Back to the Basics

While working in our classroom this week, we have been remembering "the basics!"  The kids have really come so far this year, but sometimes we have to remember the little things:  rolling up the mats just right so they fit in the basket, leaving our activities ready for the next person to use, making sure we are walking around the mats (rather than hopping over them!), lining up the trays on the edge of the shelf, etc...  I started taking the kids on a "Fixing Walk" around our classroom at the end of each morning.  This is when we stand in one area of the classroom and fix anything which might be out of place.  By the end of the week, I sat in a chair and said to the children, "I'm going to close my eyes and sit in this chair while you go on a 'Fixing Walk.'  I'll know when you are done when everyone sits back down and tells me to open my eyes."  Well, you would have thought I had a classroom full of little elves the way they scurried about fixing and straightening everything - I couldn't help but peek through my fingers to witness this, of course! ;)  What pride the students have in their classroom to take such good care of it! :)

Sound Cylinders back in use after a hiatus...  I find it remarkable how some materials are suddenly picked up after such a long time of inactivity!

A small group of children wanted to make a maze using the Brown Stair and Pink Tower, similar to what they have seen with the Red Rods.  This picture shows how the children have taken off their shoes and are taking turns walking through their maze.

Tweezing practice with pearl beads.

Stringing pearl beads - this is a very good challenge for most of the children in the class!

We've been discussing directionality and the Compass Rose during our recent geography studies.  Here, the student worked creatively with to make his own "compass rose." 

Teen Beads and Board.

Drawing and coloring Pink Tower and Brown stair extension work.

Labeling and coloring a compass rose.

Drawing a block creation.

Linear and skip counting with the Hundred Chain.

Easel Monoprint

Subtraction Snake Game

Visual discrimination of length with the Red Rods.

Working with phonograms using Sandpaper Letters, booklets and Small Moveable Alphabets.

A weaving exercise.

Pink Tower and Brown Stair work.

Tracing Sandpaper Letters.

Teen Board and Beads

Letter writing practice on a chalkboard.

Drawing a Compass Rose.

Patterns with shapes and colors.