Down by the Station

Boys and their trains. My afternoon class is absolutely smitten with anything with wheels - trains in particular. One wee guy always comes into Nursery exclaiming "trains! trains!" Naturally, the planning has made a shift over to trains and other wheeled vehicles to cater to this current interest.

We have an outdoor train set which the children love to build with. We also have an indoor one that uses Duplo trains. More often than not, the trains are out, and I really don't mind. Some people may think that the children need a different resource out to expand their learning and experiences, but they seem to do that all on their own with the same train set. They work together, construct complex tracks, problem solve when faced with challenges, and add in other resources to extend their play (like wooden blocks). If they're getting all that from a train set, and they aren't bored yet, why put it away?

As a result of this interest, trains and other modes of transportation has been incorporated in other areas of the curriculum to get them exploring different learning experiences. Using their interests to get them to explore things they wouldn't normally explore is a great way to get them involved. Some of my boys rarely go to the mark-making station, but when I put some trains and paint on that table, they were all over it:

You may notice I only had blue paint out. This was a conscious decision, as we are focussing on colour recognition at the moment as well. A lot of my kids really struggle to connect colours with their colour name, and I find they get a little less confused if we only have one colour out to focus on. Our language throughout the activity is based on the movement of the trains, the colour of the paint, and their experiences on trains and where they went.

We have a growing collection of cardboard boxes in our outdoor area (always a great open-ended resource to have on hand!). Naturally, the boxes became a train one day.

The children lined up the boxes, climbed in, collected tickets, and they were on their way! Some great language was happening here: ordinal numbers (1st, 2nd, 3rd), who drives the train, prepositional language (in front, behind, forward, backward), and discussion about where to go. They all agreed to go to the train station. Very practical.

We've been singing a wee song that I remember from my childhood:

Down by the station,
Early in the morning,
See the little puffer trains
All in a row.

See the station master
Turn the little handle,
Puff, puff, toot toot
Off we go!

Do you know any other train songs we could use to expand our repertoire?

Class Tour - better photos

I took some better photos of my new classroom this week!

This shot is looking to the story corner, construction center, and art table.

Small World and puzzles table, with the role play corner behind it. To the right, there's a door to the Nursery garden! I love that we have direct access from the classroom to the outdoor space.

The story corner has a lovely new carpet. The children like to choose a minibeast to sit on. I love that we have a Smartboard, too. I'm so excited to integrate it into the children's experiences!

The art/writing area is so organized, thanks to my Nursery Nurse! Hopefully it stays this way! I've really been on at the kids this week to make sure they look at where materials belong and put them back in the right spot. I really think it's important to make the children responsible for their space.

There's a huge whiteboard right by the art table. The children have decided to put up some of their drawings from the first week of school. I have some talented artists on my hands!

We have a HUGE role play corner. The children are quite imaginative compared to my class last year. They love role play. It's interesting to watch them interact with each other.

I love this shelf. One side holds resources for the water table, one side holds resources for the sand table. The children choose for themselves what they want to use and take it to the sensory tables themselves. I'm striving for the children to be independent in their learning experiences and in the general operation of the classroom.

Since my classroom is massive this year, I have the luxury of having this great double easel! One side is for painting and the other is a whiteboard. I love that 3 children can work easily and comfortably at the easel.

The resource boxes are clearly labeled with text AND photos so the children know where things belong and can put away resources independently. It's important for children to see the text as well, despite not being able to read yet. I strive for my classroom to be a text-rich environment so children become familiar with it as they begin to mark-make and write.

Every class in the school received their own huge floorbook to contribute to throughout the year. My children are heavily involved in deciding what goes into it and what they want it to say. This particular page documents our class trip to the Bear Factory where we chose a new outfit for our class bear, Dora. We took a city bus into town and everything! The children were able to talk about waiting for the bus, how to cross the street, and what landmarks the recognized on the way to town.

Here's Dora, our class bear! She has QUITE the wardrobe! What you see here isn't the half of it! The kids love dressing her up and using her in role play.

This year, we've started a new teeth-brushing method with Brush Buses! I LOVE these. They are so much better than the children having individual boxes with their toothbrush in it. Each child has a picture (apple, milk, strawberry, etc.) that corresponds with a toothbrush with the same picture. They have been really good with putting their brushes back in the right spot!

That's it for the updated tour with better photos!