Better Late than Never ?
Saturday I had was scheduled to speak at a conference on ” Parent Involvement is Power ” in Clarksville and since that is so close to my daughter Danielle’s home, I left early on Friday and didnt get to blog. I didnt actually leave until around 2:00 which was 15 minutes before the kids were getting up from nap and getting ready for pick up but if I dont get out before all of you guys start to arrive – I am delayed ! Instead of blogging I baked homemade whoopie pies for the kids and packed to go see my baby !
Friday was loud and crazy but it was all in good fun.
The kids had a lot of play going on that wasnt set up or even imagined to be in a lesson plan by me but I found it so significant that I took pictures and wanted to blog on it.
In one room Katelyn had her mom’s scarf. The kids were taking turns laying on the scarf and seeing who could pick up the child it. It was interesting to watch them decide that more were needed to lift a child. They would try and then a child would run to the stairs and yell ” we need help in here! ” More children would run to assist and join the game. SO much learning going on in this little scenario. Much more learning than I could plan in a day. They were working gross motor skills. They were being imaginative with materials and using them for things other that what was intended. They were using cognitive ( thinking ) skills to figure out how many children were needed to lift. They were using social skills with their friends to talk and solve problems and ask for help. It was really a very cool time.
Then there was Julia who was playing a matching game that Mellissa made for me last year and one of the clothes pins broke. I told her she could pitch it in the garbage but I looked and she had the tape out and was determined to ” fix ” the clothes pin. I knew it couldnt be fixed to normal but I think it was awesome that she was trying and really thinking about how it works and what she could do to fix it.
Randy was moving the oil lamp from the table and had been doing some light experiments with the kids so he decided to show them an oil lamp. He explained that a long time ago people used these and couldnt just turn a switch to let light like we do. He said ” maybe the pilgrims used something like this. Since we had been talking about pilgrims , this was pretty smart !
My lame plan for the day was a fine motor activity making a turkey from a paper plate and chenille stems. The kids would stick the chenille stems through the holes and twist them to stay in place.
Then outside Mr. Randy moved the hay bales to the play area from the porch where they were being used for decoration. He placed them all around the workbench and what erupted but a nice little game of ” Little Pig Little Pig”
IMG 4190 from Debbie Stringfellow Mays on Vimeo.
IMG 4192 from Debbie Stringfellow Mays on Vimeo.
Days like this make me smile.