Immediately after pulling int he parking lot to school this morning I realized three things: I left my computer at home, Ms. Cortney was staying at home with a sick child of her own and would not be there today, AND it was going to rain ALL day!!  My outlook on the day was pretty gloomy!  BUT.... I am so happy to report that it was a great day!  The kids were fabulous and Ellen and I made it through the whole day virtually unscathed!!

It only seemed fitting that we begin the day with a pretend snowball fight!  Cotton balls in the Touch and Feel certainly look like snowballs.....but thank goodness, they aren't cold....or hard.....or wet!  It started with the kids aiming for each other, but the tables quickly turned as Ms. Ellen and I joined in.  Judging by the number of cotton balls around me and in my lap.....I would say that I was a definite target!

During Hello Neighbor, our good morning song, Evan lost his first tooth!  The first tooth to come out in our class!  An exciting moment for sure.  We stopped everything and talked about it.....and looked at it.....and took pictures.  Unexpected, unplanned learning is our favorite and sometimes the sustaining.

Instead of rainy day playground, we split into three groups and did some centers.  Ms. Ellen ran a math center with a matching game, I ran a literacy center matching written color words to colors, and there was an independent book and drawing center.  The kids rotated through all the centers and had a great time in some cross-class small groups.  We had a movie planned as a special treat because of the rained out playground.....but centers were so great there wasn't any left over time and we postponed it for another day!  Work instead of a movie??  That wouldn't happen in every preschool!!

Another great part of the day was the science activity. Each child got to pick their choice of colored pipe cleaners. We cut it into three small pieces, wrapped them around each other, and made it into the shape of a snowflake. We took a mini field trip down to the the kitchen and measured water for a large pot. Everyone took a turn pouring.....there was only one little spill!!  Next we put it on the stove to boil while we read Six Snowy Sheep. As soon as the book was done, the water was boiling- we knew because we heard it and saw the steam rising out of the pot! Everyone watched as we added 'Magic' (Borax) to the pot. We put in our snowflakes and can't wait to see the BIG surprise tomorrow!

We managed to fit in lunch and Show and Tell, but BARELY!  We were late to dismissal!!  Amazing!  A day that I thought I wouldn't make it through......and we managed to squeeze out every minute for learning.  A definite success if I say so myself!!