SHARPENING OUR OBSERVATION SKILLS

Think of all the benefits a heightened sense of observation has on our lives. And, there is no better time to begin to sharpen that skill than from the very beginning of a child’s life. In our classroom, we focus on this in our everyday activities. Helping children notice details by asking them questions that will elicit new observations, is part of our approach to their overall education.

There was a new visitor at circle time – his name is Froggy. He wasn’t wearing any clothing yet, but his basket had lots of clothing in it! The children chose the clothing he needed. We got him a shirt, pants, and shoes (sometimes he gets to wear a jumper). Now he was ready to go to school. The children were really excited to sing our good morning song to Froggy as he joined in our circle time.

When it was time to go outside we noted that Froggy isn’t ready to go outside yet. (We are always working on this.) It is cold and windy outside in the Fall – he needs a jacket. We got Froggy a jacket and put on our own jackets as well.

Froggy has been helping us build our vocabulary as we decide what clothing he needs. He also teaches us how we need to assess and prepare before going outside in the cold.

We Can Take Care of the Animals

Some birds and squirrels have joined our fall tree. We have been pretending to fly like birds and have been observing different pictures to heighten our awareness of what birds do.

When we looked at this picture Ethan exclaimed “Duck” while Matteo said it was a “Bird”. Amanda pointed to the birds outstretched wings and told us that the bird “Have swings”. Evan added on “Bird in the blue sky” to which Morah asked “What is the bird doing in the sky?” and the children replied “Flying!”

Now we were ready to observe a more detailed picture. What do you notice? Maggie pointed out that there were “Trees” at the bottom. Dylan pointed to the top right corner of the picture and noted that there was “Tree” up there too. Miriam Sarah looked at the birds and started waving her hands like a bird saying “Bird. Flying!”
When we looked at this picture Shaina told us “That’s a bird.” Morah drew our attention to the bird’s mouth “What’s inside the bird’s mouth?” Morah asked. Mika then told us “Bird eating”

The next day Morah showed the children a container filled with food for the birds (we noticed there was a picture of a bird on the container). Some of the birds might be hungry – we can help them and give them some food to eat. The children brought our bean-bag birds and we pretended that they were eating the bird food. Morah then told the children, “The birds outside are also hungry. Let’s put some bird food outside so the birds that are outside can eat.” The children helped fill the birdfeeder with bird food and we hung it outside so all the birds can come and eat.
Yes, we can be empathetic to others and help them with their needs.

...More News from the Young Toddlers Class
*Birthdays are such a special time. We baked a cake and decorated crowns for Amanda’s birthday. Happy 2nd Birthday Amanda!

*We would like to welcome our new friend Evan into our class.