Simple Activity, Complex Learning

Many of the most fundamental aspects of a child's growth and learning can be fostered through even the simplest of activities. Earlier this week I came across a bucket full of great learning potential disguised as colored alphabet balls. These balls expanded our children's knowledge far beyond letters and colors. They were exposed to sharing, teamwork, learning, postive reinforcement and fun all at the same time.
We carried the bucket outside and took advantage of the beautiful weather. All of the balls were spread out covering a small area in the grass. The children took turns choosing a ball and telling us its color. I asked Gabbi what color ball she was going to look for. "I want the purple one," she answered and then went and found a purple one. Noah especially enjoyed this activity, as he is already able to recognize all 26 letters of the alphabet. Noah brought me a ball and said, "it's a green 'n'. 'N' for Noah." After the children finding and naming the ball of their choice I decided to modify the activity. I began to ask the kids to find a specific color or letter. When one of our friends had difficulty finding a color or letter another friend always came to the rescue. "This one's red," Griffin said, as he walked over and pointed at a red ball that Maria was looking for.
Our friends loved choosing the balls, searching for specific colors, and helping each other out. I believe they felt empowered as they were having fun while they were learning and assisting their friends in learning. This experience was beneficial to the kids in many ways. It was exciting to watch their confidence increase with each little colored ball. It is always inspiring and exiciting to realize that sometimes the simplest of things can also create the most complete learning environment.

























































Reminder: All of our fathers are encouraged to attend our Father's Day Luau, this Friday from 11:3-12:30. Hope to see you there!
~ Ms. Jolene and Ms. Lois