Winter Wonderland Indoors!

Winter in all it's glory is here!  As an adult I sometimes have a hard time embracing 

this time of year; the cold, the winter driving, dealing with snow days and delays, ice!  

However, when I am at the school the excitement and love that the children have for this season seems to melt away all my adult grumblings and I am excited to explore the season along with the children.

As it has been bitterly cold on some of these days,  and although we try to go out in all weather, some days when we can't we try to come  up with ways for the children to experience winter not only outside, but also inside.  Even when we do get outside, it is fun to bring the two worlds together.

I had filled the sensory bin with snow when we got back from break.  For a week the children loved coloring and exploring the snow inside.

Some of the children challenged themselves to use multiple pipettes while working, a wonderful way to work those fine motor skills! 

 They also had to share a lot as it was a small space with a lot of friends gathered around.  They really impressed me with their conversations, but also asking each other to share colors and tools.

I was offered many snow cones for the tasting.  

and the dinosaurs and sea animals also made it into the arctic snow.

The next week the sensory bin was filled with Cloud Dough, another favorite of the kids.

It is like playing with sand, but looks like snow!

The sifter fascinated the kids 

Ice cream anyone or how about ice skating

Tricia came up with a fun activity of taking wax paper and putting it under our feet and skating around the room.  It was surprising how much it was like ice skating and the kids loved it!

Some of the children had to support each other as they went it was that slippery!

 We not only ice skated indoors, but also had a snowball fight indoors!

No one was off limits, even I got hit with several snowballs.

Oh, and of course every classroom needs an indoor snowman, though I think the it looks a little more like a snow bear. 

Creating with Clay

Back in December we started working with clay at school.  The children made wonderful holiday gifts to give to their families.  Each time I write about the children working with clay I probably say the same thing, it is a magical medium.  The kids are filled with excitement and their focus during their time with the clay is amazing.  We are very fortunate to have the opportunity to fire our clay projects to which I owe my husband a big thanks!

My 3-5 year olds made vases and the 2 1/2- 3 1/2 year olds made pinch pot candle holders.

The first group started their project by rolling out a slab of clay.

After rolling out the clay, they would cut the extra

off.

They then would hammer down the sides so the clay would not be too thick at the seams.

The children also learned how to attach two pieces of clay together by scoring and then applying a watered down clay called slip (clay glue) to the pieces they wanted to attach together.  In this case it was the edges at the seam.

 
They then smoothed down the edge with a rubber rib.

Taking the extra clay from their vase, they would stand their project up on top of the slab and trace the bottom.  Again they would attach their bottom by slipping and scoring the bottom on.

It is a very involved process, but I was so impressed with their patience, ability, and concentration.

The children then had the opportunity to use a face mold, or stamping tools to decorate their vases.  Many loved the face mold.

A very focused little girl adding her face to her vase.

Again, I loved watching them work, they are all so capable and they take so much pride in their work.

All very unique and beautiful!

My littlest students also loved working with the clay.  They created pinch pots, and I don't know if it is their small hands or the ability to not overwork the clay, but my preschool students have always made better pinch pots then my high school students ever did!

   A pinch pot is a simple process, but it is easy to mess them up.  The children would take a ball of clay and press their thumb down the center of the ball.  They then slowly turned the clay in their hands as they pinch the sides.

As a final touch before we fired their pinch pots, they chose some items they wanted to press into the clay for decoration.

We ran out of time to glaze them this year, but I think they still came out great with paint on them.