Friends Who Care

Brandon arrived at school this morning excited to share his haircut with his friends and teachers. "I got a haircut!" he shared with pride. At Morning Meeting, we greeted each other singing "Hello, Can I Shake Your Hand" as we shook hands. Then we spent most of the morning talking about friendship  into the classroom. The children drew special pictures to make a book for Dashiell that they children titled the "I Love You Book for Dashiell". When they were finished drawing we asked them what special words that would like to say to her. Here are the pictures the children made:

Then we had Music Evan! Harry couldn't wait to ask Evan if had a white guitar and was excited that Evan brought it to school! We also took turns playing on Evan's drum. Before lunch, we read Pete the Cat and Curious George Visits the Big City!

Lili and Scalett are building a "building out of Legos.

 

Lili and Scarlett are palying and checking Debbie.

 
 Scarlett and Lili painted "a rainbow" collaboratively.

Harry is playing Evan's drum.

How ARE Cotton Swabs Made?

At Morning Meeting, we greeted each other by singing Good Morning To You, Can I Shake your Hand as we shook hands with each other. Then we had Yoga with Lakshmi. She brought in a special drum. We took turns drumming, listening, and dancing to the number of syllables in each other's name.

For Project Work, we paint with cotton swabs. The children painted with gentle strokes as they filled the page. Jamie was curious about how cotton swabs are made. We went online to investigate and discovered a clip of how cotton swabs are made. Their eyes filled with fascination as they watched the machine wind the paper and press the cotton. This promoted conversation amongst the children on what they were seeing. Brandon pointed at the screen "Look! Look! It's pressing!" he shared with excitement. Jamie liked the way the arm of the machine moved.

At Free Play, Nico and Scarlett built in the block area. Nico built New York City! "I live in New York City. I am building New York City. There are houses and horses" she told us as she was building. "Now it's time to add the people! There are lots of people" and she placed a person on top of her structure.

Based on the children's interest and curiosity, we thought it would be fun for the children to make to make their own cotton swabs. We rolled up paper and the children pointed to where they thought the cotton should go as we glued it on. Before lunch, Harry picked out a book for us to read Curious George Visits the Big City. What a fun day!

Red Light "STOP" Green Light "GO"!

Max and Brandon were playing together at the train table. “Two more minutes left to play until Morning Meeting”, Jenny announced. “Cool!” said Max. At Morning Meeting, we sang Come On and Sing With Me as we shaked dried gourds. Then we read Red Light and Green Light by Margaret Wise Brown. Throughout the day, we talked about how red means "stop" and green means "go".

Then we had Dance with Elizabeth. After dance, we enjoyed the beautiful day by going out for a walk around the neighborhood. We were very excited when we saw not just one but FIVE cement mixers! When we returned back to the classroom we had Reflective Meeting and talked about what we saw. Here is what we said:

Brandon: "I saw a tractor and a police car."

Scarlett: "Five cement mixers!"

Max:"Yeah! Five cement mixers. I heard a fire truck!"

Brandon: "I did not hear a fire truck. I saw an ambulance."

Scarlett: " I saw a building with five circles and five squares."

Max: "Whoa! We saw so many cars!"

Scarlett: "Yeah! And I saw a building and it was so so white!"

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!