Thursday, May 27, 2010
Saturday, May 22, 2010
What is Camouflage?
Monday, May 17, 2010
Lorena has a Sticky Problem
Most often such an activity is called "sensorial play" and justified with phrases such as "they are exploring their sense of touch." Such phrases, perhaps derived from Montessori's phrase of "educating the senses," imply that the children are learning what objects are smooth, what objects are rough, what objects are sticky, what objects are not. The emphasis is placed on a refinement of the sense, in this case touch, so that with experience, like a sculptor choosing the right wood, the child can determine the texture, the temperature, the grain, or the adhesiveness of objects. The literature on sensorial play seldom reveals the strategies the children use to make these distinctions and seldom reveals the extensions the child makes once an attribute, such as adhesiveness, is discovered. What does it yield for something to be sticky? What can I do with sticky? How can I have fun with sticky? These extensions are not classically "sensorial." These extensions go beyond "Is this sticky?" or "To what degree is this sticky?" These extensions enter the world of invention, reasoning, inferring, figuring things out, and "what if "games.
An excerpt from http://www.videatives.com/ Views - Issue 91, October 6, 2009
Thursday, May 13, 2010
The Bird's Nest by Robert age 3.5 years
In this attached painting, Robert a three and a half year old, painted a representation of a bird's nest that sits in his classroom; a treasure discovered by the children on a morning walk.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Marco and the Rocks
During our afternoon walk, Marco noticed a large rock on the ground.
Marco- I want to pick it up.
Marco walked over to the rock bent down and tried to pick it up.
Marco- I can’t pick it up it’s too heavy, but I want the rock.
Rosa- So what do you want to do?
Marco- I want to try again.
Marco bent down to try again.
Marco- I can’t Mrs. Rosa it’s too heavy. (They negotiated ways to transport the rock back to school. Given that they did not have a wagon with them, they decided to leave the rock where it was)
On the way back to school he noticed a smaller rock so he bent down to pick it up.
Marco- I have a small rock, this one is easy to pick up.
Rosa- Why is it easy?
Marco- Because this one is a tiny rock.
We returned to school and Marco noticed lots of rocks in front of the school
Marco- I want to pick up that rock (pointing to the rocks that were lining the flower garden)
Rosa- You can try Marco.
Marco bent down to pick up the rock but complained that it was too heavy as well.
Rosa- So how can you pick up the rock?
Marco- (Picked up a stick sitting in the soil) I want to push the rock. (He propped the stick against the rock and tried to push it) Marco demonstrated good problem solving skills; perhaps he witnessed an adult using this type of leverage to move a heavy object.
Rosa- Can you push it?
Marco- The rock is too big, the stick will break
.Rosa- So how can you pick up the rock?
Marco- My daddy can pick it up he’s strong