Toddler News

This morning the children started working on their Caterpiller project with Ms. Tiffiney. They were given a piece of paper with paint on it and some cotton balls. They were asked to spot paint and/or spread the paint using the cotton balls. Later today when it is dry we hope to cut the circles out and then have the children glue them together to form a Caterpillar.

(fine motor skills, following direction, and sensory)




Before lunch the children and Ms. Jessica were able to get outside and enjoy the beautiful weather. The children enjoyed some free play. Some played on the teeter taters together while some took turns on the little toy bike. Ms. Jessica and the children also practiced kicking the ball back and forth.
(large motor skills)

Later this afternoon we hope to read Aaaarrgghh! Spider! and The Eensy-Weensy Spider during story time. We're also hoping to finish up any other projects the children may have not finished so they can be dry and sent home tomorrow.
(listening skills, language skills, and fine motor skills)

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 30th

Today in the Pre-School room we found all the objects in the classroom that starts with B. It was nice watching the kids being able to recognize the sounds of letters. 

(language)

We also enjoy music and movement today. We listened to Sticky bubble gum CD by Carole Peterson.

(gross motors)

During nap time, the children who did not nap worked on their names. I wrote out their names and the children had to use sticky balls to put on each line of their names. This was great for them to use fine motor skills and language.

Since it was a beautiful day, we took an afternoon walk and observed the signs of spring. Keller said " Its springtime when you can see grass and not snow" all the children came up with some good observations about spring. (Science and socializing)

Toddler News

This morning the children enjoyed some music time. They played with the drums, piano, and the Shakers all while dancing around the room.
(large motor skills and sharing.)

Later this morning they put the finishing touches on their ladybugs and award trees. They painted with brushes but some also used their hands. Which is always a great sensory.
(small motor skills which also turned into a sensory.)

Before lunch we all sat on                    

the floor and enjoyed two

stories.

The very hungry Caterpiller

and Miss Spiders Tea Party.

(listening skills and language)



Today at lunch the children ate chicken and veggie stir fry with noodles, oranges, and milk. They all loved their lunch and some even had seconds or thirds.

Later this afternoon we hope to get the children outside and also start are caterpiller project.

A future teacher in the making.

Jackie enjoys playing school with the younger kids.  She is able to get the whole group engaged in listening and learning.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 30th

This morning we mad Pickles in a Blanket for morning snack where we spread cream cheese on a slice of ham, add a pickle, and roll it up.  We focused on the measurement 1/3.  "Does anyone know what 1/3 is?"  Jacob replied it is another word for the number 3.

At the end of the cooking activity, we talked about what we had learned.

Jacob -  "How to make pickles in a blanket!"

Malachi - "How to roll the pickle in the ham."

Patrick - "It looks yummy, and we learned how to follow directions."

Katelyn - "I learned how to measure and what 1/3 is."

Nicole - "It was fun!"

Arwen - "Cutting it into 1/3rds."

Toddler News, Tuesday, March 29th

This morning we painted paper plate ladybugs with brushes. This worked on their fine motor skills. The children really enjoyed being covered in paint and also painting the table along with their project.

Before lunch we were able to get outside and enjoy the brisk but fresh air. The children were having a blast going down the slide and playing in the play house.

In the afternoon the children also started their tree project. They painted a green paper plate with brushes and some used their hands. This worked on their fine motor skills and was also a sensory activity.

For story time this morning the children all sat with Ms.Tiffiney and read I am a Bee.  Later this afternoon we plan on reading Lady Bug, and Can You Make a Scary Face.

TUESDAY, MARCH 29th

Today in Preschool we did a cooking activity for morning snack.  The children went into the kitchen to find all the ingredients: chocolate pudding, milk, and mini M&M's.  We also looked in the kitchen to find the utensils and tools needed.  They used great thinking and problem solving skills to answer the questions "where do you think the milk would be?', and "where would we find spoons?"
  

We used a step by step picture recipe to measure out 3 cups of milk, mix in the pudding, and stir.  We all took turns.  We used this project in our seed unit to make dirt (the chocolate pudding) and plant seeds (mini M&M's).  But the best part was eating it!

Mia is spreading her soil to get it ready for the seeds.

MONDAY, MARCH 28, 2011

Today in the Pre-School room we went to the library. The children helped picked out books that they wanted in the classroom. It was nice to see the children excited about books! After we checked out, we sat outside in front of the library, where we read our books. Literacy is a great way for the children to add new words to their vocabulary. Reading lets a child explore their world around them and lets their imagination wonder. In the afternoon we did math with shapes. The children traced the basic shapes, and made flowers out of them. This was a great way to help them learn about shapes.

Toddler News

•    Welcome to another wonderful week in the toddler room! This week we will be talking and learning about bugs and insects.
•    Today we talked about where do we find ants? Our project of the day was fingerprint ants. This project worked on our fine motor skill and was a fun sensory activity. We got to listen to and look at the great pictures in our books of the day: Bugs! Bugs! Bugs! and Little Buggy.
•    This afternoon we hope to get outside for some fresh air and also some fun in our classroom using our sensory table filled with "bugs"!

FRIDAY, MARCH 25th

Early this morning Dylan, Nicole, and Rosie helped Miss Michelle prepare breakfast for the entire center. The children enjoyed making homemade monkey bread. Cooking is a great way to teach the children science, math, following directions and much more. Here is the recipe for you to enjoy making at home with your child.


 ingredients:
4 cans refrigerated biscuits
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 sticks butter (3/4 cup)
1/2 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons cinnamon
 Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease a 9-10 inch tube pan.
2. Mix white sugar and cinnamon in a medium sized plastic bag. Cut the biscuits into halves or quarters and place six to eight biscuits pieces in the sugar cinnamon mix. Shake well.
3. Arrange pieces in the bottom of a greased pan. Continue layering until the biscuits pieces are coated and in the pan.
4. In a small saucepan, melt the butter with the brown sugar over medium heat. Boil for 1 minute. Pour over the layered biscuits.
5. Bake for 30 minutes. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a plate. Pull apart and enjoy!

Today in preschool we ...

did a project about how a flower grows. We started with the seed and used string to represent the roots. Then we used our cutting skills to cut out a stem and glue on pedals.  This project really helped the children understand what happens to a seed when it is planted as well as the growing process.

The children had a lot of interest in reading stories today.  One of the books they really enjoyed was Preschool to the Rescue, about a preschool class who rescued their toy cars from the mud.  After reading the story, we discussed what kinds of things they could do to "save the day" if someone needed help.  They were so imaginative in sharing their ideas.  This was a wonderful literacy activity and sharing experience.


In our science center this week we had a planting activity set up where children used planting cups, dirt, and seeds to explore their own ways of planting and growing seeds.

Toddler Activities :)

Today  we painted "Robin eggs" using blue and white paint.  We observed the mixing of the two colors and felt the paint on our hands.  It is not uncommon at this age for the young children to dislike getting their hands messy, some of them choose to use a paint brush instead...then when they were more comfortable they wanted to paint their hands with the paint brush.  What a learning experience!

We also used teamwork to play with a parachute.  We used listening skills to shake, lift, and go under the parachute.  We observed the pretty colors (color recognition) and laughed with our friends during this silly game.  We loved seeing the reaction on our friends faces! (Social skills)

For story time we sang along to books on CD.  By request we did each book twice (Learning through repetition) and we had fun singing along to "Rock-a-Baby Band" and "Wheels on the Bus" using hand motions with friends and teachers.  (Learning through imitation) 

THURSDAY, MARCH 24th

Today in Preschool we ...

did some science explorations

 We examined the inside of a seed and learned about the parts of a seed, including the embryo, endosperm, and seed coat.

We went for a nature walk and enjoyed some fresh air.

THURSDAY, MARCH 24th

Today in the Toddler Room we ...

Looked Through magazines and talked about the pictures we saw

(using observation and communication skills)

We played with packing peanuts in the sensory tub.  We poured, scooped, and pretended it was food and drinks in our bowls and cups.

(fine and gross motor skills, and imaginative play)

We also are learning that when we drop or dump the packing peanuts on the floor, we clean them up.

(self help skills)

We painted with cotton balls

(color recognition, using a variety of art materials, creativity, and fine motor skills)


For Music and Movement Time this morning we danced the Bean Bag Dance where children sing and dance to a silly song with a bean bag, putting it on their head, elbow, foot, etc.
(gross motor, following directions, rhythm, identifying parts of the body)




While playing with blocks the children worked on stacking them and building towers.  We extended their block play to having each child build their name, finding and identifying each letter.
(taking turns, literacy, fine motor, and reasoning skills)