Back To School

WE MADE IT!! Our first day back to school was a big success!  Everyone fell right back into the regular routine.  We took some time this morning to let everyone share something from the holiday break....a favorite toy, a trip they took, something new happening at home.  They all took turns well and listened to each other.  It was a great way to practice sharing information in an organized manner.

The Touch and Feel pool today was full of ice cubes! The kids LOVED touching them and observing the wetness on their hands as the ice melted.  Some wonderful spontaneous vocabulary came out of this activity.  And when one child watched another put the ice in his mouth to eat.....everyone wanted to try it!  They were so funny sucking on the ice and trying to talk about how cold it was in their mouths!

Cold hands in the Touch and Feel led to REALLY cold noses and toes when we went outside.  The wind was blustery today.  I know we asked for the weather to cooperate with our Winter Theme.....but it was super chilly today!  Little bundles of coats and hats waddled around the playground with fingers in the wrong glove holes.....it was really too cute!  None of the children seemed to mind the cold....but, the grown-ups were struggling!!

Our book for today was The First Day of Winter by Denise Fleming.  It is a counting story similar to the song about the days of Christmas, where a girl builds a snowman using nine buttons, and 6 sticks, and two mittens, and one red hat.  The kids were all very engaged as they watched the snowman come together page by page. 

For art, we used the ice cubes from the Touch and Feel to create Ice Cube Paintings.  The kids had so much fun spreading different colors of paint around on the paper with an ice cubes.  The paintings are beautiful (however abstract) works of art!! We will send them home tomorrow....they will need overnight to dry!  We didn't think through the melting part very well....it sure was messy!!

Show and Tell and Music time went smoothly today, probably because the kiddos were fading fast!  Lots of yawning and staring off into space!  Getting back into the routine after two weeks of vacation is so hard!  I think they all had fun and were happy to see their friends!  I know that I was especially happy to see all of them!  Today was great.....can't wait for tomorrow!!