Happy Friday everyone! We missed our sweet baby Audrey, but the rest of the crew made it a full and busy day! The babies continued to experiment with personal space on a big scale today! Logan started it off by running full force into Leah and later he repeated the action into the pillows in the reading area. Leah later returned the favor by walking with the Hippo into Logan, after having lost control of it:) Oliver, Matthew and Charlie were more interested in investigating each others faces with their fingers. Noah is always of great interest whether he is playing in the Exersaucer or rolling around on the floor. All of the other babies go to him and check him out. And he really doesn’t seemed phased by it, but we are sure that has something to do with having a big brother. Rex loved playing with the hard hat, slapping it and turning it all around. Logan and Matthew were great at sitting together and looking at books in the reading area. And then Leah decided that the Exersaucer belonged on the other side of the room! What a strong girl! Oliver, Leah & Matthew and Ms. B taking turns wearing the hard hat. Oliver liked it much better in anyone else’s head, just not his! And finally, Ms. B took Logan, Rex and Charlie out in the red buggy, but they had to come back pretty quickly because of the rain:( Hope everyone has a great weekend!
Aziza, Olive, Quinn, Rory and Sophia
In the morning we were very busy playing with the blocks and cars. Rory was driving them all over the room and laughing. Quinn and Olive sat on my lap and we read Ten apples on top. Sophia played in the kitchen area and was pretending to eat the ice cream. Next it was time for snack, I was very proud of how they ate the life cereal out of bowls and how well they used spoons. Then it was time for morning meeting, we finished up the book “The very hungry caterpillar.” We also did a little review talk about the life cycle and parts of a caterpillar and butterfly. Then it was time to get ready to go outside, Ms Elisa met us outside so I could work on the children’s portfolios. Everyone had great time playing with Miss Elisa and the older kids on the playground. When I rejoined the class we made fruit salad, and we are going to eat it with afternoon snack. Next week we will be working on colors and will be reading Brown Bear Brown bear. Have a great weekend.
Ella, Brooklyn, Zane, Ben, Eli With new toys in the room the toddlers were busy checking everything out. Zane, Eli, and Ella worked on a tool puzzle together. Brooklyn and Ben rocked out with guitars and shakers. We focused on taking turns and sharing The toys that were in popular demand. At circle Zane asked to do dancing in the middle. A few more songs were sung and we read "bubbles bubbles." next it was on to find out the jobs for the day. Ella- fed the newt Eli - watered the plant Ben- carried the clipboard Brooklyn- sprayed the table Zane-wiped the table While Ella fed the newt everyone watched and wanted to take a closer look. We took turns and practiced counting our numbers while I held all of our friends up to the tank. The sensory table was opened next filled with rice and pasta. Scooping and dumping and feeling the rice and pasta we talked about how the rice and pasta were hard but once they were cooked they become soft. I asked the kids if they liked pasta and their responses were Zane said "I like pasta!" Ella smiled. Ben said " what this?" Eli shook his head yes and Brooklyn said " I dooooo." Then we headed outside. Happy Friday! Have a wonderful weekend.
All week we've talked about the important job of growing up. So today we asked the kiddos what they want to be when they grow up. Maple: mommy and daddy! Elsa: daddy! Seneca: ...... (do you want to be a singer?) Yeah!!! Zoe: I wanna help find the Lorax at the Aquarium Knox: tigers grow up with me Lincoln: I wanna play with Olive Drew: I want to be daddy. Later we had a fun experiment making "elephant toothpaste" which was just a jun foamy mess!
Happy Friday, everyone!! We have had a pretty good day, and I hope it continues through the end of the day. Our morning meeting was pretty tough to get through, so we sang a few songs and read a quick story before releasing the class to play. I am planning to try another meeting this afternoon with Ms. Sunny and see if we have a little more luck! Today was our last day with our castle/dress-up dramatic play area. We will be changing it this afternoon to go with the theme of our book next week–Thunder Cake! The kids had a great time playing in the classroom this morning. Aliza used the pegs from the counting boards and made a colorful rainbow snake and Erik was having a great time turning the play dough mashers into cymbals for playing in his one man band!! I thought nap time was going to be a tough one, but our class decided to slow down and calm their bodies in time to realize they were exhausted. Everyone had a great rest! I hope you all day a GREAT weekend and we will see you on Monday!!!
Happy Friday everyone! To wrap up out study of “Nibbles-A Green Tale” we decked to read it one last time for afternoon meeting. After a discussion of the life cycle of plants, we talked about why the guinea pigs love dandelion leaves so much and decided that it was because they are both delicious and healthy. That led us to todays question: “What is your very favorite healthy thing to eat?”. Enjoy their answers below! Aedan: Carrots and two vegetables: Chicken and apples (we then reviewed vegetables Maren: Salmon! Tallulah: Steak! I mean apples… Skye: Healthy pancakes with apples. Finn: Broccoli Clara: Red peppers. I like the juice. Aran: Cabbage because it looks like spinach. Cameron: My favorite is corn and broccoli Daniel: Strawberries and cantaloupe and apples and peaches. Analise: Bananas…they make you grow! Evan: I like carrots. Samantha: Um, um, chicken! Niko: Watermelon!!!! Kincaid: I like strawberries and bananas and carrots with ranch and watermelon ’cause it’s SO juicy! Jaxon: I like peppers and watermelon! Lincoln: Meat. But I don’t have it in my lunch because it’s too big for mu lunch box and there’s blood in it!
Happy Friday! We have had a fabulous day so far in the 5′s class. We started the morning off with circle where we discussed our plans for the weekend. Sami was really excited to tell us that she is visiting her friend near the ocean for a sleepover, and Addie said she was visiting with her cousins this weekend. Stella said she went to Disneyland with her cousins and Violet said that she rode Space Mountain! Kaden, Mason, and Sawyer all had something fun to share this morning too, Kaden showed us his glow in the dark skeleton glove, Mason showed his Bear that his mom gave him, and Sawyer showed off his Spiderman sunglasses that Miss Meghan tried on and made everyone crack up! After that we got to work on the job list. Violet got to do the calendar, but she was a little shy so we all helped her get through it!
The first thing we did during curriculum was spread out. There were kids in all 4 corners of the classroom. One group was working at the table with the potato heads, one group was in the dramatic play area baking and playing with the babies, and the last group was putting on a puppet show and handing out tickets. As everyone was playing Miss Meghan got the ingredients together to make play dough, but not just any play dough: glitter play dough! One by one each child helped with the ingredients until we had our concoction put together then each person got a chance to stir. We decided to make purple play dough and then added the glitter before cooking it. After it was cooked we all gathered around the table to add a teensy bit more glitter and sculpt and mold it into all kinds of fun stuff. Beni made a dog with dolphins jumping around it, Mason made a heart, and Addie made cupcakes!
After curriculum we started clean up which proved to be quite the task as the tickets were all over the room like confetti! Finally, we were able to sit down for lunch and listen to some music. Miss Danielle took us outside where we played unil it got rainy then we came inside to read some stories and lay down for meditation. After that we had snack and got out some puzzles and free draw materials. Our paper monitor Sami was kept busy refilling the paper supply because of all the drawing going on! We also got the popular glitter play dough back out and put on yet another puppet show for Miss Meghan. Miss Meghan was pretty impressed with the directorial skills of Stella who seemed to be in charge of the play while Violet and Sami made sure everyone had a ticket. Everyone had a part: Beni the hedgehog, Addie the princess, Sawyer the fish, Kaden the parrot, Mason the bear, Stella the mermaid, and Levi the wizard. Each of them took turns being in the audience too, it was great to see all the kids working together so well especially on a Friday!
Have a great weekend, we look forward to continuing our fact vs fiction curriculum next week!
Super fun Thursday! Here are the highlights. Oliver was hysterical raising his arms and waving like he didn’t care while he played in the Jumper. Later, he was crazy about the green ball, following it everywhere! All of the babies seemed extra grabby and in close body contact today. Leah and Stella had quite an exchange of grabbing and head patting! Charlie, Matt & Stella playing around the Hippo walking toy. Charlie laughing at Stella, Stella talking a lot. And Matty trying hard to climb over the Hippo! Logan lounging on a pillow in the reading area:) Leah inspecting the underside of the lunch table. Grady and Logan looking out the window with Ms. B while all of the other babies were sleeping. Grady was yelling and pointing at things outside, while Logan like throwing his head back onto the couch. Noah was rolling such much that he kept bunking into other babies! And he was all smiles in the Exersaucer!
We had a great day. In the morning we played with cars, Sophia and Rory had fun crashing there cars together and laughing, Olive and Quinn read books, we read Monster bed until it was time for snack. After snack it was time for morning meeting, we read our book The very hungry caterpillar, we talked about how when he was in his cocoon, he was going to change into a beautiful butterfly, we also talked about the life cycle of a caterpillar to butterfly. Then we took out the musical instruments and sang a few songs, Wheels on the bus, Row row your boat and 5 little monkeys. Then it was time to get ready and go outside, everyone had a lot of fun, Aziza played in the house with pale and shovel, Quinn and Rory were playing with the football and running after it. Sophia and Olive played in the sand box. When it was time to come inside we played with the wood blocks and worked on sorting until lunch. Everyone did a wonderful job. This afternoon we are going to put stickers on are butterflies and go back outside and enjoy the rest of the day.
Eli, Luke, Ben, Zane, Brooklyn, Ella As soon as we got in our room this morning Ben requested play dog and helped pass some out to all his friends. Zane said " look at this. " He made a butterfly with his play doh. Ella used the plastic knife to cut her play doh in many pieces. I reminded our friends that play doh is not for our mouth. When Brooklyn finished with play doh she dressed up and checked herself out in the mirror. The toddlers all wanted to help wipe the table to get ready for snack. Snack this morning was milk and french toast sticks. We opened circle time with pat clap and dancing in the middle. We read the story " so big" about different animals. We picked names out of our job jar to assign jobs. Everyone was very excited to find out their jobs. Ella- spray table Ben - wipe table Eli- feed newt Zane- carry clipboard Brooklyn- water plant Luke- pass out books Next we had a dance party Brooklyn watched herself in the mirror while she got down with her dance moves. Zane, Eli,Ben and Luke laughed as they danced to the hokey pokey. Ella dance while holding her baby all snuggled in a blanket. Next we went outside. Everyone watched the trucks and cars go by. Zane and Ben played with trucks filling them up with bark and dumping them. Ella hold a soccer ball and chilled out on the bench. Brooklyn played in the castle. Eli and Luke took turns with the football. See you tomorrow.
We had a fun time during circle today. Mr. Eddy read the book I Believe in You. During the story it talks about looking in the mirror and liking what you see. After Eddy read the book, the kids came over to look in the mirror and tell me what they saw. Some were imaginative, others were very grounded. Maple- I see Amira. Drew- Stars! Amira-Me! Seneca- Grass. Knox- Animals Zoe- Guys! Lincoln- Dinos Sophie- A truck! Elsa- Kitty! Afterwards we played with shaving cream in the sensory table. A couple of shirts were really covered and some hair got a good scrubbing. So much fun!
It is Thursday already and, wow, our day has flown by. This morning, we had another wonderful morning meeting and let the kiddos start playing as soon as the story was over. We dove right in to planting seeds and plants in glass containers to hang from our friendship tree. Please be sure to check those out and watch as they start to grow in our tree! The 3's class boys were having an extra creative morning while playing in one of our wooden boxes. I looked over and they had a chair set up in the front where the driver sits and had the entire box lined with wheels. When I asked the boys what they were doing, they answered "MAKING A BUS!" in unison. Lunch time went well, but nap time was tough today. There were quite a few kids who never fell asleep and had a hard time trying to rest their bodies. Since we are really loving the warmer weather and would use any excuse to stay outside, we snuck an extra outdoor play in before afternoon snack! That helped get the wiggle worms outside and keep it quite inside for our nappers.
What a beautifully warm day today! We stole every ounce of sunshine we could, staying out a few minute extra after our morning snack of Cheerios and pineapple, as well as heading right out back to play as we awoke from our naps. Daniel suggested playing "shark tag" where he enlisted my (Miss Jo's) help as the shark, chasing kids around pretending they were tasty fish to munch on soon I was chasing most of the class and many of the 5s and 3s kids as well. Man those kids are speedy fish! Our climbing tree was also a big hit again today as friends lined up to follow Sadie's lead, making their way, one at a time, to the top. Ainsley made it all the way up for the first time today, way to go Ainsley! Back inside, we had tons of fun waiting for us. With our garden center so full of life, we almost forgot all about outside, for a little while anyway. A big group gathered in the book area to listen as Miss Cascade (filling in for Becca this morning) read our curriculum book by request; they really seem to love Nibbles and his guinea pig pals in Dandeville! Just like Nibbles, many of our friends also love soccer, so for art today I set out images of Sounders games to inspire action drawing, which Evan thoroughly enjoyed. He and other friends practiced using rulers to draw the lines on the field. Hazel, Skye, Analise, and Clara, along with a few others used the flowers to make bridal bouquets for their "wedding day." They also wrapped themselves in beautiful gowns (blankets) and lined themselves up to pose for pictures it was very sweet. At circle today, we sang a bunch of our favorite songs, including 3 balloons, Where is Thumbkin, and my personal favorite, You Are My Sunshine. Since we read our weekly story during curriculum play, I decided to use our morning meeting for some literacy development. So after singing the the alphabet some for quick review, we talked about the letter "A" and all the different sounds it can make like the "ay" sound in the word "say" and the "aw" sound like in "talk," and the "ahh" sound like in "cat." We also talked about the letter "C" and how it sometimes it sounds like the letter "K" and sometimes it sounds like "S," but when paired with "H" it makes yet another sound, which Caid shouted out as I wrote the two letters together on the whiteboard. Each kid thought about a word with the "ch" sound and nearly everyone was able to come up with one. Aedan offered the word "check" while Oliver picked "chick" and Tallulah wet with "lunch" which was fitting because that was where we headed next! All in all, it's been a great day and I was especially impressed by today's effort in circle as they powered their brains up in search of "ch" words, great work today kiddos, keep it up!
Jack, Audrey, Rex, Logan, Oliver, Charlie, Leah, Noah
Noah was rolling all about the room today and exploring everywhere. He is so strong – especially his neck, back, arm and finger muscles. His grip is so powerful that we really have to pry his hands open when we wash them! Great work, hulk! Leah likes to crawl around the room with toys in her mouth sometimes. Today, she held the little blue phone in her mouth, like a puppy, and stood up proudly. Oliver got silly in the jumper while he was playing with a rattle. He let his legs go limp and flopped around while shaking the rattle to his own beat. Audrey and Jack were both in today to play with each other. They both gave us lots of smiles and happy times on the floor. Ms Violet treated them to her rendition of “Twinkle Twinkle” which had them smiling even more. Rex was super active, following his pals Oliver and Logan all around. Charlie also continues to get moving around the room, though he uses the “booty scoot” method as his preferred form of locomotion.
Aziza, Edith, Quinn, Rory and Sophia
ttrIn the morning we opened up the room with instruments and star blocks until snack. The instruments were a big hit, Quinn and Sophia like the jingle bells. Rory was busy playing with the cars and Edith was working on sticking the star blocks together and would hand them to me if she needed help. After snack it was time for morning meeting, we read the very hungry caterpillar and counted all the unhealthy food that he ate, he ate five unhealthy foods. We also talked about the parts of a butterfly and sang a song about a butterfly. Then it was time to work together and do a food collage. The kids worked with glue and brushes and put different healthy food on the paper. We also added a few yummy treats too. Sophia, Quinn and Rory helped wipe down the table after doing art, we are working on cleaning up when we are done with something. Then it was time to go outside and enjoy the beautiful day. Everyone had a great time, Quinn and Rory were working very hard and trying to climb up the climber to go down the slide. Edith was filling up a bucket with wood chips, Sophia was playing in the castle and Aziza was pulling her self on the monkey bars and trying to walk with holding on. When we came inside we played with the legos and cars until lunch.
Ella, Eli, Brooklyn, Zane, Ben, Abby,Luke The morning started out with free play. Zane picked the blocks and wanted to build towers at the table. Everyone else decided to work on towers too. After Ella put her baby to sleep she laughed with Brooklyn as they made big towers. Dress up was next on the list for our toddlers. Ben quickly picked the magnet sticks and balls and everyone had fun sticking them to the legs of the table and crawling under the table. We cleaned up our magnets and had circle time. We practiced counting our numbers while clapping our hands and learning more colors in sign language. The song choice of the day was dancing in the middle which we sang several times . It was great to get some outside time in the sunshine. Everyone enjoying going down the slide. We had to practice waiting nicely for our turn and keeping on hands to ourselves. For art today we had fun with stamps. Have a great night!
Our question today was "what makes you laugh?" and we had some pretty straight answers. Lincoln- When I play! Drew- When I run with Elsa. Violet- Playing with the kitchen Maple- When I run with Amira Zoe- When I'm at home I like to laugh a lot. Amira- Shoes Elsa- KITTIES!!! Knox- Dinosaurs. Rawrrrrrr!
So we are having a really nice day. The kids seem to be in good sprites and the whole morning went really smooth. Mallary and I decided to try something new for circle time yesterday afternoon. Instead of
making a big circle we let the kids sit on the sofas. They loved the change and gave their full attention. Since it was such a success we did it again this morning and once
again we had a great clam meeting. We revisited a book from past curriculum that the kids loved called City Dog Country Frog. The kids really enjoyed reading the story again and this time they had so many great new ideas and thoughts about the book. Their concepts of how seasons change have really developed and they seem to have a better understanding of the friendship between the city dog and the country frog. After Morning meeting we had a super fun play time using blocks, peg boards, and our awesome castle/dress up dramatic play. Art time was super fun, since we have been learning about Picasso and Matisse this week using the book When Pigcasso Met Mootisse, we decided to do a Matisse inspired art project. The kids made paint prints using natural elements from the outdoors. They printed with leafs, twigs, seashells it was really fun. Each small print was later pulled together to create what looks a lot like like Matisse masterpieces. This afternoon we are celebrating Erik’s 3rd birthday. Happy Birthday Erik…….WE LOVE YOU!
Our classroom was bursting with energy today, with 19 kids today I guess that's not too surprising, but all in all it has been a pretty great day with our kiddos. We started off the day with granola bars and milk and plenty of time out back in the sunshine. Inside we set up a wide variety of activities, many of which were inspired by our current curriculum story. Today marked the grand opening of the 4s class garden center and florist shop, which had the kids lining up to slip on some gloves, grab a trowel or watering can and get to work. Lucy took on the role of flower arranging and customer service while Analise managed the shop. Daniel, Lincoln, Caid, and Will got down in the dirt to care for our plants, as well as naming the flowers as if they were ice cream. "Blueberry" or "chocolate flowers anyone? Over at the building center Aedan and Finn constructed Lincoln log homes while Aran, Niko, and Cameron seemed to be inspired by the new images of cars, planes and tall buildings posted on the shelves because they transformed the large blocks into race cars. Together they built tracks for their cars to zoom along. Ainsley and Maren joined Elsa for a while in the book area as they played circle time, reading from our curriculum story, "Nibbles, a Green Tale." Other options included Coloring raindrops at the art table, where Sadie, Hazel, and Clara hung out, and lavender scented playdough where another batch of cookies and cakes were prepared by many friends in honor of all the recent birthdays we've celebrated. Tallulah spent most of her time exploring the Lite Brites and enjoyedthe company of many passersby as the stopped to admire her installations. At the science table we had a multitude of seed and flower related items available for exploration, all of which saw a few visitors from time to time. Until next time!
Charlie, Grady, Leah, Logan, Matthew, Noah, Oliver & Stella
It was a beautiful sunny day inside and outside the Infant room. The babies were all super excited, active and inquisitive today. Oliver has just about figured out how to get the yard stick out of the drawer handles! Very resourceful Oliver! He also is already a mountain climber and cannot be stopped by a few baskets and pillows! No, he is able to scale small buildings in a single bound! Leah really liked bringing Ms. V her worm toy and then taking it back over and over! She also wanted to help Ms. V put Stella down for a nap. She was standing up at Ms. V’s back and patting it. Logan and Grady were of one mind today and amazingly coordinated Logan sitting in the Hippo walker and Grady pushing him across the room. Grady must have worked very hard because shortly after he took a 3+ hour nap! Stella has really mastered scooting on her bottom and reminded us of a belly dancer as she moved across the floor! Very cute! Later, Logan initiated a game where he opened the bottom drawer of the desk, took out footies and put them in the seat of the jumper. Oliver and Matthew watched at first and then joined in. Charlie continues to work on being on his tummy, but happily sits and plays for long periods. He also took two good naps! Noah was amazing on his tummy and his back and even moving his body forward! And Matthew was very vocal again today! He happily tagged along with his friends, Logan, Grady & Oliver exploring every available nook and crany!
We had a wonderful day. In the morning we were busy playing with the cars and legos and looking at books until snack. Next, it was time for morning meeting. We read “The Very Hungry Caterpillar.” We also talked about the healthy vs. unhealthy food in the story. The caterpillar had a tummy ache because he ate too much unhealthy food. Quinn was pretending to eat the ice cream in the story, we also talked about parts of a caterpillar about their eyes, legs and body. When we were singing the good morning song, Sophia would clap and sign for more. Next the kiddo’s picked out things to play with. Rory and Quinn wanted to color, so I gave them chalk and the chalk boards to use. Edith got out the instruments, Sophia played with the sorting people and Aziza got out the doodle pad. Then it was time to go outside to play everyone had a lot of fun. Everyone ate very well and slept great.
Zane, Brooklyn, Eli, Kinsey, Ben The toddlers chose to start their morning off gathered around the table building towers. We went over all of the colors and practiced them in sign language. Kinsey asked for help to open up our bin of dress up clothes and all of the kids enjoyed trying on different outfits and checking themselves out in the mirror. Eli really liked making scarfs into a hat. Brooklyn liked wearing lots of dress up clothes at once! Then we washed hands and had our morning snack which was French toast and milk. Everyone had seconds! After snack we wiggled some of our sillies out jumping, dancing, and marching. Then we sang head shoulders knees and toes. Next everyone picked out a pillow and brought it over for circle time. We read lots of books. The book called "Almost" by Richard Torrey was the funniest to everybody. We picked names for our job chart today Eli- clipboard carrier Zane- spray the table Kinsey- wipe the table Ben- help pass out a snack Brooklyn- feed our pet newt All of the toddlers were very excited about their jobs and did an excellent job. Ben picked play doh to do next and all of his friends agreed that was a great idea. We talked about different shapes as everyone made their own master pieces. Next we added our dinosaurs to the beans in the sensory table again. Then it was outside time to enjoy the sunshine. After nap we made pictures using chalk . Wonderful day!
Question of the day: What do you like to play? Drew- I like to play tennis. Lincoln- Baseball! Sophie- I like to play with mama. Elsa- Soccer ball mommy! Violet- Paint! Zoe- I like to play the game with mommy and dada where you kick the baseball. Maple- I like to play baseball with mommy. Yeah. Knox- Mom y and daddy catch the ball with me. Seneca- I like to play soccer with my mommy. Eamon- I like to play baseball with Tara. Amira- Ball. Daddy. We had a great day! We played in the sunshine, traced our bodies and decorated them and had two fun circle times!
We started our day with ideal kid-weather: the sun was shining on just enough snow to play with! After using up all the available snow and lots of energy, we headed inside to choose from one of the following curriculum activities: -Free draw with images from “Nibbles” for inspiration. A lot of kids chose to draw guiniea pigs which gave us the idea to look up pictures and videos of the real animals later today. -Miss Jo collaborated with the kids to make large paper flowed for hanging up in our soon-to-be-open dramatic play area (which Miss Becca worked on this morning) -The writing table held tracing boards for word practice and each teacher took turns challenging the kids who are already comfortable writing and encouraging those who are getting started. -The manipulatives area held the big blocks as well as the bristle blocks. Analise used them to make a stage and microphones while a group of boys designed an airport and jet planes respectively…both great ideas!
-Free draw with images from “Nibbles” for inspiration. A lot of kids chose to draw guiniea pigs which gave us the idea to look up pictures and videos of the real animals later today.
-Miss Jo collaborated with the kids to make large paper flowed for hanging up in our soon-to-be-open dramatic play area (which Miss Becca worked on this morning)
-The writing table held tracing boards for word practice and each teacher took turns challenging the kids who are already comfortable writing and encouraging those who are getting started. -The manipulatives area held the big blocks as well as the bristle blocks. Analise used them to make a stage and microphones while a group of boys designed an airport and jet planes respectively…both great ideas!
Today we started off our circle time with the usual orders of business. We had Gus doing the calendar and we got all of our other jobs assigned. It is neat to see how shaking it up a bit has gotten us all a little more excited about jobs and finding new ways that we can be helpful in the 5′s class. Meanwhile, Ms. Laura and Miss Meghan got the planning done for the week and we are super excited to continue to flush out this “fact vs. fiction” question with the 5′s. In fact, when Ms. Laura returned to the classroom there were lots of debates as to whether or not dragons are “real.” What it boiled down to is that, as Ms. Laura said, “There is not scientific evidence to suggest that Dragons (as we know them in myth and legend) ever existed.” This is a tough one. We do not want to rob these brilliant and creative kids of their beautiful imagined worlds, but at the same time, this “fact vs. fiction” question is a good one for them to grapple with and help flush out. We will continue to work with this and we can make it fun.
So Ms. Laura asked the class – what is fact and what is fiction? Here are some answers that we got along the way:
Addie: Fact is not real and fiction is real.
Ben Ryan: Things like Dragons were never alive so they are fiction.
Emma: I forgot
Gus: There is a real dragon called the Earth Dragon. (We talked a bunch and came to the Komodo Dragon which we can see at the Woodland Park Zoo. It is a actually a big reptile with an even bigger name.)
Addie: Unicorns are fiction (Good work Addie – now you’ve got it!)
Emma: igs are fact.
We then read two books without any lead-in. We read a book about astronauts and the space program and then we read a book about the planets in Star Wars. After we were done we had a fantastic discussion about what the clues were to let us know what was fact and what was fiction. The kids were right on track.
Later in the day we read two fiction books, Willow Maiden & Little Star. We talked about how even though each of these stories were fiction, they still had a lot to teach us about the real world. Fiction does not mean that it does not have value, it just means it cannot be scientifically proven. We loved the lessons embedded in these magical stories and we can take those into our real lives.
After all that “fact vs. fiction” talk we spent the rest of the afternoon working on “facts” we worked on math! Oh my goodness we have some real whizz kids in this class. After working as a group on our number recognition and the basics to math equations the kids then started doing their own recording of the math equations we developed taking turns picking out fruit counters. THEY ROCKED! Seriously. So cool to see how natural this came to them and Ms. Laura cannot wait to build on this more. Their pride was stunning and the whole room seemed to be a little brighter as we made math fun in the 5′s room.
Noah, Oliver, Rex, Leah, Audrey, Charlie, Jack, Logan
Leah and Logan went ball crazy today. Logan walked the big gray yoga ball around the room and Leah crawled about with the green nubby ball in her mouth like a puppy. Audrey came in for his very first full day today. She did amazing and we are all very happy to have her here. Jack drank his bottles very well and got plenty of rest. Oliver was back and showing off that he has great balance when you stand him up. Oliver also had a ton of fun at the beginning of the day with Rex and Logan. Mr Eric set up the infant gym for them and they went bananas trying to demolish it. Logan leaned on the support poles while Rex grabbed the hanging toys. Oliver shook the poles and delighted as the whole thing came apart. We set it up several times and the boys loved wrecking it over and over! Way to go, Bella Mente demolition crew!
We started off our morning reading stories and getting to know each other. I am danielle wells and have started back at Bella Mente as the toddler teacher again. I was the toddler teacher a few years ago and had many of the kids siblings in my class at that time. We have moved back from Pennsylvania and are so excited to be back. My daughter amiralin is excited to be back at Bella Mente as well in the twos room. I graduated from fairmont state university with BA regents degree and an associates in sign language. I am looking forward to getting to know everyone! After we read lots of books we sang wheels on the bus and Brooklyn reminded is that we need to sing about what the dads say on the bus , row row your boat a and the abc's requested by Eli. We started creating lots of different things with play doh. When I asked them what they were making Ben- I making doggy Brooklyn- doggy ya! Zane- growled as he squished the play doh. Abby- used the dog cut out and letters Eli- worked hard cutting his play doh with a plastic knife Kinsey- took turns with Abby using the dog cut out and letters Ella-she enjoyed playing with the babies making sure they were covered up with lots of blankets After play doh we opened the sensory table with beans and added dinosaurs. Then we headed outside to run off some energy. Everyone enjoyed their lunch and took great naps! See you tomorrow.
We are reading a book this week called "I Believe In You" and it is all about celebrating how amazing and special each of us are. Our question for the day was, "what is something that is difficult for you to do?" and we didn't get a lot of answers. It seems the twos class is good at everything. Zoe announced "At night when I go to sleep there are monsters in my closet and they say rrraaawwwww!" So we headed outside to get some exercise and fresh air. Maple and Elsa were climbing buddies, scaling the rock two or three times with out any help. In the afternoon we created some beautiful, albeit temporary, art using shaving cream water and food coloring. With my own messy hands it was hard to capture more pictures. I asked Lincoln what he was making and he said "I'm making ice cream, but it's not for eating (what's it for?) Dinosaurs!!" When I told all the kiddos it looked liked Jackson Pollock Sophie said, "it's not Jackson!"
Hello 3′s classroom families. I hope you all had nice weekends filled with fun. I’ll start this blog with a warm welcome to Issac who moved up to our classroom today from the 2′s class. All the kids were happy to have a new friend join our class. We started the day with our book of the week: How Pigcasso Met Mootisse, by Nina Laden; a funny story about two artist who have to work through their differences to become good friends. While the moral of this story is a good one and the 3′s kids can always use a lesson in appreciating their friends despite differences the book seemed a bit over their heads. It is full word-play that flew right over their little heads. We will definitely read the book again, but I’m not sure it has the punch we were hopping for. It has however inspired a long list of fun art projects for the week, so keep an eye on our walls they are sure to fill up with Picasso and Matisse inspired art. This aftern noon we will look at our inside garden again, in just 14 days our pea seeds have jumped. Last Tuesday they were only 1/4 inch high, now they are almost 4 inches tall. They kids are sure to get a kick out of how fast they shot up.
Happy Monday everyone, hope you all are enjoying the beginning of a fresh month, especially now that so many blossoms and buds are popping up all around the city! With some nice weather this week, perhaps we can manage to get these kids out on some nature walks to observe the arrival of spring. In the mean time, we have started a new curriculum book this week. Charlotte Middleton's "Nibbles, a Green Tale," is a story about a guinea pig named Nibbles who lives in Dandeville, where everyone loves to play soccer and eat dandelion greens. One day, all the dandelion greens have been eaten up and the guineas are left with only "chewy cabbage" instead of their favorite, but Nibbles discovers one lone dandelion outside his window and nourishes it until it turns white and puffy. Nibbles then climbs to the top of the hill and blows the seeds all over, causing new plants to grow and ending the shortage. He then decides to take up gardening and plants beds and beds of fresh green dandelion greens. Seeing that this was our first large group reading of this story in morning meeting, we decided to ask the kids to share their thoughts on the tale. Now that we have done this a few times, the kids have really gotten the hang of this routine and everyone was eager to voice their opinions. Here's what they all found inspiring from today's reading: -Aedan: "I liked the nibbles that blowed the tiny things with the white (dandelion seeds) he blowed them all around and tried to eat them" -Jack: "the dandelions flew all over" -Analise: "I liked the dandelions" -Will: "uh, I liked the dandelions gettig blown all over town." -Kincaid: "I liked two things, I like how it looked when all the dandelions were everywhere all over town. The other thing was, I liked how the last dandelion looked when the cover was on it." -Oliver: "I liked the guinea pigs" -Finn: "I liked when he made all of the dandelion leaves at the end by planting seeds with them" -Evan: "I like when nibbles watered more dandelion leaves" -Maren: "I liked when the guinea pig watered the plants" -Elsa: "I like when the dandelions flew everywhere" -Lucy: "I like when the dandelions flew all over the place and they grew more food" -Cameron: "I like the page when he growed his own dandelions" -Aran: "I do too Miss Jo, (referring to what Cam said)" -Sadie: "um, I like when, when, when the guinea pig, um, said "nibble, nibble, munch, munch" -Samantha: "um, I liked about when they were blowing flowers everywhere." -Clara: "I liked the dandelion seeds. I liked the picture of them because I really like to draw" -Tallulah: "um, I liked, um, the whole story so much. I liked all the drawings, because everyday I draw to make myself an artist, and my dad said I'm almost an artist."
We started off our Monday morning by welcoming Miss Cascade into class so Miss Meghan could get some much needed portfolio time in! Miss Cascade got the ball rolling on our talk about mythical creatures. She started by asking the question:
“What is a mythical creature”?
Sawyer: “Dragon/Teddy”
Ben R: “Dinosaurs/cow”
Gus: “Bugs”
Dylan: “Dinosaurs”
Mason: “Eagle”
Stella: “Bald Eagle/Tree”
Beni: “Teranaton”
Clearyly we have some work to do defining fact from fiction. Luckily, we have the whole week to discuss these sometimes convusing topics! After hearing all of the childrens answers Miss Cascade made a list of things that are myths including: dragons, unicorns, mermaids, fairies, giants, zombies, and elves. Then she asked the kids what they wanted to know about them. After that they made a timeline using dinosaurs to see when the kids thought these mythical creatures had come to be. We are very excited to revisit these questions throughout the week and look at some books from the library to help us answer some of these questions!
After circle time the kids moved on to curriculum where imaginary play and talk was super popular! The art table was comletely covered with construction paper where Ben, Beni, Sawyer, Mason and Dylan could be seen coloring up a storm. They used tape, scissors and glue sticks to create dragons and cow and other imaginary things.Stella, Addie, Sami, and VIolet proceeded to pretend they were teachers and students as well as kittens and puppies in the vet/rescue dramatic play area. The Solar floor puzzle was also a huge hit with Ben R who put it together almost completely by himself! After clean up we headed outside into the sunshine! It was so nice to feel the sun on our faces we almost didn’t want to come back inside. Dylan and Mason picked out our books for quiet time and we read a little bit out of Ben R’s Batman book.
After snack we made some glitter play dough to go along with our talk about fairies! Then we opened up free play where the art shelf got a lot of use! Free draw was super popular as the kids got out the markers and oil pastels to draw with. The Scooby match game was also brought out by Gus, Dylan, Ben and Beni! We finished up our day with another short jaunt outside. We couldn’t resist the sun!
Leah, Audrey, Matthew, Rex, Charlie, Logan
Charlie and Leah had a little fun while Charlie was eating in the highchair today. Charlie bopped his body up and down with excitement as Ms Brenda tried to get the food into his mouth. Meanwhile, Leah was standing up under the lunch table, holding onto the vertical support, bouncing up and down too. They both had their mouths open wide as they excitedly yelped to each other.
Audrey came in for her first official half day with us. She is absolutely adorable and she graced us with lots of sweet smiles. Audrey drank her bottles well, took a little nap, and was all excited to see her mama, Kate, at lunchtime. Logan sounded like he said “all done” today and appeared to give Ms Violet the sign for “more” peaches. Rex enjoyed shaking the big, red rattle, though sometimes he gets so into it that he topples himself over backward. Matthew also likes the rattle and he had fun standing up and shaking it when Mr Eric entered the room. Matthew gave Eric a big smile and let him know that Matthew was ready to party!
While I was trying to hand write information for this blog entry, Rex had a great time teasing me by repeatedly ripping the pen out of my hand and laughing. Oh, Rex, you are a trickster!
Aziza, Quinn, Rory, Sophia and Van
We had a wonderful and very busy day. In the morning we played with cars, lego’s, and in the kitchen before snack. Next we worked to together and did a coloring project together everyone did a wonderful with sharing the colors. Next it was time for morning meeting, today we read “A cake just for me” it about a little pig who makes a cake just for him-self but then his friends wanted some and in the end he decided to share his cake with his friend. Then it was time to go outside to paly, everyone was busy. Rory was practices his soccer skills, Van and Aziza were playing peek a boo in the castle, they had a great time and a lot of laughing going on. Quinn figure out how to climb on the castle to go down the slide, when she did it she said Tobi. Sophia played in the castle and was putting wood chips in a bucket. When it was time to go inside, we worked on stacking blocks, but the favorite game is to knock them over and laugh. Then it was time for lunch and nap everyone did a wonderful job. Next week we will be read “The very hungry caterpillar”. Have a wonderful weekend.
Miss Danielle (new one was in all morning getting to know our toddlers and getting re-adjusted to Bella Mente! It left little time for a write up today but we are so excited to start next week with a brand new (but known and trusted!) toddler teacher. What an easy transition that our toddlers won’t even need to learn a new name
The question of the day was, "When should you give yourself space from people?" Eddy and I explained when we need space from our little friends too. It helped to get the ball rolling. Eamon-"When I'm angry." Maple-"When someone yells NO at me." Drew-"When I get pushed or hurt." Lincoln-"When someone tries to take my shovel." Isaac- "When I'm playing with dinos." The little rock band has been rocking hard this week. Drew is loving the hippie headbands. He'll only remove it for nap. Every morning Eamon using the guitar to weed wack the stage and Seneca is enjoying everyone seeing the same songs throughout the day.
Hello, Friday! Ms. Sunny was out of the classroom again today, so Ms. Elisa joined the 3's class for another fun day! Lola can confirm it--she told me "I had a lot of fun playing outside with Ms. Elisa!" We are very lucky to have an awesome teacher like her around But we still miss Ms. Sunny....When I told Micah Ms. Sunny wouldn't be here today he said "But I e Ms. Sunny" and I have to agree! We spent a nice amount of time playing outside this morning, then headed in for our morning meeting. We read Because of You for the last time and circle time went pretty smoothly today. After reading the story, it felt like our class was beginning to understand how their actions can affect the world around them...pretty cool stuff! Indoor play was pretty mellow today and everyone got along really well. We are switching our dramatic play to a castle for next week, and all the kiddos seem to be pretty excited about--dress-up is always a big hit! The 3's class had an incredibly smooth transition from lunch to nap, and almost everyone fell asleep today! Those who stayed awake still managed to do a pretty good job of resting their bodies and that is all we ask! Today is Michael's 3rd Birthday, and his Mom brought us cupcakes to help celebrate this afternoon! Once everyone is awake from nap, we will be having a yummy treat--Thank you and Happy Birthday, Michael!!!
After our final reading of “All the World”, I asked the kids a very general question: What is your favorite part of our world? Many of them seemed to reference our book, but a few came up with different answers. Enjoy reading these over the weekend and we’ll see you all MOnday!
Aedan: “The trees” Daniel: “I like rainbows all over the world” Jaxon: “All the things in the world” Maren: “Um, um, the plants and the flowers!” Analise: “I like rainbows with buckets on the bottom” Sadie: “Babies, butterflies and rainbows!” Aran: “All the restaurants. My favorite is Zeeks Pizza!” Niko: “All the cars” Kincaid: “Everything!” Evan: “T-rexes. I like learning about them in the world” Samantha: “The big humungous rainbow!” Elsa: “The plants. All of them.” Lincoln: “I like the race cars and fancy restaurants” Tallulah: “I like polka dots and the sun and everything and even skirts and dresses” Clara: “I like all of my friends in the world”
Happy Friday! We welcomed Cameron into class from the 4′s room and had a blast showing him all the fun stuff to do in the classroom. Miss Cascade was in again this morning to start off our day. Miss Cascade discussed marine life and the differences between land and water animals to close up our water unit. Next week we’ll start exploring the world of mythical creatures focusing on class favorites: dragons, fairies, and unicorns! In the dramatic play area our vet set up was busy again with the class rescuing land and sea animals then best of all sending them back to their homes after they got all fixed up! As a morning art project the class used crayons to draw something marine related and then painted the paper with watercolors. The kids noticed that the paint didn’t stick to the crayon and Miss Cascade got into a great discussion with the class about wax and why that was happening.
By lunchtime Miss Meghan was back and we listened to some “oldies” music while we ate. After lunch we headed outside to enjoy this lovely grey day before coming in to read some stories. Miss Meghan has been giving the kids “book duty” where every day 2 kids get to pick out the 4 books we read during quiet time. It’s been really fun. Next up we had meditation listening to some beautiful Italian music. Beniamino was able to figure out that the music was Italian and we tried to get him to speak some, but he got shy. After meditation we got out some puzzles, free draw supplies, and books and finished up quiet time before having snack then delving back into curriculum. We finished with a circle time where we went over all the things we learned about mammals and land vs sea animals.
Have a great weekend and we’ll see you Monday!
Happy first day of March! We missed baby Noah today which left us with Charlie, Grady, Leah, Logan, Matthew, Oliver and Stella. It was a very busy day with lots of exploration by all of the babies! Charlie and Matty were chatting a lot this morning, each mimicking the others growls, screeches and laughs. It was great to hear them using their voices so well! Stella is really moving around on her bottom now! She can pretty much get anywhere she wants which makes her very happy. She even made it all the way to the front door to get a knobby ball that was over there. Logan preferred to walk around with the big gray ball. He pushed it all around the room and then he walked with the hungry hippo walker. Matthew continued his vocalizing with one of our stuffed animals in the afternoon. He was fixated on this one kitty cat and took it all over the room, putting it in his mouth, hugging it and talking loudly and happily to it. It was hysterical! Grady is now tall enough to reach the kitchen door handle and he almost knocked a few empty bottles down from the tall countertop! What a big kid! Oliver decided to join into the vocalizing later in the day and went back and forth with Matty. It was quite a heated conversation. And Leah will definitely have a career in softball if she wants! She took to throwing all of the balls she found and she has quite a throwing arm!! Until tomorrow…
Brooklyn, Ben, Zane, Ella, Luke
Today we were very excited to have the new Ms. Danielle come and spend the morning with us. When she got her daughter Amiralyn comfortable in the 2′s class she came over and had some free play and lunch time with us. The class absolutely adored her, Ben, Brooky and Luke were very welcoming and all smiles. I got time to fill her in on all your little ones personalities but most of all told her we had the funnest classroom and that she was going to love it. After she left we got settled down for nap and spent the afternoon to ourselves just cuddling with books, putting diapers on the baby dolls and just rolling around on the floor. Tomorrow Ms. Danielle will be spending half the day with us and Monday they will be all hers:) See ya
"It's sunny but still cold so we have to wear our jackets" Eamon informed us this afternoon. We all enjoyed the sunshine but our time outside has certainly been cold. Inside the classroom we have been noticing the effect of the sunlight in our bean sprouts. Today we had a big drawing activity after talking about how sprouts are baby plants. The kiddos and their imagination took off as they created drawings of some things around our classroom and of things they love (mostly cupcakes). Our rock band is still cranking out tunes and laying down some heavy beats ( mostly involving a maraca and a drum). We talked a lot about being kind to little ones and how we all have someone taking care of us. Isaac and Lincoln shared about how they take care of their little sisters while the rest of the kiddos proclaimed "my mommy has a baby in her tummy!" but the quote of the day goes to Zoe who after nap told me "First thing in the morning, we dont freak out!" All in all we had a fantastic Thursday and we're looking forward to an even better Friday.
Happy March everyone, at least the weather is nice today then it was yesterday. We spent a good deal of time outside this morning which we really good for the kidos. They all seem to have an abundance of energy today. We had an all right morning meeting, it was cute short due to fact that we spent extra time outside and the 4′s were ready to come in right behind us. Once the room becomes noise it is really hard to keep their attention. However we did manage to read our book and review some really cool ideas about being kind, listening, and caring. Most of the kids shared ideas about what it means to help others. After our meeting we had a fun play time. During art we did more papier-mâché only two planets let to go, we will have an amazing solar system hanging for the ceiling in on time at all. Nap time today was really tough, not all of our friends napped, most were really good about resting and staying on their mats, but some were very rambunctious and disrespectful. I’m not sure why nap time went so funky, but hopefully we will have them back on track tomorrow.
There is a lot of energy flying around the 4s class today and the morning began with quite a few tears and frustration when friends struggled to agree on what games to play outside. We are certainly all getting better at using our words but there is still much communication practice in our future. Patience and compromise are two important values that we are all constantly working to develop here, and though they are frequently testing one another, progress is evident. Keep it up 4s, we know it's hard but everyday you guys amaze us with your growth On another note, the 4s class has been captivated by our current curriculum book "All the World," and has taken particular interest in the giant climbing tree. This tree has been identified as a source of inspiration for many members of the class during our meeting time discussions. Building on their interest and enthusiasm, we set out materials this morning, along with images of the tree from the story, to allow the kids to turn their inspiration into artwork. Check out the tree art displayed next to the storm pictures on tue east wall of the classroom. At this morning's meeting, we decided to take a break from our curriculum book to read a fun story about pizza making that Will brought in. He said he chose this book "because it has vegetables in it" just like our farm stand. After the story we were all thinking about pizza and went around the circle sharing our favorite kind of pizza. Here's what they had to say: Aedan: I like pepperoni pizza Elsa: cheese Tallulah: um I love cheese pizza with um a little bit of orange melted cheese on top, cooked on the stove. Maren: I like um um, sauce with cheese and tomatoes. Cameron: I like cheese pizza and pepperoni with yummy sauce on it Niko: um I like cheese pizza Ainsley: I like pepperoni and Canadian bacon and pineapple. Will: uh, I like pesto pizza Oliver: cheese with no sauce and pepperoni Clara: I like just cheese, the pepperoni is a little too spicy for me and I don't really like spicy things Caid: I like cheese pizza and macaroni pizza but without the macaroni Daniel: um I like pepperoni pizza Hazel: cheese Sadie: um I like pepperoni and sauce and cheese pizza Evan: I like cheese pizza Analise: cheese and macaroni Yum yum, now I want some pizza, but hold the macaroni for me, I'll take mushrooms, peppers and onions on mine ~the 4s class
Happy Leap Year Day!! Today, we missed Oliver, but we welcomed Audrey and her mom, Kate, for a visit this morning. What a super cutie and she made a friend almost immediately with Jack, who is just one day older then her! They laid next to each other on the carpet and even held hands at one point! We foresee a lasting friendship there! Later, Leah was very sweet, cuddling on the pillows in the reading area with her binky and blanket. That only lasted for a few minutes, though. Then she was right back to playing with her friends. Noah was very vocal today, having quite an extensive conversation with himself in the Exersaucer. Logan was super social with our visitors and even took the time to wave goodbye to Kate and Audrey when they left. Leah and Ms. Brenda had a very nice time together reading “Guess How Much I Love You” after she woke up from her nap. Then Charlie showed us his booty scooting skills that he must have picked up from Stella. He actually scooted over to a book and chewed it up real good!:) Ms. Brenda pulled out the bubbles with Rex, Charlie, Leah and Jack. Everyone was pretty spellbound at first, then Leah got more involved trying to reach for them! Leah also had a great experience with her applesauce. She got to try using a spoon to feed herself. She did a pretty good job grabbing the spoon and bringing it to her mouth, but in the end, she preferred grabbing the whole container and putting it to her mouth! And Rex keeps making us smile with his accomplishments each day. Today, I turned around and he had pulled himself up to a standing position and was playing at the couch. It is such a pleasure to see him making such giant leaps!!
Aziza, Edith, Quinn, Rory, Sophia and Van
We had a great day despite the rain. In the morning we did things a little different, during snack we also did part of morning meeting. We read The apple pie that papa baked, we talked about how apples grow on trees and need water and sun to help them grow. We also read Ten apples on top. Then after we cleaned up we finished the rest of meeting. We counted to 3 apples and talked about the colors red, green, and yellow. For art, we worked with glue and brushes. Everyone is starting to get the idea of dipping brushes and putting glue on the paper without help. Finally, we added apples to the projects. Next, everyone got to pick out what they wanted to play with. Van and Rory took out cars. Quinn played with the babies. Sophia and Edith played with the felt pieces, I showed them how to put them on the felt board. After we played for a while I brought out the sensory table. Everyone had a lot of fun playing in the sand with the scooper’s, straws, and cups. This was a big hit until lunch. This afternoon we are going to play with star blocks and manipulate play dough.
No write up today
Happy Leap day everyone! We are blessed with one extra day this year and the weather is acting very strange; rain/snow, what is going on out there? Poor Mallary went home early today with a cold:( So we spent part of our morning with Meghan and the other half with Elisa. It has been a lot of fun. While I did planning this morning Elisa and Cascade ran circle time. Maybe it was new faces, maybe it was the blogs about our tough time, but whatever it was circle time was calm and fun for all. Thanks for your help at home parents and thanks Elisa and Cascade for help our kidos make some good choices. During art time today we made papier-mâché planets, the kids really loved the project; good thing because we are only half way done, we will continue to work on the project through Friday. Before lunch Elisa did manage to get the kids out for a short run outside. They ran off some extra energy and so far have taken a really nice nap. This afternoon we will try to get some more outside time, but should the weather resist we might just join the 4′s and 5′s classrooms for a fun movie!
The crazy weather didn't keep us from enjoying the last day of February! After a snack of croissants and milk, we went out front to brave (but let's be honest, most of the kids couldn't care less!) the sideways sleet and winds. After playing outside for a while, we headed in to dry off and start our curriculum. The front of the room was filled with opportunities for artistic, academic and sensory endeavors. The sunset pictures in "All the World" really seemed to inspire the kids, so we decided to create our own using orange and pink paper, water colors and crayons (as always, the materials could be used for free art as well). The neighboring table held the sunset-colored playdough we made yesterday. The kids at that table used a variety of tools to make sunset cookies, cakes, shapes and even a house! Our sensory tub was once again filled with birdseed for sifting and sorting and the obligatory baking (I swear, they can turn anything in to cupcakes!). The writing table was filled with magaoze for mstchig our current sight words and white board for practicing writing them. The tall art table also turned in to a number recognition and practice station. Further south in the classroom our buffing botanists played our new seed/leaf/plant matching games, while their colleagues across the table pondered how magnets worked. Some engineers across the way built airplanes (from bristle blocks) and an airport (from large wood blocks) where "you can park airplanes AND exercise", Kincaids idea . Out dramatic play area was filled with produce peddlers and customers, as well as a creative bunch that turned one side of the area into a house! A few other imaginative friends used the book area for a dance studio before settling down to read. We started our circle today with "kookaburra" and the "take me out to the ballgame" (inspired by Aedans mariners shirt) before reading Lincolns book, "Freidrick" and "Where Once there was a Wood". The later story depicted a lovely wilderness that was developed into row houses. After reading it, I asked the question: "would you build houses there?". Most everyone said no, reasoning that they wanted to "leave it pretty" (Aran), but a few friends cited being "really freaked out by all the animals" (Tallulah:) as a reason to leave the wilderness undeveloped...good answers all around!
Noah, Matthew, Rex, Leah, Logan, Stella, Charlie
It was a bit of a different Tuesday in the baby room since Grady, Oliver, and Ms Violet were out and Rex was in. We had an initial visit from our new friend, Audrey, and her mama. Audrey is very cute and we look forward to seeing her again tomorrow. She will be joining the gang regularly soon! Leah enjoyed snuggling with the big stuffed dog and laying on top of it. Later, Ms Brenda was laying on the floor, reading a book with Stella. They read “The Teddy Bears Have a Dream” and soon Leah and Logan came over to join the reading. But soon Leah and Logan decided it would be more fun to attack Ms Brenda! They both had a blast crawling all over her head and Ms Brenda thought the whole thing was pretty funny too!
Stella and Matthew played super well today – crawling and scooting all about. Stella also really liked goofing around with the very active pairing of Rex and Logan. Matthew enjoyed his finger food, Rex pulled himself up on lots of stuff, and Noah continues to impress us with his tummy time. Charlie was feeling a little under the weather and sad. Hopefully tomorrow will go better for the Charlie-man.
We had a wonderful day. For morning meeting we read ” The apple pie that papa baked” and talked about what was
happening in the story. We also did the finger play Two little apples, and played with the felt apples. After meeting we did apple tasting with 3 different types of apples- Granny Smith, Fuji and Golden delicious.
Van liked all 3 types.
Sophia liked the Granny Smith
Edith liked the golden delicious
Rory liked the Fuji
Quinn liked the Golden delicious and Fuji
Aziza liked all 3 types
Next, we went outside to play. Everyone had a lot of fun playing with their toddler friends. This afternoon we are going to build with the legos, play with the cars and work on puzzles.
Eli, Brooklyn, Ben, Kinsey, Zane
Today we were in a very playful mood so we continued free play while we read books on the pillows, dressed up the babies in diapers and talked to the calculators like they were cell phones. Then we did a quick clean up and all went into the hall to gather some art supplies. We came back with flat wooden pieces some square some rectangular, glue, mod podge, brushes and a basket of sea shells and mini tiles. Then we got to work on making one side of the boards as sticky as we could mixing the to glues then they picked out their own decorations. I knew Ben was going to be the first one done but I’m never quick enough to catch him before he pulls everything off to start over again like a puzzle. I then had him put them all back on. He does this with pretty much all of our gluing projects:) Eli was very precise in which ones he wanted to put on. After a bit we washed hands and they all sat to look at books independently while I cleaned the tables. Then we headed out front to play with the waddlers. Kinsey got so chatty all of a sudden. Every time Tobie was trying to get one of her kids to repeat something like “help please” Kinsey would chime in for them. Then I caught her on the swing laying on her tummy and twisting herself in circles going “1, 2, 3.” The boys however thought throwing balls outside the fence into the street was much more fun so we had to wrap that game up real quick and passed out shovels instead. Lunch was good, naps were great. Lots of runny noses though so keep an eye on it. See ya all tomorrow.
In our small group of eight his morning we were showing a wide variety of emotions, and since our story this week tells us we should share how we feel Tara and I asked the kiddos, “how do you feel right now?”
Wow what a day, we started the morning with a wild morning meeting. The kids are having a really hard time sitting these days. Mallary and I waited to let everyone calm down before reading our book of the week, Because of You. Despite the active behavior during our meeting the kids had a good morning. We did some really fun water color painting. Ellie got really into it, she was painting with two brushes at once. Later I pulled out our indoor garden we planted last Tuesday. Our pea seeds have sprouted and the kids were really excited to explore and learn. I asked the kids what had happened and these are some of their responses: Micah “They’re growing into green beans” London “No, I think they are peas” Micah “Yeah….PEAS!” Duncan “They left the seeds to grow into baby plants” Solomon “Peassssssssss” We pulled one pea sprout from the soil to explore further. Micah “The roots are long, look, look!” Georgia “The seed is still there on the root” Erik “Look the seed” After exploring the plant, sprout to root a few of the kids stuck around to do some scientific drawings, they did amazing work. We also measured the plants so we can document their growth. I’m looking forward to pulling the indoor garden out a few times a week to explore, measure, and observe.
We are thoroughly enjoying our book-based curriculum here in the 4s class, exploring all different topics and allowing the kids to guide our study based on the ideas and curiosity emergent from the stories we have chosen. Reading our current story (All the World, by Liz Garton Scanlon) today, we focused our attention on the many different scenes and locales that are depicted. Hearing how eager the kids were to share some stories of their own at yesterday's circle with Becca, I wanted to recapture some of that that enthusiasm again today. So before I read, I asked the kids to notice all the different places the story captures as we went along and think about similar places they have been to or experienced with their families. We were so focused on the beach and market scenes that we didn't get to explore the restaurant or family reunion gathering, bu everyone was excited to tell their own story, even kids who we often have to beg to share. Aedan started us off and here's what the everyone had to say: -Miss Jo: "Who has been to the beach before? How about Pike Place Market? (lots of excited hands shot up in the air) tell us all about your experience at one of these places, what did you do, who did you go with, and what do you remember about your time at the beach or market?" -Aedan: "I went to the beach with Seneca, we played." -Cameron: "I went to the beach sometimes and I have a swimming pool at my house, and that's it." -Hazel: "I played mermaid. So basically I pretended was a mermaid and my mommy buried my legs in the sand." -Samantha: "at the pike market they threw the fish!" -Lincoln: "I went to the beach and I went surfing" -Lucy: "I went to Mexico and went to the beach, I built a sand castle with my mommy and brother and I went surfing!" -Niko: "I went to beach and with my monster truck" -Elsa: "I went to the beach, with mommy and daddy and my sister, I don't know what we did, but we didn't go in the water." Evan: "I went to the beach one time a long time ago." -Finn: "one time, I goed to the beach with my mom and I threw rocks in the water, it was really fun, and then I found a broken shell, and I saw seaweed." -Oliver: "I went to pike place market and saw them throwing fish." -Jaxon: "I went a long time ago, but I don't know age I was when I went to the beach" -Kincaid: "one place when I went to the beach was when I was at Will's birthday, I was playing with Daniel and I think Lincoln and Ainsley were there. And we were all splashing in the water and made a fire to roast marshmallow. One time Daniel at a burnt marshmallow." -Analise: "My mommy goed to the beach with me and we built a sand castle. And my mommy helped me swim, and I swimmer myself too, and my mommy went to the store with mento get water wings so I could float in the water and I didn't need anyone to help me, I didn't need any grown ups to catch me when I jumped. And there was a market, it had a lot and lots of balloons for kids and lots food and fishies, like Sunday (pointing to our fish bowl)." -Tallulah: "I haven't went to the market in a really long time cause I wanted to stop doing it. But I went to the beach and had a grilled cheese sandwich and a hotdog with the yellow stuff on it, mustard, cause I used to not like it but now I like mustard. Then I put my toes in the water and it was so cold it was freezing to death!" -Daniel: "when I wet to Alki beach, I ride my back and that's a long time ago. And the other time, we had campfire." -Maren: "I havent been to the market (Pike) in a while but one time I went to a smoothie place and i got a smoothie and a cookie to go with it, and if you give a mouse a cookie, he'll want some milk to go with it! Hehehe" -Sadie: "After Alvin and the Chipmunks, I saw the guy throw the fish. I saw it with Emma and Elaina."
It is sooooooooo good to be back in the classroom with the amazing 5′s class. Lots of work was done yesterday to help transform our room and we all love how the changes are affecting the way we use our space. It feels more open and inviting. Our dramatic play area was a huge hit. There were Vets and Doctors hard at work and Samara was a more than willing patient. Meanwhile the boys were going nuts with our plastic animals and the blocks. Sawyer, Ben Ryan, Mason, Gus & Kaden let their imaginations go wild and all sorts of structures were built to house “good guys” and “bad guys.” Emma, inspired by the spray bottles, decided to do some experimental artwork and Kaden too joined in the discovery. In the end, we decided that the paper we currently have in the classroom is not absorbent enough for the spray bottles. It will be interesting to see how the results change when we get some water color paper in here.
Today was not all about fun and games. We had a fantastic circle time. We centered our discussion on why and how we sort/categorize/divide the animal kingdom. First off Ms. Laura asked the class how they might divide the Animal Kingdom. Here are some of their ideas:
Sawyer: Water and Land Animals Ben Ryan: Flying and Water Animals Emma: Animals That Live on Farms and Animals that Don’t Mason: Garden Friendly Animals and Animals that are not. Gus: Desert Animals and Animals That Are Not.
Emma said that the reason we sort animals is “because we want to sort them. We want to know which one is which.”
Ms. Laura pressed a little to see if we could remember some of the animal classifications we have talked about in the past. After a bit, we recalled that we are mammals. Once we got on track, the kids had no problem chiming in with some of the characteristics of mammals. Addie started us off remembering that mammals have spines. Gus remembered that they “give birth.” Ben Ryan got us that “they breathe air.” Emma recalled that their “babies drink milk from their mommies.” Ms. Laura finished us off with the fact that mammals are warm blooded. We then divided into two groups and split all our plastic animals into two piles. One half of the class worked on one pile and the other half worked on the other. The kids were given the directions to sort the animals into groups of their own choosing, but they would need to present to the class the reasoning behind their choices. Group 1.) (Ben Ryan, Kaden, Sawyer, & Gus) divided their pile into land animals and water animals. They further divided out the birds from the rest of the animals. Pretty cool. Group 2.) (Emma, Samara, Violet, Addie & Mason) also divided their animals into land vs. water animals. We caught a few animals that we agreed spent a lot of time in the water (like ducks and turtles), but that most folks would probably say they were land animals. That said, Ms. Laura was super impressed with how the group members worked together to sort out each animal. They carefully considered their choices and the results showed it! Good work 5′s class!!!
Next up, we used recycled materials to make our own cool land animals. We used toothpicks and corks to make legs, tails, etc. then added puff balls of different colors and googly eyes, and before we knew it we had super-cool animals to play with. Later today we will read some more books about ocean animals and take another hack at getting us a revised job list.
So good to be back in our classroom. The School Age Program was a lot fun, but Ms. Laura missed her friends!!!
Oliver and Leah repeatedly attempted to get over to the sleeping area today. Leah turned it into a game by getting close to the sleeping kids and waiting for one of us to come over to grab her. As soon as she saw we were trying to thwart her, she smiled and turned on the speed. Many of the older kids love to try to wake up their friends, but we can usually get to them in time and help them find other areas to play in. Oliver made some strident assaults today on the snoozers, climbing over the pillow barrier repeatedly in his quest to wake up a playmate or two. In the end, he wasn’t successful, but it was a good work out for him and the staff.
Sophia had a lot of fun she was playing inside the big climber with a few of the toddlers, She also worked on puzzles.
Eli, Ben, Zane, Luke, Ella, Abby, Kinsey
Today when I walked in there was lots of hugs, “Hi Danielle’s” and runny noses:) We started with circle time and our job jar. Eli was an awesome cleaner so I went first and got to feed the newt, Abby chose to sing (with a little pressure from Ben) ABC’s then on her own with Old MacDonald, Zane got to pick the book which was “Good Dog Carl”, Luke got to carry the clipboard, Kinsey gets to clean the tables, Ella got to pass out the cups at lunch and Ben got to water the plant. So after we got all our sillies out we played a game of where’s your …. eyes, nose etc. then moved on to a few diapers while they looked at books independently which is a very important time. They practice how to hold books properly, are reminded of how to turn the pages but get to explore them on their own as they see fit. Then we got coats on and went out front for a very chilly and sunny recess. Outside climbing was the game. Zane and Abby zoomed up the green climber by themselves followed by Eli. Ben tried next and made it to the second step before he slid back down then looked to me for help up but I had to tell him that we can’t put you up there, you have to show us you can do it yourself like a big boy. That way we know you are safe to be up there to play. So Ben then repeated ”big boy, big boy” with some urgency and got up 4 more rungs before sliding back down. I told him to keep practicing. Ella went next and after some struggling she made it too. The look on her face followed by a squeal said it all. Lunch was good, naps were great see ya all tomorrow.
We started reading The Nice Book this week. It uses little animals and phrases to teach about being kind and aware of others. The kids really enjoyed the story. Through out the story we talked about why somethings were nice and why other examples are not. The one that got them was, "look, but don't stare." Mr. Eric and I did our best to explain staring and how it makes others uncomfortable. The question of the day: "How are you nice to friends?" Eamon- Help clean up! Zoe- Being nice to Violet when I share. Elsa- Mommy and daddy! Drew- Knox and me fell in the house and we our heads. Mr. Eric- Was that nice? Drew- Yeah! Isaac- Shared T-Rex with Lincoln
It’s Monday, and we have been going full-blast all morning! Ms. Sunny wasn’t here today, so Ms. Elisa spent the day with us! After enjoying a little outdoor play, the 3′s class headed indoors and started our morning meeting. We sang songs and read a new book called Because of You. It teaches us how each child brings to the world one more person to love and care for — and one more person who can love and care for others. And as children grow and learn, they can teach others and share feelings, ideas, and things. Just as each of us sometimes needs help, we can also find ways to help others. They also show us through everyday examples, how acts of kindness, understanding, and generosity can make all the difference in the world. We had a pretty tough time listening during circle time, so we are going to have another meeting this afternoon. Hopefully by then the class will be a bit more willing to listen and share their thoughts. The book has gorgeous illustrations, so we took the idea of peace (as talked about in the story) and had our class create beautiful watercolors to represent their ideas of peace. We will be enjoying the space station for another week, but we will be listening to the kids ideas to see where we will take it next. After lunch, it was almost like our class hit a brick wall. They played so hard all morning and must have hit their limit, because almost everyone passed out by 1 (that NEVER happens)!! They had a super restful nap and that should lead to a successful afternoon!
What a nice, sunny beginning to or week! We welcomed a few friends back from min-vacations last week. After a fun and educational curriculum time, we sat down in circle to read “All the World”, our current curriculum book. It was a fun re-read for friends who were here last week and it was nice and fresh to those who were out. After reading, we decided to re-ask what inspired the kids from the book OR the kids could simply share something from their weekend (or week away). Here’s what they came up with:
Cameron: “I like the part (in the book) when it says ‘supper’s soon’” Analise: “(Last week)I went to Florida where there’s Disney World!” Will: “I have been to Florida before” Lucy: “(Last week) I was in a swimming pool AND a beach in Mexico!” Samantha: “I like the part (in the book) that looks like a big rainbow” Aedan: “I like the big tree (from the book)” Sadie: “Guess what? My mom and grandma and grandpa are picking me up” Jack: “I flew on an airplane to Mexico just like Lucy” Maren: “I flew all the way to Dallas a long time ago” Daniel: “I also flew in an airplane, but to Arizona and there was a pool there too” Niko: “I went on an airplane and to a hotel” Finn: Declined to share…but we are celebrating his birthday today….happy birthday Finn!! Tallulah: “Guess what? A long, ling time ago I went to Sacramento to visit Sacramento Katie and it was so, so fun!” Evan: “I used to go to Mexico to visit my Bob and Aunt Susan” Oliver: “I just like the puppy in the book” Elsa: Declined to share Aran: “I still like the storm pictures (in the book)” Clara: “I want to study more about the farm stand (from the book)”
