Raffle Basket Info

Greetings Families!

To support our program, we will be raffling off baskets.  We are accepting donations for our "gift card shopping spree" basket.  This basket will contain gift cards or gift certificates for any store, in any amount.  Some popular gift card choices may include the following:

-Target

-Meijer

-Toys R Us/Babies R Us

-Barnes and Noble

-Kroger

-Restaurants (Applebees, Rainforest Cafe, Olive Garden)

-Museums/Zoos (the Henry Ford/Greenfield Village, Detroit Zoo)

-Panera

-Starbucks

-Coldstone

-Dunkin Donuts/Baskin Robbins

I thank you in advance for your support and your donations.

Exploring With Baking and Cooking

Ms. Davis's Classroom Investigations

Exploring With Baking and Cooking

October 2012

 

During the course of the semester I have observed the children exploring with cooking in several areas such as the dramatic play area, the sand table and during outdoor time. On more than one occasion, I have recorded the children’s explorations with baking/cooking in the kitchen area and in the sand table, as they pretended to prepare cakes, cookies and/ or meals for myself, family, friends and love ones.  

Airplane Explorations

Ms. Szymaszek’s Classroom Investigations:

Airplane Explorations

October , 2012

 

 Upon placing Legos on the table, the children began to use Legos to build different airplanes, rocket ships, and helicopters.  For weeks, the children used Legos to build different airplanes.  To further their investigations, I provided the children with a diagram drawing of an airplane, showing all of the parts required for flight.

 

  For another few weeks, the children continued to build airplanes with more accuracy, and began to use the appropriate vocabulary associated with their structures.  “My airplane has two wings, and the jets are right here underneath.”  “My airplane needs to have a window to see through.”  “Your airplane won’t work!  It needs to have two sets of wheels so it can drive on the runway, see?”

 To expand upon this experience, I provided a large printout of an airplane cockpit, and taped it to a transparent board.  I also provided to floor chairs for the children to sit on.  The children have brought over multiple chairs so that two children can be the “pilot and copilot” and the other people can “sit here, ride in the airplane, and read some books.”  After hearing the story The Noisy Airplane Ride, the children have used the book as a point of reference for airplane travel.  “See here?  In the book it says you have to pass out a snack and drink.”  “It says the captain has to talk to the people in the back.  I’m the captain and I say buckle your seatbelts!”  The children have enjoyed taking turns piloting the airplane and riding as a passenger.  We have also talked about who rides on an airplane, and the jobs of the people on the airplane.  “The captain is like a pilot. He drives the airplane.”  “There are other people on the airplane.  They have to sit and buckle their seatbelts and eat their snack.”

To further this exploration, the children will get to see a presentation on airplanes, and view a video taken from the cockpit of an airplane taking off and landing, as well as a video from the cockpit of the Blue Angels stunt airplanes.  We will continue to explore with being pilots, and perhaps begin building larger airplanes with big wooden blocks.  If you or your family knows a pilot, has pictures of airplanes, or have books about airplanes, we would love to have you share them with our class! 

I want to make a home where bees live!

Ms. Szymaszek’s Classroom Investigations:

I want to make a home where bees live!

October 18, 2012

Exploring with the Triangle Magnet Tiles

Ms. Fausneaucht's Classroom Investigations

Exploring with the Triangle Magnet Tiles

October 16, 2012

The project that I have been working with the children has been building 3D or flat structures with the triangle magnet tiles. I noticed the children’s main focus would be using the square magnet tiles to build. The children often argued with who had the most magnet tiles, occurring throughout the play. The children consistently used the squares and did not use the triangles when offered. To challenge their thinking I have only provided the children with the triangle magnet tiles to explore and have had them explore with only the tall triangle magnet tiles to see how they will communicate with each other when faced with conflict.

Animal Explorations

Ms. Jennifer's Classroom Investigations

Animal Explorations

October 17, 2012

     As I observed the preschool children in Ms. Szymaszek’s class during the first few weeks of the semester, I noticed that almost every morning the children were taking out the magnatiles and plastic animals and playing with them in the block area.  It was hard to determine the focus of their play sessions with all of the distractions and other activities going on in the block area, so I thoughtfully designed a lesson to reveal the topics that were sparking curiosity in the children...

We are building a zoo!

Ms. Szymaszek’s Investigations:

“We are building a zoo.”

October 12, 2012

They fell off the trees!

Ms. Szymaszek’s Investigations:

Collecting Leaves: “They fell off the trees!”

October 11, 2012

 

But we need the leaves and berries to feed it!

Ms. Szymaszek’s Classroom Investigations:

“But we need the leaves and berries to feed it!”

October 5, 2012