SHOW AND TELL
Bring a tool or simple machine.
(Think eggbeater, lock and key, zipper, hammer, etc.)
Topic: Machines
How machines make our work easier
The value is self-reliance, which means we have confidence in our own ability.
For science we’ll make orange/banana shakes.
Outside we’ll build a city-scape and do bubble sculptures.
The songs we’ll be singing are Wheels on the Bus, It’s a Small World, One Hammer, and Do Your Ears Hang Low?
Our art activities are painting with wheels, cars and trucks, and painting with stencils.
Creative dramatics will be to be an eggbeater, mix it up, popcorn, and train.
For motor development we’ll build flexibility by working with yoga postures. For body development, we’ll work on vestibular function with hopping, spinning, rolling, and upside down.
WHAT KIND OF INTELLIGENCE?
As a parent who has been entrusted with the care of a child for the next 15 years or so, right after loving and providing for this little person comes the responsibility of advocating for him. It’s a watching out for her best interests as she enters the world and begins to learn the life skills she needs. Here at the school, it’s obvious from the tiniest infant that our children have such incredibly unique temperaments and learning styles. And providing an environment where they can learn best requires a careful analysis of each child’s style.
There seems to be essentially seven intelligences, only a couple of which are easily accommodated in traditional school systems by traditional schoolteachers. The intelligences commonly accepted are verbal/linguistic, logical/mathematical, visual/spatial (creativity), bodily/kinesthetic (athletic), musical/rhythmic, interpersonal, and intrapersonal. Overlaid on these intelligences are processing styles of primarily auditory, kinesthetic, or visual. So what?
As the advocate for your preschool child, observe your child’s apparent needs. Does he seem to need bright light or low light? How about whether she likes lots of sound or seems irritated by it? Does she seem to like to be warm or throw off her coat at every opportunity? Does he like lots of variety in his schedule or do new routines upset him? Does she need frequent meals or is she really not too interested at mealtime? Does he need to move a lot or does he study things more quietly? Does she need to connect regularly with an adult or does she prefer to set up her own work? There are lots of these preference questions. You’ve seen them as personality tests. There’s not a right or wrong; they’re just characteristics. As your child’s advocate, it’s your job to be aware of your child’s preferences and then create an environment where your child can become the most competent.
As parents, we also have to be aware when we have conflicting characteristics with our children. If I’m a pretty quiet person and we have a rambunctious child, I need to set up situations where our child can let off some steam before story time. If I prefer to go from lunch to dinner with no snacks, but my child gets really crabby, maybe I need to set up a couple of snack times or free access to nutritious snacks. I most especially have to guard against setting up situations where I get a psychological payoff for making my child dependent on me.
The most important consideration is the respect for our children as individuals who can contribute their own color and texture to the rich tapestry of our lives if we’ll give them the opportunity.
Coming Up
About Self-reliance – We’ll be learning about machines next week, but they can move us farther away from our value of self-reliance. The show-and-tell is to bring a tool or a simple machine. Please take a few minutes to explain how the machine your child brings makes work easier. Wheelbarrows, tricycles, zippers, and locks and keys will be on the agenda. So will cranes, concrete trucks, and robots. When our children know the how and why of these tools and machines, they can be more competent in having confidence of their own abilities. Join with us in the fun of knowing about our created world.
classroom news
In the primary class, Anderson uses some of his class time to work with the shell matching work; this work is fragile and requires him to be very careful as he matches each shell. Alexis has been working with the spindle box, this work helps to understand the place value of zero as her ability to identify number improves this work will be help to apply a quantity to numbers 0-9. Noel works with the geometric puzzle and says engaged with the work for a long time.
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