A very serious study on sticks A fascination with sticks usually starts on the playground where children find some particularly exciting fallen branch. Lately, the Fireflies have been wanting to bring many sticks inside and back home. As teachers, we began to take special notice when friends picked...
This sounds good! This month the Wild Things began learning about music and sound. We have been having fun listening to different genres of music, and having dance parties. The Wildthings enjoy dancing and moving, and they really have some great moves! Our toddlers enjoy singing, and they often do...
Let’s start a band It all began when we read, Max Found Two Sticks, by Brian Pinkney. We noticed that a persistent tap-tap-tapping started to emerge on a daily basis in our class. Feeling inspired by the story, Grasshoppers found sticks themselves to test out the sounds of various surfaces in our...
written by Bucky Stanton Imaginary World Club My favorite club to offer at PIC is the Imaginary World Club (IMC). For students, imagining a world does not mean that they must take a hyper realistic approach to world building with intricate Tolkien-esque lore. Rather the primary aim of the club is to...
I did it all by myself! As the season has shifted solidly into winter we spend a lot more time in the classroom preparing for the weather. Each time we go out we have many, many more layers and often we change from shoes to boots. Not only do the children get to experience the wonder of winter, but...
Let there be light The Doodlebugs are exploring lights, shadows and reflections in our Reggio inspired learning environment. Our study of light has given the children the opportunity to discover beyond our typical play experiences. We used an overhead projector to focus our attention on the...
Clubs: Choices and Challenges One of the best things about PIC's After School Center is the depth of our club curriculum. The variety of clubs is determined by children's interests and staff talents. Teachers and students are often exploring topics together, learning as they go. Here is a sampling...
Literacy means love For many, the term early literacy calls to mind learning one’s letters and deciphering printed words. While those skills are certainly an important part of literacy, there is much more to it than being able to tell a Q from an O. Literacy encompasses four parts; listening...
Why set limits? As parents and caregivers, we see places where our children struggle and we want to give them a helping hand to move forward. One of the most effective tools to help a child who has gotten stuck in a particular spot is by setting a limit. When an adult sets a firm, loving limit, and...
Coping With Toddler’s Possessive Stage One of our older bumblebees was in the kitchen area with a bowl and a spoon in hand, mixing away at his latest culinary creation. He placed the bowl and spoon down on a nearby table to gather more ingredients, when a friend reached out to grab his bowl. Our...
