In the Night Sky

To explore the night sky we have been...

Counting Stars

Catching Stars

Recently I attended a math workshop where I was reminded that it is important for students to both

-have the chance to freely explore materials and make their own discoveries/connections 

-AND to be offered challenges that inspire new uses for materials and lead to new connections

So, I've been trying to more consciously apply that principle in our activities, and this bin is a great example of that. After the students had a chance to play and explore with the stars in the water bin, I provided a new challenge on a different day

Fishing for Stars

(Inspired by How to Catch a Star by Oliver Jeffers)

I added paper clips to the stars and made simple magnetic fishing poles. 

This added a new purpose to the play, with an additional fine motor challenge. 

 I also added a math objectives as well by designating certain cups for different jobs: Classifying the stars by size or counting the stars as you caught them. (The counting cup is not pictured)

Starry Skies and Constellations 

Star stickers and wet chalk on dark paper

The Shapes of the Moon

(Inspired by Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me by Eric Carle)

We've also thought a little bit about being awake and asleep at night, thinking about animals that stay awake and how we go to sleep...usually. :)  One game that is always a favorite for this topic is called Hoot Owl Hoot- a great collaborative game. 

Book Love: Touch the Brightest Star

During our exploration of weather we have spent a lot of time thinking about the sky, which eventually brought us to how the sky changes at night. There is so much to explore about the concepts of day and night, but this time around we focused mostly on the sky. 

Touch the Brightest Star was perfect for this focus topic.  

I adore this author, and love this interactive style of books for preschool age students. 

Read-Aloud Experience: Whenever I read interactive books like this in whole group, I think about the number of students I have and how many pages call for some sort of interaction. Depending on how those numbers play out, each student gets a turn to come up and follow the instructions, and I might use multiple children for any leftover pages. Or, I walk around and let each student "touch the brightest star," for example. Some pages also lend themselves to whole group participation, such as blowing a breeze- they can all do that from their seats. 

Connecting Activity: Paint the Night Sky

We used dark watercolors on thick paper to paint the night sky.

Then, after they had dried a bit, we added white stars using tempera paint and q-tips.

 Some papers were still pretty wet when we added the paint, which led to this blended effect, which we thought looked neat.

 Every night sky was unique and beautiful- that's the great thing about process art like this!

Rainbows

I guess if I had to pick a favorite study topic in preschool, it might be rainbows. There are so many fun ways to explore rainbows, and there is something so visually "happy" to me when all the colors are organized together.

Rainbow Loose Parts

I gathered up some colored objects from our Math Bags collection to create this tray of rainbow loose parts. 

Rainbow Art

Controlling curved lines is part of the early stages of writing and handwriting, and it's fun to watch students feel successful in creating their own rainbows. 

The kids wanted to keep painting rainbows after our tinfoil canvases were used up, so we brought out more paper.

And a few kids couldn't resist using their own hands as a canvas... :)

We displayed our rainbows with the "raining clouds" we created earlier this month. 

Rainbow Order

An invitation to practice ordering, an important early mathematical skill, using the rainbow colors. 

Rain + Sun = Rainbow

The afternoon class was especially interested in the idea that rainbows need both light and water to form. One student told me that the "sun needs to reflect once in the rain to make a rainbow, and twice in the rain to make two raindrops." This concept showed up in other work they engaged in around the classroom. 

Light Box Writing Tray

I put colored tissue paper under this tray on the light box, and it was a popular activity. It gave us some good opportunities for taking turns and respecting space, besides the fine motor and sensory experience it offered.

Rainbow Bowling
We played this game along with our St. Patrick's Day celebration. Bowling is a fun way to practice counting and build number sense.

St. Patrick's Day Fun in Preschool

I always like to incorporate rainbows during this time of year, because #1- they are just so happy and #2- it's a fun way to connect with St. Patrick's Day. 

Rainbow Table

I'll do another post about our other rainbow activities, but one that I like to do every year for the holiday is build a big rainbow on the table out of objects we find in the classroom. This is a classic sorting activity, but I usually add in some sort of twist with Leprechauns. This year, I actually found a book where a Leprechaun loses his rainbow and needs colored objects to build it again, so I was able to connect it to literature instead of making something up on my own. :) 

It's always fun to see what objects the children find to add to the table. (I usually have certain objects out on purpose for this activity, but they usually come up with other items as well) 

 I think the end result is fun to look at, and can be used for counting or playing "I Spy" for some extra math connections. 

Leprechaun Traps and Homes

This year, I extended an invitation to build a leprechaun trap, which has become a popular activity for this holiday. Several kids were really invested in this idea, and one decided to make a home instead of a trap. 

They told me they put books in their trap so "the leprechaun could have something to read and not get bored." :) 

These rainbow colors were placed to lure the Leprechaun to their traip.

This student created a trail of green objects to lead the Leprechaun to the home she created. 

Making Green

Another Leprechaun challenge was creating the color green. This simple color mixing activity allowed for experimentation with different materials, and we ended up with a lot of beautiful green shades in the end. 

The Lucky Letter Game

This is a simple letter recognition game, where you try to find the lucky shamrock that matches the letter on the whiteboard. 

Magic Rainbow Trick

The kids were really hoping to catch a leprechaun in their traps, but he was just too tricky.

 He did leave us a magic rainbow trick to try out though.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!