This week was a busy one in Shale Room! We are continuing our inquiry of In and Out. It was too cold to go outside early in the week, so we brought the outside indoors by playing with coloured ice cubes! The children had a blast using their senses to explore; picking up the slippery cubes, finding and identifying the different colours and, of course, tasting the ice! We also got to play in our large sandbox! The children flocked the area, picking up the sand with the scoops and pushing the trucks and making truck noises. Vroom!!!

We noticed that some of the children have expressed an interest in hockey. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to find hockey equipment, but we managed to find the next best thing, golf clubs and golf balls! To our surprise, all of the children took part in playing “hockey” with the equipment during our free play time in the gym! It was a great way to work on our hand-eye coordination and gross motor skills.

This week we learned how to incorporate technology into our daily programming to enhance the learning experiences of the children. Using a projector screen to display an underwater scene, we allowed the children to explore some provocations. The majority of the children were thrilled to interact not only with the activities, but also the fish on screen. They explored their shadows as they tried to contort their bodies to create different silhouettes on the wall. What an interesting and exciting way to learn!

We also had another messy sensory experience with shaving cream! The shaving cream was sprayed on the easel and on the tables. The children manipulated the shaving cream by spreading it around and using their fingers to make designs. By squeezing the foam between their fingers and then washing their hands afterward, the children were able to experience differences in textures and temperatures.

When the weather finally warmed up enough for us to go outside, we got to play in the freshly fallen snow! We had fun burying our friends and throwing the snow in the air!

And we would also like to welcome our newest friend, Taryn to Shale Room this week! We have had a great time getting to know you and hope that you will continue to have fun exploring and learning with us.

Next week, we will expand even further on our main concept, In and Out, and we will be visiting with the seniors for an art experience!

See you all next week!