No, we don't have video games at school! That is what one little guy said to describe a painting project with magnets (love the language from these kiddos!). This month is full of some super cool curriculum topics. Last week was Dr. Seuss week, this week was magnet week, next week is artist of the month (Pablo Picasso) and an introduction to engineering and bridge building explorations!
We began this week by asking the children to share their knowledge on magnets. Many of the children mentioned their refrigerators at home and the fun magnets that stick to them. The discussion continued with the question, "why do magnets stick?" This question brought us to the vocabulary words attract and force. If a magnets sticks to an object, or is attracted to an object, that object must have iron, nickel or cobalt in it. Not all metal is created equal, therefore, only metal with these properties will be magnetic. Magnet week naturally presented several magnet experiments. As an introduction to magnets, the children were asked to go on a magnet hunt and search the classroom for magnetic items that attracted our magnet. The hunt was very successful and everyone was able to locate magnetic items that attract in our classroom such as the screw in the cubbies, the door frame and the table legs, just to name a few.
As the week progressed, the children had many opportunities to explore with magnets. They were given several items from the classroom including fabric, plastic and metal and were asked to find out what was magnetic and what was not. The children experimented with the strength of our classroom magnets and discovered that the long green magnet was stronger then the U-shaped red magnet by seeing how many paperclips would stick to it's surface. Magnet painting was also a blast! See our pictures below for more examples of activities from the week!
What's Up Next?
We will begin next week exploring Pablo Picasso's masterpiece, variously titled, "Hands with Flowers," "Bouquet of Peace," and Flowers and Hands" to name a few. I love "Bouquet of Peace" because it incorporates some great vocabulary! Towards the end of the week, the children will be introduced to the amazing world of architecture and bridge building!
Important Dates and Reminders:
March 19: March Gathering at Chikki Plaza! Check your Evite for more info and to RSVP
April 1: April Tuition Due
April 18-22: SEE closed for Spring Break
May 11-12: Picture Day! More info to come in a few weeks
Some pictures from this week:
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| Designing pictures with Magnets |
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| Developing visual matching skills with Magnetic Match Rings |
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| Finding out what is magnetic and what is not |
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| Exploring a magnet's strength |
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| It's almost spring! Loose parts are being added to the playground again! |
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| The girls discovered rain water coming from the gutter. They used the water to wash down the outdoor paint board |
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| Magnet painting! The children used the magnet stick to move around the small magnet above to blend colors and push the paint around. |
I hope everyone has a great weekend! It's definitely going to feel like spring!
Joanna
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