Getting our Groove on

Today was all about getting more into routine and exploring different materials we have .  Generally our materials all stay out and the  children have free reign  with them but first they have to be introduced.  We can’t expect children to automatically know how to properly use or take care of materials they have never used.

Watercolors were popular today.  Water colors are great fine motor practice since the brush is smaller and not chunky.

We also tried out a glue pot today .  The glue pot reminds me of the old paste bottles with the brush on the lid.  The children ” paint ” the glue on the paper and then stick on the embellishments.  Today was scraps of yarn , which is also great fine motor practice  since the yarn pieces are small.

You will see a lot of activities offered that include fine motor practice.  There is nothing more exciting for a parent than seeing their child write their name.  We can’t write our name until those muscles are ready to coordinate to make that happen.  The more fine motor /fun activity/ games we provide the faster we will be able to grasp our markers and write our name.

Just a tid bit of information  . Human development progresses from the head down and from the trunk outward.  The torso and shoulders develop long before the elbow, the hips long before the knees and so on. In other words, skilled use of one’s hands and fingers  is the last in a long process of development .

When we give children repetitive tasks ( like name tracing sheets ) children can become frustrated or bored. We want to make sure they have to tools to be successful before we begin name writing .  Activities that  you can encourage your child to do at home that will be helpful are legos, play dough and big paper tearing .

Since school started we have been breaking up into groups of eight for most of the day.  Today, we tried keeping them together . There is value in both ways.  We strongly believe in  meeting the needs of the children so setting a schedule and ” by golly sticking to it ” isn’t our plan.  We change and rearrange until we find what is working best.  ( Keeping in mind that we have certain guidelines for quality that we have to meet such as atleast one hour outside ( we like more ) and two hours twenty minutes inside with access to all the material that make up a quality environment.  Whew.. you wouldn’t believe that list if I told you. )  So, each day we tweak a little and eventually we will land in our sweet spot.

The evidence of creativity is beginning to fill our walls.