Exploring Shapes...and Friendship!

We wrapped up the month of September by exploring shapes, and how they are the same and different- just like all of our friends at preschool!

While reading the book Friendshape, we worked together to recreate some of the pictures from the book. 

There are a lot of fun ways to explore with shapes- 

a topic that we will continue to visit throughout the year.

We finished off the week by practicing some friendship skills with this simple high-five game from Teach Preschool. You just ask a friend to give you a high-five, and then fill in a finger on your recording sheet.

Simple invitations often lead to deeper interactions, like how these two started talking about and counting each other's fingers. :)

After a month of getting to know each other and exploring things together, I asked each class to come up with some rules or guidelines for being a good friend in preschool. I loved hearing what was important to them, and will use that understanding as the foundation for building up our community as we move forward this year!

Shapes and Sizes

As part of observing the growth of our amaryllis plant, we added a little measurement into some of our playdough shape explorations as well. Here we are thinking about the sizes of different shapes that we are creating. 

There's something so engaging about making marks in the playdough.

Both of these friends even made sweet little faces. :)

Opportunities for exploring shape and size came up in other kinds of play as well.

Shapes from our Math Bags

 We are building up a great collection from all of our math bag items! Last week I gathered up some of the items, and set them out as an invitation to look for and create different shapes. It inspired some great shape work and creative exploring. 

Creative Kids Summer Class: Creating with Squares

Today we read Perfect Square by Michael Hall, one of my favorite authors.

This square in this book keeps getting changed in some way: ripped up, cut into pieces, etc. So then it makes itself into something new, like a fountain or a river or a park. It is a great model to show young artists how they can manipulate a shape and use their imagination and creativity to change it into whatever they want it to be. In other words, this book was a perfect fit for our summer class this week.

I set out an "invitation to create" for our little group with paper squares, scissors, fancy scissors, hole punches, glue, and writing utensils. They got right to work, and it was so fun to watch each individual in their own creation process.

We have a range of mixed ages in the class this week, and this activity allowed everyone to create in their own way. Although in the book the square makes a "finished picture" with an end result, it was up to the kids if they wanted to name or make their product into something.  

Some had a goal in mind and gave their creation names, like "A River" or "Polka Dot Wall with a Book" while others were just happy to be engaged in the processes of cutting, glueing, ripping, etc.

Who knew one shape could lead to so many fun possibilities?

We also started another project using squares, and I'll post more about that after we finish it up tomorrow!

Jack-O-Lantern Feelings

I try to integrate socio-emotional learning into as many activities as possible, because I feel it is such an important part of a preschooler's development. Around this time of year, Jack-O-Lanterns can be a fun backdrop for identifying feelings and exploring what those feelings might look like on a face. Although these faces can be a little silly, giving a name and face to a feeling is a concrete way for young children to practice recognizing these feelings in themselves and others, which is an important part of learning to regulate their own emotions and show empathy to those around them.

I learned a simple song, from the music teacher at my previous school, that I love to use with jack-o-lanterns and feelings:

Pumpkin, pumpkin

Round and fat

Turn into a Jack-o-Lantern 

Just like that!

I made some double-sided pumpkin props that have a plain pumpkin on one side, and a feeling face on the other. I usually have the kids help me to turn over one pumpkin at a time after we sing the line "just like that!" Then we talk about what that pumpkin might be feeling, and I invite them to show me what their own face looks like when they are feeling angry, sad, silly, etc. 

Depending on the day, I might also extend this activity to include a "feelings dance," where the students show what their bodies might look like when they are feeling a certain way, in addition to their face. We could also talk about what kinds of things make us feel happy or sad, or act out strategies for dealing with those feelings. This all depends on the needs and understanding of my class at the time. :) 

I also used felt to make some shapes and pumpkins that the kids could work with to make various faces. The students were usually eager to tell me about their faces, which was a great opportunity for me to observe their use of feeling words. 

I also purposefully cut out the shapes that we have been working on in class to integrate mathematical vocabulary and understanding as well. 

After working with the felt pieces, we made paper plate jack-o-lanterns. I put a little bit of glue into the orange paint so that the students could just stick the shapes on the pumpkin to make their faces. I had some leftover shapes from my Kindergarten teaching days, so we also identified some new shape names like trapezoid and rhombus.

Finally, I always love to support learning with literature, and these are two books that worked well for discussing feelings with this faces and pumpkins theme.  On Monday When It Rained has such great visuals for what feelings can look like on our faces, and Spookley the Square Pumpkin has quite a few different examples of situations that can cause us to feel a certain way, along with a message about choosing to be kind and brave, even if we are feeling sad, scared, or hurt.