We are the robots (II)

March 27, 2016March 27, 2016 / dorothysnot / Leave a comment

Everything started with Christos’ idea for a “rain-robot”. But what is the robot; Our hypotheses were verified by watching videos with robots in school ‘s projector room.

We copied the moves of the robots

We made the faces of the robots from recycled material

We became the robots by wearing tin uniforms

We split into groups and played a board game, cutting parts for a robot’s body

We rolled the dice, found the corresponding member of the robot’s body and stuck it on the paper

And so we made our robots!

(by Eleni Triantafyllopoulou, teacher in post-toddlers’ class in Athens)

Not just a pizza box

February 5, 2016 / dorothysnot / Leave a comment

“Hey, what are you doing, again?”
Me: “I’m not doing anything, yet. I’m trying to think of what to do”. “I know!!!! Why don’t you make something?” Me: “Like what? It would be nice to make a table game. Any ideas?”

“Yes! We can make streets, and pavements and street lights”!

“Oh, and we can make a football field”!

“And we can make a jungle!!!” Me: “A jungle?! Really?!”

“Yes! We will paint in on the box! And we can put our animal toys in there and we can play in the jungle”!

So, now we’ve got three new table games in pre-K class!

Always think twice and do not throw anything! Just let it to children’s imagination…

(by Spyridoula Patouna, teacher in pre-K class in Athens)

Children are always right, even when we think they are wrong…

January 27, 2016 / dorothysnot / Leave a comment

Sometimes we, educators, make mistakes…

One day, in our beloved yard, Chrysi got a cart, turned it upside down and tried to climb on it.

I hastily said “Chrysi, that’s not right“. She, however, stepped on it and proudly started playing by turning cart into a slide. The game started and Christos came to claim his turn.

All I had to say then was “next please!“. Chrysi’s “wrong” use of the cart turned out to be the right game!

(by Maria Gryllaki, teacher in babies’ class in Athens)

Ophthalmology class in school bus (II)

January 3, 2016 / dorothysnot / Leave a comment

After the experience children had in school bus with Spyridoula’s eye glasses, they asked me if I can see clearly while not wearing mine.

I replied that when not in glasses, I use eye-lenses. Next day, I gave them a pair of lenses to come in contact with. They touched them, smell them and realized that after a while they got dry.

So, I told them to place them into their own case with the special liquid and lenses became wet and resilient again.

Since then, every time that I don’t wear glasses, children look into my eyes and try to “locate” my lenses.

(by Chrysa Vaitsi, cross-class projects’ coordinator in Athens school)

Creating a loose parts’ springboard!

December 28, 2015 / dorothysnot / Leave a comment

Andreas, a kindergarten kid, had the brilliant idea to create a springboard using loose parts, particularly old tires arranged in a pile and a pallet, serving as a ladder).

First step was to collect all the items needed for his idea. Second one was setting up his construction and testing, while the final step was…. the actual game!

In a few minutes, all pre-K and kindergarten class formed a long queue in order to jump off this makeshift springboard!

Its one more time I see waste material (items with no practical use from an adult’s point of view) to become the center of children’s outdoor play. Kids only add imagination and ingenuity- so easy for them!