Push and Pull

After reading about the Three Little Pigs last week the class read a story about a great, big turnip that had to be pulled out of the ground.  This prompted a discussion about pushing and pulling.  We practiced pulling and pushing doors to make them move.  Then we wondered if the Big Bad Wolf "pushed" down houses with his breath, or if he "pulled" down houses.

We have been working on strategies to calm down when things get hectic in the classroom.  Today we all took a river stone and put it on our foreheads with the lights off.  Then the kids just listened quietly to guided stories about balloons floating in the air.  These self soothing activities help students learn to relax even when events around them feel overwhelming.

To decide this we practiced pushing air out of our mouths to make a tissue move, and then pulling air into our mouthes, thus sucking the tissue into our mouths.  Then each child took a small paper cup to experiment with pushing using their exhalations.  We had cups upside down, scuttling across the tables,  and holding bears, legos and unifix cubes.  The children watched their peers and then tried new ideas.  Tomorrow we will craft an experiment using our air to "push" cups around.

This afternoon we worked on our costumes for the class play.  We modeled our designs after those of Gerald McDermott, the author of the story our play is about.  The students talked about warm and cool colors, shapes and lines.  Everyone is interested in making four star work and they are checking out what their peers are doing for ideas.  They are frequently coming to Mrs. Keach and I looking for more input of how to revise their costumes.  What may appear to be mindless coloring is actually creation of a product using geometric concepts.  I can't wait for your to see their completed products.