Handwashing Work

Some of the most popular Toddler activities this week...

Making Prayer Flags To Promote Peace, Compassion, Strength, and Wisdom

The primary classroom has been studying the continent of Asia and recently learned about Tibet. They have been making Tibetan prayer flags to hang around the classroom and in their homes. Traditionally, prayer flags are used to promote peace, compassion, strength, and wisdom. A prayer flag is a colorful panel or rectangular cloth often strung along mountain ridges and peaks high in the Himalayas to bless the surrounding countryside. Blue symbolizes sky and space, white symbolizes air, red symbolizes fire, green symbolizes water, and yellow symbolizes earth.

Capturing the Colors of Autumn

Leaf printing activity: collect leaves, coat with fabric paint, press onto shirt or other fabric, blot off excess paint, enjoy.

  

                                      

Celebrating the Change of Season With Autumn Themed Work

Taking a moment to remember to breathe, the pinwheel helps with focus.

Colorful corn kernels picked by little fingers or tweezers.

Pouring, scooping, and tonging with containers reflecting the beautiful colors of autumn.

Cutting and collage work.

Science activities including a study of leaves and turtles.

This is an easy activity to make: Just color copy a variety of leaves and laminate the actual leaf to match to the picture.

Other science activities include a study of magnets.

Can magnets work through water? Magnetic fsihing.

Counting objects 1 through 5.

Counting fish 1 through 10.

Dried Apple Slices for Snack....Yum

Pinwheels for Peace Art Installation--Happy Peace Day World!!!

Here is the first part of our art installation, Pinwheels for Peace, in front our our local library.

Tomorrow we will be setting up a similar installation in front of our school.

Even Nature knows it's Peace Day. I found this broken stone, just as you see it here, right outside of our campsite this weekend in the Catskill Mountains (New York State).

Pinwheels for Peace

Our primary classroom is making "Pinwheels for Peace" in celebration of International Peace Day on Septemebr 21, 2010.

How To Make Beautiful Wire Wrapped Stone Pendants

Simply cut a 2 foot piece of wire, make a "rabbit ear" loop, place the loop at the top of the stone and wrap until you use all of the wire.

TIP: Rough stones are easier to wrap than polished stones.

I found these child sized wire cutters and long nosed pliers at our local craft store. How perfect.

Some popular works on our shelves in the primary room right now...

Air, Land, Water work...a classic Water color painting with a masking tape resist: first make a design with masking tape on water color paper, paint over tape onto paper, let painting dry, and remove tape to reveal design.

Marble painting: place three drops of each color of paint onto paper in tray, spoon marble into tray, tilt tray to roll marble through the paint, marble will leave a trail of paint to create an abstract design, remove painting and hang to dry, clean tray and marble, return to shelf.

Using a scale to weigh miniature vegetables has been very popular; A simple transfer work for our youngest students while our older fives and sixes are working on estimation, weight, addition, and more.

An extension for the hundred board (my Mom's idea, thanks Mom!). I cut 10 small 1/2" slits on each side of a piece of cardboard (recycled), the child wraps yard around the cardboard to create a 10x10 grid, and fills in each square with a number to create their own hundred board.

Tying small pieces of yarn on a mesh grid to create a small rug...

Sewing a button onto a thin netting fabric (tulle)--great for seeing through to the other side and watching the needle as it moves through.

Sewing buttons onto felt hearts and then stitching two hearts together to make a small pillow.