Monday, February 13, 2017

Group Meeting:  We had added a music center to our play area for the children.  The instruments are mainly percussion at this time.  We have added a CD player with a microphone for the children to use for singing or for playing a variety of music.

Story:  Our story for today was In My Heart: A Book of Feelings by Jo Witek.  In this book, our many emotions are discussed using descriptive words that  a child can understand.  For example, when you are happy, your heart feels like a star that could lift you off the ground.  When you are angry, your heart feels like it is going to explode. 

Small Groups:  The activities for this week and the schedule for today are listed below.
Activity #1 (red group)  The children completed 10 frame puzzles to help them count and add to 10. 
Activity #2 (yellow group)  The children played a rhyming words game in which they had to match picture cards.
Activity #3 (green group)  The children rolled a dice and drew the corresponding amount of dots onto a heart.

Large Group:  The children played Musical Hearts.  This is a game similar to Musical Chairs except that we use large heart cutouts instead of chairs.  When the music stopped, they had to find a heart to stand on.  Gradually, we removed hearts, but the children were encouraged to share a heart.  At the end, everyone was standing on one large heart.

Snacks:  The morning class had graham crackers, grapes, and juice brought by Jaxson.  The afternoon class had muffins and milk brought by Libby.  Thank you!

Thursday, February 9, 2017

Group Meeting:  We have reached the 80th day of school, so we counted to 80.  Wow, time is really flying by.

Story:  The story for today was The Valentine Bears by Eve Bunting.  The Mr. and Mrs. Bear have never celebrated Valentines Day because they are usually hibernating.  This year, Mrs. Bear sets her alarm clock for February 14 so that she can surprise Mr. Bear with a Valentine treat.  When the day arrives, Mrs. Bear has a problem.  Ask your child to tell you what the problem is and how she tries to solve it.

Small Group:  The children used the Let's Find Out magazine to make a book about how animals express love for each other.  We watched a video about how animals show their love and how we can show our love for our family and friends. 

Large Group:  Because today was Birthday Day, we did some cooking.  The children made scrambled eggs by breaking an egg into a cup and scrambling it with a fork.  The eggs were added to the frying pan.  We enjoyed the eggs with salt and pepper.

Snacks:  The children had scrambled eggs, juice, and birthday brownies. 

Wednesday, February 8, 2017

Pajama Day

Group Meeting:  We took a few minutes to check out everyone's pajamas and slippers.  We were all very comfortable.


Story:  The story for today was The Practically Perfect Pajamas by Erik Brooks.  This is the story of Percy the polar bear who loves to wear his comfortable footed pajamas.  They are warm and cozy and keep his fur white.  While Percy thinks they are perfect, the other polar bears think differently. They tease him for wearing pajamas.  So, Percy decides not to wear pajamas anymore.   Will this make the other bears be nice to him?  Ask your child to tell you to tell you what Percy decides to do.  Also ask your child to tell you who the real friend was in the story.

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 watched popcorn popping out of an electric skillet.  First, we talked about how popcorn grows and what makes it pop.  Then, we put some oil and popcorn in the skillet.  After it started to pop, we stood back and removed the lid to watch it pop.







Snacks:  The morning class had English muffins, cinnamon sugar spread, and juice brought by Jackson.  The afternoon class had pretzels, pineapple, pears, peaches, and milk brought by Leslie.  Thank you!

Tuesday, February 7, 2017

Group Meeting:  The children are starting to bring their Valentines to school.  Throughout the week, they will take turns putting them into the mailboxes that they have decorated.

Story:  The book that I read today was My Neighbors and Their Simple Machines by Erin Seagraves and Heather Baker.   Ama likes to visit her neighbors to see what kind of work they are doing and what kind of simple machines they are using.  For example,  Mrs. D'Angelo is making bread and cutting it with a knife.  A knife is a wedge.  Mr.Salgado is washing windows.  He is using a pulley to raise and lower himself to reach the windows up above. 
While reading this book, I was pleasantly surprised at the vocabulary words that the children remembered such as inclined plane and fulcrum. 

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 played a game called "Throw the Beanbag to Your Partner".  While the music plays, the children must listen for the words "1, 2, 3, throw the beanbag" before they can throw the beanbag to their partner.  This game is good practice for listening skills and self-regulation skills.

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

Tomorrow is Pajama Day!!!



Monday, February 6, 2017

Getting ready for Valentines Day

Group Meeting:  We will be celebrating Valentines Day next Tuesday.  I  like to have the children help plan the party activities so that they have a say in what we eat for snack and play for games.  Today, the children made a list of snack choices and game ideas.  I will be sending home a note asking for a few items that we will need.

Story:  The story for today was Will You Be My Valentine? by Steven Kroll.  At Thomas' preschool, the children select one child for which to make a Valentine.  Thomas has selected Gretchen, and he is happy about that.  Thomas likes everything about Gretchen.  However, Gretchen doesn't like Thomas.  Thomas' mother thinks a play date would be a good way for Gretchen to get to know Thomas.  Ask your child to tell you what Gretchen and Thomas do together to discover that they can be good friends.

Small Groups:  The activities for this week and schedule for today are listed below.
 Activity #1 (Red Group) The children are using paper hearts to measure various Valentine pictures.  They are recording their answers on a corresponding paper that they will be bringing home to share.
Activity #2 (Yellow Group)  The children are making Valentine hearts with paper and liquid watercolor.  The hearts will be taken to Senior Star to give to the residents.
Activity #3  (Green Group)  The children are graphing candy hearts by color.   They are creating a bar graph.

Large Group:  This week, we will be learning about a few more simple machines.  Today, we learned about a pulley.  We discovered that our window shades use a pulley to raise and lower the shade.

Snacks:  The morning class had Chex-mix and juice brought by Hollie.  The afternoon class had Nutrigrain bars, Veggie Straws, and juice brought by Kullen.  Thank you!


Thursday, February 2, 2017

Group Meeting:  Today is Groundhog Day.  We talked about the legend of the groundhog coming out of his burrow to see his shadow.

Story:  The story for today was Who Will See Their Shadow? by Jerry Pallotta.  The animals are waiting for the groundhog to come out and announce that Spring is coming.  While they wait, they wonder what would happen if they saw their shadow.  The chicken sees her shadow, and it rains.  The polar bear sees his shadow, and it begins to sleet.  The story continues as each animal's shadow brings a different kind of weather.

Small Groups:  The children watched a video about groundhogs.  They learned that groundhogs live in a burrow.  They whistle to each other when they see a predator.  The children looked at the Let's Find Out Magazine about groundhogs.

Large Group:  The children completed the D page in their workbooks.  The Red Group brought show and tell items.

Snacks:  The morning class had graham crackers, cheese sticks, and juice brought by Gus.  The afternoon class had Wheat Thins, grapes, and milk brought by Kennedy.  Thank you!

Wednesday, February 1, 2017

Group Meeting:  I have brought to school a log from our wood pile at home along with some roofing nails and screws.  The children have been having fun with it.  We want to thank Mason's mom for providing the safety goggles.



Story:  The story for today was Lola Loves Stories by Anna McQuinn.  Lola loves to go to the library to borrow books for her parents to read to her.  After hearing the story, Lola likes to pretend that she is like the characters in the books.  After reading this story, the children told us the names of their favorite story books that they liked to hear over and over again. 

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

Large Group:  The children flattened play dough onto the table.  They made impressions of the nails, screws, and bolts that we have in our collection.  They enjoyed it so much that we are going to add this activity to the art table using clay that dries so that they may take it home.









Snacks:  The morning class had graham crackers, cheese sticks, and juice brought by Colin.  The afternoon class had granola bars and juice brought by Journey.  Thank you!