The teachers have been looking for ways to share the idea of Mid-Pacific Institute's "100 years in Manoa” with the children. As we mentioned before, the children are not developmentally ready to embrace the concept of "place," so discussing "Manoa,"  "community," and "100 years" is challenging! We want to share a few ideas about how to help your children understand these concepts that are developing in the Bumblebee’s classroom

Continue reading "Building Community" »

Posted by Ms. Ching at 8:05 AM | Permalink

One day in November, the children were being gathered at the end of our morning playground time to return to the classroom. The teachers called to the children, "Three-year-olds, meet by the gate." Then we realized that some of the children were no longer three years old! We needed to have a name that fit all the children.

Continue reading "Making History with the Bumble Bees" »

Posted by Ms. Ching at 3:12 PM | Permalink

At this age, young children engage with many sensory materials. They use their bodies and 
minds in making connections to other sensory encounters and experiences. As the children explore with paint and make their mark on paper and themselves, they build a relationship with the paint that they will be able to call upon when trying to express themselves in the future. In other words, they are developing their own language with paint!  A language that becomes the child's development of his/her own self-expression.  

Over the past month or so, we have shared with you the children’s strong and, at times, intense interest in painting. In observing their work, it is as if the paint has a strong hold or is speaking to their inward being. It is exciting to observe the children discover the the magic of creating a new color and exploring paint's slippery, forgiving texture.
 
We wanted to share the joy of what the children are experiencing at school with you, so we framed a provocation that was process-centered and process-driven rather than a traditional product-driven activity. The plastic bag of paints was one way to share that with you. 

We purposely said that we didn't want the finished product. We wanted the emphasis to be on the exploration of experiencing the change that was captured by the colors coming together, allowing you to observe your child as he/she felt the paint between their fingers, or having you watch as the child’s hand and paint made contact on the white paper erasing away the whiteness of the page.  In observing the children’s dance with the paint, it is as if
they are BECOMING one with the paint in many different ways.

The most powerful things that spoke to us when reading your responses were:
1) The children knew that 'something' would happen when the paint was mixed - not neccessarily that a certain color would be created. This is where the children are at; they don't care about the final product (color). They do enjoy the 'magic' of  changing the color and that they created it.
2) Many children continued painting beyond the paper. The children rubbed the paint up their arms and on their bodies. We wonder why the children enjoy doing this so much, both at home and at school.
3) The children used many different ways to make marks on the paint on the paper. These are the beginning stages of literacy being made visible.
4) The children are developing a vocabulary to express what they are doing with the material and how it feels.
5) The children are relating painting to other experiences, either from home or school, helping them make sense of their world.

If you're interested in reading all the parent responses and seeing the photographs that were shared about the paint extension at home, the binder will be on the shelf by the couch.

Your responses to our questions allowed us see to what this experience held for you and your child. Thank you for sharing this experience with us and for taking the time to play with your child!









 

Posted by Ms. Ching at 1:16 PM | Permalink

Thanks to all who attended our first Parent Night. Click on the blue link to read a summary of our evening. For insight into the 4's class experience with clay, read Ms. Leslie's blog entitled The Power Of Children's Work: Looking In. Hope to see you all at our next one!

Parent evening_Oct. 15_2007.pdf

Posted by Ms. Ching at 2:03 PM | Permalink

For the last few weeks, families have been talking to us about a variety of their children's behavior issues, particularly temper tantrums, and how  best to manage them at home. In the classroom, we are also coincidentally seeing the children feeling more comfortable with us, and as a result, testing their (our?) limits. In refreshing my own thoughts and thinking about 3-year-old behavior, I thought this might be a good time to share with you some of what we are doing in the classroom to manage challenging behaviors.

Continue reading "Patience and Understanding" »

Posted by Ms. Ching at 1:23 PM | Permalink