Yeah for robots!

In all of my years of teaching, this is the first time I've attempted the theme of robots. Hadn't really thought that much about it before, but thanks to one of the preschoolers and his incredible ability to build "magnetic robots" with cardboard brick blocks, the spark was started! And it has exceeded my expectations. It has been very enjoyable for me to watch how the children create something with a variety of materials! We finished off 3 rolls of duct tape!

Here are some pictures from our week....

Using a variety of materials to create robots.

Sponge painting robots

This was a layered painting.

Building with Legos!

Wouldn't you like to know what these
cuties are up to?

Robots! (TR)

Round #2 of robots. The children seemed to enjoy learning about them and creating their own. And I pulled out a tub of Legos and there were some that really had a blast with those! 

Duct tape is great and now there
are cool colors like orange, purple and gold!

LEGOS!!!

Adding their own touch to the
robots. 

Ready for the day!

Busy guy!
He tried to swim in the cornmeal! 

Small group activity
(rolling a dice; counting and placing objects on the
robots. Idea taken from pocketofpreschool.com)

Robots! (MWF)

We learned some new things about Robots today. I asked the children what they knew about Robots and wrote their responses on the white board. Then, I shared some facts about what they are: machines with a computer brain that have wheels, sensors, gears, and a motor. Robots are programmed to do whatever the computer tells them to do. I also showed them pictures of different kinds of robots - they don't look like what we picture robots to be. Although the topic of robots is quite complex and abstract, it is something children enjoy!

These are the exact responses the children
gave after I asked them this question, "What do
you know about robots?"

Here are all of the boxes and other "recyclables"

you brought to the preschool.....

We used a lot of duct tape to (hopefully) keep

all of the parts on the robots. They were super 

creative! We will send these robots

home at the end of the week!

Imagination Station

Imaginations came to life last week.....not only was creativity displayed but also team work. Some children worked together to piece together our wood train track, and it took cooperation, negotiation and persistence to get the job done. Here is what they did: 

I believe we counted 24 cars.


Working together - making the tracks
go under the "other train."

Adding more pieces....

Almost there...they decided they
wanted it to go all the way to the art
table.

The only reason they stopped is
because we ran out of tracks.

Now it's time to add train cars.

We figured out how to divide up the
train cars so everyone who wanted some
had some.  

This is what we learned about trains.

All Aboard! (TR)

There is something about trains and young children that fit together. It's a theme I typically choose for that very reason. Why are children so obsessed with trains? Trains move. They have wheels and turn. Children are fascinated with motion. Trains are "child-friendly" in that they (the children) can relate to trains especially if they watch/read or are familiar with the popular "Thomas the Train" series. Trains are "hands on", some children have ridden on trains (at the State Fair!), children can imagine and create scenarios; pretend play, and mostly, they make a choo-choo sound! 

In the block area, we have a wooden wheel in the classroom that can be transformed into a car, train, plane, whatever your imagination can think of.... this week it is a train. We pull it out and then add chairs to the back. The engineer drives the train and the passengers sit in the back, but first they need to get their train ticket punched. Here are some pictures....

But first, the sensory table
(that is corn meal!)

We took turns being the train engineer!

Here's a side-view of our train

Here is a colorful train
(I bought this train at a craft fair - it is
homemade!)

Sharing the engineer job! 

Train is a comin'......

This week is all about TRAINS! I bought 2 extra train sets this summer when I made a visit to IKEA and they have already been well used. I also learned a new train song with weekend along with "signs" and that was fun to teach the children. Here are the words in case you hear them singing it...the tune gets stuck in your head! Have your children teach you the "signs" for the song. The tune is not a familiar one. It is an original song. 

STOP, LOOK AND LISTEN

By Ken Frawley

STOP, LOOK AND LISTEN!

TRAIN is a comin’ Oh YEAH!

TRAIN is a comin’ Oh YEAH!

TRAIN is a comin’

TRAIN is a comin’

TRAIN is a comin’ Oh YEAH!

STOP, LOOK AND LISTEN!

2. CAR is a comin’

3. AIRPLANE is a comin’

4. FIRE TRUCK’S comin’

5. HELICOPTER’S comin’

6. MOTORCYLE’S comin

All Aboard!

Is everyone ready?

The Engineer is ready!

This train is a freight train and it's
carrying tubes.

The train tracks going under the
other train.

This engineer decided to fill the
train cars with more freight!

Plan B

I arrived at preschool on Friday to darkness. The power was out and was not expected on for a few hours. Thankfully, it came on earlier than anticipated and we could have preschool anyway. For something different, we had a picnic snack and discussed what happens when there is no electricity... it pretty much affects everything!

Thank goodness for electricity!!

Firefighter day - TR!

It is exciting and scary to have firefighters visit the classroom. They look like normal people but when they put on all of their safety gear, they look a little different or funny. Sometimes that can be a little scary for younger children. But most of the children were in awe, especially when we got to see a real firetruck! Pretty cool! 
What we learned from the Firefighters:

• Have a family safety plan (know where you will meet outside if your house is on fire)
• Get out and stay out! (the firefighters can retrieve toys and pets)
• Firefighters are there to help us!
• Don't forget to check batteries in your smoke detectors.

Putting on fire gear

Almost ready

Yeah for firetrucks!

Lights and sirens.

Creating our own firetrucks at art.

Our own firefighters putting out fires!

He's a busy firefighter!