Mrs. Schmidli's Curriculum Newsletter
Dear Caregivers and Parents,
My name is Alina Schmidli and I am one of the
winter interns who has been working with your
children on Tuesdays and Thursdays in Sarah Kurtjian’s class. After spending
some time with the children I noticed there was an interest in light. This all
started when a student turned the classroom lights on and off. In the first lesson, I brought
flashlights and a variety of tools children could use. I wanted to see why the
children were interested in the light. We looked at using mirrors, magnatiles,
and a tile with the light. Once the students had their lights,
they began to shine them all over different surfaces. The children were looking
at the effect of the light. This is where I believe the children were
interested in manipulating the light with various tools. They realized the light
switch controlled the light. They tried to use the magnatiles to change the
color of the light. The children also noticed when you shine the flashlight in
the mirror you could see yourself and the light.
For my second lesson, I decided to have the
children look at the magnatiles on the light table. The children were very
interested to see what was going to happen with the light table. Once the
children got to the learning center, they were asking about the
flashlights. I told them we were looking at transparent objects on
the light table. A lot of the children noticed when
they put their hands over the magnatiles it would change the color on their
hands. A child was able to tell me she noticed when you put the red magnatile
on the light table it caused the light to be red. Others were interested to see
what happened when they put their feet and hands on the light table. Some of
the children noticed the solid magnatiles weren't casting a light like the
other magnatiles. They noticed these magantiles were different.
I believe the children are looking at ways to cover
up or stop the light from shining. I plan to extend on student's ideas by providing children with an opportunity to block the light with sand. We are going to be exploring the following
questions, “How can we cover up the light? Is there a
way we can make it so we cannot see the light?” This activity will help children to see ways they can stop a light
from shining. Students will be able
to understand that for every
cause there is an effect. This exploration will help children better understand
how light can shine through different materials by observing and engaging in
the learning activities. A provocation
I want to explore is looking at paper, paint, play dough and fabric to see how
these different tools affect the way we
can cover up the light.
The
ECEC works on ways we can focus on partnership and collaboration. We would love it if you would come in and be a part
of some of our learning projects. Please feel free to volunteer in our
classroom or use this project as a scavenger hunt to find materials in your
house we could use. Here are a to few suggestions of materials you can bring,
(plastic cups, disco ball, light up items, mini lights, tap lights, Christmas
lights, flashlights, or any other see through materials). If you have any questions, comments, or
concerns please do not hesitate to contact me or
Mrs. Kurtjian.
