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!