Woodend continues to provide endless opportunities to explore and learn. From the icy pond to the inside of a giant tulip tree, there is always something new in nature.
Animals, Animals!
We’ve been learning about habitats as part of our on-going animal project. Each child learned about the habitat of their chosen animal, added a habitat page to their books, and created habitat paintings. The paintings were created by looking at pictures in their animal books, then drawing what they saw and imagined of their animal’s habitat. Afterwards, they painted their habitats, then cut out and added collage elements. Next up, life cycles!
We played a few animal games, including one we called Habitat, Habitat based on Mother May I. “If your animal lives in the ocean, swim three times. If your animal lives in the trees, move two times.” Fox (and Hawk) and Rabbit was fun to play in the tall meadow grass. Rabbits had to decide whether to hide and freeze, or try to bolt for the rabbit warren.
Our guest naturalist Nancy brought us a real squirrel drey to examine, then we went out drey-hunting on our longest hike to date. The Oaks spotted 15 dreys in the tree-tops on a full-circle hike of Woodend.
Mapping
After mastering 3D model maps, the Oaks moved on to 2D maps on paper. We created a map of the play-yard, and played the treasure hunt game again. The children hid small animals, marked them on the map, then sent their friends off to find them. Pretty soon, they could play the game completely independently. Taking it to the next step, the Oaks created a map of the preschool playground. Each child added elements to the map, talking with the teachers and each other about where things should go and how big they should be. “The stumps are actually behind the play structure.” “Where should this tree go?” Then they hid shiny gemstones for the Saplings to find, added Xs to mark the spots on the map, and got some help from a visiting third grader to write a poem with clues.
After a rain, we donned our gear and decided to hike the creek bed from one side of Woodend to the other. We brought along a laminated map of Woodend, so the children could check our location in the creek bed as we went along and add important missing elements to the map, like the one part of the creek that usually actually has water (or at least mud!).
Next up with mapping: creating sequencing maps of the route from the Oaks classroom to Hilltop Home.
Play!
In the classroom and outdoors, the Oaks continued the real work of early childhood – play! So much negotiation, problem-solving, language development, risk-taking, creativity and imagination.
Read, Read, Read
The Oaks LOVE books, anywhere, anytime, any kind. So we bring along stories wherever we go. We’ve really enjoyed our person-of-the-day favorite book parent visits. Nothing is better than your favorite story read by your favorite person and shared with friends.
This week, we started reading a series of books dealing with social emotional issues. These stories sparked animated discussion and sharing about feelings and how to manage them. We’ll continue with these books next week, giving us a shared language to use when problems arise.
Inside the classroom, the Oaks waited excitedly for the Mr. and Mrs. Penguin to lay an egg. Then they waited patiently for the egg to hatch. After three days, Little Waddle emerged from his/her shell! S/he is being well taken care of by the children, who are fully immersed in the magic.
Mindfulness is part of every day, as we learn to slow our engines down with breathing exercises, visit our sit spots at Hilltop Home, and practice mindful bodies, mindful listening, mindful seeing and mindful breathing.
Books we read:
My Father’s Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett
Virginia Wolf by Kyo Maclear and Isabelle Arsenault
One by Kathryn Otoshi
Zero by Kathryn Otoshi
Grumpy Bird by Jeremy Tankard
The Hat from Frog and Toad by Arnold Lobel (in honor of a class birthday)
Various books on the children’s individual animals and their habitats.
And many many more!
Audubon Nature Preschool 