Collaborative Rainbow Project

We have been learning about rainbows ...the last few days we worked together to create a classroom rainbow.


We took a large piece of poster board and sketched a rainbow onto it.  Then set up a little "cutting" station where the children could choose one strip of one color and cut it into small pieces.  Then, they glued the cut pieces onto the rainbow in the appropriate arch.

Not only were they learning the colors of the rainbow but also working on their cutting skills ... as well as following directions.  We used a smilie face on their thumb to help them remember correct hand position "thumbs up!".

We also made a fun rainbow fruit salad for snack today :)

Time for Wipes

It's that time again .... Please bring a packet of un-scented wipes.

   

Welcome Kevin

We have a new friend today

 Kevin is almost 2 and will be here 3 mornings per week

Welcome Back ~ A Few Changes

Well, all good things must come to an end and unfortunately, that includes Spring Break. I hope everyone had a wonderful week home (or away).

A few "Spring Cleaning" changes were made in the playroom.... I hope the kids enjoy (Oso has).

We will also have a change to our welcome routine. 

We will no longer be answering the question of the day. The 3 year old's will now have their own sign in sheet. After watching several of them "marking" on their official sign in sheet I asked them if they would be interested in having their own. They were very excited as we talked about it the Th and Fri before break.

The one and two year old's are now being asked to take THEIR OWN shoes off and put them in the basket before coming in.

A magical day

When the children arrived this morning they discovered a gift had been left for them by the St Patrick's Day leprechauns.  

Did you know that magical leprechaun dust turns everything it touches green? 

We added it to our applesauce at snack ...

It smelled and tasted SO good. (kind of like lime jello...*wink)

 Happy St. Patrick's Day!

A peek at some of our March activities

Lacing beads on pipe cleaners

Finding buried treasure in a bucket of peas

Making orange juice .. it takes muscles and ALOT of oranges

Math and fine motor St Patrick's style

Using eye droppers to combine yellow and blue watercolors

Counting rainbows

Watching blue and yellow combine make green in the water below

Misc Reminders ~ Please Take Note

Don't forget to wear green on Thursday as we celebrate St Patrick's Day

Scholastic book orders are due Wednesday. We appreciate each and every order that enables us to get free books for the classroom. 

We will be closed for Spring Break next week; March 22 through March 25th. 

Because of the Holiday April tuition statements will go out this Friday. The last day to pay on-line is Friday March 25th. There will be 4 days to pay with a check or cash after we return from break. 

Welcome Miss Janette

We are excited to welcome Miss Janette who will be here M,T and Th mornings. Her primary function is as a one on one aid working with Charlie.

Charlie has some developmental delays and we are working with a team of therapists to help him to work to his fullest potential. We have now included to that team Miss Janette who works for ABC Special Start who will be coming to help give some extra assistance.

Janette is a mother of four daughters, ages 9 months to 9 years old. Her background is in music  and currently teaches music at a Montessori preschool in Windsor.

Truffula Trees, they're what everyone needs!

Today was the last day of our Seussical adventure for 2011 and ended with the 1971 Dr Seuss book, the Lorax. If you have not read it before I encourage you to do so. 

I love The Lorax, with its truffula trees, Onceler, and thneeds. It is about protecting the environment, our natural resources and the animals which depend on them. It is also an attack on big business and capitalism....something the kids don't really get but hopefully we do.

I was very proud of all of the kids and their concern for the animals who could not speak for themselves.

We pretended to have the last seeds and planted our own in clay.









They excitedly created their own truffula trees which were brightly colored and they determined were NOT good for making "thneeds". 

Go Dog Go!

Using single-syllable words in rhythmic repetition this Seuss-styled classic has been a favorite of preschoolers for many years. Although it has several interwoven themes (including color recognition and being a good friend) we focused on its fun use of positions in space.

Though complicated grammar lessons are better left to older students (and their teachers), even three year old's can understand the basic concepts of prepositions.

Last week the kids made their own dogs which were used to go on a preposition adventure. They placed their dogs "in front", "behind", "on top", and "under".

 

Dogs are going home and it would be fun for the kids to continue their  exploration at home. Even stating simple statements such as "your dog is under the book" expands their understanding.

Wacky Wednesday

What fun we had today :)

Just as it did in the book ... "it all started with that shoe on the wall"

Then ....

"friends in pajamas"
"bananas in the window"
"Upside down cow"
"the names are wacky"
"Brandy's doggie has a sweater"
"the Cat in the Hat fell over"
"Megan has monkey pants"

and the best of all

"there's blue in my biscuit"

pink yink ink drink

This one, I think, is called a Yink.
He likes to wink, he likes to drink.
He likes to drink, and drink, and drink.
The thing he likes to drink is ink.
The ink he likes to drink is pink.
He likes to wink and drink pink ink.
SO... if you have a lot of ink,
then you should get a Yink, I think.

(From One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish by Dr. Seuss)


Who Likes Pink Ink?  
 


"I DO" 

So many words rhyme with ink

Pink

Drink

Sink

Mink

Wink

Dink

Link

Bink 

One FIsh Two Fish

Today several of the children made One Fish Two Fish counting games.

The object is to roll the dice and place that many goldfish crackers on the appropriately numbered fish bowl. The challenge is to wait until all bowls are full before beginning your snack.

Wacky Wednesday

It all began

with that shoe on the wall.

A shoe on a wall…?

Shouldn’t be there at all!

Tomorrow we will celebrate Wacky Wednesday.

Don't forget to wear your pajamas!

Happy Birthday Dr Seuss

Today we celebrated the 107th Birthday of Dr Seuss. (The kids thought being 107 was really funny ~ Gwen laughed and said "my mom isn't that old").


Although it may be traditional to have green eggs and ham we skipped that idea and went with a fun  "One Fish, Two Fish"jello fishbowl ~ thanks to Adam's mom.




Being that this is one of the kids favorite themes and we have stretched the fun over two weeks we were able to keep strictly with the Birthday celebration today. Thanks to Kylie for bringing the book Happy Birthday to YOU!



We also did some rhyming, writing and made fun hats. We have encouraged the kids to continue their search for rhyming words. It's a fun and easy game to play while driving in the car or playing in the tub.

The Happy Birthday book takes its readers to the "top of the toppest blue space" where they "shout at the top of their voices"

I am I! 

ME! 

I am I

And I may not know why

But I know that I like it.

Three Cheers! I am I

Bartholomew and the Oobleck

Bartholomew and the Oobleck is a 1949 classic. It follows the adventures of a young boy named Bartholomew, who must rescue his kingdom from a sticky substance called "oobleck".

Traditionally Oobleck is cornstarch and water however we decided to make flubber instead.

Elmer's Glue and Borax combine to make flubber. Here is a recipe to follow if you would like to make some at home.