For the month of September, I like to spend some time introducing the children to the materials, the classroom and each other. We will spend a lot of time working in groups of two, three, four and even as a whole group. This gives us a chance to practice sharing space and materials, as well as reinforcing the idea of cooperation and teamwork.
For the first week, most of our activities were whole group activities. It was a short, but busy week.
On Tuesday we started "Working Together and Helping Each Other," by gathering in the block area. Everyone was invited to build onto a group structure. The children stayed for almost an hour. The main purpose of this activity was to share space, promote language, introduce block play and cleaning up. It probably looked like we were just playing.
On Wednesday, we gathered at the table to practice using glue sticks and creating collage. Most of the children were quick to join us. Some of the older children who have had plenty of practice, decided it was old news and went off to play elsewhere.
On Thursday, we worked together to build an enormous railroad. We used every piece we could find! A few of our friends, old and new have serious interest in trains, so there was a lot of time spent here after the track was complete.
Friday we gathered in the Dress up Area to explore all the materials there. We had so much fun dressing up in all the costumes that we didn't have any time for pictures. :)
This week we are going to give our Cooperation Island Game another try. I am very interested to see the difference between this group and last year's group. This year the children are much younger and less familiar with each other.
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