From Bermuda to Turtles

At Morning Meeting, we played instruments and moved our bodies as we sang along to Come On and Sing With Me. We also sang Mr. Sun with sun puppets! Next, we talked about what we did over the long weekend when we were not in school. Then we had an amazing discussion. Here is what we said:

For Project Work, the children worked with clay. Nico made a turtle. Lili made a spider for her mommy. The children also took turns working on their February self-portraits with Debbie. Then Nico, Scarlett, Lili, and Jamie played in dramatic play while Jacob and Brandon played in the sandbox. Harry made a collage using red materials: red marker, red paint, and one red feather. 

Then we had French with Deborah. Before lunch, we sang 5 Little Monkeys Swinging From a Tree, Sambalae, Open Shut Them, If All of The Raindrops Were Lemon Drops, and read Olivia...and The missing Toy by Ian Falconer. 

Hearts, Love, Glitter, Dance Party, Valentine's Oh My!

Happy Valentine's Day! We began our Morning Meeting singing Mr. Sun, 5 Green and Speckled Frogs, and Come On and Sing With Me with finger puppets. Next, we read Guess How Much I Love You. When finished reading, we asked the children "What is Love?" Here is what they said:

Nico: "Mommy, Daddy, and Leo"

Dashiell: "Mommy and Daddy"

Brandon: "Annie"

Harry: "Mommy, Daddy, baby Annabelle, Pop Pop, Marjorie, and Jessica."

Scarlett: "My Mommy and my Daddy and my Lola."

For Project work, we worked more on our Valentine's Day gifts for our families. We painted hearts with red, purple, and pink paint to add "LOVE" to our Friendship Tree. Then we had a Dance Party and Yoga with Lakshmi. Before lunch, we opened up our Valentine's mailbox and distributed the cards out to our friends! What a LOVELY day!

Time to Celebrate the Year of the Horse

What a very busy and exciting morning we had! We sang 5 Liitle Monkeys Swinging  On a Tree and Mr. Sun during snack with puppets! We began Morning Meeting shaking hands and saying "Ni Hao" which means "Hello" in Mandarin. Then we showed the children the lion costume we made in class yesterday. The children took turns trying it on, and making our dragon puppet dance as we read Bringing in the New Year. We also asked the children , "What is love?" Here is what they said: 

Lili: "I make hearts at my house and I made love."

Scarlett: "Paint."

Harry: "I love my mommy, daddy, and Vera."

Dashiell: "Mommy."

Brandon: "I love my new shoes."

We had multiple projects going on at once for Project Work! We decorated our Valentine's Day mailbox with watercolor, hearts, and glitter. We made shaker instruments for our Lunar New Year Parade and we made presents for our families for Valentine's Day. Then we had French with Deborah. 

Before lunch we had our annual BMS Lunar New Year Parade. We marched around the school carrying our horses and shakers! The parade finished with a loud "POP" when we popped the "firecracker" that was filled with confetti!

Bringing in the New Year

We began Morning Meeting singing Come On and sing With Me with instruments. Brandon's mom joined us to read and join us for an activity. We read Bringing in the New Year about the Lunar New Year and we made a lion for our parade tomorrow.

It was Ms. Rebecca's birthday today so we joined the other classes and sang Happy Birthday to her. Then we hammered the ice in the Daisies sensory table. The children noticed that they were getting wet as droplets of ice splashed on them as they hammered. They were fascinated by where it was coming from as they kept looking up and saying, "Hey, I am getting wet!" 

Gung Hay Fat Choy

We greeted each other by shaking each other's hands and saying "Ni hao" in Mandarin at Morning Meeting. We talked about the Lunar New Year by showing the children the dragon puppet and reading The Dancing Dragon. Then we watched a clip of a Lunar New Year parade and listened to the song Gung Hay Fat Choy as we took turns marching with our dragon puppet. We also explained that every Lunar New Year we celebrate an animal. This year we are celebrating the horse (Year of the Horse).

For Project Work, the children decorated their own horses by gluing red and yellow soft materials (felt, pipe cleaners, pom poms, feathers) on white paper horses. When the children were finished gluing, they added red and yellow glitter to make their work sparkle. We are looking forward to marching with our Lunar New Year horses on Wednesday around the school with Sunflowers ad Daisy classes.

Fun Friday!

We began our morning with Free Play, playing in the dramatic play area, building with blocks, and painting with watercolor. At Morning Meeting, we sang Come On and Sing With Me, Who's At Buckle My Shoe Today?, The Days of the Week, Today is Friday All Day Long, The ABC's, Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, Open Shut Them. We are noticing hat the children are beginning to sing much louder than the teachers which is very exciting! 

We read Anansi the Spider for story. Then we danced to The Goldfish and We Are The Dinosaurs by The Laurie Berkner Band. We had a special French class with Deborah and then Yoga with Lakshmi.

"The Chrysler Building"

This Hudson and Max had their turn to share their portfolios with their mothers. It was so sweet to watch them as they took interest in all the hard work they have done so far this year. Then we had a very special Munchkin donut breakfast/snack.

We sang The ABC'S, Wake Up Knees, Wake Up Toes, Wake Up Hands and Wiggle, Wiggle, and The Wheels on the Bus. Next, we stretched out our arms all the way up to the sky and sat so small and so tall. 

After Dance with Elizabeth, we painted with watercolor. While Brandon was painting he said, "Look! The shadow is right here on on the paper!" He painted a shadow with gray paint and while he did so he noticed his shadow on the paper. What an exciting moment!

Next, we read Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site by Sherri Rinker and Tom Litchenheld. We then revisited Scarlett's block structure of New York City from last week. This led to a discussion about we see in New York City:

Hudson: "The Chrysler Building."

Max: "There is an excavator moving."

Scarlett: "Tractor."

Brandon: "Train!"

After our discussion, we went over to the block area. "Can you help me, Max?" Scarlett asked Max. "Yeah," said Max. Together they began to build together. "How about we put a square here?" said Scarlett. "Yeah and one here" added Max as they collaborated.  Brandon helped by bringing over the cylinder blocks which became the foundation. "We built lots of towers!" they said when they were finished building. Hudson built independently and when he was finished he said "I built a museum" with excitement.

Then we migrated over to Lego's. Scarlett noticed the rainbow in our classroom, pondered for a moment., and shared her thought about what she saw: "When I see the rainbow, I see the whole sun."

Before lunch, we visited the Daisies' classroom. While we were there, Brandon noticed a garbage truck outside the school. He came over to us to let us know and we went over to see. While looking out the window, Brandon also pointed out that he noticed a triangle and people. We are eager to investigate this topic some more!