Back to a regular schedule today!  The kids were all so happy to be back at school again!  And we were happy to have them back!  It's just not as much fun without them!

Pumpkins and gourds of all shapes, sizes, colors, and textures were in the Touch and Feel pool today!  Lots of language as we explored and shared with our friends.

Ms. Michelle came today and had some seasonal fine motor tasks for us to complete.  We did leaf rubbings, which requires some significant fine motor control and strength.  Then, Ms. Erin led us around the courtyard on a gross motor leaf hunt.  We hopped.....picked up three leaves.....galloped.....picked up three more leaves.....marched.......picked up five leaves.....and then ran to the finish line!  We took the leaves we collected and glued them to our leaf rubbing pictures to make a beautiful masterpiece!  The last activity was a big hit!  Ms. Michelle had a big bowl of cooked pasta with toys hidden inside.  We had to use our hands to dig around and see what we could find.  The pasta was very cold.....and very sticky!  It was very fun to feel the spaghetti on our fingers!

Our book today was It's Pumpkin Time by Zoe Hall.  The story told us how pumpkins grow.  The girl and boy in the story planted seeds that grew into vines with yellow flowers and tiny green pumpkins on them.  As the pumpkins grew they turned yellow, then orange.  When they were big enough, they picked out the perfect pumpkin to take home.  When Halloween came, their parents helped them turn the pumpkin into a jack-o-lantern!  We sorted big and little for a language building activity and talked about all the things that a pumpkin needs to help it grow!

We made our own jack-o-lanterns during art today.  Everyone colored the pumpkin orange and then we added eyes, nose, and a mouth!  The kids had fun practicing saying jack-o-lantern and trick or treat!

During our center time, everyone took a turn sharing about the pumpkin they decorated at home!  Some people used paint and markers, while other people used stickers.  Even though there were many obvious budding artists in the group, the class agreed that Susannah's Princess Pumpkin (with pink yarn hair, pink feathered hat, and blue jeweled eyes!) was the most representative of her personality! The kids so enjoyed showing off their projects they made at home!