Project 365: Week 2

Day 6: The fairy capturers approach the blizzard fairies. All is well.

Day 7: Blustery Cold.

Day 8: Smash

Day 9: The big rock

Day 10: Slippery Seals

Day 11: Fairy houses in the snow.

Day 12: Sledding

Day 13: Waterslide.

Our Science of Sledding

Our favorite winter activity at preschool is sliding down our "snow mountain."

Managing a small group of kids sledding seems to have become a science. Here's how we make it work.

We used to have classic plastic sleds, which are fun with a couple kids, but our new style sleds have proven to be amazing for a group of preschoolers. I get to spend a lot more time monitoring for safety and less time helping. We got ours from LL Bean, but I have seen similar sleds from other stores. It seems that people either really like these sleds or really dislike them. We have had nothing but success, but our hill is usually smooth. They really need a packed trail. 

These sleds are very light and easy to carry up the hill, which creates a lot of independence.

 It always takes a few sessions to create a smooth rhythm. 

To begin they have to master how to get on the sleds, which can be a little tricky at first for kids who haven't used them before. Scaffolding proves to be a great learning tool, with beginners observing the experts.

 We call them "horse sleds," which seems to help the kids understand that the handle needs to go in the front and that you can't let go!

Another great part about these sleds is the body control that they have to accomplish, it's practically yoga. They have to center themselves carefully on the sled and then lean back just enough and hold their feet up off the ground. It's amazing how fast the catch on. They also have a lot more control of stopping, because their feet are not in the sled. 

I usually have to prompt the children to hand their sleds over, but there is rarely a complaint. They know that the child will quickly be back to the top to hand it back again. Often, a couple children are off doing something else and there are enough sleds for everybody. I have considered getting more, but in some ways I think the turn taking is an important part of the experience.

There is a lot of opportunity to practice waiting, watching and being aware of others.The biggest challenge is helping them understand and remember that they have to walk up to the left of the sledding path. The kids waiting at the top also have to be aware and they do a great job waiting for kids and/or shouting out "look out below."

Of course, marching up the hill in their full winter gear is great exercise and usually yields a quiet nap time.

Project 365: A Work in Progress

If you follow Growing Inch By Inch on Facebook, you may have noticed a new photo album titled Project 365. This is a challenge that I have decided to participate in, after following a couple other pages as they did it last year. A photo a day, every day for a year.

Here is a lovely post from Lesley at Takoma Park Cooperative Preschool as she starts her third year of collecting photos.   I couldn't have explained it any better, so I won't even try. :)

I will be posting our pictures on Facebook daily, but will also include them here weekly, with the seven photos from that week.  

I have decided a couple days late, that I am going to focus my Project 365 on Playing Outside.  Of course, I decided this after posting my first three photos and then reading the lovely post above from Lesley.

Day 1 
The fairy capturers are keeping an eye on the blizzard fairies.

Day 2: Weighing in.

Day 3
The Big Freeze

Day 4
The Blizzard Fairies are working on a storm.

Day 5
Solitude.

Happy New Year.

For the New Year, I decided that it would be fun to look back at the dramatic changes that our playground makes from season to season. Nature is an amazing classroom. I am so thankful that we have a place where the children can see so many changes happening around them naturally. I really should choose a couple places on the playground to take the same photos of each season... that almost sounded like a resolution.

March 2013: Snow is starting to melt.

May 2013: New Growth

June 2013: Fern Gully  (notice our apple tree hiding in the background)

September 2013:

November 2013: Wide open spaces 

December 2013: Under the apple tree.

I am looking forward to another year of adventures in 

this magical space!

Ice Bones

Lots of great imaginative play going on today with all the big chunks of ice. 

(*the videos were an experiment and they don't seem to play with sound, but they sure are cute!)

 Collecting.

Research

Carving the bones into art.

A Sheep.

 Dusting

Teamwork.

Classification.