I Wonder What We Will Find Outside Today...

Max started off our morning showing us his NEW shoes and we read Pete the Cat I love My White Shoes by Eric Litwin. The children laughed as I sang what Pete the Cat sings in the book, "I love my white shoes, I love my red shoes ..." 

Then we went on our FIRST walk around the neighborhood today! As we headed toward 13th street and Greenwich, Brandon pointed up to the sky and said, "Airplane!" Then Max said, "Excavator." "Excavator!" Hudson, Scarlett, and Brandon repeated. "Hm...I wonder if we can find one I said?" We turned the corner and walked towards 7th Avenue. Sure enough we saw an excavator! Max pointed excitedly, "Excavator! It's turning! Moving very fast!" The children watched amazed and silent as the excavator moved.

When we returned back to school, we washed their hands and headed straight into Free Play. While Hudson was playing in the sandbox, I heard him say, "Garbage truck. Excavator." "Fire truck, wee woo wee woo," Max said as he played with Hudson in the sandbox. 

It was wonderful that we were able to bring in our neighborhood experience from outdoors into our classroom.

Max's New Shoes

 

Let's Talk About Families

The Sweet Peas class had an exciting day filled with new explorations and discoveries. This morning, some children painted for the first time with water color while others drew with markers. Nadia and I placed the books and photos of each child's family on the table which led to a conversation about babies, siblings, and pets during our reflective meeting. We will revisit this topic again, especially as we are beginning to formulate our family board.

Happy Birthday Max!!

We started off our morning singing along to We Are the Dinosaurs by the Laurie Berkner Band. Then we sang "Hello" to each friend while we played musical instruments. We continued to paint using cars and trains for Max's birthday gift. Hudson and Max played drums using the metal pots and spoons while Scarlett and Brandon drove in the fire truck during free play. Finally, we ended our day by celebrating Max's birthday! Kate, Max's mom, read Where the Wild Things Are  by Maurice Sendak while we ate delicious banana cupcakes! Happy Birthday Max!

"Happy Birthday to You!"

This morning we introduced our "Who's in School Today?" chart. Each child had a turn to move their picture from home to school for the first time. We read Birthday Zoo by Deberoah Lee Rose and talked about birthdays, how old we are, and about Max's birthday tomorrow. The class is working together using cars and trains to make a painting for Max's birthday.

Later in the  morning, Nico made me a birthday cake using the pegs and sang "Happy Birthday to you, Jenny". We also explored flower petals by making a collage with contact paper. Harry requested that we swim like goldfish to The Goldfish by The Laurie Berkner Band and so we did. We are looking forward to working more on Max's class present and celebrating his birthday tomorrow.

Wonderful First week of School!

We started out our day playing musical instruments and singing during circle time. We explored all kinds of materials today; the water table was filled with rubber ducks and bubbles. I blew bubbles while the children played. Jamie and Jacob painted with their fingers and we also worked more on our car and train painting collaboration. Harry requested that we march to We Are the Dinosaurs by The Laurie Berkner Band. We giggled as we touched our head and shoulders while we sang Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes.  We are very much looking forward to the second week of school.

Painting with Cars and Trains!

We had a fun and exciting morning today. We started off our day by singing and playing musical instruments.Then Max and Hudson painted with cars using blue and red paint. "Fassssttt!" Hudson said as he moved his car. "Choo-choo! The train is going through the tunnel" Max said as he pulled the trains along the paper. Next, Hudson and Max put on fire helmets. Hudson said, "We need a hose!" with enthusiasm. Max laughed. We marched to We Are the Dinosaurs and swam like goldfish to The Laurie Berkner Band. Then we read Biscuit Goes to School by Alyssa Satin Capucilli. We are looking forward to another exciting day tomorrow.

Fun with Shaving Cream!

Today the children explored shaving cream for the first time in school. Some children rubbed their hands through it, while others touched it gently with their fingertips. I heard  Jamie say "oooo" and Jacob said "soft." Then the children requested that I add brown and black watercolor paint. They moved the shaving cream slowly over their hands and used their fingers to draw on the paper. Next, Jacob and Harry were very focused and interested in wiping the tables with me using baby wipes. The children are adapting well to their new classroom and it is very exciting to see them become more familiar with one another.