Friday's are for Experimenting

After such a cold and wet week, it was nice to see the sun shine this morning!! It just perks you right up!!

After breakfast and some free play, we got down to business. I knew we had a lot of playing to do today, so I got us right into our day. Circle Time is a great time to reflect on our week, review what we have learned, as well as completing our Days of the Week, Counting, Weather, Shapes, and Colors. This week we added another little bonus to our Circle Time... we have been practicing rote counting to 30. We do this while clapping, snapping, hopping, or using an instrument. The kids REALLY LOVE it!! Especially the toddlers. They jump around counting as high as they can go, then just start over. The excitement on their little faces is fun to see. The movement helps them get through Circle better also.

Sprout can make a V with her arms!!

D-Man can make one with his fingers!!

We finished our Volcano theme today with an erupting volcano. The kids were so excited!

I had set up a "Volcano Station" at the art table, with baking soda, colored vinegar, and various containers to experiment with. They had a blast!!

I moved the sand volcano over to the experimenting table, this way they could experiment with that one too. It was a huge, sandy mess... but oh, what fun!!

Princess was transferring vinegar from the jars to the pitcher with the droppers. When D-Man asked why she didn't just pick up the container and pour it in, "It's faster you know." Princess said, "I like it this way!!"

Around the room we had Utensil painting at the Easel, an idea we got from Teaching 2 and 3 year olds. We had used utensils for painting last week, but we did it on the table, more horizontal. After reading Teacher Sheryl's post the other day, I thought the kids might like to try it this way. They visited the station, but there was so many other wonderful things going on, they didn't spend to much time there.

The water table seems to be a favorite!! Especially with Little Man... who, I must say, is actually getting better with putting everything he finds in the table in his mouth :)

I think the kids had another fun week!! Next week we move on to the letter Ww. Of course you can't learn about the letter Ww without learning about worms, the weather, or watermelon. I am looking forward to another fun week!!

Have a Great Weekend!!

Friday

Today my camera ran out of battery... oh well. We had a good time anyway. Though it was pretty funny when D-Man and Princess kept asking me why I wasn't taking their pictures. Hmmm...

We finished our investigation of the letters O & P today. The kids loved making their crafts and going on their letter hunts, but if I had to guess, their trips to the nature park, the "Rain Forest" as D-Man calls it, was their favorite!! Using the Internet to find out what insects live in the "Rain Forest" and then looking for them was great fun too, but the puddles were best. Just the feel of the rain on our faces made the regular experience of taking a walk a more fascinating and intriguing experience. Even the sounds we heard provided a spring board on discussing how water sounds going fast and slow. Someone once commented that the kids probably won't say that practicing their ABC's & 123's was the highlight of being at Shell's, but getting muddy, walking in the rain, and sliding down the muddy hill will be something they probably won't forget. I hope not, and I hope they find these experiences to be so strong that they pass on the passion for outdoor learning to their own children.

Little Man had a doctors appointment this morning, so while we were waiting for him to come back, we spent our time Freeze Dancing, playing the board game Trouble, and playing "Pass the Pig." Also, painting pigs with paper was a fun craft. The kids crumbled some paper, picked the color they wanted for their pig and painted away. Some dabbed the paint on, some used the paper like a paintbrush, but they had lots of fun either way.

Some changes are coming to daycare in the next week, and I can't wait. I am hoping to make an overhaul of our messy area, giving the sand/water table a more permanent and prominent spot in the playroom. The sand pit was such a hit, I want to expand their explorations. They spent so much time in that sand pit, even the older kids took a turn in there. I am glad we had it for the week.

I hope next week I will have some photos of our changes :)

Friday Fun

I was thinking today how our "theme" weeks never technically end sometimes. We have been talking about Winter, Winter/Arctic Animals, Ice, and anything we can find that fits under that theme. I felt like we should be "wrapping things up" today, but there is so much more we want to explore. The kids are sooooo not done with ice... they love it and have been putting water in almost anything they can find and putting that in my freezer. The problem with that is that my 5 yr old son, who is at school all day now, comes home, finds it, and plays with it. I find him in the bathroom sink with 2 or 3 interesting ice creations, that I just know was some preschoolers absolute bestest ice creation in the world (as they have been saying as they put them in the freezer). So, he and I have been trying to replace them, and sometimes we can pass it off as the original, sometimes not. Ahhh, we always have another day. Thankfully my kids are pretty flexible.

Today we read some more books about Snow, Snowmen, Snowballs, and Winter Wear. We had to read the book The Mitten, by Jan Brett. An absolute favorite every year. Our preschoolers then took numbered mittens and glued them in order to make a mitten crown. Then a mitten walk (parade) was in order. We got all dressed in our Winter Wear and out we went, to bad it is getting warmer here and there is no snow on the ground. The ice in the planter out front even melted. Oh Well :)

Cheese!!

The Alphabet was also on the agenda today... we played some games while reviewing our ABC's, earning some M&M's while we were at it. It was a lot of fun watching them get their M&M's... they were so helpful to each other, never making someone feel bad if they didn't know a letter... to cute. They each were eager to help each other. Those are the best skills that I can send them off with... compassion, confidence, problem solving (if they don't know the answer, how can they figure it out??) and the ability to make friendships. I pray everyday that I am doing that, and the other stuff... icing on the cake :)

Have a Great Weekend!!!

Outdoor Friday Fun!!

Take a look at what we did on this Beautiful Day!!!

Another slideshow design by Smilebox

Friday

Friday is my favorite day... I know you all think it is because the weekend stretches before me, and the first time I said, "Friday is my favorite day" that was the reason why. Now, though, it is because the kids know it is my favorite day, and they count the days until we get there, they know the word pretty much where ever it is printed, and the joy they get from reminding me that "Today IS Friday" with a fit of giggles, laughter and much rolling and jumping!!! THAT is the real reason I love Friday!!!

I love this photo. It shows the need for that little spot of solitude kids need from time to time. It never seems to be for long, and they don't want to be to far from the action, but they still need it. My friend here spent quite sometime just rolling that rolling pin back and forth and seeing the designs it made in the sand. She didn't even notice me standing there at all.

Learning through play... need I say more??

Ok, a story behind this photo. The easel is pushed up on the side of the room, near our Art Center and I leave the paint out most of the day... Little Miss M LOVES the easel!! She also will USUALLY ask for her smock. Today, her and her little friend N, decided that it would be a lot of fun to paint without a smock!! I sooooo wish I could have gotten my camera before they moved, but just like a Toddler, they never stay still very long. This is the picture that they created together. They were so proud of themselves, when I called their names, they turned to me, and at first they weren't sure how I would react... but needless to say, Miss Michelle is usually a push over for any creative, messy projects. Soon a huge grin broke out on their faces and they turned and finished their painting... together. They were a little messy, a little sticky, but, Oh did they have fun. Another example of Process over Product!! They could care less about the outcome or the picture that I hung up... they just immersed themselves into the paint, brushes and the feeling of paint on paper (and themselves :) )

After Little Miss M got all cleaned up, she promptly walked back into the room and started another painting... Oh No, I think I've created an Artist. Sorry about the paint Mom!! I just couldn't disturb her, she was sooooo content and focused.

We have been working on the letter Ee this week... I had this Elephant game from a long time ago. There is a fan in the elephant and she (the fan) blows all sorts of colored butterfly's from her trunk. The kids each have a colored net to catch "their" color butterfly. In theory it is a great game!! A lot of action and movement, BUT... the fan is sooo not strong enough to get all those butterfly's out the long trunk. Now, I have had this toy for over 2 years and today was the first day (after much waiting and frustration on the kids part) I thought about cutting the trunk down a little. WELL... let me tell you, what a difference!!! Those butterfly's were flying everywhere!!!! Why didn't I think of this 2 years ago??


Have a Great Friday!!!

Friday

Aunt Jackie and Maia left today. We will miss them a lot. They taught us so much about Chinese New Year, and they were fun to have around. I just wish they didn't live so far away.

Today was a beautiful day. The weather seems like it may get warmer for a short time. We are expecting it to get cold again next week, but in the upper 50's this weekend, maybe even in the 60's!!! I am excited about that!! I love going outside and having the kids play for long stretches of time. It makes all the inside time worth it.

At Circle Time we went over what we learned this week about Chinese New Year, read some books, and did our Calendar. We then promptly went outside. It was great to swing, run and play in the mud!! There was so much of it!!! Having 4 young children when we moved into our home 3 yrs ago, we couldn't and haven't been able to get grass to take. It starts to grow, but the kids kill it very quickly by running on it, and don't get me started on the dogs. They tear it up!!! Needless to say, the kids get muddy each Spring. Then the dry spell hits and the dirt turns to rock (it seems) and dust. I can't win :)

I am starting to get bored with our lunch options... Today was noodles, sauce, crackers, fruit, and meatballs with Milk. Little Miss M brings her lunch everyday and today she brought an egg fritata, cucumber salad, and strawberries... YUM!! I think I need to get more creative with lunch, and healthier. So, I am going to come up with some yummy options for next week. If anyone knows of some good links or recipes, please let me know!! Thanks!!!

Have a GREAT weekend!!!