Creation Wheel!

During the summer I treated myself out one day, and  went to a place called "Trash for Teaching." (Near downtown LA!)

 

 I felt like a child in a candy store! A lot of the utensils you see us use for different activities in the classroom were picked up there! There was one large item that caught my attention- A huge wheel, with 7 compartments going around! As an early childhood educator...zillions of ideas start going through my  mind... the sorting, the organizing, the counting... so many ways to use this piece! 

The worker was actually kind enough to give this piece to me as a gift!

The first time we used it, was this week, as part of our unit on the days of creation!

Each compartment was labelled as one of the 7 days of Creation.

Day One: G-d created Light & Dark. We put out white crayons, to draw LIGHT on the dark black paper!

Day Two: G-d created water, and separated the upper & lower waters- the sky & Ocean! (We filled a water bottle with blue water and a little oil in it, to show the separation of sky (clouds- when you shake it!) and ocean!

Day Three: G-d created Plants, Trees, Fruits & Vegetables.

Day Four: G-d created Sun, Moon & Stars. The children made stars using various shapes

 

 

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Day Five: G-d created Fish, Birds & Bugs! We put out magnetic fish & Fishing rods for them to fish with! (They placed the fish that were caught in the center compartment! It is heartwarming to see how mindful the children are of their friends: some of them made a point of placing the fish BACK once they completed their fishing fun!)

Day Six: G-d created Animals & Man: children constructed faces with magnetic body parts.

Day Seven: Shabbat! Children set the table for shabbat with miniature items representing Shabbat! 

Before we put out the creation wheel in the classroom, we dedicated a circle time to discuss what each of the activities represent!

Looking forward to using this wheel again...for something else!