Tt is for tree

This week we read two books that featured an apple tree.  I'm lucky to have an apple tree in my backyard blooming.  The first book is Shel Silverstein's The Giving Tree.  The children loved that book and when I asked them "why" questions, they were very insightful.  The second book is The Apple Pie Tree, by Zoe Hall.  Reading books about the theme is a great way to lead them in to discussions.

For art, the children cut out pre-drawn rectangular trunks and a tree top.  I've seen a lot of improvement in some of the children who didn't know how to cut in the beginning of the year.  Then they pasted them onto blue construction paper.  Finally, the children put their pinky finger in a red ink pad and pressed it on the tree top to look like red apples.  The second art project was to sponge paint pre-cut paper leaves.  In the first group, I put out yellow, brown, green glitter paint, and light green.  For the second I pre-mixed green with different colors to make different color green like yellow, white, orange, brown, white, silver glitter, and gold glitter.  Both groups' leaves turned out great despite the differences. 

This theme could have been done during the fall when leaves turn colors, but I wanted to do it during the spring right after we talked about Earth Day.

For our centers, on day one, the children sharpened pencils, put paper clips on paper, and screwed nuts and bolts together.  For the second day, the children had free choice with all of the "toys" available.

I'm not sure if I mentioned this in an earlier blog, but I rearranged the schedule.  The children were very used to the previous theme and I felt a change needed to happen to snap them into more excitement.  I realize children thrive on routine, but sometimes they also need change.  Kind of like when you rotate toys at home.  It's more exciting and the children jump from one activity to the next.  I had a discussion with a lot of preschool teachers on line where around this time of year, the children get antsy and need a change.  It might be the longer day, the anticipation for kindergarten, developing and testing new limits and abilities, or just bored with the same old same old.  The new schedule is featured on my website http://www.frenchvalleykpreppreschool.com/curriculum.htm and is very exciting.

Here are this week's photos:

Putting paperclips on paper

Sharpening pencils

He brought me over to show his creation.  Beautiful!!!

I said, "What would happen if you added that block?"  So he started stacking more.  When it crashed, he was tickled.

There she blows!

Friday class free-painting with watercolors

Nuts and bolts