Sunday, March 09, 2008

Weekly Unplugged Project : Shiny

The topic for this week's Unplugged Project is Shiny!

Sorry, no photos again this week.

We started off by talking quite a bit about what shiny means. I was a little surprised that my 5-year old did not really get it. I guess it is a little abstract and we are constantly bombarding them with things like colors and shapes but not attributes like shiny. So that was great!

But we had a good deal of trouble coming up with an idea for a project. I ended up just giving the kids sheets of aluminum foil to make something out of. My oldest made a shiny window and the younger made something else. I am actually not quite sure what it is, but he had fun.

Another thing we did this week was enjoy some sun-SHINY! We were so glad to see it too! Unfortunately, I believe the rain is on its way back.

5 comments:

MamaGames - Alexa C. said...

I hadn't thought to talk about what shiny is... but I asked my 5 1/2 yo just now and he said, "Sparkly and glowy - that's what shiny is." You're right that attributes don't get talked about as much as colors, shapes and numbers!

We used aluminum foil for our shininess too. :)

Anonymous said...

That's interesting about the meaning of "shiny" being difficult to grasp (or certainly explain). I'll have to ask my 5 year-old when he gets home from school.

Foil seemed to be the medium of choice this week! Enjoy your sun-shiny while it lasts!

Michie said...

That's cool that you were able to work in a little vocabulary lesson too! I also think sun shine was a great idea! :)

Gottfredsen said...

What a great learning oppurtunity for your kids. Great idea to discuss it. I will have to check with my 5 year old to.

reprehriestless warillever said...

Kid's conceptual and vocabulary gaps are fascinating. My 5yo son understands abstract terms like "responsible" and "generous," but cannot get a grasp on the difference between a minute and an hour.

I'll have to ask him about shiny....