Observational Drawings of our Pumpkins

When we returned form the pumpkin patch, Julian, Talia, and Evan used markers, paper, and clip boards to make observational drawings of their pumpkins. Just like scientists do, the children carefully observed the pumpkins and represented the shape, colors, and parts of the pumpkin. After drawing their pumpkins, the children added labels. The children used labels to identify the important parts of the pumpkin, such as, pumpkin, stem, ribs, skin, and even seeds. When asked if they could see the seeds, the children explained they were inside the pumpkin and that if we opened up the pumpkin we would be able to see them. This led us right to our next exploration- what is inside a pumpkin? 

Creating insects with playdough...

The children spent a lot of time creating bugs and insects with pipe cleaners and playdough! Adam made a rainbow worm, Micah G. a cockroach and spider, Molly an ant and Charlotte made beetle. All week we have been changing the materials at the playdough/insect table...challenges the children's fine motor skills! Keeps the activity fun and interesting too!

Worms!

How long is a worm?  A real big earthworm might reach from the top to the bottom of a small book.  Some are even longer than that.  When you look closely at an earthworm, you see that it's body is made up of many rings, or segments.  It moves with the help of hairs like bristles on a brush.. Worms can be smaller than earthworms or could be longer than an automobile- like the giant Australian worm!

The Tel Aviv children have been learning a lot about worms!  We read books about worms, measure worms, dig for worms outside, count worms, and play them.   We have also talked about how to be gentle and  care for worms, as they  help the environment!

When you get a chance check out our worm farm.

Worm Farm!

Worms are fascinating critters! Today we created a worm farm in our sensory table!  By creating a habitat for the worms the children have the opportunity to keep observing without killing the worms with kindness. The natural world taps into children's innate sense of wonder and curiosity. 

At circle time we introduced the worms to the entire group.  We talked about how important worms are for the environment.  They are natures way of composting naturally,  worms bring air to soil by tunneling in the dirt and we modeled how to handle the delicate creatures, gently and respectfully. 

As soon as the classroom opened for free play the children gravitated to the worm farm for a ringside seat to all the wonderful worms!  If you get a chance stop into the Tel Aviv classroom and check out our little friends!

Let's Explore Living Creatures!

Over the course of the next several weeks the children will take on the role of "young naturalists, they will engage in exploratory play as they look for living things, find out what they are like and what they do, examine where they live, and learn about what they need.
Many of the children will see the study of bugs/insects as an opportunity to become caregivers, the insects becoming pets.  One of our learning goals is for the children to see that it is our responsibility to help care for all living creatures and protect them and their environments.
Yesterday we went on an insect/bug walk in the woods!  The children brought their insect journals, markers, magnifying glasses, bug catchers, and binoculars.  They lifted rocks, tree stumps(with a teacher of course) and searched for bugs/insects.
Charlotte and Samantha found "rollie pollies"!  Charlotte put the little critter in her bug finder and Samantha took the time to draw it in her journal.  Samantha said, "Look I made the rollie pollie in my journal, it's shaped like a circle."
Adam found a bug and was so excited ...He yelled, "Lauri look what I found!"  He ran as fast as he could over to show me, then tripped and fell to the ground.  When he stood up Adam put his hand out to show me what he found, apparently the bug got a little smooshed.  He did not recognize the little critter anymore, he said, "yuck, I lost it."  Then he shook his hand and brushed it off.  I said, "These things happen."
Everyone enjoyed exploring living creatures in the woods.  Both the Tel Aviv teachers and children look forward to many more opportunities to investigate real living creatures, developing new ideas and theories, and sharing them with others!

What Is That?

The Etzim children had a wonderful time at the Purim play today!  It was a memorable performance, and we were all laughing and talking about it as we entered our classroom.  We stopped short when we saw this oozing down our cubbies!  Any ideas on what it is?

It's gak (glue, borax, and water) that we made before we left for the show!  We knew it was slimy (one of our favorite words), but we didn't know it would try to escape down the cubbies!

Science Talk...

Over the last several weeks the children have had multiple opportunities to openly explore how long it takes for beans to change and grow.  We have been closely observing the growth and development of the moist bean in a Ziploc bag.  Yesterday we planted some of the sprouted beans and apple seeds we saved from our group snack, in some fresh potting soil.   The children will continue to water and care for the plants and possibly observe the full life cycle.

During circle time we brought the children together passed around the celery and flowers that have been soaking in green and blue food coloring for over a week.  We talked about the changes they noticed in the in the leaves of the celery and the petals on the white flowers.  We asked the children...
"Do you remember how the celery and flowers looked before we soaked in them in the food coloring and water?"   "How did they change?"

  Most of the children noticed, before we placed the flowers and celery in the colored water, the celery was all green and the petals on the flowers were all white.  After the celery and flowers soaked in the colored water the leaves on the celery turned blue, and the white petals on the flowers where now white and green.

Stay tuned for more SCIENCE TALK...Tomorrow we will have the opportunity to explore a variety of fruits at our Tu B'Shevat Seder!

Science Talk...

Last week the children had the opportunity to place lima beans and/or beans they found outside on the playground on a wet paper towel in a Ziploc bag.  We taped the bags to the window and have been watering/spraying/observing them everyday.

During choice time today, I sat with the children at the science center table and listened to them as they shared their observation and ideas.   Over the three day weekend the children discovered that the beans changed!   I asked each child..."Do you think your beans changed?"   Zach was so excited when he saw his beans!  Over and over again he kept saying,   "Mine growed, mine growed!"   Noah said, " Mine are magic beans that will grow a bean stalk."   Adam said, "Mine are yellow not white anymore."   Micah R ," Mine growed when I watered them!"   I continued to ask the children questions like "Do you remember what the beans looked like when we placed them in the bag?"   Then I repeated and asked again, "How have they changed?"   I  encouraged them to open our Science Log Journal and draw an observational drawing. 

One way to focus children's observations and thinking on growth and development is to help them compile a journal of drawings and notes they make over time.  We will continue to encourage the children to use our Science Log to record changes in the beans growth and development.  Eventually we will plant the sprouted beans in some potting soil, and continue to track the plants growth over time.

Bean Experiment

Tu B'Shevat is made for scientific exploration! The roots are an important part of the plant's sructure. Without them, the wonderful parts children see could not stand up and survive. Roots, of course, are underground and not typically visible. However, when children are given opportunities to germinate seeds in paper towels, transplant seedlings, weed a garden, or dig up plants for a terrarium, they will have opportunities to observe roots and develop their own ideas about the purpose of roots. On Tuesday, the children placed lima beans and brown beans that they found outside on the playground in paper towels and placed them in a ziplock bag. We will water/spray the beans everyday and encouage the children to record and represent their observations in our SCIENCE TALK JOURNAL. We will update you and share our observations!

Science Talk...

Today in our morning circle  we placed the frozen toys on the rug and passed each cup around our circle.  We then encouraged the children to observe, think, question and explore each cup.

The dialogue:
Noah: "Well it did not turn brown it's just stuck." 
Elias: "It pops out of the cup and it's the same shape of the cup." 
Josh:"It drips!" 
Elias: "Why is the water with the stick yellow?"
Teacher: "The stick is painted, the paint washed off in the water. Why don't the toys move around in the cup of water?" 
Adam: "Because they are frozen and now they are stuck."
Teacher: "What will happen if we leave the frozen cups in the sensory table?" 
"They will melt!" 
Teacher: "How long will it take to melt?"  
"One day, !00 minutes. 1000 days, 4 minutes..."
We left the cups in the sensory table for the children to observe, it actually took about 1 hour and 30 minutes to melt.

How children approach this exploration and what they learn, is influenced by a range of factors including different experiences, needs, skills and ideas that young children bring.  We are looking forward to our next science discussion!

Trees in the Wind

Etzim means trees, and we hold this subject near and dear to our hearts. Yesterday, we all shared stories of what we saw during Sandy. Some friends saw "trees blowing, a branch on my house, a bird was flying by blowing, and a little rain. One common theme was fallen trees. Today we examined wood inside of a tree that had snapped in two. We learned some new words - spongy, decompose, We felt the spongy texture of the wood and talked about how and why things decompose. We already cut our big, rotten pumpkin and we've got a couple more to explore! 

Smell, Touch, Eat!

When we carve a pumpkin we use all our senses!  We felt the bumpy and smooth surface of the pumpkin.  We stuck our hands in to feel the cool, smooth seeds.  Our favorite was to smell the pumpkin, with some of us almost falling in!  We graphed how many children liked and disliked the pumpkin seeds we roasted.  It was almost even, until Sophie G. changed her mind and decided she liked them after all!  Delicious.
 

Falling Leaves Are Everywhere!

Today the Etzim class were falling leaves, whirling and spinning with Dancing Nancy!  Then we went back to our classroom and took some time to look at the leaves we have collected over the last week.  We looked at what happens when our leaves get old.  We examined the different shapes, colors, and textures of the leaves, and then headed outside to build our collection!

The Ever-Curious Etzim

Today we took full advantage of the beautiful weather and headed outside for a snack in the Sukkah!   The Etzim children were extremely curious about the pumpkins and what might have been snacking on them.   Some guesses included chipmunks, squirrels, bears, and bigfoot!  

The Tel-Aviv Tuna Factory!

This week in the Tel Aviv class we have been talking a lot about ways to be nice people. So we decided what a good week to make a tuna casserole for Rosie’s Place!? The Tel Aviv kids loved watching the pasta boil and enjoyed being part of each step of the casserole making process. We learned how to use a can opener and then Noah, Elias and Josie each took turns opening our three cans of tuna. We use plastic knives to cut the butter and quickly Micha Rosen learned that even if the butter is stuck to your knife, if you dip the knife in the pasta then the butter will melt off!! Elias thought the tuna would melt in the hot pasta as well, but after a bit he realized that we needed to stir the tuna around so that it would be even-it wouldn’t just melt evenly. Lily did a great job pouring all the cheese on and we were able to watch the cheese melt as well. Who knew the cooking could lead to such  great scientific  discovery!

 After our dish was made we carried it up to the kitchen so we could freeze it until next pick-up. 

Great work Tel Aviv friends! What a great way to start the year!

Water Wall Report!

Today the children continued to build the Water Wall. We drilled holes into plastic containers with a drill. Then we worked together to attach them to the fence with pipe cleaners!

Next week the plan is to get a few more clear plastic tubes to attach to the Water Wall.

The best part seems to be filling the tubes with colored water and watching the water flow through the tubes into the plastic containers, out the holes and into the bucket!

Water Wall Report!

The children were very busy today drilling holes in plastic containers and mixing the water colors as they experimented with color! Throughout the day a small group of children shared the basters to fill the clear tube, as they observed the water flow into the bucket below.

Neon Play Dough!

"Who wants to make neon play dough?" "Me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me and me!" The children decided on fuchsia. One drop of blue and six drops of light pink. We all measured and mixed the ingredients together and we came up with neon purple play dough. Check it out!

It's Still New England

The Unicorn class proudly grew a bean plant from a seed.  We watered it, cared for it, and put it outside when the sunny days were so inviting.  Today we learned that New England weather is tricky, and that our bean plant did not enjoy those recent cold nights.  We salvaged what we could of our crop and trimmed back the dead leaves.  Children who sampled the beans said they were delicious.

We're Going on an Ant Hunt!

We had a few special guests in our class today...ants! During circle the class leaped up to go look at an ant that was climbing on the cabinet. We then decided to get out some magnify glasses and go for an "ant hunt" for better or worse the ant hunt was quite successful and we found quite a few ants and moved them into the recycling bin where we examined them and then we released them outside. Everyone had fun finding the ants and watching them move. It was neat to look at them though the magnify glasses and everyone enjoyed looking at each other through them as well. Hopefully the ants are only hear for a short visit but we are excited by their interest in ants and other critters so I checked out some books on ants which we will explore thought the week!