Pumpkins and Golf Tees

After seeing this "pumpkin hammering" activity on the 'blogosphere' several times, I decided to try it out in our yard.

We set out two pumpkins, four small wooden mallets, and a TON of golf tees. The children REALLY enjoyed this activity and they were very successful at pounding the tees into the pumpkins.

They even branched out and pounded tees into our giant pumpkin and ornamental squash (oops!). It was a fantastic skill building activity for all the children in our program (ages 2-5).

Unfortunately, our fun was cut short. We have one naughty little squirrel that adores the dollar store pumpkins (yup...ONLY the dollar store pumpkins!) and during nap time, when the yard was quiet, he came to find the feast that we had so kindly laid out for him (ha!). As he had done to five of our previous pumpkins, he gnawed a huge hole into one of the ones on the table! So, we were down to one hammering pumpkin (which, by the way, I kept in the fridge that night for safe keeping). Sniff!

Once every tee was pounded in, it was time to take them out. YIKES! No one mentioned how terribly hard this task was!!!! So, the pumpkins sat on my counter until I found a hammer. 

I pulled out a few tees myself, and then realized what a great activity this would be for the children. So, during "patio time" (which is a more controlled atmosphere than the big yard), the children got to pull the tees using the backside of the hammer. It took them some time and thought to figure out how to wedge, pull, and lift the hammer correctly, but they did it.

Several of the children spent a lot of time on this activity. We even had one three year old dedicate half an hour to this activity. It was a wonderful fine motor and problem solving activity for the children. It was also a fantastic finger-saver for me!

The Benefits of Using Natural Clay in Preschool

The Philosophy:
Clay stimulates the child’s curiosity. Intelligence, imagination, and creativity are engaged and fostered.  Many new neurons and synapses in the brain are being generated when a child is engaged by the immediate tactile and visual feedback provided by clay. -Marvin Bartel, Ed D.
Read Full Article: Clay for Toddlers and Preschoolers: How and Why

Pumpkins designed by a 4 year old girl.

The "Real" Experience: 
Let me be honest for a minute. When I saw the box filled with a HUGE lump of brilliant orange clay (you know...the kind that gets all over your hands and doesn't come out of your clothes) I was not overly excited about it. Actually, I was terrified of it. Personally, I LOVE working with clay. It was the thought of working with clay and preschoolers that I wasn't so sure about. So, I ignored it...for weeks.

About 3 weeks ago, I finally took the plunge and opened the bag.  I offered the children some basic tools and some spray bottles to keep the clay moist. I "trained" a few of the 5 year olds to be "clay teachers" in hopes that they could help the other children learn how to use it appropriately. As other children came out to the outdoor patio (my domain for their morning hour of free choice time), many looked on with great interest. Things were looking good!

It went well while I was sitting with them, but when I turned my back to assist some other children, utter disaster! Wet, mucky, dripping, oozing and everywhere! The spray bottles were nearly empty and the children were covered! We do tell the parents that the children will get "messy," but this may have pushed the limits of acceptable! A great "process" activity, but not something I would be mentally prepared to deal with on a daily basis! Since our goal is to offer clay on daily, something had to give. I guess they weren't ready for an endless supply of water yet! Lesson learned. 

Needless to say, a few weeks later (and a lot less water set out on the table!), the clay table is a fantastic success. Some of the children use the clay for no other reason than to ooze their fingers through it and to feel the cool, smooth texture. Others have learned that clay can be finely molded into virtually anything their little hearts and minds desire.

Finding Fall, Part 2

If you read Finding Fall Pt. 1, you'd remember that I recently went to a ranch to purchase an abundance of squash, gourds, pumpkins, and corn stalks. We displayed our horn of plenty in the lobby for several days, but today it was time to let the children play! Our fabulous group of teachers got together during nap time and we spent the afternoon transforming our Outdoor Classroom into an Autumn festival of sorts.

First, we scattered hay and set the GIANT pumpkin to perch for the season. We then set out all of the other squash, gourds and pumpkins for the children to explore. A far cry from "display only,"we encourage the children to tote, carry, push, pull and explore the bounty. Consider the items "loose parts" that can be used in every form of their play (well, as long as they are not purposefully damaging the items). We have provided wheelbarrows, pots, pans, and a wagon to encourage their interactions with the new items. They are also encouraged to use the pint-sized rakes to help rake the hay back into our planters!

In the above sensory bin, we mixed cornmeal, beans, and Fall colored rice. We added dried gourds (complete with dried seeds to rattle), some unusual pumpkins, pinecones, spoons and small cups. This is a very "natural" bin and encourages children to explore the patterns and textures that nature provides. To stimulate some scientific observations, I also plan on adding a sensory bin filled with moist dirt, dried beans and small shovels to the yard. My hope is that the beans will sprout over the course of the week and the children will be able to discover and investigate the growing seeds. I can't wait to hear them chatter about why the beans in the dirt sprouted, but the beans in the cornmeal did not. 

The dramatic play area became a Western Cowboy Cookout. We provided lanterns, western clothes, cowboy hats, cowboy books, aluminum pots and pans, play food, a picnic table, and a bale of hay on which to sit. We try to carry this theme for several weeks, so, as time goes on we will probably put in a few more items to add interest...a "campfire" with roasting sticks, a farmer's market, a tent, books about cowboys, and more. 

I do love a great dramatic play area, but I do sometimes feel that we limit the children's creativity by providing items such as realistic play food. When we give the children plastic spaghetti, it can only be spaghetti. Whereas, if we provide more natural items (pinecones, sticks, rocks, etc), the items can transform into anything the children would like them to be. So, to offer an alternative to our more "structured" dramatic play, we have a "mud-kitchen" playhouse in the sandbox where we offer the children a selection of natural and open-ended play material.

 Do you have any great Autumn ideas or photos for the Outdoor Classroom? I'd love to hear them in your comments! Feel free to link to your blog.

Finding Fall, Part 1

I live in Southern California, so Autumn comes rather slowly around here. In fact, I haven't seen one red, yellow or orange leaf as of yet. Sigh. Thankfully, the director of my school is completely smitten with the season. So, rather than waiting for Fall to find us, we headed 50 miles out to find IT!

 

I spent my childhood up north, where Fall was one of the most spectacular seasons of the year. This being my first year in California, I was beyond excited to see what the pumpkin patches in SoCal had to offer. The director and I drove out to Lombardi Ranch on a mission to find every kind of gourd, pumpkin, corn, and winter vegetable you could think of. And to say the least, it was a sight to behold!

 We filled 3 wagons with the largest, most colorful, and most unshapely types of squash we could find.

 We toted mini pumpkins, dried gourds, and Indian corn. We also purchased 7 bunches of freshly cut corn stalks, complete with several silky ears of corn and several bales of hay.

The highlight of the purchase was the two GIANT pumpkins we found. We filled the entire van before heading back to school with our treasures of Autumn.

We put our treasures on display in the lobby for a few days; but soon they will enter the yard to be truly enjoyed by the children. We will place the hay bales around the yard. Some will be spread out as ground cover for the mighty pumpkins and some will be for climbing. We will tie the corn stalks to the poles in the sandbox and around the trees to make our own cornfield. And of course, we will leave out the large gourds, pumpkins and squash for the children to tote around, sit on, and carry in the wheelbarrow. "Loose Parts" and "Nature" at their finest!

We found Fall!