Saturday, October 20, 2007

Attack Of The Nuudles: Part 1

Out of nowhere, these inch-high creatures swarmed our room like locusts! Fortunately, we discovered their greatest weakness: water! This caused the Nuudles to stick to surfaces (even each other), rendering them immobile and harmless. We were then able to use them to make awesome sculptures:



Nuudles are the psychedelic cousins of packing peanuts. They are made from corn starch (or sorghum) so they are non-toxic and (technically) edible, if you are that curious. In the 70's, they were made from polystyrene, but I guess enough people complained about their inedible nature... ahh the 70's... So save your packing peanuts for crafts at home, or bring them to school!
















This week, we began our cooperative math workshop with Shannon's class. Working with half of the Pre-K students, we used materials including Unifix Cubes, Pattern Blocks, and Cuisenaire Rods, which help develop math skills like pattern recognition and counting concepts. The workshop was both exciting and educational for everyone, and we can't wait until our next one (Tuesday)!














And then, just in time for the letter 'P' came our Pancake Party !! Bryce and his mom helped us all measure, stir, pour, and EAT! They were just as colorful as the Nuudles!













Many of us were excited to see our old friend Shi
rley come in for a surprise music class! Borrowing a page from the book of Todd Rundgren, she taught us how to 'bang on the drum all day!' We certainly have some rhythmically-inclined children in our class. Drum circle, anyone??



And as the leaves begin to change outside, so does the decor in our classroom- you will start to notice a lot of fall-themed children's work on our walls this week. Last week, during our 'Fall Brainstorm,' we talked about the colors of autumn, and have been using those colors to make paintings and collages as brilliant as autumn itself. Thanks to everyone for bringing in leaves, nuts, etc. for our collages- I think they look amazing!

Also, Spanish class begins this week, for real. Marta will be coming in on Wednesday, and we will now have dance with Adelaida on Thursdays instead. It sounds like Dora and Diego have given us all a great head start!

Finally, as you may have noticed, our Sea Monkey/Brine Shrimp experiment was about as successful as New Coke. I am considering other options to bring some animal life into the classroom. I have a feeling it will end up being more squirmy/slithery than furry/cuddly, but let's wait and see!

Hope you enjoyed your weekends....

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