"It's not a corn! It's an ACORN!"

At Morning Meeting, Jamie helped us sing The Days of the Week and Today is Monday All Day Long by pointing to each day while we sang. Harry showed us the leaves he collected when he was away visiting his grandparents. Nico also shared with the class the flowers she collected.

Next, we had Music with Evan. We sang Wake Up and songs about fall. The children had so much fun singing and dancing along.

For story today, we read Leaves by Vijaya Khisty Bodach and Fall Changes by Ellen B. Sensisi. We placed the leaves and flowers the children brought in the sensory table with magnifying glasses for them to look at during free play.

While they were exploring, Nico  and Scarlett had a conversation:

"What do you have in your hands?" Nico asked Scarlett.

"Corn, " replied Scarlett holding an acorn. "I have 1, 2, 3 corn," she continued.

"It's not a corn!" Nico said giggling. "It's an ACORN!" and then they both giggled contagiously!

Then Scarlett turned to us and said "It's fun!" 

At the end of the morning, Patricia (Brandon's mom) helped Brandon paint his ice cream cone costume. Brandon used his finger tip to make chocolate chips!

Friday Yoga with Laksmi

The Sweet Peas Class had a busy and fun-filled morning. At Morning Meeting we read Birthday Monsters by Sandra Boyton as Jamie's birthday is next week. So, we began to work on his birthday present. While Jamie worked on his self-portrait in the Daisies classroom, we asked his friends what they like to play with Jamie. Here is what they said:

"I play with Jamie in the sandbox." - Brandon

"Cars and puzzles." - Lili

"I'd like to give him my bunny. My pink bunny." - Scarlett

"In the sandbox." - Jacob

"I like to play with the car with Jamie." - Nico

"Draw circles."- Harry

We had Yoga with Lakshmi! She taught the children different poses and positions. The children had fun lying on their bellies and stretching, as well as jumping like frogs. During free play, we worked on our self-portraits and decorated Jamie's card with hand prints. Before lunch, we read The Flea's Sneeze by Lynn Downey.

Thursday Fun

Hudson and Max began our morning playing drums on the pots in the kitchen. Then we had Dance with Elizabeth. We used leaves as props as we pretended to be leaves moving in the wind and falling to the ground. We took turns making tree poses with our bodies. 

For story, we read The Leaf Man by Louis Elhert. Hudson and Brandon noticed the acorns and water in the story. Scarlett noticed the leaves making animal shapes. Then we sang Autunm Leaves Are Falling Down and 5 Little Pumpkins. 

A Day Filled with Lots of Talking and Working Together

We began our morning asking the children what they did over the long weekend? Here is what they said:

"Donkey ride" - Scarlett

"Telephone" - Jacob

"Helicopter" - Brandon

"I went swimming...in a swimming pool." - Jamie

"I went to the pumpkin farm and picked pumpkins" - Harry

"I went a haunted house...a BIG house" - Lili 

"I found leaves in a tree" - Nico

Nico and Lili shared with us the leaves they collected over the weekend which led to our discussion about fall. We sang Autumn Leaves Are Falling Down and I'm An Acorn Nut. For story, we read The Leaf Man by Louis Elhert and noticed the red, purple, yellow, orange, green, and brown colors of the leaves in the story. 

Nico, Harry, and Lili played in the kitchen while Brandon and Jacob dug in the sandbox. Scarlett and Jamie were busy making circles with the flubber in the sensory table. The children continued to explore squeezing paint and glue. We also painted with watercolor.

During lunch we asked the children what they liked about school today. Here is what they said:

"Playing with Nico, Harry, and Nadia" - Lili

"PAINT!" - Scarlett exclaimed.

"Playing with cars and trains!" - Brandon

"Trains" - Jamie.

"I play in the kitchen!" Harry smiled.

"Play doctor. Cook!" Nico shouted with a huge smile.

A Beautiful Day for a Nature Walk

We began our day singing On Top of Spaghetti while the children ate their snack. Max shared with us the fall materials he collected over the weekend at Morning Meeting which led to our discussion about fall. "Tree" "soft" are the words Hudson and Scarlett used to describe the leaf as they touched it. We sang Autumn Leaves Are Falling Down and I'm An Acorn Nut. For story, we read The Leaf Man by Louis Elhert and noticed the red, yellow, orange, green, and brown leaves in the story. 

Max, Brandon, and Hudson dug in the sandbox while Scarlett explored flubber in the sensory table. The children continued to explore squeezing paint and glue. Hudson and Brandon were squeezing the glue on their fingers then spread it with their fingers on a separate piece of cardboard. 

We went out for a walk to the park on Greenwich and 13th street and we collected some more leaves and other fall  materials. When we returned back to school we looked through what we collected together. Then we sang 5 Little Pumpkins and 5 Little Ducks. 

Friday Yoga with Laksmi

Today was our first Yoga class with Laksmi. After reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle, the children voted that Nadia should be the caterpillar and Jenny should be the butterfly. We explored Flubber and played in the sandbox.  

"Na na na Nadiaaa!"

Today we had dance with Elizabeth. We sang wake up to our knees and made thunder with our heels. Then we pretended to be an animal so small (a mouse) and one so big (a giraffe). We stretched out our legs and arms as we became butterflies. Then we hopped up and down like bunny rabbits.

Scarlett and Brandon squeezed glue mixed mixed with paint while Hudson and Max played in the sandbox. Hudson explored "goop" which is a mixed material of glue, Liquid linit laundry starch, and paint in the sensory table. "It's sticky," he said as he poked it with his fingers. Then we got a little messy mixing shaving cream with green paint.

Spontaneously, the children were seeking out instruments are were singing "na na na na". Perhaps it was Hudson's playing the drums and the children along singing to him? So we played along to Hey Jude by The Beatles and sang "Na na na Nadiaaa!" to Nadia.