Finger Paint
Children are asked to
write their name on the paper before they start painting. This encourages
children to become more familiar with the letters in their names and also
strengthens their fine motor skills to prepare them for writing more letter and
numbers. Some children have also chosen to etch their names with the back of a
paintbrush or their finger. This also is a fun activity to practice writing
skills.
Teachers also guide the
children in exploring and problem solving with other classmates. For example,
a teacher may point out a child making the color purple. This comment may
attract other children to the process of mixing colors, talking about how
purple was made, or encourage the group to explore mixing different colors to
make a new color.
Finger painting is also a
good time for children to practice communicating their thoughts with each
other.
These
are some comments from classmates:
“Look
at my wave! It’s really huge!” –Malea
“It
makes really sticky goo. Want to make goo with me? You have to put glue on it.
You have to use a paint brush.”- Daisy
“Look,
I made a dark rainbow! Red and blue make purple. Pink and blue make purple.”
–Ethan
“I’m
actually mixing colors. Pink and orange. It’s called volcano.” –Malea
“Look,
it’s grey. It’s like a pretzel.” –Patrick
P.E. With Sharon
During class, Sharon
focused on a few new words for the children to become familiar with. The two
words introduced during class were “boundary” and “safe”. The focus of the word “safe” allows children
to express their own interpretations of safe actions and acts as a key word to
help them recognize when they are or are not being safe.
The focus of “boundary”
supports children becoming more aware of their surroundings. Sharon sets up
colored cones in a large square so the class has a visual aide in recognizing
the boundary. The word “boundary” is also used as a tool to encourage children
to help their classmates stay in the coned boundary.
This week the children
recognized the different colored cones. They also took turns being the “leader”
as they called out a specific color for the group to go to and chose how to
move to that color (skip, walk, run, tiptoe, etc.).