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| Preschool students planting their pinwheels on the school lawn |
Pinwheels
for Peace
A few years ago, my co-teacher
and I learned of a program called Pinwheels for Peace, which promotes the celebration of the International Day of Peace each
September. We approached our school's principal with the idea, and we all agreed that Pinwheels for Peace would be a wonderful
way for the preschool students to promote peace and kindness in our school. The idea is that students create pinwheels, which
are then planted in the ground. When the wind blows the pinwheels, it is symbolic of peace being spread throughout our campus
and throughout the world. Pinwheels for Peace has become a rewarding tradition and experience for our preschool
students who take responsibility for and pride in this beautiful display of peace.
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| Preschool students displaying their pinwheels |
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| Ice cave designed and created by my preschool students |
Classroom Transformations
Each year my students experience a variety of thematic units.
These units present vast learning opportunities for all of my students, but in order for these units to really come to life,
my students and I tranform part of the classroom into the unit itself. For example, we have created oceans, rainforests, and
arctic ice caves to name a few. My students use many different types of materials to create these transformations. They work
cooperatively to build and problem solve and share creative ideas. Throughout the construction process the children's enthusiasm
grows, and these units become most exciting and interesting. This hands on approach to learning has proved to be both fun
and engaging, and the benefits to my student's learning and growth have been tremendous.
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| Ocean and submarine created by my preschool students |
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| Students painting the body of "Bruce" the shark |
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| Students counting sea urchins in our ocean |
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