Blog #5

On Monday, May 23rd, we started the pirate theme. As the preschool group came in, they went straight to the sensory bin, which today was filled with sand, shells, gems, and cups to search and dig up treasure. The kids had a lot of fun with this activity. They were able to keep most of the sand in the bin, but some spilled sand was inevitable. I was happy to see how excited some of the kids were to pick up a broom and dustpan and clean u-p their mess. For the craft, the preschoolers worked on a pirate ship made of a paper plate, popsicle stick, and construction paper. They colored the plates brown and folded them in half to create a rocking pirate ship base. Some needed help with coloring while others were able to make full shapes and even marks with a crayon. Next came a popsicle stick as the mast, and a sail made of construction paper. For the movement activity, we created an obstacle course in which they would take a colored ball (treasure), jump on dots, climb up stairs, and balance on a beam to get to the treasure chest that had holes of the corresponding ball colors. The kids really enjoyed this activity and they practiced their balancing as well as waiting their turn while each child went. When the toddler group arrived, we had them interact with the same sensory bin for a bit. When the toddler group arrived, they were excited to find treasures in the sand and enjoyed playing with the toys we had in the box. There were occasions where we had to remind them to not throw the sand at each other, and we assisted in settling those disputes. The toddlers worked on a pirate hat made of construction paper for their craft today. We gave them paper and molded into a hat shape with staples so it could fit around their head. When they had finished the crafts, we had the toddler playgroup do the same obstacle course as the preschoolers, which they were able to eventually do so many times. Practicing patience was harder for the toddler group today.