What do you see?

Introducing new topics and artifacts is always fun in a preschool room, especially when children are seemingly seeing something for the first time. I put an object on a table and asked, what do you see? When you look at it, what do you think/wonder? And of course followed with, what makes you think so? Based on what you read below, what do you think it is?

 

• “It looks like an up-side-down rainbow. I wonder if it is a necklace.” C
• “I think it’s a splat holder, (what makes you think so?) because of the splats (wax drippings) on it.” L
• “I wonder if it’s a candle, (what makes you say that?) because of the holes.” L
• “It looks like a statue. It looks like a trophy.” (What makes you say that?) “Because the lines of it are bent.” H
• “It looks different from the paper” H
• I think …“It represents something on December 11” E
• “It kind of has teeth.” L
• “In the middle there is like a fairy. When the holes pop out, they pop out like fire.” J

If you thought menorah, you are correct! I started with one Hanukkah Menorah on the table then I added another one, as well as adding a symmetrical cutout menorah we made in the classroom. Then we noticed:

 

• “It’s like math, (what makes you say that?) because it has 1, 2, 3, 4, … 9 holes. Now there are three menorahs and they all of 9 holes – there are 27 holes altogether. Wait, I made a mistake! The paper one doesn’t have holes! I fooled my brain!,” he said laughing.  E
• “I see fractions!” J 

Following the last observation, a collection of children started to count by 3s and others chimed in.

We learned that not all menorahs are symmetrical but many are, and the holes are generally equally spaced. 

After exploring and learning a bit more about Hanukkah and the Hanukkah Menorah, we learned…

 

• “It’s for lighting candles.” E
• “Remembrance of ancestors.” C
• “Candles represent one day.” L
• “The candles burn low.” L
• “Every night you burn the candle(s) at night.” H
• “You light the candles after day.” C 

We discussed Hanukkah lasting eight nights, lighting the menorah after sundown, adding candles left to right and lighting them from right to left, adding one candle per night and lighting the other candles with the shammash (the helper candle). 

Enjoy lighting the lights!

Here are some bonus shots of fraction, graphing, and sewing projects and art class from our week - enjoy!

 

Oh, this class! One got it started and the rest joined in! 

As you are busily looking for gifts for your children, don’t forget a simple tape measurer (fabric is ideal). 

Thursday morning I put out different crafts and things to work on, and every child received a simple tape measure as well.

 First, there was curiosity and counting, then there was an explosion of excitement as they started to measure EVERYTHING! 

Within no time, numbers were being called out followed by “the floor is longer than 60!” HC announced. Once they discovered things were “longer than 60,” they banded together “It’s 60 and 60 and 60!” 

ES exclaimed, “It’s 60 three times! Do you know what that is?! 180!!” Every child in the classroom was measuring and adding their measuring tape to see the length of the rugs, width and length of the floor, the height of the tree – it was a full-blown Seabury moment. 

No directions, just a measuring tape. 

Simply enjoy!