Over the past few weeks at Tiny Hoppers Richmond East, our classrooms have been learning about Fall in a variety of ways, including using pumpkins, scarecrows, spiders, and even flashlights! Each activity was planned to explore science, art, literacy, and numeracy concepts, while following the interests of the children in the class.
Our children in the Squirts classes explored the season through sensory play! They discovered new things about the pumpkins using their senses. Teachers helped describe what they noticed, building early language skills with words like big, small, hard, and round. They also began learning how to use different art materials by painting on the pumpkin with different sponges and brushes.
Children in the Tots classes took their pumpkin learning to the next level! After painting and decorating their pumpkins, they got to see what was inside one. Together, they scooped out the seeds and explored the pulp using tools like magnifying glasses. Teachers guided them to describe what they felt and saw, introducing new vocabulary like slimy, smooth, and seeds.
Children in the Tykes classes became scientists as they learned new terms and made theories and predictions about their pumpkin explorations. They examined pumpkins to learn about their parts and made predictions before opening them. They had conversations with questions such as “What will it look like inside? How many seeds are inside? How does a pumpkin grow?” In art, the children created their own standing spiders, learning about the legs of a spider and how it walks. They also built their own scarecrows, recognizing how much straw is needed to make their own scarecrow.
At Tiny Hoppers Richmond East, using Emergent Curriculum showcases the interest of the children in every activity. Something as simple as a pumpkin from a previous field trip can become an ongoing study in science, art, and literacy. We love to share with our families the excitement and inspiration of learning in all of our classes!
