In Room One, we often play with play-dough, and we aim to involve the children in the creation of it as well! It is similar to baking, where the children learn to follow step-by-step instructions and see early science concepts come to fruition when all of the ingredients change state and become a gooey, elasticky dough.

Play dough is an excellent way for children to develop their fine-motor skills as they build up strength in their hands. They love to practice patting, rolling, and squishing the play-dough with their fingers. This will help with pencil and scissor control later on. Play dough also helps the children express themselves creatively and can be very calming and soothing. Although it is discouraged, some children even find it tasty to eat!

We generally make a large batch, but if you scroll to the bottom of this post, you will see that we’ve attached a smaller recipe you can use to make at home for your child/children. Try adding food colouring and/or different essences (i.e., vanilla, lemon) to add to the sensory experience.

Here are a few photos from some of our play dough experiences:

Ingredients:

• 2 cups plain flour (all purpose)
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup salt
• 2 tablespoons cream of tartar
• Up to 1.5 cups boiling water (adding in increments until it feels just right)
• Food colouring and/or essences (optional)

Method:

• Mix the flour, salt, cream of tartar and oil in a large mixing bowl
• Add any food colouring or essences TO the boiling water then into the dry ingredients
• Stir continuously until it becomes a sticky, combined dough
• Allow it to cool down then take it out of the bowl and knead it vigorously for a couple of minutes until all of the stickiness has gone. *If it remains a little sticky then add a touch more flour until just right*

Enjoy!

The children are back in the garden!

The Room Two children are back in the garden again, for the first time this winter. Before planting the winter vegetables (spinach, cabbage and silver beet), they had to pull out the big weeds, then give the dirt a good dig to loosen up the ground.

This was the first visit to the garden for some of the children, but a few of them are veterans. We love having the garden as a part of our outdoor environment as it provides the children with many exciting and engaging learning experiences.

Angie revisited and discussed how to plant the plants, and examined each different plant’s roots with the children. She discussed the what the roots do for the plants and how important they are for survival. The children were all eager to be a part of this and showed a real enthusiasm to listen and observe. They also showed an empathetic side during the planting process, as they were supportive, kind and caring to one another and their plants.

In reference to our Early Childhood Curriculum, this experience links to many of our learning strands and goals, namely: Te Whariki Belonging Goal 2. This experience fostered a sense of belonging, as we observed the children feeling proud and connected to their work. This increases their sense of knowing that they have a place, and that their input is important and integral to the running of the programme. Please refer to the link above if you would like an in depth description of the curriculum goal.

The children have been revisiting the garden to water the plants on sunny days, and to check on their growth and development. This experience will be ongoing as the children develop a sense of responsibility, and watch their little plants grow and flourish.

We would also like to give a special shout out and thank you to Lachlan, who took such wonderful pictures, which allowed Angie to help the rest of the children with the watering.

May 2016

While playing in the sandpit, the Room One teachers suggested that the children build a volcano! They were extremely excited and each grabbed a spade to pitch in.

Next we got some baking soda, vinegar and red dye. We mixed the dye and vinegar together, put a bit of baking soda in the top of the volcano, poured the liquid on top, and KABOOM! The lava exploded out of the top!

Activities such as this one are an excellent way to introduce children to science concepts and helps them to develop problem solving and critical thinking skills.

Be sure to ask your child their thoughts on their volcano creation!

April 2016

Last month, Room Two at Building Blocks Childcare performed a science experiment using two pieces of bread.

Step One:

The children were split into two groups. Group One had to wash their hands, and Group Two kept their hands dirty.

Step Two:
Each group had their own piece of bread, and
it was passed around so the children could rub their hands on it. Once each group was finished passing the bread around, the pieces were put in their own separate zip lock bags.

The children then discussed their hypotheses. What would happen to the bread? Which bread would grow more germs?

The group consensus was that Group Two’s bread would grow more germs.

Step Three:
We checked the bread daily to see if there were any changes. It wasn’t until the fourth day that the children began to notice Group Two’s bread changing colour, while Group One’s bread stayed the same.

The children were very excited when they started to see changes and enjoyed discussing the mouldy bread. We love doing science experiments in Room Two because they are interesting, and allow the children to explore and learn in a different way. They have asked to do an experiment using dirty and clean feet next time! That should be interesting!

Science in an early childhood setting is best learned through active involvement, where children can discover and construct their own ideas. When children are engaged both physically and mentally, they begin to investigate and manipulate their environment in order to answer questions and satisfy their innate curiosities. Through this experiment, the children developed their ability to ask questions, make hypotheses, and cooperate in group settings.

And most importantly, this was an excellent way to illustrate the importance of hand washing!