Preschool Ocean Theme with Natural Materials

Our extended year summer program was all about the Ocean. We did lots of exploring and learning. Here are a few of our adventures using natural materials that come from the ocean or that you might find at the ocean.

Our provocation for an ocean sculpture including driftwood, shells and sand with glitter mixed into it.

We later added some of the ocean beads we were going to use for bracelets.

We placed out some borrowed ocean items for the children to touch and explore to discover textures, patterns and more. 

A variety of shells are always intriguing to children.

"Hear that? It's the ocean calling."

We were amazed by this enormous shell and began wondering about the creature that might have lived inside of it and how large it would have been.

The sponge was fascinating and the holes throughout it just beckoned for us to peer through to the other side. "I see you."

We also did some still life art. After learning about starfish AKA sea stars, we propped up a couple for the kiddos to observe while painting. 

3D Recycled Art with a Technology Twist

It all started back at the beginning of April. I received an e-mail in my work inbox that caught my eye. I don't  know how I got on the mailing list for We Are Teachers, but am so glad I did. It highlighted a preschool class that had made art from recycled materials, named empty water bottles. Click on this to get to the original article that caught my eye: Recycled Bottle Art. I knew it was something we HAD to do and I wanted to put a twist on it. I had recently been given an iPad to "try out" in the classroom. Now, I'm one of those teachers that doesn't necessarily want to have a computer for the kids in the class. I believe most kids get plenty, if not too much screen time at their homes. However, I know there is a place for technology in the classroom and wanted to use it as an educational support and a connection with families. I began thinking about my plan of action and got excited.

My first step was sharing the idea with the kiddos and getting them enthused, as well. I showed them the images of what the other preschoolers had created from recycled water bottles including animals, trains and robots. They began getting excited, too.

I then sat down with each student and with my iPad in hand had them tell me about what they wanted to create, if their bottle would be standing up or lying down, sketching out their idea, and then coloring it with the colors of paint they would be using. This is a short video to show you the planning process of one of my kiddos. 

Imagine sitting down and doing this with twenty-one students. I did. It was definitely a process. The video above was the shortest and the longest one was closer to eleven minutes. 

After the planning was complete, our next step was beginning the paper mache process. I mixed up the paper mache mix and used strips of newsprint paper (without print). It was super messy and my kiddos either loved it or loathed it. There wasn't a lot of in between. 

Each child chose a water bottle they wanted to use. I placed their drawing on the table as a reference. 

I would press the strip down in the mixture then pull it through my fingers. I then handed it to the kiddos to begin wrapping around their bottle base. 

This friend really liked how the mixture felt in her hands. Actually, most of the kiddos didn't mind it, but there were a few that really didn't like it. It was great to have a new experience for them. 

We then put the bottles aside to dry. Our Nana Teri told me about celluclay, which would be ideal for adding features to the projects such as heads, ears, legs, tails, etc. and she donated the celluclay and all the paint. Thanks, Nana Teri!! After they were dry, we mixed up the celluclay, which can be found at Michaels and used to for some detail work.  

After the celluclay dried completely, they began painting their project. The base-coat went on first. After it dried completely, additional features were added. 

After all the kiddos completed their painting we once again set the projects aside to dry and then we were ready for our Open House. I displayed each child's 3D recycled art along with their drawing and a nameplate. 

When the parents arrived for the Open House, they were given a guide of things to have their docent (knowledgeable tour guide AKA their child) show them. These items included our nature chandelier, the worm farm bin, the silk worms, the tadpoles, the butterfly habitat and the 3D art projects. They were also instructed to see me to view their child's planning process on the iPad. I had identified a file with their child's name on it and they were able to sit with their child and watch it. 

The parents loved watching their child's process and the kiddos loved seeing themselves in the video. It was a process putting it all together, but it was a grand success!

Nature Study: A Week at the Pond

We are so fortunate to have a pond on-site at our school where we can do observations and studies. We decided to spend a week doing a study at the pond to take advantage of the natural resources and wildlife surrounding us.  

I love that the pond isn't merely considered a pond, but an outdoor learning laboratory. Thanks to the tireless effort of several of the teachers at the elementary school many years ago, grants were obtained to make their dream a reality. We are so grateful for this amazing resource!

There's always lots to see, hear and experience each day, but our goal for Day 1 was "What do you see?" We encouraged the children to really "look" at the surroundings and try to discover things they might not normally notice. 

Several years ago we released my daughter's turtle into the pond as he had outgrown our tank at home. His name is Aladdin and we like to think that he still resides at the pond. My kiddos exclaimed, "Look! It's Aladdin and his girlfriend!" Too cute! I'd like to think it is. 

Several ducks call the pond their home. They are definitely not shy. They came right up to us looking for food. We think they may have some nests there, as there are duck boxes built at the far end of the pond, but we aren't able to get to them. 

We were startled as we rounded a tree and saw a wild turkey hen sitting on a nest. We tried to be as unobtrusive as possible and walked by gently. However, as the last of our group came by, she ruffled her feathers and left the nest. 

When we walked back by we were able to count 12 eggs in her nest. No one touched them, but merely observed them. Later I did some research and found that most wild turkey hens lay their eggs in May and they incubate for 28 days, usually hatching in June. 

Day 2 our goal was, "What do you hear?" As we arrived at the pond we were greeted by this little guy who didn't seem to be concerned by our presence. We had the children sit on the benches, close their eyes and take in all the sounds they could hear.

The reeds by the pond

We had lots of opportunities to observe the ducks as they greeted us each day as we arrived and always seemed eager to be fed. 

I love this image of the kiddos observing the ducks at the pond. 

Day 3 goal: "Cleaning up around the pond" We had noticed some trash and lunch debris on the grounds by the pond so we decided to do a trash pick-up to help make the area more beautiful. 

We knew there were geese and goslings at the pond, but until this point they had stayed out of sight. As we approached the pond on this day I saw them in the distance before they heard us getting close. They tried to hide behind a patch of weeds. Ms. Celina walked back there to get some photos and her presence encouraged them to come up the side of the fence and into the water. We were thrilled to get to see the geese and their seven goslings. 

Heading to the pond

Happy on the water

We spotted this red-winged blackbird in the tree branches. It would flutter from limb to limb around the edge of the pond. 

We were able to observe several bees on the blackberry flowers by the pond.

When we arrived at the pond on the 4th day we noticed one of the eggs on top of the others. This brought about a discussion about how the mom would rotate the eggs to make sure the heat from her body was evenly distributed among the eggs and increasing the likelihood of survival of her baby poults once they arrived. Day 4 goal: collecting from the pond. Each child was allowed to collect one thing to take back to class with the stipulation of it not being a live animal or an egg. 

Day 5 goal: draw an image of something you see in nature at the pond. When we arrived we were pleasantly surprised to view a heron off in the distance. It was walking on the soccer field by the side of the pond, flew up onto the fence, flew to the fence by the pond, then flew into the trees. So exciting!!

Each child drew an image of something they viewed in nature.

When each child was done drawing they returned their drawing and pencils to one of the adults that was with us. 

We concluded our pond study knowing that we planned to check back periodically to see when the poults might arrive.

One of the kids' favorite things to do when we returned from the pond was to take off running across the green field leading back to our playground. So fun!

The following Monday, Ms. Shannon's class began a pond study and when they returned they informed us that the eggs had hatched, so though it wasn't planned, we quickly made our way back to the pond. 

All twelve eggs had hatched successfully and though we didn't see any of the poults, we felt sure that they had followed their mom away from prying eyes.

During this visit we were pleasantly surprised to see one of the turtles on the land. We don't know for sure if it's Aladdin, but he didn't retreat into his shell like most turtles would do. It sounds like Aladdin because he was never afraid. 

For our Open House we shared about our pond study, showed our collected items, and posted our nature drawings for all to see. We also retrieved one of the eggshells and brought it back to look at more closely. 

What an enjoyable time we had doing our pond study! It shows how you can truly learn so much by taking advantage of the nature opportunities that are in your surroundings.