Sinking and Floating

Children were experimenting on which one will float ?

They was one small rock in the water .Then one popsicle stick .

S said-wow rock is sinking !

We were outside for outdoor playing --It was a rainy day, children were throwing small pebbles in the water and were curious  about how they were sinking  .I was asking them on why all the pebbles went down ?S said ,"may be too heavy ".Following their interest I decided to provide this activity inside the class room to experiment and to compare .

I was amazed to observe that two girls were really curious and wanted to experiment more about what can float on the water .They were collecting few materials and were trying to see which one was floating and which one was sinking .They wanted to know if the big one were to sink or for the small to sink.Finally they figured out that only the heavy ones were sinking .We made a list in the class and they were very interested to find out more materials which were floating. Mashallah!. 

Look at the shark !

I got a key shark .

I can squeeze my fish .. Oh no the blue shark will catch my fish .

I have the biggest whale and biggest blue shark .

    Look at my bubble

We have been learning about creations of Allah who created the ocean ?What kind of animals live in the water? How will they help us? Sensory play with water is fun and engaging for most of the preschool children .They share their ideas with their peers and they communicate and learn to explore more. Each child has a  different perspective of learning new things. Some of them were playing with other children more. Some wanted to investigate how the plastic fish were floating and why the rocks were not.They were sharing their thoughts to their peers and asking questions. Mashallah!

Writing skill

Tracing numbers with a group is fun for the most of children at Preschool.Children love to practice their writing with a pencil ,chalk or other writing material . 

Block play

     Look my train is going down !

    I am making a bridge ..

S and I were working together to set up the train on the track .

I made a circle with that train and said , I made a rainbow circle .  

Fine motor skills

Fall experiences in the classroom

 1:Children were enjoying pouring the pine cone from one tray to another bamboo trays and counting home many pine cone were shifting ?

 2:Another child was helping how to count accurately to his peer.

 3:M  was telling F ,I have more pine cones .

4: F said I found a big leaf -that is is yellow too.

5:They were not only counting or pouring the pine cones,they were also experiencing the texture of the dried maple leaves-how they were making sounds while they were playing with the natural objects .

Comment :We collected some multicolored maple leaves and pine cones from our neighborhood to fill our sensory table. The last two months children  already observed lots of brown and black Caterpillars,lady bugs, and earthworms  when they went outside with the teachers.This November , when they come to the school ,they were observing the leaves on the ground .We decided to pick the  maple leaves and pine cones for them .Children were observing the colors, textures of the leave, sand,and pine cones.Also sensing and comparing the differences between them  .We provided  bamboo tray and basket which gave  opportunity to count share and interact with each other . Some children were interested to know the name of the part of  the leaves,some of them were counting how many cones they collected .They were enjoying while they were playing with each other .

Oceans creations of Allah (swt)

Our class room setup for exploring sea creatures. The sensory table is filled with clear water . I provided a few different types of objects to recognize the names . This is to understand  why we have it ? To feel the differences and to interact with their peers .                                            

  At the art table I have decided to provide blue papers and a few different types of sea creations .Most of the children in my class are between the ages of 3 to 4 years old . Using color pencils and tracing it on the papers will not only develop their fine motor skills but but also expand their vocabulary skills .
 


Out science table, my focus was to explore .investigate,compare, and learn about sea creations and their distinct texture . I displayed a few books about sea life, this will encourage children to read and recognize them .                                            

Exploring Sea Shells

 Children were comparing and investigating --big and small shells.

                                                   Some have sharp and spiky backs .

                      There were wondering why some of them have smooth surfaces?

she picked one and said--looks like ice cream cone .
My reflection:
Before winter vacation we have been exploring nature ,bugs ,seasons etc.We also did many activities with natural objects  ,such as -dry leaves, maple leaves, and flowers rock pine cone branches etc .When we started our first week of January ,I was thinking what kind of activities I can plan to encourage them to  involve with a group activity  .
I set up my science table with  varieties of sea shells only and was thinking to ask them what they know about sea life-Creation's of Allah? They were talking about fish ,sea shells ,sea weed ,rocks and dolphins --this is our first science and sensory activies for our first week .Inshallah we will keep posting and more ideas about the creation's of Allah and how children are exploring and learning about them .

Exploring Bugs

Teachers Reflection

October was not very cold to explore outside-we were lucky to have chances to explore Caterpillars, lady bugs, earth worms, Bee, etc. Children were curious and excited to observe them. Sometimes we collected lady bugs and caterpillars in your bug jars and brought them back to our class room  .Children were looking at them –they wanted to know what they eat-where do they live –how they walk-it is a huge topic  to cover. It was my challenge to study about bugs-collect books from the library and share many stories about them-we read Hungry caterpillar ,Grouchy lady bugs, The old lady who swallowed fly—who created all the bugs? How can we be kind with them .This week I set up my science table with many kinds of bugs. Children were exploring, creative and investing how many wing they have, eyes and colors? So many questions to answer –we extended this activity to our art table as well. Inshallah I will share it to my next blog.

Animal foot printing art activity

 He picked one animal from the plate and said,"Rain Deer".

 E said ,"I have a small goat -let me see how does it look like?"

 A is wondering with two feet how he can do his art?

A was stamping on the paper and said,"I like orange "

Teacher story.
We have been learning about Creations of Allah .We were sharing stories about Prophet Ibrahim ,"Eid ul Adha "animals we sacrifice,forest animals etc. --Following their interest,I decided to set our art table with tempera paint and some animals. Children were delighted to observe various animals on their art table.They were sharing their ideas about animals, they picked for art-how they help us?What they eat?Where they live?and they we were comparing with each other how does each foot print look like ?

Our Hajj project

Introduced children about "Kabba" ,we have been talking and sharing stories about our Prophet Ibrahim(PBUH) AND HIS sacrifice for Allah Subhanawa'tallah

  Children Started group art activities, painting "Kabah"

 How does "Kabah" look like ?what shape and color is it ? where  is" Kabah"?

 While children were coloring ,we have been talking about what to wear during Hajj-Name is Ihraam ,what color is it?showed picture and video about "Tawaaf"

First week of our learning at sprouts of Iman Childcare and Preschool

 A was busy to match the Arabic  alphabet and  teacher was sitting beside him and saying Alif - Ba

 He was very curious on how to practice inserting the alphabet in the lace.

 Helping to clean up and organize the shelf Mashallah.Block activity not only helped them to learn shapes but also teaching children problem solving,sharing,enhancing their imagination and creativity ,and developing their social skills while working with other children .

 Group activity hand tracing -to make a connection  with each other,to express their feelings,to share and communicate .

 I found that children were interested with cars and adding this block was more fun for the centre activity.

 Tempera paint and brushes on the easel is the most popular activity for some children, beginning the school year.They explore.touch and experiment with different colors.