Sunday, November 18, 2012

Making Necklaces for Mommy

    During our family week as part of the Thanksgiving lesson plan,
    the toddlers made necklaces for mommy. They first strung the noodles
    onto yarn, then later painted the necklaces with glitter glue.
    This activity is strong in the fine motor development area and for
    attention and persistence in their cognitive development.
    Some of the children could string their own noodles and others
    needed us to hold the string for them.












Our Very Own Science Guy

We love teachable moments and this is the best one yet!
This toddler was inspired by a younger toddler who discovered
that the laminated turkeys in our room can stick to the wall.
The toddler in these pictures wanted to see if his turkey would stick to the wall too.
With a little guidance, he put the other turkey pictures on the wall to see
if they would stick as well. And they all did! Then, with a little guidance,
he went to different walls of the classroom to see if the turkeys still
would cling to the wall...and they did again!
Next, he thought of seeing if the turkeys would stay on the window by themselves.
They did but not exactly in the same way. The turkeys had a ledge to rest on.
Isn't that an awesome science experiment!! And thought of by a toddler!



Cooking in the Kitchen

This series of pictures is like a window in the toddler's world.
As you look through them it will be like you are there with them.
On the day we took these pictures the dramatic play area
was just changed to become a kitchen for all of the holiday
cooking the children may be participating in.
They played for the entire morning! It was great!

Dramatic play is such an important part of the toddler development.
They show us what they see in their daily lives. They are also socializing
together and working together. This type of learning is what we love to see.












The Toddlers Love to Write

Look at all of the different ways the toddlers hold
their pencil and take a close look at the marks
they are making on their paper.
This activity was an unplanned one. One of the toddlers
noticed us writing on paper and wanted to write too.
We got enough pencils and paper for everyone and they all
"wrote" for a long time.







The Last of our October Activities

We went outside to search for spider webs.
We found three and all of them were in different areas.
We didn't see any spiders though.

This one was in the bushes on the side of our school.

We found this one on the brickwork by the pre-kindergarten windows.

This one was on the downspout by the office window.

This is another wonderful fine motor skill activity.
Ms. Kris dyed pumpkin seeds in different colors and
the toddler made a picture using the seeds.
The toddlers also talked about the colors they were using.
Pay attention to the fingers they use to pick up the seeds.

I don't think she is tired, she was not ready for her picture to be taken!



He has a lot on his paper! I wonder how many stayed on.
She uses both hands!




Working next to one another and sharing the pumpkin seeds
is a great social activity.