Feelin' Groovy...

One of the things I try to do in my class is give the children hands-on opportunities to make learning come to life. When we are focused on a particular letter of the week, we often do activities or create events to celebrate the letter. For example, when it's letter H week we culminate the festivities by having a hat parade, etc. 


This last week we were learning about letter G. We discussed the soft G and hard G sounds, brought in shares that started with the /g/ sound, enjoyed a borrowed "gathering drum", etc., but we just wanted a little more of an emphasis or knowing me, I just wanted an event, an excuse to be a little more silly than usual and to create something memorable for the kiddos. 


Therefore, we declared that last Thursday was GROOVY DAY, and boy, was it ever. We encouraged the children to dress in their "grooviest" outfit, which needed a little explanation, but we overcame the obstacles and proceeded.

Love this friend's braids infused with flower petals!

We had coffee filters laid out where the children could use the Bingo bottles filled with liquid watercolors to make a 'far out' filter painting. 

I know many ECE professionals think coloring pages are taboo and I don't have them out often and ALWAYS have lots of plain paper where children can create whatever they like, but the kiddos were very enthusiastic to color this very cool VW Groovy Bug.

Everyone brought in a white t-shirt and chose their two colors

for tie-dying. Our amazing former preschool Mom, Heather graciously

volunteered to brave the dyes and do the tie-dying for us. Each child

was able to sit on the counter top and watch as their t-shirt became 

something totally new and different. How exciting!!!

Thank you so much, Ms. Heather!!

I had brought my lava lamp from home so the kids

could check it out. We made sure everyone was a safe

distance away from it and it was a great conversation starter

as we discussed, "Is it really lava? What makes it move? and more..."

This is a cool article about how they work:

 http://home.howstuffworks.com/lava-lamp.htm

We also listened to a kid sung version of "Yellow Submarine"

and learned the song with hand motions to go along with it.

The kids enjoyed seeing some of the ASL signs we have learned

being used in the song. We talked about submarines and periscopes.

Our day is never complete without some photos

of the fun. Some friends posed with others and near

the end of the day we had a Groovy Parade where each

child was given the opportunity, if they liked, to parade in the 

group area to show-off their groovy outfits. So cute!!

Peace signs, flowers, pastels, and neons

Tie-dye and denim

This friend had flowers, denim,
tassels, and wanted to make sure
that we saw her braid.

Peace sign and tie-dye

Crazy hat, tie-dye, and a peace sign scarf

Beads, flowers, headband scarf,
and beautiful colors

Tie-dye and lots of groovy sticker patches


We had so much fun!! I can't wait for the kids to see how their t-shirts turned out. Thanks so much to the parents for assisting in this event through their support and wardrobe creations.

Wishing you all a very groovy day!!