Brand New!

We started back to school earlier this month and everything seems BRAND NEW! The students are all new to Pre-K and some of them are new to the school. My assistant and I are BRAND NEW teachers to the students, even though we've been in the school for several years. I've changed our class mascot from fish to owls, so there are new owl decorations everywhere! There is just something about things being new that seems to make life just a little more exciting!

On the first day of school, I took pictures of the students that will go in a memory book for them at the end of the year. I posed them in front of one of the bulletin boards that will have seasonal changes, but basically remain the same. At the end of the year, we'll take another picture in the same place and be able to see how much they've changed and grown!

Also in the first week, I had each of them color a circle to decorate a large owl in our room. Later, these circles will be placed in their memory books, as well.

My classroom received a refurbishment grant this year to replace worn out materials and classroom supplies. One of the big things I got was a new rug! Isn't it bright and beautiful? It is humongous and has spots for everyone to have a little personal space.

We also got a few new bikes for our playground. I chose the "big wheel" style and they have been a big hit! There are always friends waiting for a turn!

I have wanted MagnaTile blocks for a long time, but frankly, they are very expensive and there are always so many other things I need. I was able to use some of the grant money to purchase a set. I am amazed at the creativity and imaginative things the children create with them. I picked the translucent blocks with the plan of using them with light box I'm making. They will look great when lit up, I think!

We got some new foam blocks that are great for building and perfect for use with the new animals we got for the block center!

Some of our dramatic play costumes had seen much better days. We ordered several new ones. This is the NASA astronaut uniform that we got! (It is especially nice paired with awesome cowboy boots! ;)

I love this little couch and chair set that we purchased with refurbishment funds! I broke the set up and now have a cozy spot to curl up with a book in reading center and added the sofa to our dramatic play area.

One of the things that was a combination of new and not-new was our old sensory table. It was so bulky that often I use big bins or a tabletop sensory table in the classroom. I repurposed our old bulky table to the playground for outdoor sensory fun. The kids are really enjoying having it outside!

Even the way the children are experimenting with familiar materials seems "brand new". Watching this new class explore in centers and try new techniques brings me a little joy each day.

I'm sure that as time goes by, these things will all become worn, well loved and lack their "new" appeal, but for now we are enjoying the discovery of "brand new"! I have a few more items that I haven't put out right away, just to savor the excitement of having something fresh for later on. Hope your "brand new" school year is off to a good start!

If you'd like to read more about our first day of Pre-K, hop on over to PreK+K Sharing and read "On The First Day of Pre-K..."

"Just Playing?" : Building A Wall

Welcome to the 2nd installment in our "Just Playing?" series! You are invited to view the photos and really think about what you see going on here and be sure to share your thoughts, observations and reflections in the comments. Sure, the children are playing, but they are also learning! 

The students in these photos are building a wall with blocks.

They are lining them up. 

When someone accidentally bumps the blocks and they fall like dominoes, the children rebuild, this time placing the blocks closer together.

Last week's post, "Just Playing?": Cooking With Meatballs, featured children "cooking" on the playground with sand and gumballs from our Sweet Gum tree.

 I have a short video clip that explains a little more about what they were making:

The children explained that they were making a saute' with sand, meatballs, rocks and ants---and the ants were their helpers!

We may be "just playing", but....

What are the children doing here?

What do you see?

What learning is taking place?

What skills are being practiced/developed?

This post is part of the "Just Playing?" Blog Hop!

Thank you for remembering that young children do not "just play." Young children play. They develop through play. They learn through play. They experiment through play. They grow through play. A child's work is play. Play is important!

Please take a moment to reflect upon the photos and questions above. I would love for you to share your observations in a comment. I'd also like to invite you to "hop" on over to all of the other bloggers who are sharing photos of children learning through play this week:

If you are looking for more of our “Just Playing?” posts and resources from around the globe, please visit our Pinterest Board.

Are you a blogger? Would you like to join the JUST PLAYING? blog hop community?

You can join the hop via our Facebook Group: Just Playing?

or please contact Amy from Child Central Station for more information.

All In A Day's Play In Pre-K

I am frequently asked by parents "What do y'all do all day?". Yes, we play. It's play, but it is so much more! My friend and blogger buddy, Alec from Child's Play Music, posted a wonderful article just this week called "The Future Of Education Is Play". ( I highly encourage you to pop on over and give it a read--you'll be glad you did!) While a large majority of my posts here are about the planned activities that we do, much of our school day is unstructured free time, where students choose for themselves where and what to play. Today, I want to share a glimpse into some of what goes on in our classroom on any given day during these times.

Our morning started by preparing apples for our crockpot applesauce. (More on that and our visit from Johnny Appleseed coming soon!)

While we were preparing apples, some of the friends were working hard on putting together some large floor puzzles.

Center time was a bustle of activity today. Our "Fruit Stand" in our dramatic play was full of activity (I'm saving those pictures for a post later on our apple unit). In our math center, some of the friends made a "tower with a parking lot" with pegs, peg boards and transportation manipulatives.

Building a "cabin".

There was some farming going on in one area....

And some dollhouse play nearby.

How about this little "tv room with a wide screen tv" ?

Science Center was also quite busy today. 

I noticed all the dinosaurs seemed to be carefully placed. When I asked about them, I was told they were all lining up to go see the new baby whale. Anything is possible in the mind of a preschooler!

Some friends took time to enjoy a good book.

Our classroom neighbors found this gigantic caterpillar on the playground today and shared it with us, so we stopped for a few minutes to observe him. He was several inches long and about as thick as a fat cigar. I've never seen a caterpillar this big!

This block structure was built over the course of the morning. 

It started off fairly simple, and became more and more intricate as time went on. 

 Different parts of the structure had different purposes.

 These small blocks are "ice cream for the people". 

 This is a "cave for the people".

These girls are using sanding blocks to make all the blocks "feel soft". 

A bedroom.

A "secret hiding place".

I watched as the friend playing with these table blocks arranged each block with precision. I asked about the arrangement and what he was making and was told, "I don't know yet. I'm just building it first!"

It struck me funny that seemingly random arrangements were actually items carefully arranged, while the small table blocks were so carefully placed without an end purpose. Some of the most important learning going on today can't quite be captured in photographs. There was sharing, cooperation, leadership, turn taking, compromise, critical thinking, problem solving and a host of other social skills going on throughout their play today. They are learning so much more through this play than I could ever begin to teach through direct instruction. So when I'm asked, "What do y'all do all day? Do you do any 'real' work?". My answer? YES, we work. Our work is play. And play IS important! 


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