Tuesday, October 25, 2011
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!
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!
Monday, October 24, 2011
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
The Curse of the Out and About
There are no fancy words to describe our walk to the grocery store, so I will just tell the truth.....IT WAS RAINY!! Real rain! I can't be certain what the passing motorists on East Blvd. thought of us, walking with small children in the rain, but I like to think that they were admiring our commitment to learning.....no matter what!
When we finally arrived at Harris Teeter, the Out and About dramatically improved. The produce manager, Mr. Dave, met and welcomed us to the store. We wandered around in search of fruits and vegetables of every color. We found familiar things from our Touch and Feel pool, like carrots, and corn, and potatoes. We found some of the same things that came in many different colors, like red apples, and green apples, and yellow apples. We found things that came in different sizes, like big pumpkins and little pumpkins. We found vegetables with long, funny names, like cauliflower and zucchini. We weighed onions using the scale and watched as other shoppers pushed their carts around the store. It was a great trip!
Mr. Dave sent some fresh treats home in a bag for each kid. An apple, a banana, a pencil, and a baby pumpkin were some of the things that you will find in the bags that we sent home today. Everyone was so thankful for their treat bag.....Ms. Tiffany and I were thankful that we didn't have to carry SIX bags of fruit home in the pouring rain!
I almost forgot to mention Ms. Angela.....it seems like days ago since we saw her, even though it was only this morning!! She had some really fun things today to help the kids practice trapping and kicking a ball. First, we trapped (stopped) a really big ball with our hands, then the balls got smaller and smaller. It was harder to stop the smaller balls because you really had to pay attention. Then, we trapped the ball using one foot. This meant that we had to use those great balancing skills we've been practicing the last few weeks. It takes a lot of coordination to watch the ball with your eyes and "catch" it with one foot! Ms. Angela saved the very best for last.....kicking. Every child took a turn kicking the ball into the goal.....and every child took a turn being the goalie and trying to trap the ball before it went into the goal! The fun part was that these two things happened at the very same time! One kid was kicking and one kid was guarding the goal! Talk about some serious faces!! We clapped and cheered for everyone!
We did find a way to read a book today.....it was called Vegetables by Cheryl Ryan. It described several different vegetables. We used it to help us navigate the grocery store and we made extra sure that we saw everything from the book while we were there. I think all the kids got exposed to some new fruits and vegetables today and it was a good chance to practice descriptive words in a real setting.
We won't see you again until Tuesday....that seems like a long time! Rest up and enjoy the extra time with your children! There are SO many fun things planned as we approach the holiday season!!
When we finally arrived at Harris Teeter, the Out and About dramatically improved. The produce manager, Mr. Dave, met and welcomed us to the store. We wandered around in search of fruits and vegetables of every color. We found familiar things from our Touch and Feel pool, like carrots, and corn, and potatoes. We found some of the same things that came in many different colors, like red apples, and green apples, and yellow apples. We found things that came in different sizes, like big pumpkins and little pumpkins. We found vegetables with long, funny names, like cauliflower and zucchini. We weighed onions using the scale and watched as other shoppers pushed their carts around the store. It was a great trip!
Mr. Dave sent some fresh treats home in a bag for each kid. An apple, a banana, a pencil, and a baby pumpkin were some of the things that you will find in the bags that we sent home today. Everyone was so thankful for their treat bag.....Ms. Tiffany and I were thankful that we didn't have to carry SIX bags of fruit home in the pouring rain!
I almost forgot to mention Ms. Angela.....it seems like days ago since we saw her, even though it was only this morning!! She had some really fun things today to help the kids practice trapping and kicking a ball. First, we trapped (stopped) a really big ball with our hands, then the balls got smaller and smaller. It was harder to stop the smaller balls because you really had to pay attention. Then, we trapped the ball using one foot. This meant that we had to use those great balancing skills we've been practicing the last few weeks. It takes a lot of coordination to watch the ball with your eyes and "catch" it with one foot! Ms. Angela saved the very best for last.....kicking. Every child took a turn kicking the ball into the goal.....and every child took a turn being the goalie and trying to trap the ball before it went into the goal! The fun part was that these two things happened at the very same time! One kid was kicking and one kid was guarding the goal! Talk about some serious faces!! We clapped and cheered for everyone!
We did find a way to read a book today.....it was called Vegetables by Cheryl Ryan. It described several different vegetables. We used it to help us navigate the grocery store and we made extra sure that we saw everything from the book while we were there. I think all the kids got exposed to some new fruits and vegetables today and it was a good chance to practice descriptive words in a real setting.
We won't see you again until Tuesday....that seems like a long time! Rest up and enjoy the extra time with your children! There are SO many fun things planned as we approach the holiday season!!
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Was there a full moon today? Everyone was a little cranky this morning. Lots of wiggling bodies and distracted faces makes for a VERY long day!
Ms. Michelle came today and we finally got to go outside again! First, we took off our shoes and popped bubble wrap with our feet. It was really cool to feel. We took turns walking, running, and jumping down the bubble wrap path. She also brought some really cool things for us to touch and feel with our hands. We divided into groups and half the group found jewels hidden in a tub of beans while the other friends found animals hidden in moon sand. If you've never felt moon sand, I highly recommend it. It's one of those things that you can't stop touching. It's soft and squishy and sticky and.....very difficult to stop touching! Before we left Ms. Michelle, she mixed up a glue/orange paint mixture and the kids made pumpkins. We started out using paint brushes, but everyone really wanted to get their hands involved, so we gave up the fight and finger painted for a while!
Our book today was Growing Vegetable Soup by Lois Ehlert. The kids learned about all the wonderful vegetables we eat that grow in gardens and on farms. They all had comments about the vegetables they liked and didn't like to eat. We even learned about some new vegetables we had never heard of like cabbage and zucchini and onions.
Did I forget to mention that the Touch and Feel pool today was filled with CORN! Each child got an ear of corn to shuck. We talked about the husks and the silk was part of the corn, but we only ate what was on the cob. Important to mention to the children.....you cook the corn first!! We learned that after several of them tried to take a bite!!
We used the corn from the Touch and Feel for our art today. We made corn pictures using all the parts of the corn to paint. The cob became a roller that made neat patterns, the husks made long paintbrushes or pencils, and the silk gave our picture some nice texture. We will send them home tomorrow after they have had time to dry.
I'm glad we got all the wiggles out today.....tomorrow is full of activity! The kids will be too busy to wiggle.....and our day is too exciting to be distracted!
Ms. Michelle came today and we finally got to go outside again! First, we took off our shoes and popped bubble wrap with our feet. It was really cool to feel. We took turns walking, running, and jumping down the bubble wrap path. She also brought some really cool things for us to touch and feel with our hands. We divided into groups and half the group found jewels hidden in a tub of beans while the other friends found animals hidden in moon sand. If you've never felt moon sand, I highly recommend it. It's one of those things that you can't stop touching. It's soft and squishy and sticky and.....very difficult to stop touching! Before we left Ms. Michelle, she mixed up a glue/orange paint mixture and the kids made pumpkins. We started out using paint brushes, but everyone really wanted to get their hands involved, so we gave up the fight and finger painted for a while!
Our book today was Growing Vegetable Soup by Lois Ehlert. The kids learned about all the wonderful vegetables we eat that grow in gardens and on farms. They all had comments about the vegetables they liked and didn't like to eat. We even learned about some new vegetables we had never heard of like cabbage and zucchini and onions.
Did I forget to mention that the Touch and Feel pool today was filled with CORN! Each child got an ear of corn to shuck. We talked about the husks and the silk was part of the corn, but we only ate what was on the cob. Important to mention to the children.....you cook the corn first!! We learned that after several of them tried to take a bite!!
We used the corn from the Touch and Feel for our art today. We made corn pictures using all the parts of the corn to paint. The cob became a roller that made neat patterns, the husks made long paintbrushes or pencils, and the silk gave our picture some nice texture. We will send them home tomorrow after they have had time to dry.
I'm glad we got all the wiggles out today.....tomorrow is full of activity! The kids will be too busy to wiggle.....and our day is too exciting to be distracted!
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Lowe's Out and About!
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