Shadows and Movement- Beginning our Investigations

Week of September 3^rd, 2014

The children have been very interested in motion and movement.  To build on this interest and extend their thinking we introduced materials such as ramps and tracks.  We also noticed the children were very interested in movement of their bodies.  The children seem to enjoy dancing, spinning and running.  As they become more confident in their gross motor abilities, they also continue to become more interested in the way they can move.  This week we experimented with the way our bodies move as shadows.  We brought out the shadow screen and encouraged the children to move in a variety of ways.  We posed questions to the children, such as, how can you make the shadow move without touching it?  Or what happens to your shadow when you move in a certain way? The children tested out many theories and tried to answer the questions the teachers posed.  They also tried to figure out where the light projected on the shadow screen originated.  They looked over the overhead and experimented with turning it on and off.  They seemed to show a great interest in light, and this may be something to explore as well.  We will be introducing new materials with provoke thinking about light and movement.