The Magic of Books

 

Loose Parts in the Studio

By setting out a variety of loose parts

the children can freely choose what they want to use.

These and other items are available all the time, as well as the overhead projector which is easy to set up when not tucked away.

a wine rack and strands of beads...

organza scarves and clay tiles...

natural stones, a basket of corks

and driftwood collected on a beach walk

cork coasters and cardboard tubes

burlap and feathers

and a sprinkling of pretty stones and pom poms

Making GREEN Hugs

We read the story of two friends...

Little Blue and Little Yellow

by Leo Lionni.

a story of friendship, differences and love.

I was left feeling there was a deeper message in this story, and when I did a search

I learned there are many ways of interpreting it.

click here  for a variety of insights.

However, for my group of three year olds, the friendship of 

little blue and little yellow

was what shone through

and the fascination that they turned green when they hugged inspired the following activity

Making GREEN Hugs

2 cups water

4 TBS corn starch

yellow and blue food colouring

whisk the cornstarch into the water until dissolved...then...bring to a light boil stirring constantly until thickens.

separate into two containers...add a few drops of blue to one container and a few drops of yellow to the other...mix well.

Cool.

I presented two bowls of colour (and a few St Patrick's Day treasures)

we talked about how little blue and little yellow hugged...and about what happened when they hugged

"they turned GREEN"

I asked the children if they thought they could make green if we made blue and yellow "hug".

I put a dollop of yellow and a dollop of blue in a zip loc freezer bag (medium size)

and zipped it up and reinforced with a strip of colourful duct tape.I also added a few treasures.

Each child had their own bag .

As they squeezed and squished the magic happened. 

The children love this sensory experience of squishing and squooshing 

and the experience of creating a new colour is amazing

we hang  bags of "green hugs" in the window

to let the light shine through,

The children know that they can take them down when they want to do more squishing.

Pink and Red and LOVE

We set out a variety of  (pink and red) beautiful things

for the children to explore this month.

Wooden trivets from the dollar store and a collection of ribbon

to weave

the sensory bin with the peppermint red/pink rice I used at Christmas

switched up with Valentine rubber duckies...jewels and silk rose petals

Valentine mandalas 

the children added the tea set to serve up some yummy treats

rainbow liquid water colours and pipettes

dripping colours onto coffee filters cut into heart shapes

collage materials and sparkles

  curled strips of paper and glue extended yesterdays painted paper

Spooky Pumpkin Playdough

Pumpkin Pie Playdough

so many wonderful ways to present playdough

I thought it was interesting how one of the children used the cookie cutters as part of their sculpture.

I tend to collect new sparkly and interesting items each season.Can you ever have enough ?...I don't think so ;)

the picture below is from several years ago.

I no longer use packages of kool aid....instead I now use spices...essential oils and natural food colourings.

The Color of Halloween

What Colour is Halloween?

that was the question I asked before reading

Shivery Shades of Halloween

by

 Mary McKenna Siddals.

The answer {before the story} was : orange and black

after the story I introduced the "Shivery Shades" tray...

we went through the story again..page by page...the children searching the items to find the colours that were in the story.

I left the book and the tray out for the morning and added the mats we use for mandalas.

This sensory tray full of beautiful {and slightly frightening}loose parts is a popular request.

The answer to the question asked at the top  of this post is now rainbow...purple...green slime

spooky white ghosts...blue

and of course orange and black

Happy Early Childhood Educator and Child Care Worker Appreciation Day