Water play.......

I filled the water table several times last week and the kids really enjoyed it. This week we will be doing different types of activities using the water table, experimenting with sponges, bubbles, water flow, and a sink or float activity.

Construction set....

I received this big bolt construction set for attending the event at Discovery Depot. The kids have been playing with it a lot. They have been making all sorts of animals and vehicles.

Field Trip to Discovery Depot!

We were all so excited about the field trip that we were counting the days. The minute that we all got in the van, the kids were talking a mile a minute. They were asking questions, "What will we do first?", "How long do we get to stay?", "How far is it?"......... They squealed with delight the whole way there. As you can see, we checked out every square inch of the place. It was so great to get to see them explore and have new experiences. Ezra kept saying the whole time, "This is amazing!!" It was quiet on the way home, but I asked them about their very favorite activity. Maggie said that the tree house was her favorite. Maddie said the truck (ambulance) was her favorite. Ezra and Eliott said that the "bridge" was their favorite. Alyssa said that everything was her favorite. :)

Writing Outdoors...

When I was doing grant research on quality outdoor play, I realized the importance of giving the children a variety of media and tools for writing outdoors. I have enjoyed seeing them working alongside each other and making comments about what they are doing. It has also been rewarding to see their constant interaction with each other and their use of language. While I observe them, I hear them think out loud, and also exchange and discuss ideas about what they should do next. Map making is one of the most popular activities. My hope is that experiences like these will help the children become more confident writers and give them opportunities to talk in animated ways. In the last picture, they are showing me that they have drawn a map to a "treasure." :)

Block building........

The children really enjoy block building. They will spend long periods of time building towers and working together to make "roads." It's great to see them explore mathematical concepts such as space and length.

Rock Hunt

The kids are always collecting rocks. This became a great learning opportunity for us. We first decorated cloth bags for our official rock hunt. They then got to "work" finding all kinds of great rocks. They counted how many rocks that they had found. They sorted the rocks by size, color, markings, etc. We put them in order from smallest to largest. They compared the rocks. "How are they different?" "How are they the same?" We also discussed that some rocks are fossils and that some rocks were used as tools. I plan to get to the library soon and see if I can find some great books about fossils and Native American arrowheads, etc.

Outdoor fun.........

I love this picture. They
are so excited when Chloe
comes out to play with them.
The boys brought their
Spiderman book and she
spent a lot of time
reading to them.







Lucy came out for a potty
break and Maggie just had to
hold her. :)

Mother's day flowers

My fingers ended up getting
very dirty, so I didn't get
a lot of pictures on this day.