Sticky Window Art

I came across the idea of using Clear Transparent Paper and foamies for an art experience on Dana Gorman's Playfully Learning Blog (she found it on another teaching blog).  It is available at Walmart in the bathroom/kitchen section and comes in clear and foggy like we had here.  I was hoping for clear but Walmart was all out.

Dana had put the contact paper on her art easel and filled the trays with yarn and foamy shapes.  Her easel was clear and the children could look through the paper while they created.  Our easel is dark and I was trying to come up with a creative way to do this experience with similar effects.

We ended up taping the paper to the window and it ended up being a great way for light to flow through the paper.

At this point in the year the children didn't have any issues with reaching the window - we discussed if it would be available for all children to enjoy and it was.

We had huge heart flowers.

And butterflies, lollipops, monsters, houses, patterns, and rainbows.

Both the 3 and 4 year old classes enjoyed this art experience.

I love messy art, but this was a GREAT way to include an open ended art experience into your classroom.  Many parents also enjoyed the idea and thought about incorporating it into their homes with their toddlers and other children.

It encouraged creativity and imagination and we also observed the children making things together and using the pieces to tell stories.   It was a refreshing and age appropriate way of including art into the preschool classroom.

 

Real Firefighters

There is something special about getting a visit from REAL FIRE FIGHTERS.  They are heroes, community helpers, and a symbol of bravery and courage.  I am so thankful that fire fighters know how to connect with children in their community and come down to their level.  These fire fighters jumped right in with smiles, chatted down on their knees with the children, answered their questions, and engaged them in conversation.  I wonder if they know how much impact they have on the lives of children.

We had a ladder truck come to school and they took the ladder way up into the sky.  The kids watched a fire fighter climb up it.

They put down the stabilizers and one of our children got to press the buttons to do that.

The EMS and their ambulance also came to our school this day!  We fit 16 children and a teacher inside it!  The paramedic was great at showing some of the equipment and the children enjoyed exploring this emergency vehicle.  It has expanded the play in our block centre with the emergency vehicles.  The ambulance come now off the shelf and assists the fire fighters.

THANK YOU TO OUR COMMUNITY HELPERS FOR MAKING THIS POSSIBLE FOR US.  WE LOVED IT AND LEARNED SOME MUCH FROM YOU.

Following the Child's Lead in Play

Well today I learned about following the child's lead in play - and the scuff marks on the knees of my pants will show this!

On Monday I introduced a prop box with fire jackets, helmets, axes, a hose, walkie talkie, pictures of fire, and play fire extinguisher.  Many children dove into dramatic play putting fires out all over the classroom.  Yesterday, my practicum student brought in a prop box that she had made and it had some great ideas.  One was that she made maps of Calgary and the children were reading them and determining where the fire was.

Some comments we recorded were:

• "Oh where is the fire?  Here it is, the fire is in Ranchlands.  We need to go there."
• "I see fire up here.  We need to go this way to put out the fire."
• "We can't go yet!  We haven't looked at the map!  Firefighters look at the map for a long time first.  Then we can go."

 My practicum student also turned the box that she used to store the firefighter materials into a fire engine!  This sturdy plastic container was just the right size for our 3 and 4 year olds and guess what my job was?  To push the fire truck around the classroom as the children followed the map and put out fires.  The knees on my pants were very worn by the end of the day!

 What a wonderful opportunity for following the child's lead in play!  They invited me to join in and as they directed me around the room I could hear their conversations, support their play, and be a part of their learning.  This was a child lead activity and it reminded me of the importance of supporting and scaffolding these experiences.

 We had a fire house dog and it helped rescue other dogs and cats from places.

We put blue streamers and card stock on the art table so that the children could make their own hose to play with and bring home. 

 

 One child discovered this tube in our class.  Yesterday the 4 year old classes were using it as a fire pole for the little firefighters.  This 3 year old child thought it worked great as a fire hose!  It is fun to see the different classes use the materials in creative ways.

Saving animals from trees was important work as well.  We even had a child dress up in our cat costume and call to be rescued.

Working together to put out a fire in this house.  Someone had burned the pizza they were cooking and called the fire department!

 We also learned that smoke can be very dark and flashlights are important tools for firefighters.

I did get a helper in our afternoon class!  She was determined to push her friend around!

Again, not all of the children were engaged in playing firefighters. Some were in the sand table, others painted and explored playdough.  But, I hope that this provides you with some ideas of exploring fire safety and firefighters!

"I Think it is Time we Learned about Fire Safety"

Today we began our project exploring Fire Fighters and Fire Safety.  Several children in my class have been asking for several weeks to explore this and entered our classrooms with big smiles because "Finally we are learning about Fire Fighters".  I like to do Fire Safety once a year to explore ways of keeping safe from fire and to help the preschoolers get a clearer sense of why we do fire drills.

Setting the Stage:
Children know that fire fighters put out fires.  But, why do they wear a mask, jackets, oxygen tank, and boots?  What is the ax for?  What is a hydrant?  What other equipment does a fire fighter need?  Are girls fire fighters too?  What happens during a forest fire or grass fire?  Do helicopters and airplanes  help put our fires?  These are some questions that we are beginning to ask and investigate!


Some children began to explore fire fighters through pretend and dramatic play.  I found these fire fighter boots at Walmart!  We explored how boots would keep a fire fighter's feet safe.

Fire helmets and jackets were an important part of their creative play.

Some children made their own fire hoses to play with.  They glued blue streamers inside a piece of cardstock.  We then rolled it up and stapled it!  They used it to put fires out all over our classroom.

I laminated some pictures of fire and put sticky tack on the back.  The children could move the pictures around the classroom and take them down when the fire was put out.

After discussion with the staff, we decided to not put out the toy fire hall for the children.  I don't mind the toy, but I wondered if it restricted the children from using their imaginations and creativity.  You don't have to "Grow Your Brain" and create a fire hall if it is already there.  The children did  noticed that a fire hall was missing, but an essential part of playing fire fighter.  We discussed some ways to solve this problem and decided that blocks would be the best way to create our own fire hall.  One child suggested that a fire hall needs a pole for the fire fighters to go down to their fire engines.  He and I discovered that a wrapping paper tube would be a perfect pole!  Our little fire fighters could fit inside!  Together we used our imagination and it was interesting to observe the symbolic representation and pretend play that occured!

This is the fire hall that was built in our block corner today. 

Are Egg Shells Weak or Strong?

The children at school wanted to spend some time celebrating Easter.  We went on an Easter Egg Hunt, decorated eggs, and did some science! 

I asked the children if they thought that egg shells were weak or strong.  Most of the children said "weak" because "Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall... Humpty Dumpty had a great fall!"  I asked them what would happen if I squished an egg shell in my hand or jumped on it with my feet.  They responded, "It would break!"

Then I asked, "Do you think the eggs are strong enough to hold up these blocks?"  Some said, "Yes", others "No" and some "Maybe".  We made predictions on how many blue and red cardboard boxes we could stack on the shells before they broke.  I set 3 half egg shells up in a triangle shape.

We stacked 10 of the cardboard boxes on and that was more then all of our predictions!

Then we tried the heavier wooden blocks.  The children determined that these heavier blocks would break the eggs.  Their predictions were correct! 

We learned that eggs are stronger then we thought.  When we put the blocks on gently they didn't break but if we were rough and dropped the block on the egg shattered.  The same thing happens when we drop one on the ground!  Humpty Dumpty!