SOCIAL/EMOTIONAL: Same & Different

Building a sense of community where children learn to respect each other and honor our similarities and differences is one of our most important goals that we set for the year. We decided to begin our discussion by posing questions that would help our children focus on looking at themselves and each other and taking notice of how we are all the same and different. 

We introduced the Cardinals to a variety of age-appropriate diversity literature. Two of the many books we read helped us explore the many different shades of human skin color. The Colors of Us by Karen Katz presented a colorful and creative way that describes the many beautiful shades of skin tone in our society. Shelley Rotner’s book Shades of People, was filled with wonderful photographs of children, all with varying skin tones, hair colors and textures, and facial features. 

After our conversations on the incredible range of skin color shades, we created an activity for the Cardinals to help further understand these ideas and make them more concrete. We began by posing the question, “If you could name a color to describe your skin tone, what color would you call it?” 

Kaya – “golden”

Kate – “tan”

Wyatt – “golden”

Trace – “golden”

Young – “golden”

Noel – “white”

Katy – “whitish”

Audrey – “white”

Evan – “peachish and brownish”

Samuel – “golden”

Violet – “peach”

Lilly – “peach”

Radha – “brownish”

Jayden – “very, very, very golden”

Stella – “peachish gold”

Tori – “little brown”

To add more fun to the mix of shades within our Cardinal family, paint swatches were brought in. We matched our skin shades to paint swatches and had fun pronouncing the funny names that went along with them.

Kaya – “Peach Smoothie”

Kate – “Mojave Sunset”

Wyatt – “Messa Sans”

Trace – “Spring of Pearls”

Young – “Sandstone”

Noel – “Woodbrow Wilsom Blush”

Katy – “Tailored Linen”

Audrey – “Tailored Linen”

Evan – “Terra Cotta Trail”

Samuel – “Dark Walnut”

Violet – “Peppermint Brige”

Lilly – “Sonoran”

Radha – “Filoli Majestic Oak”

Jayden – “Muddy Mississippi”

Stella – “Peach Biege”

Tori – “Peach Smoothie”

Inspired by our many conversations and hands-on experiments, we felt that having each child create a self- portrait would be a natural extension to our learning. A self-portrait project is a wonderful way for young learners to discover art and self-concept as well as an introduction to the various cultures within the classroom community.

Using a mirror, Kaya looked closely at her facial features and selected materials that best resembled her image. As Kaya focused on her specific attributes and features such as hair color and texture, shapes, and eye color she was exploring with the concept of self. This visual art helped Kaya learn about what people look like, how similar and yet different people are, and built on additional skills such as shape and color recognition.  

Through these experiences, Kaya became more aware of the similarities and differences amongst her classmates. She had the opportunity to practice visual discrimination skills and became more aware of looking for details. These encounters helped Kaya develop a sense of community and provided experiences that foster sensitivity to diversity.

MUSIC & MOVEMENT CLASS CURRICULUM SUMMARY: Fall/Winter 2013-14

The 3’s & 4’s classes meet twice a week for music, once in the music room and once in the classroom. We have been working on individual and ensemble listening and responding skills, early music literacy, improvising and creating sounds and music. Our activities include rhymes, songs, poems, movement, structured dance and instruments. The musical concepts on which the lessons are based include:

·         A sense of pulse (steady beat)

·         A sense of duration (long/short, patterns, rhythm)

·         A sense of tempo (fast/slow)

·         A sense of pitch (high/low)

·         A sense of dynamics (loud/soft)

·         A sense of structure (same/different)

·         A sense of timbre (tone color)

·         A sense of texture (one sound/several sounds)

·         A sense of style

LIBRARY/TECH CLASS CURRICULUM SUMMARY: Fall/Winter 2013-14

The library is a wonderful place for the three and four year old children to indulge in the joy of books. Our youngest students engage with books by listening to a story, reflecting on what was read, sharing a book with a friend, or even sitting alone to look through pictures. Students are also invited to select books to borrow for their classroom community. Library extends and enriches the topics studied in the classrooms. 

SPANISH CLASS CURRICULUM SUMMARY: Fall/Winter 2013-14

During the Fall/Winter 2013-14 school term, the 3’s / 4’s students will begin to become familiar and comfortable hearing and speaking the Spanish language. They will be provided with learning experiences to explore Spanish language through songs, chants, dialogues, and storybooks. The Cardinals, Owls, Doves, and Catbirds will explore correct pronunciation, rhythm and intonation by participating in songs and games in Spanish. Topics introduced will include: greeting words accompanied by a common and polite gesture such as a hand shake or a wave, manner words, names of Spanish speaking countries, basic verbal commands such as sit down and stand-up, numbers 1-10, basic colors, basic geometrical shapes, modes of transportation, parts of our body, and family members.

We follow an Emergent Curriculum/Project Approach which means that themes, projects and studies most often come from the ideas and interests of the children in each of the 3's / 4's classroom. Therefore, seldom are the four classes engaged in the same study at the same time. This approach provides the opportunity for each class to learn additional Spanish vocabulary that connects with their theme of study or topic of interest, making the learning meaningful.

ART CLASS CURRICULUM SUMMARY: Fall/Winter 2013-14

In the 3 and 4 year old art class, students explore a variety of media in order to gain an understanding of art processes and techniques and the ability to make thoughtful choices about tools and materials in their artistic self-expression. Art experiences allow young artists to strengthen their fine motor skills, spatial awareness and rehearse shape and line formation. This fall, the Cardinals have worked with paint, using both watercolor and tempera paint and a variety of tools, to explore mark-making, visual texture, color mixing and opacity in painting.

In an integration with their classroom study, the Cardinals created sculptural birds using clay. In a clay introduction, students were able to explore the materiality of clay, its density when mixed with water and how it can be manipulated by hand to create a variety of shapes and forms. The students identified the main shapes in the pictures of their birds and transferred that knowledge to creating those shapes in clay to represent their birds.

COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT: Mathematics, Shapes

The same way we cultivate literacy daily, we use multiple opportunities during the day to help the Cardinals build competence in math. As the Cardinals count the amount of crackers and apples at the Snack Table, pour a substance from one container to another, put all the big rocks in one pile and the smaller ones in another at the Rock Sculpting Center, or tap a rhythmic pattern, they are learning math. Daily experiences like these provide the context for the Cardinals to evolve in math. Learning math is not just about numbers, it helps us make sense of the world around us and teaches us to reason and problem-solve.

Throughout her school day, Kaya is provided with endless opportunities to develop and enhance her mathematical skills. An example is the introduction of our math workshops. We launched our first Math Workshop with the mathematical concept of plane geometry, 2-D shapes. We first read Tana Hoban’s book, circles, triangles and squares. 

  

Using no text, this book introduces the geometric concepts of circles, triangles and squares demonstrated in photographs of bridges, buildings, windows, tires, boats, and other objects. After the read aloud, the Cardinals had a discussion on basic geometric shapes and their characteristics.     

After the thought-provoking discussion on two dimensional geometry shapes, the Cardinals set out to attend the workshops.

One station was set up with Shape Bingo ....

Another was the Playdough Shape Station with circle, square and rectangle cookie cutters.

Additional was a Shape Stamping Station where Kaya and the other Cardinals were encouraged to make a bird using 2-D shape stamps.

Lastly, the Rock Shape Challenge Station in the Rock Sculpting Center where Kaya and the other Cardinals picked a challenge and created the design using rocks.  

Throughout all these activities, Kaya demonstrated her recognition and understanding of basic geometric shapes such as square, circle, rectangle, triangle and oval.