Special of the Day: Lego Building

We have several different "Specials of the Day" that we rotate through (writing, math, art, movement, music, and messy hands). I recently added "Lego Building" to the rotation. This group is very into building with Lego (even before the movie). I know how much learning takes place through Lego Building, so I decided to give it more focus once in awhile, to really expand their planning skills. 

Our "Special" always takes place directly after circle time and is one of the few times a day where I choose the activity and we all focus on the same activity at the same time.  

When they left circle time they were given a three step direction.

1) Choose 4 wheels from the Lego Table

2) Make sure they are attached to the pieces that allow them to spin.

3) Bring them back to the big table

Back at the table they found yellow Lego bricks and basic accessories. Now their job was to build a car. They really enjoyed the focus and all being together working on a similar (not identical) task. Their cars were all very unique and there was a lot of conversation about types of cars, how it moved and other details they wanted to share. We had everything from jet ski cars, to turtle cars and even a flying car with wings. 

Reduce and Reuse :)

I renewed our membership this year to a local Recycle/Resource Center. This is a non-profit organization for schools and educators to benefit from the stuff business would normally be throwing away.  After paying a yearly membership fee, teachers/schools are able to go collect hands-on items, paper, office supplies, etc, for "free."  It is a bit of drive so I am only able to go about once a month, but there is no limit on your visits. Some items have limits of how many you can take per visit.  Sometimes I grab things knowing exactly what I am going to do with them. Other times they just look interesting and I will let the kids figure it out. Of course there are a few staple items that I make sure to restock each time I go.  Yesterdays "purchases" were quite a hit this morning.

This morning I just laid everything out on the table to sort through and see the kids reactions.

Not sure how to use these cards, but they looks like they could be used for MANY things.

The three colored stress balls are an example of a limited item.
We now have a total of six from my two visits this school year.

These pegs were a tighter fit in our Chinese checkerboard than I had hoped.

Free Labels + Weird Little Black Things = Name Plates

I didn't even realize how much transparent stuff I had collected this visit. Naturally we had to take out the light table.

A Nature Study Kind of Day...

Our new tree blocks have been quite a hit since last week. We have used them in a couple different areas so far. This week they are at the circle table.

Our homemade tree blocks. 

Our new counters from Scholastic Book Order

Who Whooo...

We decided to spend some time on the "big" playground today. We spent the majority of the time investigating in the "woods".We discovered grapevines, mushrooms and seeds. (There may have been a caterpillar squishing incident, too)

I draped the grapevines up over this tree branch. In the Spring I would like
to create a more permanent
space for the vines to climb. In the meantime it makes a fun hideout.

"What's this?"

"Here's another one"

Mushroom of some sort.

Wild Grapes

Back on the little playground... they continued to investigate nature. 

They apparently wanted to find something they could actually eat. 

This was the first time in a couple weeks that they paid any attention to the garden. 

Preschool Tinkering Camp

Fine Motor Skills

Fine Motor skills are something that we are ALWAYS working on at preschool.  We have to exercise these muscles so our hands can get strong enough and coordinated enough to hold our pencils properly! Of course we could just practice coloring or writing all the time, but there are so many other fun ways to gain muscle control.

PomPoms and Squeeze Tongs

Below are pictures of the boys linking together some chains. I found these at the Dollar Tree and they are originally intended for making necklaces and such.  However with the different colors and shapes they are perfect for sorting, matching and patterns.  Today we were just trying to figure out how they work. Linking them together was fairly easy, but pulling them back apart, took a lot more coordination and patience. The open slots of both links had to be lined up before you pulled them apart or the links would just snap! 

Linking Chains

Comparing Chains

Dollar Tree Chain Links

These travel size spray bottles with watered down paint

 are perfect for using those 

arm and hand muscles

This is NOT easy!

                                                 Picky Eating (Toothpicks that is...)

After all that exploring and experimenting, we sure worked up an appetite.  Pineapple and Cheez-its are a lot more fun with toothpicks. Little did the children know that they were once again practicing the "pincer grip" which they will need to become skilled writers!