Big Apple Circus Trip!

Today we went on the 1 train up to Lincoln Center to see the Big Apple Circus and it was indeed magical. There were acrobats, horses and dogs doing tricks, tightrope walkers, man on stilts, a silly clown, and a circus band that played lots of instruments. It was indeed a fun filled morning! 

"Magic!"

We began our morning decorating masks using dot dot paints. At Morning Meeting, we sang Old MacDonald Had A Band while playing instruments and asked the children what they think they will see at the circus tomorrow. "Magic!" said Brandon with a big smile! We transitioned to snack jumping over the candlestick while reading Jack Be Nimble. 

Then we transformed the classroom into a circus as we crawled through the giant tunnel, squeezed into the clown car, had a puppet show with animals, and hopped on different color spots on the floor. After all this movement Brandon, Max, and Hudson had a quiet reading time in the clown car together. 

For Art, the children made individual collages using pipe cleaners, glue, and feathers. While working, Brandon ran over to the wall saying "It's the sun! It's the sun on the wall!" pointing to the light reflection of the CD. "A rainbow! It's on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday!" as he followed the reflection along the Who's At Buckle My Shoe Today? chart and back. Hudson heard this, ran over, and started to jump up and down to touch the CD's. "I catch it Brandon! I catch the rainbow!"

Brandon noticed a snow globe on the window sill. "Hey! Look! Look at that! What is that?" he said. We took it down and the children studied it with fascination as the glitter in the snow globe reflected on the table. Then we did an experiment and made our one using blue water color and glitter. What a magical day!

Welcome Back and Happy Birthday Grandpa Barys!

The children were very excited to return to school after such a long break and a surprise snow day. We settled into Morning Meeting playing instruments while listening to Octopus' Garden by The Beatles. After we sang Twinkle, Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, we talked about how some friends are going to the circus on Wednesday and asked the children what they think they might see. Lili began the conversation by saying "I have an idea! Let's talk about the circus!" "Balloons!" said Nico and Scarlett.

Yesterday was Grandpa Barys birthday! The children decided to make him a pink and purple crown using markers and feathers. He brought in a delicious apple pie to share with the class and we sang Happy Birthday!

During Free Play, the children explored the sensory table filled with cotton balls. Lili, Nico, and Scarlett pretended to be doctors and checked Grandpa Barys. "I check you Grandpa!" they said as they listened to his heart with their stethoscopes. Then it was time for Music with Evan. The children were excited to dance and sing along with him. He brought in a ukulele and each child had a turn to strum it. Harry was so happy when Evan began to sing Row, Row, Row Your Boat and Twinkle, Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. "That's my favorite song!" Harry shared with Evan. Before lunch, we read and sang Miss Mary Mack. 

Happy New Year and Welcome Back!

Happy New Year and welcome back to school after such a long break! It is amazing to see how much the children have grown. Max, Brandon, and Scarlett were all smiles as they settled into the morning routine. We started our day reading Goodnight Gorilla and then sang Who's At Buckle My Shoe Today?. At snack, we shared what we did over break. 

Scarlett- "I stayed with my grandpa. I build a house for a bear, a dog, and a mouse."

Max- "Max went into a car."

Brandon- "I throw a ball."

The children worked with soft textured materials ( cotton balls in the sensory table and collaged with feathers and poms poms.) During Free Play, Scarlett and Brandon built with magnet tiles in the Daisies' classroom while Max played at the sensory table with the cotton balls. "It's snow!" he giggled as he scooped it into the dump truck. Then Brandon, Scarlett, and Max built invidual structures in the block center. Before lunch, we sang 3 Green and Speckled Frogs as a transition to wash hands. We concluded the day by reading Knuffle Bunny by Mo Willems.

Happy Holidays!

The children got right to work when they arrived at school making presents, wrapping them, and decorating cards. We talked about how school is going to be closed for the holidays at Morning Meeting and that both teachers and children will not be in school. Nadia read I Smell Christmas. 

During Free Play, Scarlett and Brandon painted with liquid watercolor. Nico packed up her things to go on a bear hunt. Harry built a refridgerator and a tower. He and Jenny laughed together when he came up with the clever idea that both she and he can guess what it is. Then it was time for Yoga. Lakshmi is in California so a tecaher named Jen filled in for her. Nico and Scarlett were all smiles as they followed her movements while she sang.

We opened up the rooms so that the children could explore the other classrooms and they could visit ours. The Sunflowers and Daisies classes were so excited to see the light and rainbows in our room. They chased after the light trying to catch it. Then Monica, Nico's mom, came to read to the class. She read The Fire Truck By Peter Sis. The children took turns requesting songs to sing. We sang Twinkle, Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, The ABC'S, and Jingle Bells. Harry suggested wanted that we sing sing the songs really, really FAST! What fun! During lunch, we read Llama Llama Holiday Drama by Anna Dewdney and sang The Twelve Days Of Christmas.

Happy Holidays to you all! May it be merry and bright! Happy New Year!

"And A Partridge In A Pear Tree..."

This morning we wrapped presents and decorated cards. During snack, Jenny played her recorder and then Hudson had a turn. The children had so much fun dancing with Elizabeth. Next, Max and Brandon went on a subway train ride and Brandon took pictures. Then we went on a dragon hunt. "Come on Max! You have to climb down the tree!" said Scarlett. 

Before Scarlett's Papa, Nathan, came to read to us we played instruments while listening to The Imagination Workshop Band. After Nathan read Brown Bear, Brown Bear by Bill Martin, Jr. and Eric Carle, we sang Old McDonald Had A Band. The children helped us read and sing The Twelve Days Of Christmas by singing " and a partridge in a pear tree"! 

Have a FUN break Hudson and Max! Happy Holidays!

"It Melt!"

At Morning Meeting, we revisited our experiment of  "what melts?" by examining the water we put in the fridge on Monday. The children were excited to see that the water had frozen and was "cold" when they touched it. Brandon said, "It turned into a rock." We kept the ice in the pitcher for the children to observe for the entire morning. During reflective circle, they looked to see if the ice had changed. Through touch and sight, they noticed that it was not only cold but it had also transformed into "water". "What happened?" Jenny asked. The class was silent and pensive for a moment. Then Lili shouted, "It melt! Hooray!"

After school, Lili is flying to Texas. During snack, she and her friends looked a map of the United States to see where New York City is, Texas is, and how far away they are from each other. Lili especially was excited by the map as she studied it for a long time. During Free Play, Harry noticed the light and some shadows reflecting on the wall. "Jenny! Jenny!" he shouted. "The shadow is moving along on the wall!"