It’s Not a Box! - Literacy and Problem Solving
As the holidays continued so did the curiosity and excitement in the Yellow Room. The children have been exploring the book, It’s Not a
Box. They worked in learning teams to determine which Not-a-Box
character they wanted to create. Yellow Room friends were challenged to listen to peers'
ideas and share their own ideas, compromise, take turns, discuss and
refine ideas, make blueprints, and create the idea they chose to make with a classmate. So much language
and communication was used in our class. Growth also occurred
as children looked beyond what they wanted and explored the perspectives of
one another. They found a compromise that considered everyone's
ideas. I was so pleased to see the children ask, “Is it
okay if I put this tape on the wheels?", and then they discussed
additional ideas. They were excited to tell me their ideas and show me
their blueprints. I was also pleased to see the children so involved in
their creations that they did not want to stop for free play, nor to go home.
Luckily we found a solution. We realized that we can continue our creations next week.
The power of communication and compromise is active in the Yellow Room.
Science? Actually it's Math!
The
children have been exploring decomposing. They have had
discussions about what decomposing is with one another, and we found that it
has several meanings related to how leaves outside decay, but also about how numbers can go from a whole to several parts. We also determined that we are considering the
decomposing of numbers.
As we continue to work on decomposing numbers the children continue to
surprise me as they remind me that when we break a number into parts
(while reading a story or telling a felt board story)
that we just decomposed the whole number into parts. They are taking
their learning and applying it to other areas of learning. Amazing!
They are doing such great work.
Literacy and Writing
Our
reading groups have started and the children are enjoying working
together to expand their literacy skills. We are playing various
literacy games to encourage literacy at school. Watch for support games
you can play at home to encourage your child’s literacy. Children are
working on the skills that will support their learning progression. We are writing, spelling, reading and learning
sight words. Learning is best supported when the children can apply it
to their lives so we are taking our learning outside the classroom and
discussing how it relates to our lives. During our “Not a Box” project the
children had so much to tell me about how they play with boxes at home
or with friends. I am so excited to hear how the many stories we talk
about can be seen in the lives of the children.
Good Shabbos!
Morah Devora
