Purim Gets Colorful in PKA

Purim is a explosion of color and sound, and we got into the Purim spirit by engaging in a multitude of art activities that incorporated color, texture, and movement as well.

Our bulletin board was about to get a face lift from the somber colors that winter brings. We glued colorful collage materials onto posterboard to make our new background. 

The final result!

Another day we rolled balls through paint and discovered that it creates a track pattern on the paper. We added the final product to our bulletin board as well. 

Our next art activity involved an item you might expect to find in your kitchen instead of at preschool - a salad spinner! Many household items can double as toddler-friendly activity-makers. We squeezed paint inside, sprinkled some glitter and turned the wheel! The result was a display of unique color splashes.

Art with Morah Jessica is a special time for the children to have one-on-one and small group time with a talented artist. Morah Jessica embodies the Reggio vision of creating with natural, found materials, so of course our graggers were made of something that grows from the ground - bamboo! First the children decorated the outside by gluing on colorful sequins. Next, they exercised very fine motor skills by picking up small beads and bolts and dropping them in the hollow tube to make the gragger's sound.  A piece of burlap sealed the ends and - voila! Our very own graggers!

One of Purim's well-known customs is to dress up in costumes and masks. We created masks to disguise our pictures! Even though their eyes are hiding ,the children can usually discern who is who. 

Happy Purim!

The Inside Scoop

What do The Butterflies and Dragonflies talk about all day long? How are they interacting with each other and in what ways? What from their home life and experiences are they expounding upon through social interactions, dramatic play, building, story telling and art? Quite a bit! So much, in fact, that we have a pretty juicy archive to share with you! Here's a little peek, enjoy! 

I can show you how to tear the tape.
You have to hold it straight and cut it with the scissors. -Gaia

I'm calling our mother! So, we dressed her up and put on her bottoms.
*makes a beep sound* on no I can't hear her! - RIva
Our baby is so sick! - Basha
I know! Uch, she is sooooo cute! - Riva

I can see it from here, it looks different but does not look different. - Noam

Hi! Yes, I can ask Alex if he's available to fix that.
Alex are you available, no?
Okay, maybe Hendrix can because he's fixing the sea patroller.
Hendrix is not available either. Are you at Georgia Tech?
You are? Okay, I can meet you there. - Leo

Oliver- lets dig a deep hole

Hendrix- that’s deep, that’s China! 

Leo- Pandas are in China! 

Alex- make sure you don’t cover China up 

The baby is sick and she needs a shot.
After her shot she needs medicine and to rest. - Basha

Hendrix - These cakes have to bake a hundred a million times.
Leo - Mine (cake) is a strawberry-googer-de-googery

If your face is in the sun, that means the sun is hugging you. - Hudson

I like to eat popcorn only when I watch movies, 
yeah, me and my entire family. -Sloane

Maybe a long time ago, we're going to turn into adults. When
I grow up for real, I'm going to be a mom. For real life! - Maya

"Ice cream is NOT for breakfast!"- Raleigh

I ate dinner all day!
I had Mac n Cheese and my daddy ate all my salad! - Emilia 

This sign says “keep out”. This is a house 
that has cans full of oil. 
The oil charges the light and the light is what keeps 
the house charged. -Oliver 

Do you know how fast a cheetah goes? You don't know?!
It goes 100 fast. - Liana

Eric - (giving Raleigh a suggest on where to find his toy)
You have to go peaking for it. Do you know what peaking means?
It means you have to go to the hole (in the fence)
and squint your eyes under the crack.
Once you find your toy, you can reach your hand in and grab it!

I'm at the hospital and Emilia is my doctor. I’m sick.
I danced too much, and that’s why I’m sick.  -Yael

Let's Build! Creating a Sense of Wonder through Construction, Play, and Friendship

In Kitah Gimmel, there is plenty of work to do. We have bolt machines turned to paint machines, moon mountains, and monster traps all under construction. With all helping hands on deck, sometimes two of us want to use the same material, or three of us have a different idea for the blueprints. Given these unique perspectives, it's natural when a disagreement arises. We stop, observe the situation, note the problem, decide whether it's safe or not safe, and assemble solutions! By openly discussing our various visions and how we would like to implement them, we build and strengthen our problem solving skills, communication abilities, and what it means to be a team player. What are innovative ways you construct solutions?

Whether they're building friendships or structures, the Kitah Gimmel Yeladim are getting creative with their masterpieces and helping each other grow along the way. Did you know that constructing and collaborating using various types of building materials fosters independent thinking and decision making? They're actually continuously challenging themselves and each other with endless 'What ifs', and 'I wonders', drawing a new and greater understanding of the world around them. 

We are so fortunate to have an Atelierista (art teacher), Morah Jessica, on staff! She shows us how we can expand our knowledge and building creativity using various materials. We had an excess of styrofoam on hand so we took the time to learn how to connect the pieces together using gold tees and wooden mallets, tape, bamboo skewers, and tooth picks!

Small world play consists of acting out real-life scenarios in a miniature play scene, created with small objects. Here children can learn life skills, turn taking, routines, processes, and much more. 

In light of all our in-class building, we had and idea to build with our special visitors who came for our Thanksgiving Feast! Given an array of wooden materials, glue, gemstones, and buttons our guests and master builders worked together to create detailed and elaborate pieces.

Following our special event, the children wanted to do more assembling of the wooden pieces. For days and weeks now, the structures are becoming more elaborate, friends are working together and we are creating our very own BUSY TOWN (named by Alex). You can read more about it in our next blog!