Group Meeting:  Tonight will be the Art Show.  We talked about what would be happening tonight and what the children will get to do with their families.

Story:  Our story for today was Fox in Socks by Dr. Seuss.  This is a book of tongue twisters that Mr. Fox is trying to get Mr. Knox to say.  Tonight at the Art Show, the children will be invited to decorate a sock to hang on Mr. Fox's clothesline.

Small Groups:  The children completed a Let's Find Out Magazine about the parts of a plant. 

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

Snacks:  The morning class had cheese sticks, bananas, and juice brought by Ben.  The afternoon class had strawberry shortcake and milk brought by Ella.  Thank you!

Group Meeting:  We have had a few students bring in Dr. Seuss books from home.   We are happy to read them when we can.  Dr. Seuss wrote over 60 books in his life time.  That's a lot of books!

Story:  The story for today was I Wish That I Had Duck Feet by Dr. Seuss.  In this story, a boy wonders what it would be like to have duck feet, deer antlers, a whale spout, a tiger's tail, etc.  There are good things and bad things about each of those.  In the end, he finds that it's just best to be himself.

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:  Following the story, we listed to a musical selection by Hap Palmer titled "Sammy".  The story in the music matched the Dr. Seuss story that we had just heard.  Sammy is asked to go to the store to buy bread.   He wishes that he were a bird so that he could fly, fish so that he could swim, a bunny so that he could hop, and a bug so that he could crawl.  He discovers at the end that he's glad to be himself walking to the store.  As we played the music again, the children acted out the animal movements.

Snacks:  The morning class had pancakes, watermelon and juice brought by Angel.  The afternoon class had bagels, berry cream cheese, and juice brought by Charlie.  Thank you!

Group Meeting:  It's two more days until the art show.  We have started to put up some of the paintings. 

Story:  Our story for today was Are You My Mother? by P.D. Eastman.    This is a book that is part of the Beginning Reader collection by Dr. Seuss.  In this story, a baby bird hatches from an egg and begins searching for his mother.  He has never seen her before, so he doesn't know what to look for.  Is the kitten his mother?  Is a cow his mother?  Ask your child to tell you how he finds his mother.

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:  We went to the Outdoor Classroom.  The weather is supposed to turn to cold and rainy for the next two days.  We thought we'd better take advantage of the beautiful weather today.

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

Group Meeting:  We are counting down the days until the Art Show.  I drew four paint pots on the message board.  Each day we will erase one.  This will help us remember. 

Story:  Our story for today was The Foot Book by Dr. Seuss.  This book helps us a little about opposites.  Left foot, right foot, wet foot, dry foot.  How many feet do we meet?

Small Group:  The activities for this week and schedule for today are listed below.

Activity #1 (Red Group)  Dr. Seuss' books have a lot of alliteration in the sentences.  The children used the first letter of their name to make a sentence full of words that start the same.  For example, Colin caught a caterpillar crawling on the car.
Activity #2 (Yellow Group)  The children used a picture dice to think of words that rhyme.  For example, if a child rolled a cat, they would list bat, rat, fat, etc.
Activity #3  (Green Group)  Using the theme from our story today, the children measured tape lines using their feet.  How many feet long was the blue line?  They used a paper to help them record their answers.

Large Group:  The children went to the Outdoor Classroom.  We took some paper out to make paper airplanes. 

Snacks:  The morning class had Apple Jacks, peanut butter Ritz, and juice brought by Adde.  The afternoon class had Lucky Charms, cheese sticks, and milk brought by Ashlyn.  Thank you!

The children are bringing home May calendars and a note about an upcoming field trip. 

Story:  Today, I read Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss.  This is another classic Dr. Seuss story that most of the children had heard before.  Do you like green eggs and ham?” asks Sam-I-am in this Beginner Book by Dr. Seuss. In a house or with a mouse? In a boat or with a goat? On a train or in a tree? Sam keeps asking persistently.  Will he try the green eggs and ham?  Does he like them?  Ask your child to tell you.

Small Groups:  The children watched a video about caterpillars and butterflies.  They also created a book with their Let's Find Out Magazine.

Large Group:  The children completed the X page in their workbooks.  Then, it was the Red Group's turn for Show and Tell.

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

Group Meeting:  We have been counting the days that we have been in school.  Today was number 113.  We figured out that we have 17 days left.  Wow, that went fast. 

Story:  Our story for today was One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish by Dr. Seuss.  This book is a collection of little poems with lots of rhyming words.  Several of them turn into tongue twisters. I'm sure that many of you remember reading this as a child.

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:  After reading our story for the day, the children made handprint fish by dipping their hand in paint and stamping it onto paper.  This will be on display at the upcoming Art Show.

Snacks:  The morning class had Goldfish and juice brought by Taylor.  The afternoon class had grapes and juice brought by Wesley.  Thank you!

Story:  Our story for today was Hop on Pop by Dr. Seuss.  This is a beginner book from Dr. Seuss that encourages children to read all by themselves, with simple words and illustrations that give clues to their meaning.  Because there are so many rhyming words in this book, we read it together. 

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 applesauce, teddy grahams, and milk brought by Scarlett.  The afternoon class had Frozen grahams and juice brought by Vivian.  Thank you!

Group Meeting:  Everyone shared their weekend events.  It sounds like the Easter Bunny made the rounds :)

Story:  Our story for today was Put Me in the Zoo by Robert Lopshire.  This is typically thought of as a Dr. Seuss book.  However, it was not written by Dr. Seuss but was included in his Beginning Books set because of the rhyming words and fun characters.  In this story, an animal wants to be part of the zoo because of his pretty spots, but the zoo doesn't want him.  When he shows the children what he can do with his spots, they have a better suggestion.  Ask your child to tell you what it is.

Small Groups:  The activities for this week are listed below as well as the schedule for today.
Activity #1 (Red Group)  The children played a game in which they had to identify how many syllables were in a word.  They moved a game marker the same amount of spaces as syllables on a game board.  The person who reached the end first was the winner.
Activity #2  (Yellow Group)  The children went to the art table to work on an art project that was inspired by a Dr. Seuss book that we read last week.  These will be on display at our Art Show next week.
Activity #3 (Green Group)  The children played a game we call Leap Frog.  Lily pads with letters printed on them were scattered on the floor.  Each child had a frog that would jump when you pushed the tab on its back.  The frogs landed on the lily pads and the children had to identify the letter on the lily pad.

Large Group:  Following the story, the children made animal faces to look like the animal in our story, Put Me in the Zoo.

Snacks:  The morning class had granola bars, cheese sticks, and milk brought by Owen.  The afternoon class had apples, peanut butter, and milk brought by Simon.  Thank you!

Spring Party

For our games today, we had an egg race in which the children had to balance an egg on the end of a spoon.  We used real eggs for this race.  Some were hard boiled, some were not.  We put plastic eggs on our Stomp Boards to see how far we could launch them.  We did this with partners so that everyone got several turns.

For snacks, the morning class had ice cream sundaes and the afternoon class had cupcakes.  Following snacks, the children found eggs hidden in the yard.

Thank you to all of the grown-ups who provided candy, snacks, and party items for our party today.

Group Meeting:  We put the final touches on our party for tomorrow.  The children have notes in their backpacks about what time we would like a little help from the parents.

Story:  At story time, I read There's a Wocket in my Pocket by Dr. Seuss.    In this book, Dr. Seuss has fun making up creatures that have nonsense names that rhyme with items in a boy's house.  For example, there's a Nupboard in the cupboard and a Bofa on the sofa.  After reading the story, we tried to think of a few critters that would rhyme with items in our classroom.

Small Group:  I finished reading the Lorax during small group time.  After the story, we discussed what Dr. Seuss wanted us to learn from this story.  With earth day coming up next week, the lesson is very timely.

Large Group:  The children went to the Outdoor Classroom after completing the letter W page in their workbooks.

Snacks:  The morning class had strawberry applesauce, teddy grahams and juice brought by Mason.  The afternoon class had Clementines, carrots, ranch dip, and juice brought by Elliott.  Thank you!

Group Meeting:  We looked at the pictures that I took of them yesterday wearing their Cat in the Hat hats.  They wondered why I hadn't posted the silly pictures that I took.  So, I promised them I would post the silly pictures today.

Story:  During story time, I read My Many Colored Days by Dr. Seuss.  This is a book that was written by Dr. Seuss, but illustrated by Steve Johnson and Lou Fencher.  This is a book that describes emotions using colors to describe how you feel.  Some days you feel like a red horse running and some days you feel like a sleepy brown bear.

Small Group:  During small group time, we began to read The Lorax by Dr. Seuss.  The Lorax is a rather long story with lots of content, so we're going to take two days to read it and discuss it.  We will finish it tomorrow, also during small group time.

Large Group:  The children went to the Outdoor Classroom.   It was a little cold, but it didn't seem to bother anyone.  We are watching the flowers bloom and the trees bud.

Snacks:  The morning class had granola bars and juice brought by Kolsyn.  The afternoon class had Clementines, Goldfish, and juice brought by Paxton.  Thank you!

Art Show-Dr. Seuss

Group Meeting:  It is time for us to start preparing for our upcoming Art Show.  The theme for this year's show is "Dr. Seuss and Friends".  Some of the art on display will be inspired by the writings and illustrations of Dr. Seuss. 

Story:  The story for today was The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss.   This is the story of two children who are sitting at home on a cold wet day with nothing to do until The Cat in the Hat appears at their door.  The Cat has wonderful ideas of things that they could be doing, but their pet fish warns them that they should not have someone in the house while mother is gone.  Ask you child to tell you about how this book ends.

Small Groups:  This week we will not be breaking into small groups.  We will be taking some time to explore Dr. Seuss and his books.  Today, we used  a Let's Find Out magazine to learn more about Dr. Seuss.  The children learned that his real name was Theodore Seuss Geisel. 

Large Group:  As the children prepared for story time, they put on Cat in the Hat headbands.  We posed for the pictures below.

Snacks:  The morning class had cheese sticks, Cheez-its, and juice brought by Kairon.  The afternoon class had Clementines and milk brought by Nora.  Thank you!

If it is not raining, we will be going outside tomorrow.  Please bring jackets.  It is supposed to be a little bit cooler than today.

Birthday Day

Group Meeting:  Today was Birthday Day.  We celebrated five April birthdays in the morning and one in the afternoon.

Story:  I read The Three Little Pigs, which I also read on Tuesday.  The children really enjoy the classic stories.  This time, they recited the parts of "little pig, little pig, let me in" and "not by the hair of my chinney chin chin".  They also huffed and puffed to blow the houses in.

Small Group:  For our Birthday Day snack, the children made Rainbow Toast.  Each child was given a slice of bread.  They used colored milk to paint a rainbow or any design on the bread.  I put it in the oven to toast.  We enjoyed it with butter.  This is an easy, fun activity to do at home.  Use food coloring to color the milk.  You can use pastry brushes or brushes from watercolor kits.  It can be put in the toaster.

Large Group:  The Green Group brought items for Show and Tell. 

Snacks:  The children enjoyed their Rainbow Toast with milk and Birthday Brownies.

Group Meeting:  We have placed two new water explorations in our discovery area.  One is a tornado tube.  The children flip the water bottles over and a tornado starts to spin in the water.  The other activity is creating a rain cloud by dropping water onto cotton balls.  When enough water is soaked up, "rain" starts to fall in the jar.

Story:  Our story for today was The Rain Came Down by David Shannon.  Once on a sunny day, the sky clouded over and the rain came down. The chickens squawked, the dog barked, the baby cried, the traffic snarled, the groceries fell, the people bickered and still, the rain came down.  But suddenly, everyone was happy.  Ask your child to tell you what happened to change everyone's mood.

Small Group:  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:  The children completed the Let's Find Out magazine pages about earthworms.  We also watched a video about worms, bees, and ladybugs.  In the afternoon, the children noticed an earthworm clinging to our window.  I brought it in for us to view.

Snacks:  The morning class had cereal bars and juice brought by Jocelyn.  The afternoon class also had cereal bars, raspberries, and milk brought by Mia.  Thank you!

Group Meeting:  Yesterday, we read the book The Windy Day by Pat Hutchins.  Because of the author studies we did last month, the children wanted to know who had written that book.  Today, I had a picture of Pat Huchins so that the children could see what she looked like.  I found it exciting that they are interested in authors and illustrators.


Story:  Our story for today was The Three Little Pigs retold by Bonnie Dobkin.  This is the classic story of the three pigs who went out into the world to build their own homes.  I am guessing that the children would be able to tell you the whole story.  They really enjoyed it!

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:  Following the story of The Three Little Pigs, the morning class used masks and the afternoon class used puppets to retell the story.  The masks and puppets will be available in the story area tomorrow.

Snacks:  The morning class had cheese sticks, teddy grahams, and juice brought by Jaxson.  The afternoon class had muffins and milk brought by Libby.  Thank you!

Group Meeting:  For the next two weeks, we will be talking about Spring and making plans for our Spring party which will be held on Thursday, April 13th. 

Story:  Our story for today was The Wind Blew by Pat Hutchins.  The wind blew, and blew, and blew! It blew so hard, it took everything with it: Mr. White's umbrella, Priscilla's balloon, the twins' scarves, even the wig on the judge's head. But just when the wind was about to carry everything out to sea, it changed its mind!  Ask your child to tell you how the story ends.

Small Groups:  The activities for this week and the schedule for today are listed below.
Activity #1 (Red Group)  The children are designing a T-shirt for a year end project.  They will be drawing their faces on to a piece of paper which will be transferred to a shirt.  More information about this project will be coming home soon.
Activity #2  (Yellow Group)  The children dropped liquid watercolor onto some spring shapes to make decorations for our windows.   It was fun to watch the colors blend.
Activty #3 (Green Group)  The children played a game called "Kaboom".  The children took turns picking sticks from a cup.  If it had a number on it, they identified it and kept it.  If the word "kaboom" was written on it, they had to return it along with the other sticks that they had picked.  After 5 minutes, the person with the most sticks was the winner.

Large Group:  The children picked a snack and games for our party.  We made lists of ideas and voted on our favorites.   I will be sending home a note with the details.

Snacks:  The morning class had chocolate chip waffles and milk brought by Jackson.  The afternoon class had bagels, cream cheese, and juice brought by Leslie.  Thank you!