Do Dinosaurs Make Good Pets ?
Today we started our unit on pets. I always forgot how much the noise level raises when we do this unit. We have barking and meowing all over the place . You add that to sweet Naomi’s voice singing ” Come Join the Circle ” and it the room is buzzing.
Part of the buzz is the excitement over the introduction of new materials. With each new unit we bring out new learning materials. Today there were puzzles, books, stuffed animals, puppets and small world animals. Its always interesting to see how they use the materials and if it is the intended purpose they are added.
Our puzzles are are little challenging from this unit. Naomi was having a hard time with a puzzle and I sat down to help her. I showed her how to look for clues to where the pieces would go and most of all encouraged her to be persistent and keep trying. She did finally get that puzzle together . I left the table. I returned several times to her taking the pieces out and doing it again. There’s something that makes you feel good when you become successful.. at anything. You want that feeling over and over and over again. This is the part of preschool that I love . The twinkle that a child gets in their eye when they do something they could not do before.
We talked about what would make good pets and which animals would not make good pets and why. Ms Dallas made a chart of ” Who has a pet at home ? ” I didn’t see the final product but the last time I looked everyone had one.
Part of the reggio philosophy is setting up provocations . Today I set up a provocation . The challenge was ” Can you build a kennel? ” On the square were several small blocks and popsicle sticks. This was also a STEM activity. A few of the kiddos tried it. Nathan ran to get me and said ” Come look, I even made a door. ”
As I left for Little Rock today and pulled my suitcase to the door and told the kids goodbye Parker asked me ” Why are you taking a suitcase?” I replied ” Well.. remember I told you I had to spend the night. My meeting is tomorrow and I will be staying in a hotel. ” She said ” Oh man.. that’s sad.” I said ” It’s sad to stay in a hotel? You don’t like hotels?” She said ” No, its sad for us. ” I love that they miss me.