Monkey Class Explorers: Air, Numbers, and Beyond!
Dear Monkey Class Families,
Our classroom has been full of energy lately, filled with exciting new explorations and the joyful revisiting of familiar favourites! We've been so impressed with the children's growing collaboration and problem-solving skills as they navigate different ideas and learn the art of compromise. It's wonderful to see them working together so effectively. We've also been focusing on strengthening our number sense, mark-making, and fine motor skills.
We've had lots of fun with Numicons! We've been using them to make cool building shapes, like houses and towers, and we drew little windows on our Numicon buildings to make them look even better! We also traced the Numicons to make our own pictures. We matched the Numicons to numbers. Then, we used tiny tweezers to put fluffy pom-poms into all the holes. Some of us even tried putting two Numicons together to make bigger numbers. It was a great way to learn about numbers and shapes.
The children's enthusiasm for drawing has inspired us to introduce new drawing prompts at our stations. Our goal is to build their confidence. We are encouraging them to use their observational skills and experiment with finger pressure to create a variety of marks and shapes. We’re also challenging our more advanced mark-makers to step outside their comfort zones and try something new!
How the World Works
Last week, we dove into the fascinating concept of air and how it can move objects without physical contact. During circle time, we reviewed shapes and then posed a fun challenge: how could we move "hot" pom-pom balls into taped shapes on the mat without touching them, since the "hot" pom-poms would "melt" anything they touched?
The children came up with a variety of creative suggestions, including brooms, toys, and even feet! We gently reminded them that nothing could touch the pom-poms. After some thoughtful consideration, one child suggested using a fan. We tried our classroom fan, but it didn't quite direct the air in the way we needed. This led to another brilliant idea: blowing the pom-poms!
During arrival play, we provided a similar setup for independent exploration. It was fascinating to see the children experiment with different tools, such as clipboards, name badges, closed signs, and books. They quickly discovered that using books required precise positioning to generate enough airflow. We then introduced pipettes, which allowed the children to feel the air they were creating. However, they soon realised that the air from the pipettes wasn't strong enough to move the pom-poms, leading to discussions about air pressure and the weight of the pom-poms.
Our air exploration naturally led us to balloons! Children love balloons and understand that they get bigger. This provided a perfect opportunity to deepen their understanding of air as an invisible force that surrounds us. We discussed how air fills the balloon, making it expand, and reinforced the idea that air is everywhere, even though we can't see it. We then explored what happens when air is released from a balloon. Children made predictions about the balloon's movement and commented on the sounds it produced. One child observed that the balloon could make different sounds depending on the speed of air release. We also had fun challenges between the teachers, and the children predicted who would win based on the size of the balloon. (Have a peek at some of the challenges below.) One common observation was that we could not control the way the balloon moved. This led us to research how we could make a balloon rocket, which would give us more control over the balloon's movement. I was so impressed with how many children were able to remember the materials needed for our balloon rocket and helped me check off all the items I had gathered to ensure we had everything for our test run on Friday. During Friday's balloon rocket experiment in the AM, we first used a paper straw, and the balloon never moved. Then, we tried a plastic straw, and it worked. In the PM class, we had the opposite results. So, in the coming days, we will provide more time for children to test their theories as we explore why it sometimes works and sometimes doesn't. If you'd like to try this at home, you can ask your child to share how we did it at school, and if you need to jog their memory, you can watch this video together.
We've continued to explore activities related to our unit of inquiry, including building ramps and bridges from recycled boxes. The children loved testing their theories about how objects would move down the ramps. Before adding them to our classroom setup, we painted them together, first using traditional methods and then experimenting with a pendulum technique. I can't wait to see how the children will play and explore with these new designs.
We've continued to explore activities related to our unit of inquiry, including building ramps and bridges from recycled boxes. The children loved testing their theories about how objects would move down the ramps. Before adding them to our classroom setup, we painted them together, first using traditional methods and then experimenting with a pendulum technique. I can't wait to see how the children will play and explore with these new designs.
February Birthday Celebrations
We also made sure to make time to celebrate our Monkey Class friends who have birthdays in February last week. Click on the links below to watch a glimpse of our celebration.
Monkey AM - February Birthdays | Monkey PM - February Birthdays
Google Albums and Spotify playlists
As always please take a look at the Google albums for more activities we have explored at school and don't forget to share the photos with your child and see what their highlights are.
Wishing you a lovely week ahead, until next time take care!
Comments
Post a Comment