Painting Still Life

Painting still life provides preschoolers with many valuable skills they will need for later learning. They first must look at the objects. We discuss things for them to take notice of, like the colors and shapes of the objects. We talk about what kinds of lines make up these items. This helps preschoolers develop observational skills. 

During these painting activities the children are using descriptive language and conversational skills as they talk about the objects they see.

The skills gained from painting still life are being transferred into other learning areas. This is a true testament to this activity and proves its worth in our preschool classroom.

The snakes were measured with circle blocks. 

The children created a drawing of their observations. They are taking the skills gained from painting still life and applying them to math, science, and engineering activities throughout the classroom. Introduced in a fun, creative way the children are gaining an understanding of the value in recording what they see.

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Mathmatics

Young children are naturally curious about math. Math becomes real to children when they use it by talking, playing, and doing.

Mathematics in Pre-K is 

-Number sense 

- Geometry 

-Measurement 

-Math language 

-Spatial relations 

Math is integrated throughout our day in routines, transitions and daily interactions. Here are some ways the children are interacting with open-ended math materials during play.

Creating patterns with ribbon

Counting Bears

Matching one to one

Ordering

Sorting

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Kandinsky Paintings

Learning about artists provides an opportunity for children to learn about the broader world. They learn that people grow up, go to school, and live in other countries. Looking closely at art allows children to develop critical thinking skills. Children become aware of different sizes, shapes, and lines as they use many mathematical concepts to analyze the artwork of others.

We used our knowledge of lines to look closer at Kandinsky's Composition No. 6. The children recognized many familiar lines. They used black markers to collaborate on their own version of this artwork (seen on top). After they added color the results were stunning!

We read this book many times to learn about Kandinsky's childhood. It was his love for colors that inspired his artwork.

We looked at Kandinsky's famous circle paintings. The children really looked closely at the original artwork. This took focus and precision in creating a circle that went all the way around. They were so proud of their completed paintings.

Kandinsky's circles

Pre-K Hallway display

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Pumpkins

                                         

We took a long look at the outside of our classroom pumpkin and came up with a list of words to describe it. We measured the height and circumference and talked about the measuring tools we would need to get an accurate answer. We recorded the data on the chart.

Then the preschoolers really had fun carving it 
and scooping the seeds!

With the next pumpkin we did an experiment with our water table. First we made and recorded our predictions. Not only did we learn about the buoyancy of the pumpkin, we also learned just how much water and weight the table can hold before the plug gives out! YIKES

 Here is what the children said about their predictions:

"The pumpkin will sink because I sink in the pool"
"It will float because when I have a life jacket I float"
"It will float because its small"

I fixed the plug and found new ways to use the water table and the pumpkin guts, creating "pumpkin oobleck" by mixing it with cornstarch and pumpkin pie spice. The preschoolers also enjoyed playing with pumpkin playdoh made with canned pumpkin.

The children measured, weighed, and compared heights of smaller pumpkins. They got lots of fine motor practice hammering golf tees into the pumpkins.

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