Thursday, March 29, 2018

Group Meeting:  The children danced to The Easter Bunny Freeze Song as we arrived at school.

Small Groups:  The children watched a video on pond habitats.  They completed the back of the Let's Find Out magazine that corresponded to the video. 

The rest of the day was our Spring Party.  First, the children participated in an "egg on the spoon" race.  Then, with a partner, they tried to guess how many jelly beans were in a plastic egg by shaking and listening for the sound.  At snack time, the morning class had decided to have decorated cookies with juice.  The afternoon class chose cupcakes and lemonade. All of this was followed by an Easter Egg hunt. 

We would like to thank the adults who provided the treats and stuffed and hid the Easter Eggs.  Happy Easter!

Wednesday, March 28, 2018

Group Meeting: One more day until the Spring Party!  The children made the final plans for our day tomorrow.

Small Groups:  The activities for this week are listed in Monday's post.  The schedule for today was:
Activity #1 Green Group
Activity #2 Red Group
Activity #3 Yellow Group

Story:  The story for today was Happy Easter Little Critter by Mercer Mayer.  Little Critter wakes up on Easter morning and tries to sneak downstairs to find his Easter surprise, but finds his sister is already digging into the goodies.  The rest of the book tells of how Little Critter and his family celebrate the holiday. 

Large Group:  The children participated in a variety of gross motor activities such as jumping jacks, toe touches, running, skipping, etc.  We are waiting patiently for the weather to cooperate so that we can go outside.

Letter Learning:  The letter for today was Aa.

Snacks:  The morning class had graham crackers, yogurt, and juice brought by Jade.  The afternoon class had oranges, bananas, and milk brought by Grace K.  Thank you, Jade and Grace!

Tuesday, March 27, 2018

Group Meeting:  Today was our 100th day of school.  We started the day by doing 100 exercises following the video by Jack Hartmann and counting to 100.

Small Groups:  The activities for this week are listed in yesterday's post.  The schedule for today was:
Activity #1 Yellow Group
Activity #2 Green Group
Activity #3 Red Group

Story:  The story for today was One Hundred Bones by Yuvol Zoomer.  Scruff the dog did not have an owner.  He did things that other dogs were not allowed to do, such as dig.  One day, he smelled the wonderful scent of bones.  He dug and dug until he found a pile of one hundred bones.  What could they be from?  Ask your child to tell you.  Scruff got something at the end of the story.  Does your child remember what it was?

Large Group:  The children used Q-tips and liquid watercolor to fill in 100 dots on a paper that announced that they are 100 days smarter!

Letter Learning:  The letter for today was Ss.

Snacks:  The morning class had Chicken in a Biscuit crackers, cheese, and juice brought by Jacob.  The afternoon class had bagels, cream cheese, and juice brought by Freyja.  Thank you, Jacob and Freyja!


Monday, March 26, 2018

Group Meeting:  We are counting down the days until the Spring Party on Easter.  We will erase one egg a day from the Message Board to help us keep track.  Today was the 99th day of school.  Tomorrow, we will celebrate 100 days with a few special activities.

Small Groups:  The activities for this week are listed below as well as the schedule for today.
Activity #1 (Red Group)  The children fixed broken paper Easter eggs by matching the rhyming word pictures that were on them.  We also made lists of other words that would rhyme.
Activity #2 (Yellow Group)  The children were given a game board that had 10 eggs printed on it.  Inside of each egg was an assorted number of chicks.  The children had to count the chicks and cover the egg with a numeral that was also printed on an Easter egg.
Activity #3 (Green Group)  The children listened to the story If You Give a Moose a Muffin and answered questions about the story.  This is part of  the Read It Again curriculum.  We are going to start doing more activities with this program during small group time.

Story:  The story for today was Bunny Trouble by Hans Wilhelm.  This is the story of a buuny named Ralph who lived in a colony of rabbits that decorate eggs for the Easter Bunny.  Ralph would rather play soccer than decorate eggs.  When his soccer tricks leads to a lot broken eggs, he is told to find something else to do.   That night, Ralph does not come home.  What has happened to him?  Will his sister be able to help him?  Ask your child to tell you how this story ends.

Large Group:  The children tried an experiment.  What will happen if you put jelly beans in various kinds of liquid?  We tried water, vinegar, and orange juice.  We will view the results tomorrow.

Letter Learning:  The letter for today was Gg.

Snacks:  The morning class had Peanut Butter Captian Crunch, bananas, and milk brought by Jackson.  The afternoon class had pretzels, cheese sticks, and juice brought by Emmy.  Thank you, Jackson and Emmy!

Thursday, March 22, 2018

Group Meeting:  Our Let's Find Out magazine was all about weather.  That led to some discussion about Spring weather included storms and tornadoes.  I used this opportunity to talk about storm safety, especially what we would do at preschool to stay safe. 

Small Groups:  The children watched a Let's Find Out video about weather.  This is the time of year that we see all types of weather as I'm guessing we will see this weekend.  The magazine was about things that animals do in various kinds of weather that are similar to what children do.

Story:  The story for today was Safe in the Storm by Stephen Swinburne.  This book shows animal babies with their mothers and how they weather the storm by being close to each other.  I asked the children who they seek out when it storms.  Most of them said it was their mother.

Large Group:  We set up various gross motor equipment for the children to use.  This included a ball toss, a crawling tunnel, hoops to jump across, stepping stones, and a tumbling mat.  The children could pick and chose which activities they wanted to do. 

Letter Learning:  The letter for today was Cc.

Snacks:  The morning class had Goldfish and juice brought by Isaac.  The afternoon class had naan bread, turkey, cheese, and juice brought by Colin.  Thank you, Isaac and Colin!

Wednesday, March 21, 2018

Group Meeting: We are learning about spring weather this week.  Today, we talked about rainbows and how they are formed.

Small Groups:  The activities for this week are listed in Monday's post.  The schedule for today was:
Activity #1 Green Group
Activity #2 Red Group
Activity #3 Yellow Group

Story:  The story was Red Rubber Boot Day by Mary Lyn Ray.  It is a rainy day.  The boy can stay inside and read, play with blocks, make a cave, or have a tea party.    However, he chooses to go outside and splash in the rain with his red rubber boots.  Ask your child to tell you who is standing outside in his bare feet.

Large Group:  The children experimented with water and colors by mixing colored water droplets on wax paper.  As the water beads up, they could slide the drops together to mix the colors. 

Letter Learning:  The letter for today was Yy.

Snacks:  The morning class had yogurt and juice brought by Graham.  The afternoon class had Cookie Crisp cereal and milk brought by Charlie.  Thank you, Graham and Charlie!

Tuesday, March 20, 2018

Group Meeting:  During group meeting, we shared some ideas of things that could be used at the art table to create some decorations for our Spring Party. 

Small Groups:  The activities for this week are listed in yesterday's post.  The schedule for today was:
Activity #1 Yellow Group
Activity #2 Green Group
Activity #3 Red Group

Story:  The story was The Wind Blew by Pat Hutchins.  This story follows the wind as it blows things away from people in the city such as a man with an umbrella, a girl with a balloon, and letters from the postman.  Ask your child to tell you what the wind did with those items at the end of the story.

Large Group:  The children created wind using a straw between two sponges in a zip lock bag.  They worked in a group of three children to see if they could generate enough wind to blow the items I selected for them.  They found that they could create enough wind to blow a puff ball, a silk flower, a popsicle stick, and a button.  They could not blow a marble or a toy car.  They recorded their answers on a paper.











Letter Learning:  The letter for today was Ww.

Snacks:  The morning class had breadsticks, cheese, and juice brought by Dominic.  The afternoon class had bagels, cream cheese, and juice brought by Cameron.  Thank you, Dominic and Cameron!

Monday, March 19, 2018

Back to School!

Group Meeting:  The children had a lot to talk about today.  Some children went away for Spring Break and some stayed home, but all had stories to share.   For the next two weeks, we will be learning about the changes that will be taking place during Spring .

Small Groups:  The activities for this week are listed below as well as the schedule for today.
Activity #1  The children drew pictures in their journals of their favorite season.  Before drawing, we discussed activities that we do during all of the seasons.
Activity #2  The children rolled a dice and counted that number of raindrops (glass beads) onto umbrellas. 
Activity #3  The children listed to the story Where's My Teddy? by Jez Alborough and a completed a color activity to go along with the story.

Story:  The story for today was Spish,Splash, Spring by Jan Carr.  This book written in rhyme describes things that we see during the Spring season such as rain, wind, robins, and flowers.  Ask your child to tell you the color of the robin's feathers and why they don't live here in the winter.

Large Group:  Following our story, we went outdoors to look for signs of Spring.  We saw daffodils starting to bud and noticed how windy it was.  We did not see any robins or trees budding yet.  We will keep watching.

Letter Learning:  The letter for today was Qq.

Snacks:  The morning class had soft pretzels and juice brought by Brooke S.  The afternoon class had Ritz crackers and juice brought by Callie.  Thank you, Brooke and Callie!

Thursday, March 8, 2018

Group Meeting:  Today, we are finishing up our mini study on spheres.  It was also Birthday Day for children celebrating in March.

Small Groups:  During small group time, the children made individual Monkey Bread.  The children cut biscuit dough into fourths, rolled the pieces into spheres, rolled the spheres in cinnamon sugar, and put the spheres into a muffin cup.  We baked them in the oven and ate them while they were still warm.  If you'd like the recipe, go to Pinterest and search Individual Monkey Bread.  I've attached pictures of the morning class making their Monkey Bread and the afternoon class eating theirs.









Story:  I did a re-read of the Three Billy Goats Gruff.  The children really enjoyed this story especially the horrible, stinky old troll.

Large Group:  Following story time, we used puppets to act out the Three Billy Goats Gruff.  Each child was given a chance to be a billy goat or the troll. 

Letter Learning:  The letter for today was Hh.

Snacks:  The children enjoyed the Monkey Bread and Birthday Brownies with juice.

Next week is Spring Break.  I'm hoping the weather will be nice wherever you are!

Wednesday, March 7, 2018

Group Meeting:  We are having a good time learning about spheres.  Today, we did two special activities that were a lot of fun!

Small Groups:  During small group time, the children made bouncy balls.  This is a great science activity in which we get to see how mixing one thing with another changes the property of it.  I have put the recipe below for those who would like to try it at home.  It's very easy and doesn't make much of a mess!

Story:  The book that I read today was Play Ball! by Nancy Noel Williams.  This is a picture book of sports that you can play using a ball.  Following the book, we learned how to play Kick Ball.

Large Group:  The children learned to play Kick Ball.  Before we played the game, we learned about running the bases and fielding the ball.  Then, the children broke into two teams and played the game.  Hopefully, it will warm up soon so that we can play it outside.

Letter Learning:  The letter for today was Xx.

Snacks:  The morning class had cheese, crackers, bananas, and juice brought by Brooke R.  The afternoon class had Teddy Grahams and juice brought by Brody.  Thank you, Brooke and Brody!

To make bouncy balls you will need:
1/2 cup warm water
1 Tb Borax
1 Tb Cornstarch
2 Tb white glue
Food Coloring

In a disposable cup, mix the glue, cornstarch and color.  In another cup, mix the warm water and borax.  Pour the borax water into the glue cup and stir.  The solid will separate from the liquid.  Pull the solid out of the cup and shape into a ball.   The balls may flatten after sitting for a while.  Carefully roll the ball between your hands to shape it back into a ball.

Tuesday, March 6, 2018

Group Meeting:  Today was the first day that everyone has been present for school.  Hopefully, this means that the flu bug and other illnesses are going away.  Even though it was a little gloomy today, we danced to the Rainbow Dance before starting school.

Small Groups: In our small groups, the children measured the circumference of their spheres. They did this by wrapping a piece of yarn around the sphere, cutting the yarn, and measuring the yarn with a ruler or yard stick.  We compared the lengths of yarn to put the spheres in order from largest to smallest.

Story: The story for today was The Three Billy Goats Gruff retold by Bonnie Dobkin.   In this classic tale, three goat brothers want to cross the bridge to get to the green grass across the river. However, under the bridge lives a terrible troll that wants to eat them up.  How will the goats trick the troll into letting them cross? Ask our child to tell you.

Large Group:  The children played Balloon Badminton.  Each child was given a fly swatter to use as a racket. We used balloons as shuttle cocks.  The children tried to bat the balloon back and forth between them.

Letter Learning:  The letter for today was Rr. 

Snacks:  The morning class had grapes, blueberries, strawberries and milk brought by Benjamin.  The afternoon class had bread, ham, cheese, and juice brought by Aiden.  Thank you, Benjamin and Aiden!

Monday, March 5, 2018

Group Meeting:  We have placed two new art projects at the art table for children to participate if they wish; one is with marbles and the other with bubbles (spheres).  I've attached pictures below.

Small Groups: We spent our Small Group time exploring the new Animal Hospital that has been added to the Housekeeping Area.  I've attached pictures of this area as well.

Story: The story for today was Bounce by  Doreen Cronin.  This book explores different ways that we can bounce. We can bounce like a kangaroo, bounce on a pogo stick, and bounce on a ball.

Large Group: After the story, I asked the children if all spheres would bounce.  We got out the spheres that the children brought to school and tried to make each one bounce. Ask your child to tell you which spheres cannot bounce.

Letter Learning:  The letter for today was Nn.

Snacks: The morning class had graham crackers and juice brought by Tula. The afternoon class had Froot Loops and milk brought by Shelby.  Thank you, Tula and Shelby!








Thursday, March 1, 2018

Group Meeting:  Perhaps the children told you that the Promethean board was down for a day or two.  After replacing a HDMI cord, we are back in business.  I became very aware of how much we use it for gross motor activities and exploring science facts.  What a valuable tool!

Small groups:  The children made a book about animal teeth with the Let's Find Out Magazine for this week.  We watched a video about teeth in carnivores and herbivores.

Story:  The book that I read today was Have a Ball by Nancy Noel Williams.  This is a non-fiction book about a variety of balls from sports balls to balls that you can eat.   Ask your child to name a ball that you can eat.

Large Group:  Following our story, the children displayed the spheres that they brought to school.  We had quite a variety.  We would like to keep these spheres at school for another week so that we can measure them, see which balls can bounce, and other activities.  If your child did not bring a sphere, they are welcome to do so on Monday.

Letter Learning:  The letter for today was Mm.

Snacks:  The morning snack was Goldfish and juice brought by Spencer.  The afternoon snack was Cheez-its and milk brought by Paxton.  Thank you, Spencer and Paxton!