My Mommy Says I Can't Play with Shaving Cream

Okay, first of all, I'm very, very sorry I haven't blogged yet this week. For those of you who don't know, we're preparing for our verification from the state department of education. This means I've been working on a portfolio full of everything we've done at SON Shine, getting child files all organized and ready to go, making sure the classroom is in tip-top shape, and working with LMCPD and the school on our program portfolio. In other words, I've been spread a little thin for a while. I'm excited about this work though. I started printing my portfolio this morning and I can't wait to share it with you! Since the portfolio is directly tied to the state standards for early childhood, it is the perfect way for me to show you how SON Shine is a high-quality preschool. Our site visit will happen during the second week in February, and then I should be able to spend way more time on this blog. Just hang in there with me!

This week, we spent a lot of time working with the story The Three Little Pigs. First, I read it to the kids. Then, I told it to the kids using flannel board pictures. Then, the children acted the story out. (This was the coolest thing, by the way. I wish I had a video camera so I could record this for you, but maybe I'll work it into our graduation program at the end of the year.) Then, on Thursday, we compared the original story with The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieska. It was so much fun to experience the story this way with the children!

 Telling the story with flannel board pictures

Acting the story out

On Wednesday, we were finally able to cook with Jodie again. There had been conflicts for the last couple of weeks, and the kiddos were excited to get back downstairs and do some cooking! We made grilled cheese sandwiches and apple slices. The children had the opportunity to use a couple of new cooking utensils: an apple slicer and a pizza cutter. Those apple slicers require lots of muscles though, so the children worked in teams.

I think the favorite activities for the children this week involved shaving cream. First, we used the shaving cream to write in. Like I mentioned last week, we've really been working on letter recognition, so we practiced writing some letters in shaving cream. The kiddos loved it! At first, though, they didn't believe I was going to let them play with it. One of them told me, "My mommy says I can't play with shaving cream." She was so excited when I told her it was okay for her to play with it while she was at school! We also used the shaving cream to make our own puffy paint. It is made out of glue, food coloring, and shaving cream. The children had a blast painting many, many pictures using this puffy paint, but I think they enjoyed the feel of the pictures when they finished drying even more. The paint keeps its puffiness after it is dry, which is pretty cool! I'm hoping to hang these up in the classroom next week, so stop on in and see them if you get the chance.

Just a reminder: Next week, we will be preparing for our cheering performance on Friday. We will be practicing on Tuesday and Thursday at 3:30 in the high school foyer. (I will walk the afternoon class over after preschool, and you can meet us there.) I'm still not sure on what time we need to be at the school on Friday for the performance, but I'm sure we will find out on Tuesday. I'll be sending home reminders with the kids throughout the week, and I hope to see everyone there!

Have a great weekend!

All About the Polar Bear

We've been working hard on our study of animals this week! The kids were especially interested in polar bears, so we learned a bit about them today.

They wanted to know how polar bears hunt. I found an excellent clip from an Planet Earth-type documentary of a polar bear hunting a seal. Since the seals can hear the vibrations of the cracking ice as the polar bears walk across it, the bears have to be perfectly still. The seals make breathing holes in the ice, and the bears pick a hole and sit down beside it. When a seal comes up for breath in that hole, the polar bear is waiting and grabs it for lunch! Of course, in the clip I found, the polar bear chose the wrong hole, so he didn't get the seal. The kiddos were super excited about this whole process. They actually started shushing each other as they watched the clip - they didn't want to miss out on anything! Go ahead and ask them about it! I'd be interested to hear how much of it they remember.

We've been journaling this week. Instead of free-choice journaling, I've been giving the children a prompt to help guide their thinking. Not all the children have been choosing to answer my prompt, but most have. Their journal entries are completely different! I'm loving the changes! So far this week, the children have written about their pets (or their grandparents' pets or a pet they'd like to have) and about their favorite animals. I cannot wait to show you these entries at our next conferences!

I've been working hard to help the children build their letter recognition skills this week. Many parents mentioned this was an area of concern during conferences, so I've been adding in different activities to build on this skill. Here's a few examples:

 Letter and Letter Sound Bingo

Alphabet Train Puzzle

I know not all children have a letter recognition goal, so I've been working in letter/sound connections and rhyming activities too. 

We were lucky enough this morning to have Ellie's baby brother, Kyle, come visit! The children enjoyed learning about what Kyle likes to do and watching Ellie try to get him to smile. Thank you, Allison, for bringing him in! It's always fun to have a living person for show-and-tell!

A New Year

It is fabulous to be back into a normal routine! I have loved seeing all of the children once again, and I think they have been pretty happy to see their friends again too! Here's a look at some of the things we have done the last two days:

We're working on our math skills this week, so I've set out a few games for the children to play when they arrive. We've worked on patterns, counting, number recognition, and shapes.

 We are in the process of beginning a study of animals. We made a list of all the animals we know and have been playing with animals in many different areas (including most of those math games). The children especially liked building "animal barns" in the block center.

We also made a Ferris wheel out of Tinker toys, painted, and made all kinds of 3D structures using play dough, pipe cleaners, and craft sticks.

It has been a great start to a new year and I can't wait to see where this year will take us!

IMPORTANT DATES: We are going to be cheering at half-time of the Lake Mills girls' basketball game on January 27. I'm not sure what time we'll need to be there yet, but as soon as I know, I'll relay the message. We'll be practicing on Tuesday, January 24, and Thursday, January 26 at 3:30 in the high school foyer. If your child is in the afternoon class, I will walk the class over to the high school after preschool and you can meet us over there. I am super excited about this event! Last year, when we did this same thing, it was a blast and a half, and I'm sure this year will be even better! Let me know if you have any questions!