More Pumpkin Fun!

Voting

This week we finished up with our pumpkin exploration. Last week, we gave you a glimpse of the plans the children had for the pumpkins. The children finished their Jack-o-lantern plans and voted on two they thought should be carved on the pumpkins. This week was the first time we had the children involved in a democratic act such as voting. We thought the fairest way to decide whose jack-o-lantern design would be carved on the pumpkin was to provide the children with an experience that would construct the idea of equality. It was explained to children that voting is "fair" because it allows each person to express an opinion. Each child was given the chance to pick the drawing they liked best. In the process of voting, the children came to terms with the idea of majority rule yet developed  sensitivity to minority positions.

Carraig and Nemer were nominated and won the votes.

Pumpkin Seed Recipe
Ms. Finkelstein and Ms. Masserant's classroom joined our classroom to clean out the pumpkins. The children enjoyed taking the seeds out and anticipated cooking them and eating them. The next day, some of the children went to Ms. Finkelstein and Ms. Masserant's classroom to prepare the seeds and cook them in the oven. Here is the recipe in case you would like to make some with your children this weekend.

1. Cut open the pumpkin and take out the seeds.
   

2. Stop and smell the pumpkin!













3. Place seeds in salted water to soak over night.












4. The next day, pat dry seeds with paper towel.

5. Cover a pan with aluminum foil and rub oil all around with paper towel.

6. Place dry seeds on pan with oil. Spread them around so they get coated with oil.

7. Sprinkle pinches of salt or garlic salt all over seeds.

9. We walked over to the kitchen.

10. We watched Ms. Rose put the seeds in the oven.

11. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and bake for 20 minutes.

12. Taste Test!  Survey said- 8 children like the seeds, 4-children didn't.

"Look at this big pumpkin!"

Pumpkin Interest
The pumpkin in the classroom has been a part of our curriculum for most of this week. Upon the children’s arrival last Friday, the children noticed the pumpkin on the table. Many children immediately described the size of the pumpkin. “Look at this big pumpkin!” One child noticed how dirty the pumpkin was and wanted to clean it, the children who were around agreed and began to work together on cleaning the pumpkin with soap and water. Conversations about what to do with the pumpkin began to emerge.

Emily-“Look at this big pumpkin!”

Khristos-“Are we going to eat the pumpkin?”

Emily-“It is dirty. We need to clean it!” (Emily uses a spray bottle and paper towel to clean pumpkin. Children gather near her and begin to help.)

Khristos-“What is that?” (Pointing to gooey stuff on pumpkin) “Is that blood?”

Emma- (Spraying the pumpkin with water.) “We are helping it grow!”

Owen-“We should make a Jack-o-lantern. We need a nose and eyes and a mouth!”

Jad- “We have to cut it open, get out the seeds, carve it and then put a candle in it.”

Alexa-“Then it will light up!”

Khristos-“We need to carve a scary mouth with sharp teeth.”

The exchange in dialogue between the children was insightful to hear. They all had ideas to share and respected each other by listening. We want to support the children’s thoughts about carving the pumpkin. The children have been working on mixing colors to make orange and making a plan to carve out the details on the pumpkin.

In addition, other developmental domains have been explored with the pumpkin. The children used measuring tools to measure the pumpkin. Some children used the unifix cubes or ruler to record the pumpkins height and the measuring tape to measure circumference. Next week, we will work with Ms. Finkelstein and Ms. Masserant's classroom on dissecting the pumpkin and cooking the pumpkin seeds.
 







Halloween Walk

The Halloween walk will take place on October 29th at 4pm. If your child does not come to school Thursday afternoon, we encourage you to bring child to the Halloween walk. If your planning on attending the Halloween walk, please make sure to sign your child out before going on the walk. Children who attend school all day, we ask that they do not wear their costumes to school. You can place their costume in their backpacks or a tote. Teachers will help children change into their costumes. Please keep all weapons and masks at home. Many children do not understand that there is a person behind the mask, and often get frightened. 


Fall Weather

The weather is getting cooler. Please send your child to school with warm clothes. Here is a what your child should wear to school. Also, each child should have a spare change of clothes for accidents.

Upcoming Events

October 29– Halloween walk at 4pm

November 6th– Optional Care request forms due

November 26-27-Thanksgiving break

Photos From Fire Truck & Firefighter Visit

Self Portraits

Self-portraits

We have been working on our self-portraits this week. Prior to drawing our self-portraits, the children have been working on creating the many possibilities of lines. Lines are everywhere! Every stroke in a painting is a kind of line. Letters consist of curvy, diagonal, short, and long lines. The children explored and named each line they created. “It looks like a spring!” Lines are now becoming numerals, letters, drawings, and self-portraits in our classroom.

Thank You Mrs. Milliken!

 
We would like to thank Mrs. Milliken for coming into the classroom and reading Room on the Broom. The children enjoyed her company and would not stop talking about the book! Our doors are always open to having parents come in to read a book, cook, or share a talent. We would love to have your company!

ASQ’s

ASQ’s are due today! Please take the time to fill out the ASQ for your child. This project focuses on making sure your child is on track and identifying areas where additional support can be used to help them succeed. Information gathered from your answers will be used by us to enhance your child’s growth and learning.

In order to complete the required screening, go to:

https://www.asqonline.com/family/22f268

There is a prize for the classroom that has all ASQ’s done first. The children each get a Scholastic book and the teachers get a $100 gift card to buy materials for the classroom! Please help us get them done ASAP.

Scholastic Magazines

Next week, we will begin reading Scholastic Magazines. This will be another opportunity for your child to practice and build their literacy skills. During this activity, the children look for the title, read the title together, hunt for letters, read the pictures, and then read the complete magazine together. At the end of the day, the children can take it home, share it with you, and complete the activities in the back of the magazine at home as homework.

 Halloween Walk

The Halloween walk will take place on October 29th at 4pm. If your child does not come to school Thursday afternoon, we encourage you to bring child to the Halloween walk. If your planning on attending the Halloween walk, please make sure to sign your child out before going on the walk. Children who attend school all day, we ask that they do not wear their costumes to school. You can place their costume in their backpacks or a tote. Teachers will help children change into their costumes. Please keep all weapons and masks at home. Many children do not understand that there is a person behind the mask, and often get frightened. 

Important Dates

October 16th- Ages & Stages due

October 16^th- Families in the Studio 4:00-5:00

October 20th– Fire department visits the ECEC

October 29– Halloween walk at 4pm

November 6th– Optional Care request forms due

November 26-27-Thanksgiving break

Safe, Kind, & Responsible

Being Safe, Kind, & Responsible

One of our goals this year is to create a social moral classroom. Part of our unique constructivist education is that the teacher shares with children much of the responsibility and power to make rules. we like to refer to rules as agreements between the teachers and the children about how to organize and regulate the operation of the classroom, including interpersonal relationships. As constructivist educators, we believe rules made by the children are better accepted and more conscientiously followed than rules given ready-made by adults. We started to think about our agreements when we began conversations about what it means to be safe, kind, and responsible.

The children gave examples for each agreement and were written down to refer back when needed. When we see the children "breaking" an agreement, we ask, "Is it safe? Is it kind? Is it responsible?" If they answer, no to any of these questions, we brainstorm solutions to solve the problem. We also notice every time the children are following the agreements by acknowledging their actions and saying, "You are being safe(kind, responsible)!" Our favorite quote we hear the children saying during clean-up time is, "I'm being responsible and I didn't even make this mess!"

We encourage you to use the same language at home. If you would like to see how fast your child can clean at home, try using the phrase "Let's be responsible and clean-up!" We hope it works for you as it has been working in our classroom community.

Talking Table

The book Have you Filled a Bucket Today? By Carol McCloud helped us to develop common vocabulary about how to treat each other.  Very quickly the children were able to distinguish the difference between “bucket filling” actions and “bucket dipping” actions.  How to handle the “bucket dipping” was the question at hand.  I designated a small table with just two chairs in our classroom as a consistent place for children to discuss these incidences.  

We discussed that “The Talking Table” would be a place to talk about what happened, how we felt about it, and to figure out a solution to the problem.  The one who has been offended is invited to speak first and is encouraged to say how they feel.  “I don’t like it when…”

The offender then gets a chance to speak.  Very often they blurt out "I'm sorry." They are asked to explain what that means.  They are encouraged to think of it meaning that they will not do the offensive action again.  They are encouraged to think of that as a promise.  Often the child will explain that the incident was not intentional.  Together, we discuss how to prevent the situation from happening again.  “Are you o.k.?” or “What can I do to help?”

Then the offended child is asked to consider the apology or amends that the offender offers.  The children are asked to exchange something to show they are ready to try again (handshake, high-5, smile, or a hug).

Most children are using the talking table with an adult present and scaffolding the process, often including the invitation to go work it out. Some children are inviting the other child to “The Talking Table” on their own and the actual process is still executed with adult guidance.  A few are beginning to handle the whole process independently.  Developing very specific language for these social problem solving situations seems to have helped the children.  It has even been overheard in the midst of play where situations have been solved pre-empting more complicated mishaps.

Ms. Smith
Ms. Smith will be gone Wednesday, Thursday, & Friday next week. She will be presenting at a Constructive Teaching conference on documenting with children in New Jersey. Good luck Ms. Smith! In addition, we wanted to let you know Tuesday's are a late start for Ms. Smith. Because she does late stay on Tuesday's, her day will start at 8:30 a.m.

Planning Time
Co-teachers have planning time every Thursday afternoon from 2-5 p.m. We use this time to plan the lesson plans for the following week, review U of M-Dearborn student lesson plans, reflect on documentation to further support the children's learning and discuss your child's progress. While we are out of the classroom, Ms. Abby, Ms. Jennifer, and Mr. Sean are in the classroom as cooperating teachers. They are university students with experience at the ECEC and know the children very well. The children are also supported by our neighbors Mrs. McAuliffe, Mrs. Lamrock, Ms. Finkelstein, & Ms. Masserant who are certified teachers. Our planning room is down the hall and only a phone call away.

Upcoming Events and Reminders
 

• Plymouth Orchard & Cider Mill- We hope to see you tomorrow! 10685 Warren Rd.Plymouth, MI 48170 1:00-4:00 p.m.

• My Body is Mine- 'My Body is Mine' presentation is being presented next Wednesday, October 14th, 2015. Our classroom is scheduled at 10:30 a.m. Lia Simpson sent out an email with electronic permission slips to sign if you'd like for your child to attend. Some of you have already signed a hard copy. If your child does not attend at this time and you would like to come, you may meet us in the lobby before we go to presentation. Please sign ASAP.

• Families in the Art Studio- Friday, October 16 4:00-5:00
  p.m.

• Fire Department visit- Monday, October 12 & Tuesday, October 20 10:30 a.m.

• Halloween Walk- Families are welcome to donate treats that will be passed out during the walk. There is a collection box in the ECEC lobby. Thursday, October 29 4:00-5:00 p.m. No weapons or masks allowed.

• Ages and Stages- Please complete the screening by October 16, 2015.