(Mom) and Noah(Dad) enjoyed playing and taking care of their baby today.  They fed the baby, put him in a blanket and bounced the baby up and down.  As they shook the blanket they said, "Weeeeee" as the baby bounced around! 

When it was time to clean up and go to Simon Hall to play, Noah did not want to put his baby away for the day.  I told him first we will clean up, and then he could bring the baby to play with us in Simon Hall.  Noah got right to work cleaning the classroom with his friends.

Not a Box

is the title of a book by Antoinette Portis.  Here's a summary: "A box is just a box . . . unless it's not a box. From mountain to rocket ship, a small rabbit shows that a box will go as far as the imagination allows.  Inspired by a memory of sitting in a box on her driveway with her sister, Antoinette Portis captures the thrill when pretend feels so real that it actually becomes real-when the imagination takes over and inside a cardboard box, a child is transported to a world where anything is possible."

Exploring the possibilities began this morning.  It was a hiding place, a fire station,  and it was also the canvas for artistic expression.   Ben and Ethan chose to draw on the top and the sides, and then Ally and Ethan continued drawing on the inside, on the ceiling and on the walls.  I wonder what they will do  with it next?

 

Our own Jacuzzi!

Yesterday  just before it was time to go inside Zach and Micah placed a clear plastic container in the wooden planter.  Zach shouted out, "This can be a jacuzzi!   I went into a real jacuzzi on my vacation!"   The children loved the idea!  On Tuesday they climbed in, sat down in the "hot tub" and enjoyed the nice weather.

Today however as you know it snowed.  Elias and Zach filled up the jacuzzi with snow  and invited all their friends over to take a dip in their very own jacuzzi!

Snow in the Classroom!!

Today on the playground we collected snow and sticks to play with in our classroom. it was neat to have snow inside. We used shovels to bury the sticks and to dig for buried treasure! Some kids liked using their gloves to dig in the snow and other kids liked experimenting how the snow felt on their hands. The snow was smooth and good for packing. We even made a tiny indoor snow-person! So fun!

 

Sweet goodies at the sandbox

Samantha and Charlotte played at the sand box pretending they had a bakery filled with all sorts of sweet goodies they had baked.
Charlotte: "I'm making a chocolate cake"
Samantha: "Me too!"
With much excitement they looked to find all the buckets they could in the sandbox to use for baking at their bakery. Chocolate cakes were the featured item of the day!

Fall Walk Adventure

Thursday the Tel Aviv class split in to two groups and Joshua, Micah Rosin, Elias, Zach, Lily and I went on a beautiful fall walk! The weather was perfect for exploring the woods behind the playground and we set off, plastic bags in hand ready to see what we could find! We quickly found colored leaves and sticks but then decided that playing in the woods was more interesting than collecting. Together we turned over rocks and examined bugs and played imaginary games such as “house” and “hike” in the natural environment. Its great to see how they have the whole world as their materials for play! The woods allow children to take safe risks such as climbing the hill or balancing on the log it is a joy to watch their play flourish as they become more comfortable being outdoors and with each other.  We even got to  have a special pumpkin bread snack outside! After about an hour we packed up our bags full of leaves and headed back to the classroom.  

Once at the classroom much of the group was drawn immediately to the blocks that resembled trees!  Elias immediately tried to create really tall trees and then Micah Rosin created a whole forest with lots of smaller trees. I loved how they took their create energies from the wood and brought they right back into their play. They even used the pictures of themselves to re-create the journey they had just experienced. It was very neat to watch!  Such a wonderful way to spend a beautiful day!!

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!

Nemo and Bruce!

Nathan brought Nemo to school yesterday. He could not wait to take Nemo into the pool to swim in the "cool" purple water! Nemo never swam in purple water before. Bruce heard that Nemo was visiting, so he stopped in to say hi. It was quit a reunion!

Meet Our New Friend Madison!

Today on the playground we moved one of the storage sheds, which exposed a large area of dirt that had been beneath the shed. Rachel, Jacob and Eli decided to explore the dirt and after only a few moments Jacob shouted, "A worm! A worm!" Rachel preceded to pick up the worm that Jacob was pointing at and before I knew it Eli was shouting," Look Jacob its a lizard!" The three children ran to me to show me the lizard and soon had a large crowed around them who we eager to see their finding. The lizard was small and slimy and eager to crawl on all our Tel Aviv friends. Once the excitement had died down the trio went into the house and played house with their new-found lizard friend, now named Madison. She was the mommy to the plastic caterpillars Jacob had found on the playground. At the end of playground time we said goodbye to Madison and put her in a safe place so she could get air. It was neat to find a new creature on the playground. I was pleased that the Tel Aviv class knew how to be gentle with a new critter. We are excited to go back into the woods soon and see if we can find anymore new fun critters!

The power of suggestion

Thank you to the powers that be for our wonderful new sensory table. The children had a lot of fun pouring water through the soft plastic tubing, pretending it was "pee." Putting a small yellow funnel in a plastic cup, and then adding the water contributed greatly to this imaginary play. The children were in fact hysterically laughing while creating their "pee factory." Ah, to be a five year old boy....