Friday, April 25, 2014

"What Are You Going to Be When You Grow Up?"

Jamie was so excited to be back to be back in school after a long break. At Morning Meeting, he shared with us what he did when he was in not in school: "I went on the Buzzy Bees. It wasn't fast. It was slow. It goes up and down and jumpy and bumpy. It was jumpy, jumpy!" he said as he motioned with his hands the way ride moved at Hershey Park.

After Yoga with Lakshmi, we read Oscar and The Frog: A Book About Growing, planted beans in damp cotton balls, and hung them on the window. We are eager to see what happens. Then we went for a walk. While we were out, we stopped and touched the bark of a tree. 

AT Pick-Up time, Harry shared with his mother that we talked about  "growing" today and that he "is getting bigger and bigger". "What are going to be when you grow up, Harry?" asked his mother. "I'm going to be a disaster!" responded Harry with a big smile!







Thursday, April 24, 2014

Earth Week Continued...

Max and Hudson leaped into the classroom all smiles and so happy to be back in school today. At Meeting, we passed around the inflatable globe. Max and Hudson shared with us were they went over vacation.

"I drove in the car to Illinois to see Grandpa. This is north." Hudson said pointing to the top of our globe was is indeed north.
"I went to the beach and I found shells," said Max as he passed around the seashells he collected from Miami.

We talked about how we are celebrating Earth Week this week and how important is to save water, throw away our garbage into a trash can, and turn off the lights to save electricity. Then we went for a nature walk. Outside, we touched a tree. The children said it was bumpy and smooth. When we returned back to school, we read Five Senses: A Book About Spring. "I see the tree. I use my eyes," said Scarlett. " I felt the tree with my hands," added Brandon.

After Dance with Elizabeth, we mixed oats and rice with brown paint and glue and smeared all over white paper to make the bark for our Springtime Friendship Tree in the classroom. "It's bumpy and smooth," said Max as he felt the material. Then we dug in the sandbox and played with the mud in the sensory table. Before lunch, we sang 5 Green and Speckled Frogs.











Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Time to Celebrate Earth Day!

Welcome back everyone after a long Spring Break! The children seemed excited to be back as they entered the classroom happily and hopped right into the school routine with ease. During snack, we read Are You My Mother? and Is Your Mama A Llama? At Morning Meeting, we talked about what we did when we were not in school. 

Brandon: "Went on a train. Went to Puerto Rico."
Teachers: "How did you get to Puerto Rico?"
Brandon: "Airplane."
Nico: "I went to the kindergarten to see all the flowers."
Lili: "I went to Texas and the Hamptons."
Scarlett: "I went to see my grandpa and went in his car. I went to see my cousins. They had a great big dog."
Harry: "I went to Florida yesterday and built a sandcastle. I went to the beach with Pop-Pop."

Next, we talked about how we are celebrating Earth Day this week and how important is to save water, throw away our garbage into a trash can, and turn off the lights to save electricity. Then we read On the Day You Were Born

Before French with Deborah, we had Free Play. The children dug in the sandbox, played in the water table, and painted trees at the easel. We also painted Earth using blue, green, and white tempera paint on paper plates. Then we listened to a teacher tell a story about a polluted pond. When the children forgot to throw away their trash, all the animals got sick or moved away, but when the children volunteered to pick up the trash, all of the animals went back to the clean, safe pond. We sang Get Up and Dance and took turns jumping through the hula hoop as we transitioned to lunch.


Lili made a cave for the animals using foam dough and flower stems.




Brandon and Jacob are making trees at the easel.





Friday, April 11, 2014

"It's Beautiful Day"

We began our morning reading Lili's book Ten Wriggly Wiggly Caterpillars.  Using the pegs boards, Lili and Brandon made one birthday cake for Brandon and one for Jenny. At Morning Meeting, we sang Happy Birthday and counted the candles in each cake. There were seven candles in Brandon's cake but he said, "Too much. I am two. I need to have two." We took away 5 candles. Then we counted 25 candles in Jenny's cake. We learned that the numbers 2 & 5 together make 25. Then we talked about more and less. 

After Yoga with Lakshmi, we went for a walk to Jackson Square Park to see the butterflies and star tulip and then we played at at Horatio Park. "It's a beautiful day, " Jamie said the moment we stepped outside. 

When we arrived back we ate lunch. Then we read Corduroy's Easter and went on an Easter egg hunt. 

Wishing you all a wonderful and beautiful Spring Break!










Thursday, April 10, 2014

"I Want To Make More Butterflies"

We greeted each other at Morning Meeting singing Hello, Hello, Hello and How Are You and sang Old McDonald Had A Farm and A Band. "I want to make more butterflies, Jennifer." And so Hudson made more butterflies while Brandon and Max played together with the trains. 

We went for a walk to Jackson Square Park to see all the butterflies we had made. Hudson, Max, and Brandon were so excited to see the butterflies as we walked around the park taking time to appreciate each one. When Hudson noticed his, he shouted, "Look at my butterfly!" Then we examined the star tulips that have bloomed. Max bent down and said, "I blow the flower open." Next, we played at Horatio Park and enjoyed the beautiful day!






Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Hugs and Butterflies

When Lili and Scarlett arrived at school and they headed toward the train tracks which were surrounded by vehicles. “I want to play with the people and be a doctor,” said Scarlett.  Scarlett and Lili went to the dramatic area to find stethoscopes and came back to the block area. Lili took the person with crutches and placed him on the “table”.
 “We check people in the morning. We check people when they are sick. He has a cast. He hurt his ankle. I see the problem. He fell down. He got hurt because he was running,” said Lili.

During snack, we read Stars! Stars! Stars!. At morning Meeting, Lili said, "I want to give Grandpa a cuddle!" This started a chain reaction of hugs for Grandpa, Debbie, and Jenny! Then we began to work on our Spring Friendship Tree. We went to Jackson Square Park to hang up our butterflies with the Daisy's and the Sunflowers classes! What a LOVELY day!












Tuesday, April 8, 2014

"I Hear the Chicken"

At Morning Meeting, we sang The Itsy Bitsy Spider slow, fast, loud, quiet, and a little silly. Then we talked about Spring and read Ten Wiggly Caterpillars. We worked more on our butterfly gifts for Jackson Square Park. When we finished,  we painted a spring mural using spatulas.

Hudson played and Brandon played in the Daisy's classroom while Scarlett and Max played with Rebecca during Free Play. Scarlett gave Rebecca a check-up. She checked Rebecca's eyes, ears mouth,and listened to her heartbeat. Then Scarlett discovered Rebecca's belly and said "I hear the chicken."

After Free Play, the children worked together to set up each lunch. What a fun day!