Beading
Noticing the collection of leaves after a windy day, we offered wooden, Fall colored beads. We heard conversations about favorite colors and how to make a pattern or a rainbow. Sometimes it was tricky threading the string through the hole. It took concentration and persistence, but it was also a meditative and calming activity.
A Special Snack
The children used round crackers, pretzels, craisins and cream cheese to make spiders.
Mine is actually a sun with eyes. Lily
Look mine is a sheep. See four legs, and there, two eyes. What else does a sheep need?
Reading Books
After lunchtime, children are free to explore books in the reading area. We notice that children look forward to this time, to either quietly look at a book by themselves, or to ask a friend to share a book together. As more children finish their lunches, we read stories as a group. Lately, stories about robots and Halloween have been popular subjects.
One day, while reading a story about robots getting caught in the rain, a lively discussion took place!
They’re going to run out of batteries! They’re gonna ‘splode. They don’t like the rain! Jack
They’re gonna go crrghhh ‘cos they have electricity in them. Do you see? He’s going crrrghhh. Alex demonstrates what will happen to the robot. The rain is getting inside him!
They are all doing the wrong jobs – all the gears are out. Jack
Yeah, ‘cos all the rain got them. Alex
Robot Designing
Charlie M. works on designing his robot. He even uses a robot voice as he chooses pieces of metal, springs and wood.
I am a robot master. I need the legs legs on. Ee-me, ee-me. That is the sound when the engine goes off, and then you have to pay to make it go on. Reinforcement, reinforcement. That will work work work. Charlie
Sam concentrates on working with the screwdriver. I actually have a robot at home.It has brooms on its wheels and the wheels spin around when it goes. We have a remote to get it out of its platform. It is so it can charge it.
Robot Stories
We added various blocks and wood slices to help facilitate conversation and storytelling with the completed robots.
My robot goes bee-bop, be-bop, be-bop. He can sit on his eyes and walk backwards. Charlie
Mine can shake and turn. This nail helps him get up. Look he picks up trash! Vroom, vroom! Will spends some time building with blocks around his robot, and comes up with a plan. This robot is making juice. Juice goes in like this, moves like this, then it falls out like this, right in the blender, and then it goes down this drain and it comes out here.
