Author Archives: Haverty Hollow

On Monday, October 13, Haverty Hollow hosted a Holiday Fun Day for students that were out of school for Columbus Day.

Several friends chose the science activity with Lisa Haverty to learn about the properties of air.  Here, they are experimenting with the parachutes they made out of plastic grocery bags and wooden beads.  With the bead as a weight, the bag fills with air and drops slowly to the ground like a parachute.

An amusement park with a roller coaster

Building Play with Mr. John has become a regular activity at Haverty Hollow.  It is a favorite among all ages and if you ask any of the participants they can quickly tell you that there are 4 Rules:

1. No knocking anyone’s building down.  You will have to help rebuild it.
2. No throwing the blocks.  This includes anything that can launch the blocks into the air.
3. Everybody has to help clean up.
4. Have Fun!!

Scholastic. com recently published an article on the importance of block play and how it helps with early childhood development.  It lists that the benefits include spatial reasoning, imagination, vocabulary, and creativity.  Mr. John encourages students to build whatever they can think of using the blocks that are available.  At the end of the activity, each student is asked the name of their creation and what purpose it serves, if any.  At them very end, students get to use as much energy and enthusiasm to knock down their creations as they used to build.  Sometimes students choose to build together and sometimes on their own, but always learning from free exploration and benefiting from the value of play.

http://www.scholastic.com/parents/resources/article/creativity-play/all-about-blocks

A resort with palm trees around the pool

A cabin with a fire in the fireplace