Grouptime events

"This is a bat with a fly and it's raining" We continue to explore colours in nature by learning about children's authors and illustrators using colours if nature as their inspiration in creating wonderful stories.  In this grouptime we looked at Lois Ehlert, who is known for her unique and style called "Found Art"where she incorporates items found in nature or at home to create colourful and vivid illustrations.  The book "Leaf Man" is a great story to encourage storytelling creativity and imagination.  After reading the children ventured out into the forest to collect leaves, twigs and pine cones to create their very own Leaf Man creature.   The children really enjoyed making the Leaf Man because this activity allowed them to move their items freely until they were satisfied with their creation.    gathering leaves in the forest While gathering the leaves in the forest Matthew made a comment about the brown leaves.  First I ask...

Practicing the blow paitning water colour painting the sky tree scene Allye: Mine is a winter sky tree Lately the children have noticed how some of the leaves are falling or changing colours.  They've observed that as it gets colder the trees and the forest is changing too. We started talking about the different seasons and how we can predict the changes in seasons by looking at the changing colours of our outdoor nature. Seeing colours in Nature We read the book "Sky Tree" by Locker and carefully noticed the different colours the illustrator used to represent the different seasons.  The book also shows how colours blend together to show the relationship between the sky colours and the tree as it cycles through the different seasons.

Shade: when black is added to the colour TInt: when white is added to the colour monochromatic painting Last week we began looking at Value of colour: it is when colour becomes lighter or darker.  The children asked: how can we make colour darker or lighter?  We first experimented with adding white and black to the colours to see what will happen.  The children predicted that black might make the colour darker and white will turn the colour lighter.  After playing around with mixing various colours the children got to paint with the mixed colours and chose how much more or less of white and black to use.  They noticed that as they add more or less the value of the colour also changes.   Julia discovered a tint of red: pink  Last Friday the children made monochromatic paintings to see the contrast between the original colours and the tint/shade mix.   Pink!!! Allye: Mine is lip balm pink Nico: Mine is a flower...

To review our Secondary Colours we read the book Mouse Paint and created our own mouse paint illustrations using hand prints. The children were asked to pick a secondary colours they want their mouse to be. Then, they were asked to show which 2 primary colours they need to mix to get that secondary colour they want. As we were painting the children noticed how the colour purple became darker when we added more blue and brighter when we added more red. Matthew suggested that the orange looked more red maybe because there was more red in the mixture.  I think these observations are a great way to start our discussion on tint and shade of colours. After the paint dried I helped the children add the eyes, ears, tail, and whiskers of their mice. Elaine made orange by mixing yellow and red "My purple is dark" Matthew didn't want to show his face "I just made purple!"

coloured shaving cream experiment In this grouptime we addressed the children's questions on mixing colours: Nico: "How do you get green?" Damon: I got orange. I don't know how... "I mixed red and blue to get purple" We began by recalling the primary colours and then we made a prediction chart to show what might happen if we mix 2 primary colours.  For fun we used shaving cream and added food colouring to see what colours we get when mixing the primary colours. We found that we can make Secondary colours by mixing 2 Primary colours. Yellow + Red = Orange Red + Blue = Purple Yellow + Blue = Green Nico was double checking our predictions

The Earth, Wind, and Water group worked together on a Remembrance Day project. " In Flanders fields the poppies blow...." First the children read a story to help understand the symbolism of the Poppy on Remembrance Day. Lucas seem to know about the story behind the Poppy: "it's because people died and it's sad". As we read the story, we discussed the different feelings and emotions during a time of uncertainty like the Great War. The children thought about the sad and fearful soldiers and also the joyful families when they were reunited when the war was over. With the help of AnaMaria and Mary, the children made Poppy Pins they can take home. And then, using their ideas in our discussion, the children helped me write a poem called:      RED IS TO REMEMBER Red is the sadness Red is the fear Red is the blood that gave us some tears Red is the love Red is the hug That brought happiness to all the land Red is the poppy Red ...

"we found a yellow leaf and we put it on our heads" "The lightning is red, a primary colour" primary colour collage During our morning free play the children noticed how the fallen leaves are mostly yellow, brown, and some orange.  This sparked the idea of looking at colours in nature outdoors.  To follow through  this interest I showed them various photos of outdoor landscape, weather, and natural phenomena and  were asked to identify the primary colours they see in each photo.  In our discussion, I observed how the children are beginning to be more descriptive with the colours they see. Their words can almost spun like poetry. Here are their comments: Nico: The red is hot like fire. William: The red lava is hot (pointing at the picture of an exploding volcano)  Eva: The red is like fireworks. Matthew: Yellow is the lightning. It's like electricity.  They are also beginning to compare the colours they see (dark vs light...

sorting primary coloured unifix cubes Question: How can you change colour? The children were very curious about how the colours changed to green and brown in our coloured ice activity. To help us understand how these colours came about we must first learn the 3 most important colours: the Primary colours which are Red, Yellow, Blue. After watching a short Sesame Street video on primary and secondary colours the children played a "find a primary colour object" guessing game where I gave clues about the item, what it's for and where it is located in the room. The children had to look for this item thinking of only primary colours. We also sorted and graphed primary coloured unifix cubes. The children enjoyed this so much they decided to make their own patterns and structures. Add caption

"Look, my hands are orange and green!" mixing colours using coloured ice "I made green with blue and ...something" In this formative week the children began exploring colours through a hands-on experience of coloured ice. The intent was to initiate some thinking and spark conversations/comments about what they notice in the colours as they play. Here are their questions and comments: Matthew: why is my hand brown? I only used this colour? (Pointing at red and yellow ice cubes) Eva/Zoe: hey, it's Like a choo-choo ice train. It's like a rainbow train!! Alley: you know, when I touched the yellow and blue I made green....I want to make purple! We also began to discuss the different colours we might notice outside in Nature. The children helped me illustrate an outdoor landscape. They chose something that is part of nature and described the colour they want it to be. Nico asked for a purple horse.  Matthew wanted 2 snowy mountains with a go...

This week the children will explore how we are different and the same with our friends and in what ways we connect with our friends who are different from us? First, we looked at photos of children doing things together and discussed how these children are showing friendship. Matthew commented on how the children seem to enjoy each other's company because they are laughing together. Allye observed how the children are all playing nicely with one another and are playing the same game. Dramatizing: Charlie Parsley is shy and quiet Pearl Barley is loud and a problem-solver I posed this question to the children: Can you be friends with someone who is very different from you, someone who likes different things? Matthew: Well, Sophie isn't my friend sometimes because she doesn't play with me all the time. I'm only friends with children I play with all the time. Allye: My brother, Aston, is my friend because she likes to play pretend with me. Nico: Andrea is...

In the spirit of Thanksgiving the children made thank you cards to a special friend. We made turkey-themed cards and on each feather the children wrote thank you notes to their friend. We talked about why people celebrate thanksgiving and that is to show appreciation to friends and family who has helped and us in any way in the past year. It was interesting that most children thought of their immediate family as their friend to say thank you to. Happy thanksgiving to all!! Allye is thankful to her brother's help. Matthew is thankful for his sister's time for playing together. Nico is thankful to her mom for taking her to school Damon is thankful for when he plays soccer with Kesler. Zoe is thankful for Dad reading books to her. Eva is thankful for her mom's cooking.

Food colouring and water sprinkle painting Julia's oil pastel experience After reading a story about friends who have had a disagreement the children wondered why friends sometimes fight and argue.  We did an experiment using oil, water, and food colouring to show how friends sometimes get along like water and food colouring but also like water and oil when they don't get along.  The children were very keen on the experiment and how the colour is slowly diffusing in the water. It's just like when friends loving and enjoying each other's company; the relationship is smooth and harmonious.  They were also very intrigued by how the oil and water don't mix. The oil just sits on top of the water even if you keep shaking the container.   Oil and water are also like friends who are fighting and arguing they don't want to be around each other and enjoy each other's company. This experiment did not really answer the children's quest...

Some children in the Fire group joined us to help explore ideas on Matthew's question: "how do you start to play and make friends?" We came up with 3 ways on how to make new friends. 1. Invite someone to be part of your game.     "Do you want to join me in my game?"     "Would you like to play?" 2. Introduce yourself.     "Hi,my name is........what's your name?"     " I'm ........ what's your name?" 3. Ask/Greet     "Hello, how are you? "     "Hi,what are you doing?"     " Can I join you?" The children worked in partners and practiced greeting and introducing themselves with one another. The idea is to help them learn the language so they can feel confident about entering play on their own time. Nico and Elaine spoke in Mandarin and this sparked the idea of learning how to say "hello" in various languages. We found out that just the teachers alone speak about 5 d...

making the pie crust Delicious pie! The Vote: will you share or not share the bread? The story of the Little Red Hen is a simple yet it raises thought provoking questions about the expectations in friendship. Should friends always help and share with one another?  After reading and dramatizing the story, I asked the children how it makes them feel when someone helps them and how it feels when they help someone.  They all agreed that helping makes everyone feel happy and good about themselves. What if friends don't help? What will happen? Nico: I will get mad Matthew: well...it's going to be too hard Using the story as our example the children observed that the Hen felt sad and tired because she was doing all the work.  Also, because of that, Nico felt that the hen should not share any of the bread because  "She made it herself!"  while the rest of the children felt it's ok to share because it's a kind thing to do. Together we made...