This week, we brought out the levels and have been exploring balance in preschool…
We began our study on balance by reading the book Balancing Act by Ellen Stoll Walsh. Ellen Stoll Walsh is one of our favorite authors and this is another great book by her! She writes fun and simple stories that explore basic concepts such as counting, color mixing, and in this case balance…
In this book, two little mice and all of their friends play around with balance. The two mice begin by creating a teeter totter. When their friends decide to join them, the mice get a lesson in weight and balance…
After reading our story, I brought out a level. We passed around the level and talked about how a level works. I showed them how the bubble in the center of the level can show us if something is balanced or unbalanced, like the mice on the teeter totter in our story. Then we closely examined the bubble in the middle of our level…
Then the children set off to play with the levels and explore balance on their own. At one table, the children found two different types of blocks, along with levels. These blocks were a bit more challenging to stack and balance than traditional blocks. The wooden cubes were found at a craft store. These cubes came with a variety of sizes altogether in a large bag. The other set of blocks are made of bamboo and were actually wind chimes purchased from the Dollar Store. We simply cut the strings off that held them together. They became a great addition to our block area! Along with the blocks, we set out levels that were also found at the Dollar Store…
We also set out long cardboard strips that the children could use as a platform to set their level on, to see if their creations were balanced…
The children had an amazing time exploring these different materials. They enjoyed stacking their blocks as high as they could to see if they would remain balanced or if they would fall down…
Adding levels to our non-traditional blocks was a unique way for our children to explore balance!
Available on Amazon
Links to grow on:
Exploring weight and size with scales in preschool by Teach Preschool
Preschool at home: marbles and golf tee game by Pink and Green Mama
Homemade balance beam by In Lieu of Preschool
Hello Deborah:
I would like to ask you if you follow:
Waldorff, Montesory… or any system?
and which books about education you would recomend:
Brain Rules for baby
Mind in the making…
How children succeed
or similar
thank you for your time
This is such a great idea! I’m always looking for creative ways to add math into our block area. I’m now on the search for the book and some levels. Thanks for sharing!
Paula
Learn + Play = PreK
I love these ideas. There are so many ways to explore balance too!
Thanks for sharing!
Cool! Where did you get the awesome levels? What a fun and engaging exploration! Great idea with the bamboo windchimes too!
We got the levels from the Dollar Tree last summer. I bought a bunch of them to keep in our classroom.
I love the use of children’s literature to intruduce and support any topic and you provide so many great sources…I love your helpful, informative and fun blog. Thanks so much, Deborah and Courtney!
Hi Deborah!
I would like to get your input on different curriculums, specifically Creative Curriculm and High Scope. I do not used either of these and have basicaly taylored & developed our preschool program to be what feel others out there are doing without buying product from either company. I have explored on-line and done reading from various sources. I feel overwhelmed when I look at these websites and wince at the cost it takes to buy into them. I love your site, Heidi’s Song, Pre-Kinders, and
Pre-Kpages. I am constantly striving to improve what we do and how we do it. I would really appreciate your input on this.
Hi Peep,
Unfortunately I don’t use either High Scope or Creative Curriculum but I will say that both have an equally positive reputation as being quality resources. From what I understand, creative curriculum is a little more flexible and from my Facebook Readers, it has been the most widely recommended. I have reviewed the Creative Curriculum and the High Scope Philosophy in person at various early childhood conferences and there are parts of both I love tremendously but being that I have taught so long, I prefer to write my own curriculum based on the developmental needs of my students through out the school year.
I sure wish I could be more help!
Deborah