Poured Paint Flower Pots for Mom

I had tried a similar activity to what I am about to explain last year with my class after seeing a post by Teacher Tom on tall paintings.  This was a very interesting activity for the children, but took a long time to dry and when dry did not look as exciting as it did when wet.  Our medium was cardboard which soaked up a lot of the paint.

This year we tried it on small terra cotta flower pots.  The results were incredible and this time the results of our process actually have a function.  We will be giving these little pots to the moms for Mother's Day.

Sewing Table-A Collaborative Fine Motor Experience

Sewing is a great activity to do with young children to develop their fine motor abilities.  I have a low table in the classroom with about a three inch lip all around it.  I stapled and then duct taped a large piece of burlap to cover the entire table leaving a large community sewing surface.  I then threaded and tied a needle full of colorful yarn to each corner.  

Documenting And Reporting The Power Of Play

As an advocate or the belief that children learn best through play what are you checking for in terms of progress? As a preschool manager who holds the same beliefs I would love some advice from you on progress reports for parents who see writing and number recognition as their top priorities for school readiness.  Your views would be greatly appreciated.  

I received this great question the other day on my facebook page, Playfully Learning, and wanted to share my answer as many of you may be faced with similar challenges.  

I teach in a private nursery school in Connecticut.  We do follow the state guidelines for our objectives, The Connecticut Framework.  This has thirty objectives across several domains: Personal & Social, Physical, Cognitive and Creative.  My staff is responsible for creating environments and activities that will foster development in children across these areas as well as assessing their progress on each of the objectives.