Preschool - Iris Ching

Building Community

2008-02-13T18:05:19Z

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

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As the children share their summer/winter journals, we notice how much they all enjoy sharing about their own family with each other. The children can recognize and relate to events in others' lives, which is an important developmental achievement when children can move beyond a sense of “me” to an appreciation for “we."

Self-centeredness or "egocentrism" is part of a three-year-old's cognitive and social development. The world revolves around them. It is hard for them to understand another person's point-of-view, let alone that people live in different communities! However, the children can appreciate the notion of "family" because "family" is a lived experience and the strongest component of their environment. Thus, we acknowledge that their working understanding of "community" is "family."

So we decided to go smaller. We thought it would be interesting to combine the sharing of the journals with the concept of community (as well as all the art media the children have been exploring). As a provocation to the children, we have created these little houses. We would like you to provide special little objects for the children to collage on their house, such as photo copies of your family, pets, favorite stuffed animal or small objects that can be glued onto the house to make it uniquely their own. We will be providing a bumblebee and a symbol of some sort to represent MPI Preschool. Take a look at the houses so you know the size of photos and treasures to collect with your child. The children will be painting the houses tomorrow and start gluing some time next week. Think about things that are unique to your child so the houses really show their special personality.

Carrie (Samantha) came in to help us bake lemon cookies. The children helped measure and mix the batter. They helped form balls from the dough, then smash it into cookies. A group of children took the cookies down to the “big kids school” (Scudder dining hall) to bake the cookies in their oven. The group talked about how the dining hall and kitchen were part of our school and part of our Mid-Pacific community. We welcome any volunteers to help us cook with the children. Let us know what and when you’d like to share a favorite recipe with us. We are thinking of making a Bumblebee Cookbook, if we get enough recipes — a great way to create our own preschool community. Most of these children will be together for the next fourteen years!!! Let's start building strong relationships amongst the children, our families, and MPI now!

We are looking forward to see what develops. Recipe books, houses, friendships, ohana!

Making History with the Bumble Bees

2008-01-15T01:12:27Z

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.

]]> our name be?

The teachers asked the children for ideas. They started calling out animal names, which we wrote on the board. The ideas they suggested were Dinosaurs, Ducks, Bunny Rabbits, Tigers, Elephants, and Bumble Bees. The children then voted. The process was a challenge! They couldn't understand that they needed to choose just their one favorite name, and ended up voting for all the ones they liked! The teachers took the two names with the most votes, Tigers and Bumble Bees, and had the children vote again. The children had a much easier time with only two options. Bumble Bees was the winner! Everyone was so excited they began to clap and cheer!

Upon returning to class, the teachers decided to have the children work on their new identity with a provocation. The children were asked to draw their image of a bumble bee. We didn't provide any pictures or photos, as we wanted to see their own ideas. Here are a few of their drawings.

The preschool children know whether they are a Golden Owl or a Bumble Bee. Our 3's class have enjoyed buzzing and flying back to the classroom. The four-year-old children in the class appreciate not being called "the three-year-old class." We wondered why this group of children named themselves the Bumble Bees. Could it be that the name Bumble Bees was chosen because of the new Bee Movie? Was it chosen because of the Bumble Bee character in the Transformers movie? Was it simply because the child who suggested the name Bumble Bees has a bee as the "name stamp" that he uses in the classroom? Or could it be that the bee was chosen because of an interest in what was shared at an assembly about a bee stinging a teacher on the lip? (This stinger was brought back to school and put under the microscope and enlarged on a screen to show the children what it looked like. The enlargement was bigger than the three-year-olds! Yikes!) Whatever the reason, the name "Bumble Bees" resonated with each child in some way.

As we celebrate Mid-Pacific's 100th year in Manoa valley, we wonder how we as teachers can help our children understand the significance of this event, when the world outside the classroom may be hard for a three-year-old to comprehend. How should we share this celebration with the children so it is meaningful? Should we share the community that makes up Manoa through field trips with the class? Or should we focus on the mysteries just outside our classroom? What experiences can we provide for our children to make an impression the way a simple bumble bee has? Creating a sense of 'ohana and belonging as a "bumble bee" may be just the place to start.

Texture and Movement: Extension at Home

2007-11-01T23:16:38Z

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!

Parent Night: Experiencing Clay

2007-10-19T00:03:29Z

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

Patience and Understanding

2007-10-05T23:23:15Z

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.

]]> It took me a couple of weeks to think about what I wanted to share. The reason is a personal one. As you know, I, too, am a parent of a 3-year-old. As you started coming to us for advice, my son, as if on cue, began exploring his independence. He didn't want to go to bed. He didn't want to get out of the bathtub. He didn't want to eat dinner. My "patience" was being tested not only at school but also at home. How could I write about this subject when, I, too, was experiencing many of the same challenges?

Research and "best practices" tell us that children need consistency, structure, boundaries, and love. In my own situation, my day-care provider, Tutu, went on a week-long trip, and my son stayed home with my mother during that time. My mom is a typical grandmother who loves to spoil her only grandson. Two days after Tutu came home, my mom left on a trip. My son's structure and boundaries were rocked! Even though my son was receiving lots of love, I was the only consistent factor. I came to realize that perhaps part of his unpredictable behaviors were surfacing because I wasn't giving him moments when he felt that he had my fullest attention. I needed to find moments when my focus was on him, moments when I was clear on what the boundaries were and was providing him consistency that was shaped within a structure or routine.

Your children are experiencing similar situations at school. They have a new school and teachers to get used to. They also have new routines and rules at school to follow. Their familiarity with routines has been turned upside down as they try to make sense of this new environment and the new community that they are now a part of.

As for our discipline methods in the classroom, Ms. Leigh, Ms. Laura, and I use the same "best practices" mentioned above. We try to provide consistency, boundaries, structure, and lots of love. We realize that many of the children are experiencing their first social interactions outside their families and that children need to learn how to interact with one another. One way we provide consistency and structure is to teach them social words to use. Some children need help when entering play with others, such as asking "May I build with you?" instead of grabbing a toy from a classmate. If a child wants to play with a toy that another is using, we encourage them to ask, "May I play with it after you're done? In how many minutes?" Even though the children can't tell time, we try to follow through and remind the children when it is time to share.

When children get frustrated, they may react by hurting another child. We've read books like Hands are Not for Hitting, which give positive ideas for what to do with hands and feet besides hurting a friend. A key phrase from the book that we use is "Hands are not for hitting. Hitting hurts." We've also taught the children to say, "I don't like it when you ___(hit me). It makes me ___(mad)." We constantly remind them to "use their words" instead of crying or hurting someone as well as give them the words to use.

We never force a child to say "I'm sorry." We ask the child to check in with the child they hurt by asking "Are you okay? What can I do to make you feel better?" The consistency of word choice by all three teachers empowers the children by letting them know that they can speak up for themselves. If that doesn't work, we remind them that they can always ask a teacher for help. At age three, children are starting to realize that other people have feelings - we try to help them see the effects that their actions have.

The children have adjusted well to our rhythm of our day. The transitions at drop-off are getting better as the children are realizing that school is a great place to be and that Mom and Dad will be back to pick them up. The most challenging day tends to be Monday, when the children need to readjust from home to school routines. The structure that school provides sometimes is the closest to a routine that children experience, as our personal lives can be very busy.

As for boundaries, we let the children know our expectations - that what we are asking them to do is not a choice. They can either do it by themselves or we will do it with them. This pertains to everything from opening their snacks to cleaning up the materials they use.

Finally, we love your child. There isn't a day that goes by without a special moment that touches our hearts. We've embraced your child as our own and want to nurture their sense of wonder, well-being, and belonging in our learning community. In the same respect, you have become a big part of our world. We appreciate the time you take to talk to us about your child and family. Letting us know about changes in your child's life helps us to understand if there is a change in their behavior at school.

There is so much more about children and their behavioral development to explore. We have started a collection of articles. Please feel free to borrow the binder by the couch. We hope to see you Tuesday, October 9th, 5:30 p.m., at the Parenting Solutions Workshop, whose focus is communicating with your child.

As teachers of young children, we often hear, "Wow! You must be very patient!" We might not be any more patient than anyone else, but we do have a good understanding of the behaviors of young children. The children are, for the most part, exhibiting typical three-year-old behavior. We hope this has provided at the very least, some new words to use with your child. Before you know it, your child will be a pre-teen, but that is my other child's story, for another day...By the way, Tutu just left yesterday (Thursday) on another trip and Monday is a holiday - hopefully, my son's routine will stabilize soon!

Thanks for reading about our journey.
Ms. Iris, Ms. Leigh and Ms. Laura

Community Builders 9/10-9/14

2007-09-17T22:20:42Z

As this week progressed, we noticed the children working together, sharing with each other, and caring about their classmates, exhibiting all the values we hope to nurture in our classroom community. ]]> One of our favorite ways of building a community is "story acting." During Discovery Time, several children might dictate stories to one of the teachers. These stories are then read to the class during our Reflection Meeting. Each child has an opportunity to act out the roles or characters from the stories. In this way, the entire class becomes part of an individual's story and helps build a sharing community. Below, Ms. Leigh reads HT's story while HT and WJ act it out.
One day, we sat with SC and talked to her about some of the memories in her journal. At our Reflection Meeting, we had her share her favorite pages with the class. Included on these pages were pictures from Cars and The Little Mermaid. As the children looked at the pages, they began to notice similarities in interests and experiences, again helping build community. As SC shared that she enjoys watching movies, JB yelled out, "I saw Ka Chow, Cars. I like that!," while JM said, "I have Arial; that's my favorite, too!"

As KP, NW, ZI, and DG "made" music, LS, SC, RM, HT, and Ms. Leigh danced to the beat. We explored fast, slow, happy, sad, and angry sounds and dance movements. The children shared the different drums and chimes as well as Ms. Leigh's hands to hold! We were community-building while exploring a different language to express ourselves!

Ms. Jordan has been working with the children to draw their self-portraits. As she encourages each child to carefully observe their facial features, the children create their first "official" drawing of themselves! (A portrait is drawn every year and kept in the child's portfolio through the fifth grade.) Although this was an individual project, some of the children who had finished wanted to stay and "help" the next child, making the project a group experience.
We also are building our relationship with the four-year-old class. Our first "Water Fun Day" was filled with bubbles, squirt bottles filled with water and paint, and lots and lots of water. New friendships were made between both classes as the children created a squirt-bottle painting and chased after bubbles.

Our Mid-Pacific community grew a little bigger as an 8th grade class put on a puppet show for the preschool and Ms. Hitomi's kindergarten class. The middle school students wrote the skits and made the puppets for the performance. Our three-year-olds came back with yet another language in which to express themselves!

Another community-building exercise was with the parents! We put three photographs on clipboards and asked for parents' thoughts about what was happening in them. Although we received few comments, we know parents had a taste of what we do daily. We'll be elaborating on the photos if they develop into deeper learning discoveries.

Finally, our community extended to the entire school at our BBQ on Saturday. It was a rainy day, yet many families came to socialize (some after seeing the Thunderbirds). We are off to a wonderful start on our journey!

Reminder:

Friday, October 5: Aloun Farms field trip

An Encounter of the Mind and Hand: Painting

2007-09-05T22:42:40Z

During the first week of school, we introduced painting on an easel with tempera paint to support peer-to-peer relationships and begin building our community of learners. To encourage and foster this experience, we placed two easels side-by-side as a means of encouraging the children to look at each other's work and talk or begin a dialogue with each other about what each was painting. We also intended for this experience to open the possibility for each child to learn from and about the other.

]]> We purposely chose four colors for the children to explore- red, yellow, blue and white- hoping that the children would discover the new colors they could make when the colors were mixed. We selected the thick consistency of the tempera so that the children might discover the various textures they could create with the paint brush or with their hands.

In reflecting upon the context of this experience, we realized that, much like the first marks on paper with a pen, this experience was an extension of their journey of writing! As a child becomes a maker of artistic symbols or representations using lines and shapes, he/she begins to realize that the marks on paper is an extension of their thoughts made visible. The visual symbols not only are the beginning of writing/reading symbols, but also the development of a child's ability to plan and think. With each additional experience using paint, they learn to control their movements and decide which lines should be long or short, straight or wavy, thick or thin, which color to select and where on the paper to place the paint. The simple marks become more controlled, reflecting their growing awareness of the nature of the material and their own creative expression much like a pencil or marker on a paper.

Our Observations: The emergence of an artistic community
As Ms. Jordan encouraged the children who were painting to observe the changes in texture and colors, she noticed that instead of choosing another area to discover while they waited, the children who wanted to paint gathered around the easels. As this experience unfolded, the children's enthusiasm for painting became contagious. The easel area became not only a place to explore painting, but also a tool for building our community! As excited as they were, we found that the children were building relationships with each other and building a relationship with a new medium- paint.

Welcome to the Threes' Journey!

2007-08-26T22:25:37Z

The first two weeks have flown by! The children are getting to know each other and the teachers. They are busy exploring the classroom and the outdoors. Some children are having their first experience away from home, while others have been in a daycare setting since they were 3 months old! We are all learning about each other and how we fit into this new community of children, parents, and teachers. Many families asked how they could support at home what happens in school. Talk to your child about what happened during his/her day. The Daily Happenings posted outside our classroom may help start a discussion with the child who normally doesn't say much about his/her day. When your child asks a question, try not to give them the answer. Instead, help them develop their sense of wonder by discussing the question. What do they really want to know? I read that when a child asks a question, they already have an answer in mind! Help your child make sense of their world by letting them explain it to you! Let us know if anything at school really excites your child or is mentioned out of the ordinary.

We are finding that books are bringing the children together as a community. Everyone sits and listen as a story is being read. We will be bringing books in as a provocation to develop the children's sense of inquiry, promote a sense of community, build a relationship between home and school and just to enjoy! An example of how this works is shown through an experience that Naomi (J5) shared with us.

When Naomi picked up J5, she asked us if we had mentioned "something about dragons." She said that he had told her about "a dragon and shutting the door and a baby." We had, in fact, read the story The Seven Chinese Sisters by Kathy Tucker that morning, Instead of reading the story straight through, we slowed down, modeling how to ask questions as well as allowing the children to discuss the pages.

We asked the children questions like, "Which sister do you think is the oldest? Why?" They decided the tallest sister was the oldest because she was the biggest. When the dragon came down the mountain, we asked the children: "What do you think the dragon will do?" One child said the dragon would "blow the house down!" Their answers gave us some insight as to how they make sense of their world, such as, how size relates to age, or how the children apply their understanidng of one story to a new story and are able to make predictions. It allowed the children to share ideas and is helping them learn to listen to one another.

Although J5 sat quietly during the story, it obviously left an impression on him. Whether it was slowing down to talk about the book or a fascination with dragons, J5 was able to retell the story in detail to his mom. She in turn shared this with us, creating a full cycle. How exciting!

Our Daily Happenings have been showing you the "big picture" of our day. We include pictures of the various explorations that unfold as the children build their relationships with the materials, each other and us.There will be days when the Daily Happenings reflect the significance of those "ordinary moments" as the children progress day by day. See your mailbox for "What is your Plan for the Day?", our first of many "ordinary moments."

It has been a wonderful two weeks learning and growing with you and your child. Let the Journey begin!

Check out our photo gallery and Ms. Jordan's gallery and site too!

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Aloha

2007-06-11T17:08:43Z

The last week of school went by so fast -- the teachers are still recovering! Before heading back to our campus, we had fun in the grassy area near the middle school quad. The children blew bubbles, played with balls, built a tent, and jumped rope. After lunch, the teachers surprised the class with an ice cream party. Wednesday was our fly-up day. The children spent some time in the Kindergarten classrooms. Ms. Laura's daughter, Lea, celebrated the completion of 5th grade! KO, EC, and BW made a card for Lea and had everyone sign it! Aunty Suzanne, EKS's mom, came in to say goodbye and thank you to our class, as EKS will be moving to Japan for Kindergarten. We will miss Aunty's beautiful singing but will think of EKS whenever we see a rainbow. When Aunty asked EKS if there was anything she wanted to say to the class, EKS nodded and said, "Thank you for being my friend." Aunty Karen (TK) and Aunty Linda (CH) treated the class to a pizza lunch. Our generous room parents just can't stop themselves! We will miss you both! Instead of napping, the teachers treated the children to a movie and popcorn. The class voted on watching "Cars," and no one took a nap! Thursday, our last day of school, was spent at Magic Island! It was a beautiful day and a wonderful way to end our year. Thank you to all our incredible families! YOU made this year very special for the children. All of you touched our lives somehow, whether you came into the classroom, donated supplies, or just spoke with us about your lives. We thank you for sharing your children and family with us. We will look back on this year with great joy! Ms. Iris, Ms. Leigh, and Ms. Laura]]>

5/21-5/25

2007-05-25T06:30:07Z

Amazingly, all but one child made it back to school after the fun camping weekend. We aren't sure who had more fun, the children or the adults! We know many families plan to go camping over the summer. Wish we could figure out how to get rid of those centipedes! The Red Owl group and the Kindergarten group are working hard to finish their inquiries so they can present their findings to the children before the end of the year... Ms. Loriann gave the children the little basil plants that they planted a couple of weeks ago. She explained the importance of taking care of the plant and taking care of yourself. On Wednesday, we had our final assembly for the year. Mrs. Hussey celebrated the May, June, and July birthdays. The 'Ohana presented the teachers and staff with beautiful, personalized koa boxes! They also provided a dim sum lunch! Our parents gave us a beautiful basket of roses and puakinikini lei. After the assembly, our wonderful Golden Owls parents continued to shower us with gifts; we each recieved a gold owl pendant in a wooden box with the children's photo on it! Who knew that the class name that the children chose for themselves would lead to such a thoughful memento of our year! Aunty Karen brought Jamba Juice for everyone. Aunty Linda made crab dip and bread. Aunty Jill made a wonderful egg fritata. We thank you all for such generous, thoughtful gifts! The parents also presented Aunty Karen and Aunty Linda with a thank-you gift for being awesome room parents! We couldn't have done it without you! The Red Owls (3's) planned a day of playing in the sprinklers in their "back yard." Our Golden Owls couldn't resist; they started playing in the puddles from the water runoff. Ms. Laura and Ms. Leigh came up with a great idea; the sand box toys needed to be cleaned, sooooo our children all took the toys to the area between the CE and Art cottages to wash them. Well, Ms. Laura "accidentally" got the children wet, and the fun began. The Golden Owls were soaked from head to toe, and the sandbox toys looked like brand new! Sometimes the best fun is spontaneous! The children had to borrow clothes from each other while their clothes dried in the sun during naptime. Yes, everyone fell asleep! Thursday and Friday were parent/teacher conferences. As we put the children's portfolios together over the month, we were reminded of so many "wonder-filled" moments that were explored this year. It was hard to choose what to include in each binder that would best represent each child's growth, and there was not enough time in a 20-minute conference to share it all. There were laughter and some tears when we reviewed the portfolios with the parents. Shhhhh, keep this a secret from the kids!!! Next week Tuesday, we will be treating the children to a final play day at the fish pond. We will head down after a quick morning snack. After lunch, we will be surprising the class with an ice cream social. The children will make their own sundaes! Yum! Wednesday, we will be participating in the "flying up" process with the rest of the school. Our class will be going to Kindergarten to meet the teachers and get familiar with their new home. After lunch we will be surprising the children by going to the Tech Lab to watch a movie with popcorn! Don't be surprised if you need to pick up your sleeping child in the Tech Lab! Thursday, our last day of school, will be at the beach! Wow! Where did the year go???]]>

5/15-19

2007-05-20T03:20:51Z

At Discovery Time, JD and MF built a trap to catch the bad guys. Their plans included a special lens to "see and poison." With the boys having many ideas and strong beliefs about their building, much negotiation and problem-solving were used. They were able to independently work out their problems. ]]> Thanks to KO's mom, Colleen, we were treated to a special field trip. The class walked up to Kawaiaha'o to listen to the eighth grade band. After playing a song, the band director showed us the various instruments and let us hear the sounds they made. The children then each got to use a percussion instrument to play along with the eighth graders! They even sat in the band and felt like they were part of the big kids! The children are busy working on books filled with their favorite things. JD made a book of transportation vehicles, entitled "Jakes book." TK's book contains pictures of Casey, Jr. Train. The children draw their picture, then write what it is, using their emerging spelling skills to write the words. Here's JD binding his book. Next week we will be working on our Kindergarten group. The children have been voicing concerns about next year as they, too, realize that our time together is coming to an end. Two of our children's last day was on Thursday; JD went on an early trip to visit relatives in California, and TKS went to Japan to visit his grandfather. TKS hopes to be back before our beach day, but if not, he will be here for summer school. Reminders: Wednesday is an all-school assembly Thursday and Friday are Parent-Teacher conferences

5/7-5/11

2007-05-14T05:28:53Z

We are winding down the year and finishing up projects. The Party Planners finally got to host their long-awaited party! You've probably been reading along with us, so you know that four girls, with the assistance of Ms. Leigh, had been planning Ms. Leigh's "5th birthday party." On Wednesday, the girls went to President and Mrs. Rice's home to bake the (cup)cake for the party. Thursday was the big day; the girls decided to wear their party dresses to show that they were the hostesses of the event. The group served pizza and cake first, because everyone knows that cake is the best part of a party. We were then treated to a variety of games,including tossing a ball at a unicorn picture that the girls created. The party ended by breaking open the beautiful five-legged pinata that took weeks for the girls to make! Thank you, Ms. Leigh, for showing us how much learning can take place while having fun! And to the Party Planners for collaborating, being persistent, being determined, and putting together a great party for everyone! (More pictures are posted in our gallery.)]]> Kazuko(TKS), Miyoko(LY) and Suzanne(EKS) came in to celebrate Boys' Day. They helped us make origami helmets and color fabric Koi kites. We also enjoyed snacks of edamame and mochi crunch. We are creating a mural as a way for the children to leave a part of themselves in the classroom. All year, the children have had a fascination with light and color. They have investigated how rainbows were coming into our classroom, mixed paint, and collected beach glass, and are now creating a mural on plexiglass to name a few of the interesting ways light and color have made their way into their lives. We also made a Mother's Day gift reflecting their interest in light and color.The children used stained glass paint to decorate a piece of plexiglass for their moms. They created beautiful pieces for their moms to hang in a window. The Dinosaur Group finished up their pictures for the book that they are creating about their favorite dinosaurs. The children will be sharing the book with the rest of the class next week. The Red Owl group met to answer the questions that Ms. Kazari's class (the Red Owls) asked about our classroom. They are wondering about what will happen next year. This group will devise some way to share information with Ms. Kazari's owls in the next two weeks. Another consistent "play" that actually continued from last year was the Marble Run Group. This group of children was constantly exploring the effects of running a marble down different slopes. We added gutters for outdoor exploration, PVC pipes, and wood molding for different indoor exploration. To make it more of a challenge, two different widths of molding were introduced. The children have to figure out which piece fits to allow the marble to run all the way down. The children found a U-shaped pipe and are now trying to have the marble not only run down the inclines but through the "U" pipe. Through the year, the children have used their negotiating and collaborating skills to decide whose plan to use. They have used higher level thinking skills to figure out how to make it all work. The children have used conflict resolution skills to resolve problems. The Restaurant Group has been busy running "The Best Restaurant Ever." The children finished putting together their menus, creating their food out of clay, making money, and deciding what role they would all play. The group invited a couple of children at a time to be the customers. They gave them money to spend in the restaurant, took their order, "made" (plated) the food, served their customers, collected the money, then thanked them for coming! Some customers were even entertained by a "Chinese Lion Dance!" We are sure that the group will continue their service next week! It was brought to our attention that Friday was our last Friday of the year! Next week, the children are off so that we can prepare for the parent/teacher conferences the next week. We are busy working on the children's portfolios. Which brings us to 9 more days of school!

From the Aquarium to the May Day Celebration!

2007-05-06T19:52:21Z

Another whirlwind of a week! We started with a field trip to the Waikiki Aquarium. Aunty Karen (TK) met us there. The children enjoyed the cool, dark exhibits of beautiful sea life. You can read about their favorite thing in our Daily Happenings binder. After the visit, we enjoyed a snack in front of the aquarium. Aunty Karen started collecting pine cones to give to Ms. Jordan for use in the atelier. Soon the children were scurrying around, finding other little treasures to share in the atelier! ]]> On Tuesday, the children drew pictures and wrote about their favorite thing that they saw at the aquarium. These will be made into a book for all to enjoy. All the children are able to write letters for sounds that they hear in words. The children are excited to be able to express themselves, not only by drawing pictures, but by writing the words! Wednesday, we ventured to the Discovery Museum with the 3's class. The children had a blast exploring the different venues set up for exploration. The hour and a half went by quickly as the children touched, interacted, and shared the experience with the teachers and parents who came to help as chaperones -- thanks for your help! With May Day being Friday, we were busy with rehearsals all week. Thursday brought fragrant plumerias for lei-making. Aunty Karen (TK) and Aunty Linda (CH) helped the children string their lei. Needless to say, Friday was all about the May Day program. The children felt like movie stars with the lights, the cameras, and the beautiful backdrop and props. It was a beautiful, sunny day, and the children looked adorable in their lavender pareau, lavalava, and plumeria lei. After the initial nervousness wore off, the children had a great time and performed their hearts out! So many families were able to take time off to come see the show! If you missed it, DVDs of the program are for sale; you received an order form in last week's Thursday packet. See the school gallery for pictures of the rehearsal and the actual performance. Reminders: 14 more days of school! Unfortunately, we will not be going to the Academy of Arts on Friday. We couldn't get a bus to accommodate us all. Monday, May 7th: We will be celebrating Boys'/Children's Day. Thursday, May 10th: Ms. Leigh's 5th birthday party!!!

Party Planners: It's almost party time

2007-05-02T00:23:23Z

The Unicorn Game and Letters Home The excitement for the party is growing as the Party Planners finalize the details for the party. On Monday, April 9, the group glued their unicorn picture onto cardboard and found shapes they wanted to cut out of the cardboard. The cut-out shapes will be the holes for the balls to go through for their game. As the Party Planners searched the classroom for different-shaped materials, they needed to keep in mind the size of the ball. When they found their materials, they placed them on the unicorn picture, making sure not to touch the unicorn itself. They then traced their shapes so that Ms. Leigh could cut them out with a sharp blade.]]> Once the shapes were cut out, the girls used the leftover cardboard to create a stand. They took turns ripping and cutting masking tape to connect their stand. As a couple of the girls struggled with the scissors and tape, the other girls jumped in to help their friends. Over the past few months, the girls have established a relationship built on mutual respect and trust. They consider themselves part of a group of individuals who work together for a common goal. By watching the Party Planners continuously help their friends in need by sharing their expertise and knowledge, the teachers have been able to document their high level of independence as individuals and as a group. After the game was completed, the group headed to the computer with Ms. Leigh. Ms. Leigh typed as the girls told her what they wanted to say in a letter to their parents. In this letter, the girls informed their parents of their upcoming field trip to Safeway to buy groceries and other materials for the party. The Trip to Safeway On Monday, April 16, the Party Planners left on the city bus for Manoa Safeway. After looking at a map, the group found the specific bus stop and knew which bus to catch. The Party Planners, including Ms. Leigh and Ms. Laura, arrived at the bus stop on time, but missed the bus because it was a few minutes early. As the group waited for the next bus, EC taught the other girls and the teachers how to do a simple dance move. BW also shared her interest in dancing by talking about the dance classes she had just begun taking. Though they were all having fun dancing and chatting at the bus stop, they were also very anxious to get to Safeway. The group began to talk about how long it would take to get there. KO: "Is it going to be long to go there?" BW: "It’s going to be fast." RB: "Unless there’s traffic." BW: "I hope there’s not traffic." Soon after that, the city bus arrived. The girls and the teachers boarded the bus for the short three-minute ride to Safeway. Once the group arrived at Safeway, they headed straight to the cookie aisle, where they ran into Ms. Leigh’s mom. After a short introduction, Ms. Leigh’s mom left, leaving the group to their tasks. In the cookie aisle, the girls marveled at the different types of cookies. After a short discussion, they decided that the small prepackaged bags would be perfect for our pinata. RB knew that we needed 33 bags, but couldn’t figure out how many boxes of 12 cookies we would need. With Ms. Leigh’s help, the group figured out that they would need three boxes and that there would be a few extra. The girls quickly grabbed three boxes and put them into the basket that BW was carrying. Though it looked a little heavy, BW insisted on carrying it by herself. A few aisles over, the girls found the candles and brown paper bags. Knowing that there was no room in the basket, the other girls decided to carry them in their hands. The Party Planners then made their way to the check-out stand and paid for their groceries. The actual shopping experience was very short, but filled with much perseverance and cooperation. BW's insistence in carrying the basket led to the other children’s eagerness to carry all their groceries without the teacher’s help. They also showed much maturity as they offered help to each other and thanked each other when the help was offered. The teachers heard: "I can carry the basket if you want," "I’ll hold one side so it’s not too heavy," and "Thank you for showing me where the bags were." The internally motivating respect for each other and the task at hand has given this group of children an opportunity to work cooperatively with pride, confidence, and determination. Stuffing our Pinata On Wednesday, April 18, the Party Planners met to stuff their pinata. As each member of the group took a turn shoving the package of cookies into the pinata, KO decided that because Ms. Leigh needed to hold the unicorn pinata during the stuffing, she would document this part of the process. She picked up Ms. Leigh’s camera and began taking pictures of Ms. Leigh and the girls as they filled the pinata with cookies. Though documenting with pictures and words is not part of the actual party planning, each child in the class knows the importance of the teacher’s job of documenting. Every day the children observe teachers writing children’s words, taking pictures, and observing the children at work. By imitating a teacher, KO is expressing her understanding of a teacher’s role and making sense of her world at school. In many cases, when you see older children playing school, you see them up at the chalkboard talking to the children. In our preschool, the children are observed playing school by writing on clipboards or taking pictures. By allowing the children to dramatize familiar roles such as mom, dogs, and teachers, we are encouraging them to develop their creativity and imagination, express feelings, emotions, and ideas, understand and experience the adult world through imitation, and experience a sense of power through different roles. The Goodie Bag Count On Wednesday, April 25, BW requested that the group meet so that they could finish up the last few details for their party. At this meeting, the group glued their black and white unicorn pictures onto their brown paper goodie bags. EC and RB began by counting out 33 bags, while KO and BW dotted the unicorn pictures with glue. At first, EC and RB struggled with their count as they counted separately but into the same pile. After a little discussion and negotiation, the girls came up with their own plan to count the packages. EC passed the bags to RB as she counted each and placed them into a pile. Once the bags were counted, the cooperation continued. BW and KO passed their glued unicorn pictures to EC and RB so that they could place it onto the bags. The girls continued this until all 33 bags were done. Ms. Leigh then asked the girls to make piles of ten. Before counting the piles, Ms. Leigh had the girls practice counting by tens to one hundred. Once comfortable with their counting, the Party Planners counted their piles. They reached 30, then added three more to make 33. As in their other meetings, the teachers observed the group’s high level of respect for each other. As KO struggled with her glue, she grabbed another bottle. As she was testing her second bottle, BW asked "Is that one much easier? Cause you could borrow mine." On the other side of the table, EC noticed that RB could not reach the bags and decided to pass some bags to her. RB responded, "Thanks for passing it to me; I couldn’t reach it." The consideration towards each other shown through intentional actions or polite words continues to surprise and amaze the teachers. They have become great role models for their peers and their teachers.

4/23-4/28

2007-04-27T02:24:59Z

On Monday, EC, SK, and CL volunteered to sort out the beach glass from our Friday beach field trip. Here's part of their conversation: "Hey, there's three different kinds of blue." "There's three kinds of pink, too." "The green doesn't go in that bowl." "Where does the red go?" "Where does the pink go? No, there's a different pink." The children used thinking, problem-solving skills, and cooperation to classify the treasures they found. ]]> The games we brought to share with the children have been a great addition to our day. The children are taking time to teach their friends how to play the games and doing a great job of taking turns. LY taught RB and BH how to play Poles and Ladders! We have been practicing our songs for our May Day Program. Ms. Vitarelli, a Kindergarten teacher assistant, came to teach us the motions to one of the songs, Pupu Hinuhinu. We are all looking forward to performing for you. It should be a wonderful show! We visited our art display at the Honolulu Hale. This was an awesome way to show the children how much we value their work and support their learning. Thank you to all the families who were able to help Ms. Jordan set up on Monday and to all who visited the gallery with us. Ms. Browning took time from her busy day to see the exhibit with us. We finally celebrated EKS's birthday! We originally celebrated her sun ceremony on the same day we celebrated Easter, but we wanted to make her day special. Mom, Marsden, and Gammy came to school and brought Jell-o! Yum! As Mrs. Hussey mentioned in her Thursday letter, a 105-year-old alumnus presented the school with a koa mirror to remind the children to appreciate all the learning they're honored to experience at MPI. Mr. Haga is 100 years older than our Golden Owls! The Party Planners are wrapping up their party details. We are anxiously waiting for a reply from the busy President Rice as to when we can use his oven. The party will be the day after we bake our cake! Our Red Owl group (BW, BH, KO, and EC) went next door to see what questions Ms. Kazari's class has about moving up to our class. The threes asked lots of questions. "Do you have a train set that goes around a big Christmas tree?" "Do you have a kitchen and stuff to cook with?" "Is it okay to run around in the room?" The Red Owl group will discuss their answers and how to present these answers to our neighbors. Before Spring Break, we attended a puppet show put on by the 8th graders. We had hoped that someone would be inspired to make puppets and put on a puppet show. Just when we thought the children had forgotten about it, RB put up fabric between two chairs and said she was going to put on a puppet show. We asked her whether she was going to use the puppets we have in the class or make her own. At a Reflection Meeting, RB shared how she made a turkey puppet out of paper. We shall see what develops! Ms. Revard's class started a planting project on their lanai. The class shared the project with us, telling us about the parts of a plant and the importance of taking care of plants. What good timing, since our class just started a planting group, too! The Plant Group, RB, TK, GA, and MF, shared their experience at our Reflection Meeting. TK said, "First thing we did was put the dirt inside the planter box." RB said, "We used a cup so our hands don't get dirty." GA said, "We put out a mat that has planting seeds." MF said, "Then we watered it." This group will be recording the growth. Hopefully, we will grow something before school ends. We traveled on the city bus to Safeway in Manoa. It was the first bus ride for many of our children. GA noticed that the adults had to pay money to ride the bus. When we got off the bus, he asked where the money was. MF said the money was "still on the bus. The bus owns it." Mr. Justin gave us a grand tour. We visited the deli where Aunty Lisa told us about her job responsibilities and gave us some cheese to sample. Mr. Mike talked to us about the produce department. The children loved the hose he uses to keep the produce fresh. He patiently answered our questions about the price labels. The children were also interested in the produce scale. Ms. Laura asked them which weighed more, a potato or a bag of potatoes. She showed them how much each weighed, demonstrating to the children how to read the scale. Mr. Justin took us into the refrigerators in the back. Our entire class fit into the huge rooms that keep the food cold and fresh. We even stepped into the freezer for a second! We went to the seafood section, where Mr. Justin showed us a 10-lb. salmon. Ms. Kris showed us what the fish would look like when it was cut up into fillets and steaks. We finished our tour in the bakery department, where Mr. Wes showed us how he makes frosting roses. On our way back on the bus, the children noticed graffiti and litter on the bus. The teachers explained that it was against the law to draw on property that doesn't belong to you. We mentioned that some people make poor choices and, as you get older, you will have to decide to make good or bad choices. This field trip came to be as Ms. Laura had such a wonderful time going to Safeway last week with the Party Planners and Ms. Leigh. She came back to school and called Safeway to see when they could give us a tour. Not only did we learn a lot about the store, but by stepping out into our community and using our community resources, the children were able to see a grocery store through a different lens. By talking to the employees, the children are able to make sense of how a grocery store works and hopefully are able to appreciate the store and how much work it takes to run it. The day after our Safeway field trip, CL, TK, GA, JD, and BW made a large beautiful thank-you card for the Safeway team. They drew pictures and wrote words about what they remembered about our field trip. Aunty Suzanne (EKS) taught us a new song in Japanese to the tune of "This Old Man." The children were challenged to sing and "patty-cake" to the beat, which was difficult for some. Thanks again, Suzanne! The Mural Group (BH, LY, KO, and EKS) met to discuss what drawings to include in their class mural. So far, it looks like we will be including a rainbow, a sun, stars, flowers, and friends. Reminders: April 30th, Aquarium May 2nd, Discovery Museum May 4th, May Day Program Don't forget to pick your plumeria Wednesday! Please bring them in on Thursday to be sewn into lei on Friday!