Follow their lead

When I first started learning about the Reggio philosophy, I wondered how the children will learn the alphabet and numbers if we let them be in charge of what they're learning.  I can't even begin to explain how amazed I am with the effectiveness of the Reggio way. By allowing the children to grow through play and exploration they are coming to learn so much because children are naturally curious and interested in knowing it all!

 The Green Room friends are so excited to be learning the letters of the alphabet.  They are all working on writing their own name.  In just a couple short months, friends who went from not being able to identify their name, can now almost write it.  If we read to our kids, and if we give them opportunities for meaningful play, they will learn!

                                                               

This week we did a little exploration on our light table.  We covered it in plastic, and then set out red, blue, and yellow paint.  Sarah and Ava took enjoyed drawing pictures.  Gavi, Mason, and Levi experimented with mixing all of the colors together.  I will never tire of watching different types of learners explore the world.

In the beginning of the Torah we read that Hashem created a separation between darkness and light.  Thinking about that, along with our "regular" light table toys we placed squares of black paper in order to add a contrast of light and dark to our light table.  I was amazed to watch our friends expand on this.  They moved around the black paper, placing it under and over the transparent toys, commenting the whole time about what they were experiencing!

We've rotated our toys and brought out new manipulatives for our classroom.  The snap blocks have been a huge hit! We may have some future engineers in the Green Room!

Another fun activity we did this week was adding water play to our sensory materials.  We put out a tub of clear marbles, along with spray bottles of water.  The water was not only fun to spray, but our friends took interest in how it made the marbles look and feel different.

We wish you a peaceful and restful Shabbat.  I hope you are all able to take some deep breaths and play.  Shabbat Shalom!

Morah Deena and Morah Gitty