Sprucing Up the Spruce Classroom!
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A brand new year has begun! We wanted to introduce you all to the overlooked third teacher of your children - the classroom itself. We changed some centers around for the start of the new year to make it exciting and inviting for both old and new friends.
Loose Parts: a brand new area in the classroom this year. Loose parts provide opportunities for open exploration for critical thinking as children interact with raw and natural materials using their imagination to guide their play.
Dramatic Play: Friends explore and role play in order to understand their individual life experiences in this center. It has been very popular with the Spruces so far. We’ve seen a lot of interest in family, travel, cooking and restaurants, and performance art since the year.
Science Center: This is a new endeavor for us this year. We wanted to make a space where children could openly explore natural materials and provocations. There is always something new to discover each week.
Block Area: Along with playing a valuable role in cognitive development, using blocks strengthens an understanding of math, science, and even dramatic play. It is a perfect way for children to recreate something they have seen in real life, or construct purely from imagination. Loose parts will often find their way over too for some.
Writing Center: This area has found a new spot in our classroom. Many children begin their day with a writing or drawing experience outside on the playground and this will often transition to the more formal writing center inside.
Garden: We gave the Spruces a brief introduction to our community garden. We learned about soil by taking samples into the classroom and discovered there were leaves, rocks, sticks, insects, and worms hidden within. There were also experiences with transplanting herbs and kale in the garden. Spruces learned about the process of planting and what plants need to grow!