Friday Group - More Colored Sand

The colored sand was back by popular demand. Growing ever smarter (although I can never quite keep up with these little ones) I taped up all but three flowing holes in which sand can pour out. Hannah and Sebastien continued their eplorations right where they left off. Hannah again carefully poured the sand, moving the shaker along, and switching colors as she goes. She also brought with her the tube filled with a green colored oil/water mixture. As it looks similar to the shakers she tests to see if it too will yield something to add to the sand collage.

The feeling of sand on Sebastien's fingers led to long stretches of time where sand was flowing out of the shaker. Once he would have a decent pile he would enthusiastically spread it on the contact paper. Recently, Sebastien has been really into identifying colors and yellow happens to be a favorite. He seeks out the yellow to add to the green sand he has already spread around on the contact paper. If you listen to what's happening in the background you will her Kaia's mother, talking her through what the children are doing and encouraging her to give it a try. Kaia is watching everything her friends are doing.



Kaia wasn't too sure about the sand and contact paper. When she first approached it, she simply circled the table taking it all in. When she did pick up one of the shakers (by the top) and turned it over, she unexpectedly found sand on her hand and ceased her exploration. From her mother's side she watched and after some observing she began her own exploration. She started by simply feeling the sand, back and forth similar to Sebastien's movements when he would spread the sand. She slowly moved on to pouring and used different colors during her exploration, like Hannah she is attentive to the shaker and the placement of the sand. She even conducts her own test of the tube that is still sitting on the table.



Max tests out pouring with both his left and right hand, switching as he watches the sand flow out of the shaker. He likes what he sees so much that he asks himself for "more". He also verbally labels the blue sand as he watches it pour out.



Bryce came to the table after most of the sand was emptied from the shakers (they were refilled shortly thereafter). He wasn't nearly as impressed with the pouring this time. He had a case of "the grass is always greener" as he would watch his friends pour and want the shaker they had.

Wednesday Group - Colored Sand Collage

With some strategically placed tape to slow down the onslaught of sand the Wednesday group had its chance to experience the colored sand and contact paper. As the boys began their exploration a calm concentration overtook them. Theo, Sebastien, and Caleb all had a favorite way of interacting with the sand and yet they all watched each other carefully. They would try out each other's techniques but return again to their preferred method of dispensing the sand. Theo was the experienced chef, dramatically moving the shaker and then mixing us what came out.

Sebastien loved the feel waterfall of sand as it poured on to his hand.



Caleb was careful and calculated as he intermittently used different colors of sand and watched as the sand poured out of the shaker.

Friday Group - Colored Sand Collage

One definition of Collage is "a combination or collection of various things" usually arranged and stuck to a backing. The word collage came from the French word that means literally to glue. What does this have to do with sand? Sand is yet another art medium that can be used in myriad of ways. I wanted to show the children that many different objects work in conjunction with the contact paper. Sand is an item that the children experience on playgrounds, that can be dumped, poured, dug into, patted down, and so on. Sand in shakers can have another use. When I tested the sand and contact paper with only Sebastien I realized very quickly that the holes in the shaker let the sand simply pour through. Wanting the children to have to make more deliberate actions to get the sand out I covered the holes with tape and poked just a few to make the sand come out much slower. Although Sebastien found this shaking to be fun, when I presented it to the group it held their interest for about 30 seconds before the table was deserted. Below is the ho-hum reception the shakers received from Max and Sebastien. However, Max did find the sound the shakers made against the table somewhat interesting.

I realized very quickly that the sand needed to have more of an impact, a wow factor to draw the children back in. So, I took off the tape and let the sand flow and boy did sand flow all over my house! Bryce was delighted by the sand pouring out of the shakers and wanted to empty every one of the colorful jars.



Once the sand was poured into a pile, spreading and mixing it all around became the popular activity. Not only did if feel neat to move it around, it also made an intriguing sound.



Hannah approached the sand differently. She was very careful in her pouring and placement of the sand. She even switched colors before a shaker was emptied of the sand. For her it wasn't about just pouring an moving the sand, it was about placement and slow movements. Watch as she is very intentional in her motions, creating her own masterpiece.



Once we began to clean up and sweep up the excess sand Max returned to the sand and contact paper but his exploration took another route. He first explores the table and the sounds the sand/contact paper surface can produce using different items. Then he finds a bucket full of sand and thus starts a whole new exploration.


Next week's challenge is to find the right balance of letting the sand flow but less overall sand scattered around the house!

Wednesday Group - Picture Collage

Wednesday Group turned out to be small and intimate yet again. It was Zadie's first time back in over two months and we were so happy to see her. This was also Zadie's first time with the collage materials. Like many of the children her first explorations revolved mostly around examining and bringing the pictures to her mother. Although she noticed the stickiness of the contact paper it didn't pull her attention away from exploring the collage pictures.

Since Sebastien usually gets a double dose of playgroup each week it is always interesting to see how he adjusts his exploration. This week the containers that held the pictures changed and Sebastien spent most of his time practicing collecting and transferring the collage pictures into and out of the containers. He was also more vocal in identifying animals in the pictures.

After some time Sebastien decided to take some of the small cut out pictures of the children over to his train table and load them onto a cargo train. Zadie found this very intriguing and joined him to find out what he was up to. There are two trains that have slots for "mail" and Sebastien and I talk about the mail trains picking up and delivering mail. He tries to load some pictures in the mail cars but it is harder as the slot is small and the pictures not as sturdy as the other "mail" that came with the trains. Sebastien, in this instance, was able to take the idea of transporting the "mail" and apply it to an item that reminded him of the "mail" used with trains. Young children are constantly making these small connections in their brains which enhances the development of their imaginary play. At around 18 months toddlers are beginning to fantasize and role-play. Their behaviors are also more purposeful and connect to previous experiences. A picture isn't just a picture, according to Sebastien it can be a piece of mail or cargo for a train.

After group was over Caleb and Niko stopped by to say hello. Sebastien didn't waste any time reacquainting Caleb with the play space. He also was happy to have another friend to ride his bike and play trains with. Sebastien didn't hesitate to climb on behind Caleb and hitch a ride to the trains.