Making New Friends...Abroad the Train!

While we were outside today Drew created a train by moving the plastic chairs into a straight line, then he invited kids to come aboard the train to the beach! Kids from all different classes came aboard the train. We even had someone serve us "ice cream!" After a bit, Hannah took a turn being the conductor and she took the Eliza and Noah Sussman to Florida! It was great to see so much mingling between the different ages and classes. Everyone had their own idea and contribution to the game and together they created something really fun for everyone. Thanks Drew for such a great suggestion. We all had such a great time aboard your train!

Chug A Chug A Choo Choo

One of Ilan's favorite self-initiated activities is to set up all of the chairs on the rug to make a train. This is easier said than done. First, Ilan carries each chair one by one over to the rug. Since he prefers to use all the chairs that are in the room, this task gets harder and harder as he goes along. He has to negotiate where each chair should be placed as the small rug space becomes filled up with more and more chairs. He places the chairs in rows, and as he is doing so, one by one, the other children come to claim their seat on the train. Ilan started off as the driver and announced to his passengers that they were in Needham and their first stop would be downtown Boston. Ilan began "driving," and after a couple of minutes announced, "We're in Boston." Everyone "got off" and went to The Aquarium and The Children's Museum (Josh's suggestion). Then they all got back on and headed south towards Old Saybrook, Connecticut (Sami's suggestion). After a while, Josh also wanted to drive, and Ilan happily allowed Josh to pull up a chair next to him and share in the driving. Since this train stops by the Rainbow class frequently, stay tuned to hear where the train's next stop will be!

All Aboard!

As teachers, we always put thought into the activities and materials that we make available to the children. But things don't always work out just the way we expect. Some of the most wonderful things that happen in the classroom are inspired and created by the children themselves in very spontaneous fashion. The train that a group chose to build on the rug today is a fine example of the ways in which the kids' interests shape their play.

I believe that I moved one or two trains onto the rug. The kids began carrying more chairs over and voila - they created a train! As the kids settled into their seats, Josh asked "Are you going to give us tickets?" The children used small, square bristle blocks for tickets. They also discussed the destination of the train. It wasn't Boston, New York, Baltimore, or Washington, D.C. I'm not quite sure where they traveled. The arrangement of the seats was fluid, with different kids acting as the engineer. I'm not quite sure how Ilan avoided being in any of these photos, as he played a very active role in the train play. The five kids played together as a group and really enjoyed their imagined trip!

All Aboard!

Trains are a perenial favorite toy for young children. In the Levana classroom, the children are enjoying the wooden tracks and trains for both individual and parallel play. As we observe and share in this play, we hear lots of vocabulary developing: over the bridge, through the tunnel, off the track, back up, here I come! Bennett and Gabriel each built their own trains in different areas of the track; what fun when the two trains met and briefly hitched together by their magnets.

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Rainbow Orientation

We welcomed the youngest children along with their parents to the Rainbow classroom this morning. The kitchen was a very busy spot as the children cooked eggs and baked cookies. There was also a group that washed the pots and pans when they finished. The trains had a workout as the Rainbows explored the room. We look forward to seeing the whole group together on Thursday.