"In this classroom, relationships are fostered, families are respected, and children are honored.
In this classroom, nature's gifts are valued and children's thoughts are captured.
In this classroom, learning is alive and aesthetic beauty is appreciated." -Unknown

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

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:


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!!


4 comments:

  1. Coolio! You should get your groovy profile pic on this post too...the one with the purple flower etc.

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  2. That's a good idea, 52 Days to Explore! My outfit in the photo was from "Crazy Day", but would work for Groovy Day, as well. Thanks for stopping by.

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  3. This post just made my day. :-) I think I'll be smiling for the rest of the day now thinking of all their adorable and most certainly groovy outfits. Thanks for sharing this at the Kid's Co-op.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks, Didi! We had so much fun. Right after Groovy Day we had our spring break, so I just delivered the completed tie-dyed t-shirts to all my friends today. They had such big smiles on their faces as they received them. They made me smile, too.

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