Strollers Needed

We are looking for a double and a single stroller.  If you know of anyone who has one to give away or for a reasonable price, please let us know.

The "Dynamic Duo" lost their pants!

Adam and Bryce had a fun (and messy!) time playing outside today.  We love finally getting outside again, but we'll have pretty dirty pants until our play yard dries up.

Dirt on My Shirt 

(or pants in this case)

There's dirt on my shirt

And leaves in my hair

There's mud on my boots

But I don't really Care

Playing outside is so much fun

To breathe the clean air

And feel the warm sun

To stomp in a puddle

Or climb a big tree

Makes me quite happy

Just look and you'll see

-By Jeff Foxworthy
from the book "Dirt on My Shirt"

Learning Through Play

The lincoln logs have been getting a lot of use in the preschool classroom lately.  As I observe their play, Patrick and Malachi sit on the floor together building.  I can practically see their minds at work as they fit the pieces together.  Now, lincoln logs are a complicated thing for a three or four year old.  They fit together in a certain way, and the notches have to be in the right direction in order to put the next piece on.  When building a house they have to figure out how to fit four pieces together to construct walls.  But they know what to do and have a recognizable structure in a matter of seconds.

I watch Malachi as he instructs Patrick that the corner or the house he is building must be "the same".  They are fitting together the smallest lincoln logs on each corner of the house to make windows.  Patrick stacks a few pieces and asks "Is this the same?"  Malachi counts the pieces stacked on his side, then the pieces on Patrick's.  He holds his hand across the top to measure if it's even, and seems satisfied.  He notices that the notches are in the wrong direction to put the long log on top to form the top of the window.  He takes a small log off each corner and searches through the box for a longer log to add.

They continue to build and when they are finished, proud of their work, they take it over to the puzzle table to display.  "Hey!  Let's line them up by the biggest!",  Patrick says, and they line them up from biggest to littlest.  Satisfied, they go find the legos and begin a new project.

It is amazing to me when I sit back and take the time to just watch.  Children's minds are constantly deciphering, wondering, and figuring things out.  It's like a scaffold with each new discovery building on the last.  They learn so much through their play.  We often forget how hard at work they really are when they are "just playing".

-Amanda

Miss Michelle on Vacation

Miss Michelle will be sitting on the beach in sunny Mexico next week!  We all wish her a safe flight, and a fun time (and wishing we were there too!).  She will bring back lots of stories and pictures to share with her class.

Miss Michelle and Miss Tiffiney's classes took a walk through downtown Lake Geneva today to check out the snow sculptures in progress.  The one they liked best was a sculpture of a toilet that a few boys from Fontana school were working on.  The kids thought this was very funny!

Fresh Paint

We will be painting Miss Tiffiney's room this weekend on Friday the 5th and Saturday the 6th.  We are very excited to take on this rather large project to give her room a whole new look!  We also hope to have pictures of this new project up soon.

Our First Entry

This is the first entry to our new blog! Check back regularly for updates and photos! We hope its a hit!