UP, UP and AWAY!!! From driving through a vast variety of terrains to voyaging into outer space, this week our friends dove into the world of exploration whether it be on land, in water or out of this world inside deep space. Our focus has remained on the construction and expansion of our world views by creating our very own resources through which our imaginations could take flight. We collected a variety of recycled materials and began to engineer ways in which we could put them to use. Our ideas heavily focused on objects such as cars, boats and rocket ships.
Throughout the week we honed in on our analytic/inquiry skills by drafting plans for using old boxes in different ways. At first we started with piling them on top of each other to construct a skyscraper, once the skyscraper was complete,we marvelled at the fact that we had managed to make it reach all the way up to the ceiling. All our friends were gazing up at the tall mass when suddenly Haddie exclaimed ” I wonder what would happen if it fell down?” Soon the room was buzzed with excitement and hushed conversations were occurring regarding the ways in which the tower would fall and if it would make a loud noise when it fell and so began our experiment to demolish the skyscraper. Teacher Emily proceeded to carry out the experiment but first our friends were led to the safety zone from which they all gasped in wonderment when the tower began to wobble and eventually screams of delight filled the air as the skyscraper made its way to the ground. The children’s inquisitive minds led them to step into the role of scientists and to execute an experiment, it allowed them to exercise their deductive reasoning skills and to come to a set conclusion by carrying out their hypothesis.
Uncharted territory can be a tricky path to maneuver through but not for our Jasper friends, their imaginations play such a vital role in their everyday play scenarios that when a life size car appeared in the classroom, our friends got busy travelling through different countries. Clara put on her conductor hat and drove her friends on a tour of India, the climate was rainy at the time so she had to focus on her driving skills while driving through giant puddles and to make sure that the road was visible by turning on her windshield wipers. It is wonderful to see the children expand their imaginations and to see them build upon and apply real world places/objects into their play.
Messy play can sometimes be a little bit daunting however it is a great way in which to enhance children’s gross motor play. This week the weather has consisted of rain which has turned our play yard into our very own rainforest. Our friends have been busy exploring the yard in the rain from testing their risk taking skills to expanding their artistic talents. From climbing onto our makeshift monkey bars to painting the tires a mirage of bright colours to simply making mud pies, we have made the best of the rainy weather and have had a ton of fun outside this week.
All of these explorative ideals are just the beginning, stay tuned for more adventurous scenarios that will be coming into play in our room in the upcoming weeks.
We hope you all have a great weekend and see you Monday.
