Hula hoops and working together

 Above (if they work) are video clips of the class playing the hula hoop 'game', also known as learning to work together.  We talked about how to help others and encourage them.

 

Our math and literacy centers are pretty easy right now, allowing us to practice the routines of how to take them out, work together, clean them up, and return them.  Above you can see a car puzzle track - it is great for problem solving!  Below children are feeding a dog bones with tweezers, which strengthens hand muscles, helping with writing.

At the end of the day Thursday we opened up the games and puzzles for free choice centers.  Everyone was playing so nicely together.  Yay!

Olympics

Today, because of the letter Oo, we had the air Olympics. And if you are wondering why we did air Olympics, it was for the simple reason that they are easiest to do inside (much simpler than skiing or swimming or gymnastics. Not quieter though!)

Our first event we had played before near the beginning of the year. Each child tried to blow a ping pong ball from one cup to another cup. We tried it four times and only one person got it all four times, and it was definitely not the teacher.

Our second event was a race. We practiced staying in our lane (this will come in handy when we get to Track Day at the end of March) as we tried to blow the ping pong ball all the way to the finish line. After each race, we said "Good job" to the winner and "Good try" to the other participants. 1 child had a minor meltdown, and another pouted about losing, but most of the children did a really good job of practicing good sportsmanship and had fun cheering for their friends.

Here is a picture from free choice centers. Several children chose to replay the events.
Video clip. It really was a lot of fun.

Our third, and final event was 'air hockey'. They're trying to blow the ball across the table but can only stop it by blowing it - no hands/bodies allowed. After each match, the participants shook hands and said "good game."
So, if you're ever bored at home, find a few ping pong balls and some masking tape, and have some Olympic fun!