A busy week!

This week was a busy one for the Trillium Toddlers!

 Here is a peek of what we have been up to.

 

 

Gideon, Jack and Le Roi explored liquid watercolors with coffee filters.

 

 

Aiden asked to cut open a pumpkin that has been living in our class...so we did! We found seeds inside, so Melody took a small group up to Maya's kitchen to have them roasted.

When Maya returned with the roasted pumpkin seeds, everyone was eager to taste them. They were gobbled up quick!

 

Sam, Avery and Aiden explored chalk in the Art Studio. Aiden explained to his friends the parts of an airplane as he drew, and soon Avery and Sam and Aiden produced airplane themed chalk drawings!

 

Avery enjoyed the chalky colors on her fingers!

 

 

One morning, I observed kids drumming on every surface in the room. I heard Aiden ask Gideon, "You have a drum? I need a really big one." So, I invited Aiden and Gideon to help me find the school's really big drums.

 

We brought 5 drums back to our class and sat together all morning with our very own drum circle!

It was wonderful to find a material that brought the whole group together, laughing, giggling and naturally turn taking with the drums and mallets.

 

Henry, Avery and Le Roi spent a long time one afternoon quietly playing with mirrors. The children made silly faces and mimicked each other's movements. The downward dog yoga pose was a favorite!

 

Magnatiles have to be the most used materials in our classroom! The children began the year building flat designs, matching shapes and color. Now they are building up! Building bigger! Building boxes!

 

The class has also learned alot about working together, asking "to be next" and how to ask for space while using the magnatiles.

 

Malia and Le Roi spent an afternoon with Michelle on the carpet with a jar full of circles from the hole punch machine. They all giggled as they picked up handfuls of the tiny circles and blew them into the air!

 

 

Malia and Le Roi explored clay and paint with their whole bodies!

 

We wish you all a wonderful weekend and look forward to playing together next week!

 

Love,

Jill and the Toddler Team

Rainy Day Picnics

We haven't made it outside as much as we would like, so we decided to take advantage of our time indoors together and some lunchtime picnics! We had a picnic lunch yesterday and today on our big carpet. Take a look!



"We having a picnic, because yeah! Rabbits eat carrots." Aiden

Luba LOVED the cream cheese bagels!



"mmmm pears." Henry

"My bowl. Fun! These are gooood." Bel

"It's good. More pears please." Jack
"More sandwich!!" Malia

Day two!



"Yogurt over there! Where's Quinnie's lunch?" Quinn



"More please!" Aiden
I don't know if Luba loved the bagels from yesterday, or the roll-ups from today!



"mmmm muffin!" Avery

"Eggs!" "I have zucchini." "More broccoli!" Malia

"Picnic!" Sam

Love,

Michelle and the Toddler Team!

Building and Climbing UP!

We have been noticing a new activity happening in the room lately. Kids are really challenging themselves when it comes to climbing, testing their muscles and balancing! All surfaces are a go, as long as an adult is nearby to make sure kids are safe.  This shelf has been a popular spot for climbing this week, and lots of kids tried it out. 

 

A few different methods were used to get up to the top.  The grab-n-pull yourself up and the handy dandy stool booster-upper.  Most everyone tried both ways.

Toddlers have an intense desire to challenge themselves in this way, and we  respect that need to grapple with their understanding of their own emerging capabilities. 

As they excercise thier abilities, they develop so many other competencies!  They develop spacial awareness,directional awareness, coordination and balance.  The list goes on!  They also are developing a sense of what risks they themselves feel capable of.  That internal knowledge is learned through pracitce, practice practice! 

Here are some more examples of climbing and balancing with the Trillium Toddlers!

 

 

 Scarlet rolled this stump up the incline so she could be up tall like Le Roi!

 

 

 

I know Gideon's folks have been seeing this climbing work at home.  Have you? Where is your kiddo's favorite place to climb? 

OK!

Melody

 

 



Exploring The Art Studio!

We are thrilled to have a second Art Studio here at EELP this year so that we can spend more time exploring the arts with small groups of children!

 

To begin the year, our class is exploring black and white paint, the beginning and end of color. On a typical visit, Melody, Michelle or I will spend 30 minutes to one hour with a group of 3-4 children. We spend some time chatting with the children about our plan, asking them questions about what they know about the materials and listen to their BIG ideas about what they want to create! Then we gather around the table and observe the children as they use all of their senses to explore the materials.

 

 We talk about how to use the paint and paint brush. An Sen and Scarlet practice carefully dipping their brushes into the paint, then gently pull their brushes across the paper.

 

 

Sometimes the children work together to create large pieces of artwork. This is a great opportunity to practice turn taking, sharing space and working together!

Henry, Gideon and Luba are finger painting, a great way to really get to know the paint, learn all of its properties, and how to use it.

 

Sometimes the children work alone with their own set of paint, brushes and paper.

 

Aiden and Jack explored another example of black and white in the studio....their shadows!

 

Luba is practicing washing her paintbrush in water and blotting it dry on a towel before dipping into a new color. We feel its important to teach the children skills like this so they can be even more successful in using art as a language to represent their ideas.

 

After visiting the studio to sit back and observe his friends as they painted, we are happy to have Jack join us at the table to paint! Working in small groups in the studio provides wonderful experiences for the children to build deeper relationships with each other, which also helps them feel more comfortable at school! 

 

Avery very carefully makes a rainbow with white paint on black paper. She was super proud of her work! She smiled, then painted more layers of paint to cover the rainbow.

 

The children love splashing in the washtub after painting!

 

Quinn's method of painting was to use the brush to put paint on her fingers, then stamp her fingers onto the paper.

 

The Art Studio is also a fantastic place for a game of peek-a-boo!

 

And the exploration of black and white continues out of the studio! Bel sits with Michelle outside to use her black pen on white paper.

 

We look forward to sharing with you more details about our time in the Art Studio!

Michelle, Melody and I have posted lots of detailed documentation in the hallway about our individual group work in the studio. Please stop and read when you get a chance!

 

Love,

Jill and the Toddler Team