:: unraveled~ a toilet paper experience ::

I got this idea from a Bev Bos workshop.

I stuffed three rolls of toilet paper (the fourth had somehow escaped on the way from the house) onto a shower rod that I tied to the canopy shading our deck and got the roll started.

Check out the hand/eye coordination needed for this catch:

I think he's trying to shake it off his foot in this one:

He got it off and observes the puddle of paper:

I love the surprised face as the wind keeps blowing it around (forces of nature):

It feels pretty good (sensory):

I thought he would have unraveled all the paper, but he stopped after this. Perhaps it was just the time of day. We just came back from two hours of running around. I'll try again tomorrow and see what he does.

The end !

:: first experience with play-dough ::

Play-dough is wonderful for children. It's mushy and malleable. It strengthens little fingers. It provides a sensory experience that is both calming and engaging.

I make play-dough every week in my pre-k classroom. It's a great science experiment, figuring out how much water, oil, and flour to add to make it just the right consistency. And once we get it right, we sing a song while we manipulate the dough. The children pick the verb and we act it out.

"insert verb" (repeat three times) the dough...

I sing the song in the video with J. He expressed interest in poking the dough so I sang (and please excuse my  voice):

Poke, poke, poke the dough
Poke poke, poke, the dough
poke, poke, poke, the dough
poke poke poke the dough dough dough

I think we spent a good 20 minutes in class once coming up with different verbs (poke, pull, squish, pinch, rip, put it back together, twist, turn, etc). From Bev Bos I learned that it is important for children to be able to manipulate songs and make them their own. Great for creativity. And what is creativity if not critical thinking?

Here is the video of J with his play dough (please excuse my dirty child, I swear I bathe him every night but he sure plays hard during the day):