Group Meeting:  We read another Mo Willems book, Knuffle Bunny Too.  I would have to say that the children have really enjoyed the Mo Willems books this week.  They are funny and require you to do a little thinking about how the characters feel.

Story:  At story time, I read Pigeon Finds a Hotdog by Mo Willems.   Pigeon loves hot dogs.  Duckling has never had a hot dog before.  She wonders what it tastes like.  Pigeon begins to wonder if Duckling is just trying to take the hot dog away from him.  Ask you child to tell you who ends up with the hot dog.

Small Groups:  Our schedule for today was:
Activity #1 Green Group
Activity #2 Red Group
Activity #3 Yellow Group

Large Group:  The children completed the workbook page for the letter N.  Then we held a discussion about Grown-up Day.  I wanted to them to know what to expect.

Snacks:  The morning class had pretzels, cheese sticks, and juice brought by Isla.  The afternoon class had muffins and juice brought by Lani.  Thank you!

It was the 100th day of school!

Group Meeting:  Everyday, we add a sticker to a 10 frame chart to keep track of how many days we have been in school.  Today, we reached 100.  Wow, it seems like we just started school. 
We also read the book Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late by Mo Willems.

Story:  At story time, I read Knuffle Bunny by Mo Willems.  Trixie is a toddler that has a stuffed rabbit named Knuffle Bunny.  She takes Knuffle Bunny everywhere she goes.  One day, Trixie and her dad go to the laundromat.  Trixie takes Knuffle Bunny along.  After they load the laundry into the machine, they walk back home.  However, after just a few blocks, Trixie realizes that she is missing Knuffle Bunny.  Trixie doesn't know how to talk yet.  Ask your child to tell you what she does to get Daddy's attention.

Small Groups:  The activities for this week are listed in yesterdays post.  The schedule for today was:
Activity #1 Yellow Group
Activity #2 Green Group
Activity #3 Red Group

Large Group:  The children went through an obstacle course that included hoops to jump into, a tumbling mat to tumble on, and a tunnel to crawl through.

Snacks:  The morning class had a cereal mix and juice brought by Hollie.  The afternoon class had cheese sticks, crackers, and juice brought by Kullen.  Thank you!

Mo Willems

Group Meeting:  Our author/illustrator for this week is Mo Willems.  I read Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus.   Check your child's backpack for a note about Mo Willem's books.

Story:  At story time, I read Duckling Gets A Cookie!? by Mo Willems.  Duckling is a friend of Pigeon.  Duckling gets a cookie.  Pigeon would like to have the cookie, but instead of asking, he moans and groans about not getting a cookie.  At the end of the story, Duckling gives the cookies to Pigeon.  Ask your child to tell you why?

Small Groups:  The activities for this week are listed below along with the schedule for today.
Activity #1 (Red Group) The children have learned to print their names with uppercase letters.  This week, we will begin learning to print with an uppercase and lowercase letters.  This will help them prepare for Kindergarten.
Activity #2 (Yellow Group) The children painted a picture of their choice at the art table.
Activity #3 (Green Group) The children played a game using the characters from today's story, Pigeon and Duckling.  Both characters want the cookie in the middle of the game board.  The children take turns rolling the dice to move the cookie back and forth until it reaches one of them.

Large Group:  The children voted for flavors of ice cream that they would like to have on Thursday.  We made a list of ice cream flavors.  I gave each child two stickers.  They could place the stickers next to the ice cream(s) of their choice.  The flavors with the most stickers were the winners.  The morning class will be having cotton candy, mint chip, and chocolate chip/m&m.  The afternoon will be having Superman, marshmellow, and chocolate.  We will also have vanilla on hand.

Snacks:  The morning class had cheese sticks, muffins, and juice brought by Gus. The afternoon class had Clementines and milk brought by Kennedy.  Thank you!

Group Meeting:  Before we started our Group Meeting, we danced to Ants in Your Pants.  It's always fun to start the day with a wiggle dance.

Story:  The story for today was Pie in the Sky by Lois Ehlert.  The child that is narrating this story tells us that there is a tree in their new backyard.  Dad says that it is a pie tree.  Do pies grow on trees?  As the story proceeds, we see cherries growing on the tree.  The birds and raccoons eat a few, but there are enough left to make a cherry pie.

Small Group:  The children made a book about animal habitats using the Let's Find Out magazine.  They watched a video of animals in the polar, mountain, desert, and rainforest habitats.

Large Group:  The children completed the workbook page for the letter M.  The Yellow Group brought items for Show and Tell.

Snacks:  Both classes had granola bars and juice.  The morning king was Colin.  The afternoon queen was Journey.

Group Meeting:  Some children are still bringing reading papers to school.  We will continue to collect those that are brought, but we will not be sending home any new ones.  The children are very excited to share their ice cream day with the grown-ups that will be coming on that day.

Story:  Our story for today was Feathers for Lunch by Lois Ehlert.  In this story, the door was left open and the family cat has escaped.  He would like to catch a bird for lunch.   However, the birds are smart and know that when they hear his bell that they need to fly away.  Lois Ehlert creates beautiful pictures of familiar birds in this book.  Following the story, we identified the birds and tried to see if we could make their call.

Small Groups:  The activities for this week are listed in Monday's post.  The schedule for today was:
Activity #1 Green Group
Activity #2 Red Group
Activity #3 Yellow Group

Large Group:  We watched a video about ducks.  I asked the children if they knew what makes a duck float on the water.  We did a little experiment with water and oil to see that oil floats on the top of the water.  Ask you child to tell you what makes a duck float.

Snacks:  The morning class had oranges, Pirates Booty, and juice brought by Cael.  The afternoon class had Goldfish, carrots, and juice brought by Holden.  Thank you!

Group Meeting:  The children have met our reading goal!  This afternoon, we reached 1000 books.  We will celebrate on Thursday, March 30th with an ice cream party.  This is also Bring a Grown-up to School Day.  Lucky grown-ups!

Story:  Our story today was RRRALPH by Lois Ehlert.  The family in this story has a dog that can talk.  He can say his name. RRRALPH.  He know what is on the top of his house, ROOF.  He sees a bird in a tree that has BARK on it.  Ask your child to tell you what other words Ralph can say.

Small Groups:  The activities for this week are listed in yesterday's post.  The schedule for today was:
Activity #1 Yellow Group
Activity #2 Green Group
Activity #3 Red Group

Large Group:  The children went to the Outdoor Classroom.

Snacks:  The morning class had bananas and milk brought by Brogan.  The afternoon class had Goldfish and juice brought by Ellie.  Thank you!

Yesterday, we experimented with air by using a vacuum to blow air through tunnels.  Today, I let the children control the building and blowing.

Lois Ehlert

Group Meeting:  We took a few minutes to get reacquainted after our week of spring break.  We are very close to meeting our reading goal.  We just need a few more scoops of ice cream to make our goal of 1000 books.
Our author/illustrator for this week is Lois Ehlert.  A note was sent home about her today.

Story:  Our story for today was Holey Moley by Lois Ehlert.  A mole is digging a hole in the yard.  He knows that people don't like it.  He is trying to hide from them.  He digs holes looking for earthworms and grubs.  He digs in the garden and sees vegetable plants and their roots.  He needs a new home.  Can he stay with you? 

Small Groups:  This week, each teacher will have a Lois Ehlert book to read and have an activity to go with it.
Activity #1 (Red Group) The book was Eating the Alphabet.  This is an alphabet picture book of vegetables and fruits.  After the looked at the book, the children played a matching game of vegetables and their beginning sounds.
Activity #2  (Yellow Group)  The book was Oodles of Animals.  In this book, Lois Ehlert makes animals using various shapes glued together.  After looking at all of the animals, the children selected shapes to glue together to make their own animal.
Activity #3 (Green Group)  The book was Color Zoo.  This book was also a book using shapes to create various animals.  The children used parquetry blocks to create animals and spring shapes.

Large Group:  I have a small hand held vacuum that the children can use to experiment with wind and it's properties.  I have tubes and connectors for the children to use to create tunnels.  The children will take turns making tunnels and using the vacuum to blow balls (puff ball, marble, bouncy ball, etc.) through the tubes to see where they will go.  I demonstrated it today.  Tomorrow, they will use it during play time.

Snacks:  The morning class had cheese sticks, Goldfish, and juice brought by Ben.  The afternoon class had pizza Bagel Bites and juice brought by Ella.  Thank you!

Group Meeting:  I read the Eric Carle book Pancakes, Pancakes.    In this story, Jack would like a pancake for breakfast.  His mother asks him for help.  He cuts the wheat, gathers an egg, milks the cow, churns the butter, gathers the wood for the fire, and brings strawberry jam from the cellar.  Then, mother makes a pancake for Jack's breakfast.

Story:  Because of the many activities that we did today, we did not have time for a second story.

Small Groups:  The activities for this week are listed in Tuesday's post.  The schedule for today was:
Activity #1 Green Group
Activity #2 Red Group
Activity #3 Yellow Group

Large Group:  The children completed the workbook page for the letter A.  The Red Group brought items for Show and Tell.

Snack:  We made pancakes to go along with the Eric Carle book that we read at Group Meeting.  However, we didn't have to do all of the work that Jack did.  We mixed water with the pancake mix and fried them on the griddle.  We ate them with syrup and milk.   We also had birthday brownies.

I put an extra reading slip in the children's cubbies today to use over Spring Break.  I hope that everyone has some time to relax and read a few good books!

Group Meeting:  I read The Very Grouchy Ladybug by Eric Carle.  I asked the children if they ever were grouchy.  They assured me that they weren't, but seemed to know that when you are tired and/or hungry that you might become grouchy :)

Story:  At story time, I read The Very Lonely Firefly by Eric Carle.   In this story, a firefly is looking for a friend.  It sees a light and thinks that it is another firefly, but it is a lightbulb or a flashlight or a lanturn.  Finally, it sees many lights that turn out to be firefly friends.  The children are beginning to notice the type of art work that Eric Carle uses.  I have heard people refer to it as "painted paper" art.  We are trying it at the art table this week.

Small Groups:  The activities for this week are listed in yesterday's post.  The schedule for today was:
Activity #1 Yellow Group
Activity #2 Green Group
Activity #3 Red Group

Large Group:  I read the book From Head to Toe by Eric Carle.  In this book, children are imitating animal movements.  I read the description and the children did the movements to match.  We also went to the Outdoor Classroom for a few minutes.

Snacks:  The morning class had waffles, syrup and juice brought by Angel.  The afternoon class had granola bars and juice brought by Charlie.  Thank you!

Eric Carle

Group Meeting: The author/illustrator for this week is Eric Carle. Most of the children were familiar with The Very Hungry Caterpiller.  I read it and we looked at the art work.  Quite a few children have been bringing their reading papers to school.  The children have read 470 books already.  Maybe we should have set the goal higher!

Story:  The story that I read during story time was Little Cloud by Eric Carle.  This book is about a little cloud that can change it's shape to look like things that it can see below such as trees, rabbits, sharks, etc.  We held a discussion on looking at the big cumulus clouds in the sky and trying to decide what they resemble.

Small Groups:  The activities for this week and schedule for today are listed below.
Activity #1 (Red Group)  The children rolled two large foam dice and added the dots together.  Then, they found the numeral to match on their bingo card. 
Activity #2 (Yellow Group)  The children learned to paint using an Eric Carle technique.  They brushed paint onto a paper and used combs to create a texture that could be fur, stripes, grass, etc.
Activity #3 (Green Group)  The children listened to the story of Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See by Bill Martin Jr.   Eric Carle did the art work in this book.  Then they created a page for a classroom book of Children, Children, Who Do You See?  

Large Group:  Following the story, we created clouds on the table using shaving cream.  The children used their fingers to create shapes with the shaving cream.  I've included some pictures below.

Snacks:  The morning class had French toast sticks, syrup and milk brought by Andon.  The afternoon class had Ritz crackers, cheese, and juice brought by Beckett.  Thank you!

Fire Station

We enjoyed our field trip to the fire station. The fire fighters were very friendly. We saw several simple machines that the fire fighters use. Thank you, grown-ups for taking us on this trip.

Eric Litwin

Group Meeting:  We are starting to build ice cream sundaes on our bulletin board.  Keep reading!

Story:  Our story for today was The Nuts: Sing and Dance in Your Polka Dot Pants by Eric Litwin.  The Nut Family is another of Eric Litwin's series of books.  In this story, Hazel Nut wants her family to join her in dancing in polka dot pants.  Her dad isn't paying attention, her mother is busy, and her brother is playing.  Who will dance with Hazel?  Ask your child to tell you.  We watched a video of Eric singing and dancing to the Polka Dot Dance song.  We also watched The Nuts:  Bedtime at the Nut House.

Small Group:  The children looked at a Let's Find Out Magazine about Spring weather.  We learned about the Spring weather sounds such as rain, thunder, and baby animals.


Large Group:  Because we talked about weather today, we did a little science experiment to mimic what happens when clouds become saturated with rain.  We filled clear pitchers with water and squirted a shaving cream cloud on top.  Then, I dropped colored water on the shaving cream and watched the color leak through the cloud to form "rain" into the pitcher below.  It was fun to watch the colors swirl and mix.  You can find this on Pinterest if you'd like to try it at home.

Snacks:  The morning class had muffins and juice brought by Topher.  The afternoon class had Goldfish and juice brought by Addison.  Thank you!

The field trip to the Fire Station is coming up on Monday!

Group Meeting:  We had a few children return their reading slips already.  We added scoops of ice cream to our chart in the reading area.  New slips were sent home with those children so that we can keep reading to reach 1000 books!

Story:  Our story for today was Pete the Cat Rocking in My School Shoes by the author of the week, Eric Litwin.  Pete is going to school for the first time.  He is finding all of the new areas in school including the library, lunchroom and playground.  Does Pete worry about his new school?  Goodness No!  It's all good.

Small group:  Because of our schedule this week with conferences and Kindergarten round up, we will be doing small group as a large group this week.  Our activity for today was watching the video of  Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes by Eric Litwin.  The children completed a sequencing paper to help us remember the story.

Large Group:  The children did an activity called Math Around the Room with Pete the Cat.  They had to find pictures of Pete the Cat that were taped around the room and count the number of items on the picture.  Then, they had to find the matching picture on their paper and print the numeral.  I thought this would be very challenging, but the children did a terrific job!

Snacks:  The morning class had Clementines, Cheez-its, and juice brought by Taylor. The afternoon class had muffins and juice brought by Wesley.  Thank you!