Playing in the snow

Outdoor Play: The Tigers really enjoyed the snow today! They were out on the preschool playground building a snowman, having snowball fights, and making snow angels! Yay!

Outside: The Cockatoos played outside this morning. Many of our friends were able to get on some or most of their snow gear with just a little bit of help. We used shovels in the snow. We also had fun just trying to walk and run through the snow.

Gift Wrapping: We recycled gift wrapping paper. We used the paper to wrap some of the toys in the room. Our friends had fun working with the big pieces of paper. They did a good job of getting the toys wrapped up in the paper. When we were finished we put the toys away and tossed out the paper.

Various pictures from school

Snow...

Sensory: Because it was too cold to go outside, we brought the snow inside. We used individual sensory bins with shovels, cups, and sand molds. The snow was fluffy and as it started to melt it felt heavier and wet. The Cockatoos enjoyed scooping it up and putting it in cups and containers.

Fort

Dramatic Play: We used the big boxes we painted as forts. The Cockatoos had fun sitting in the boxes with their friends and some friends found it very fun to drum with their hands on top of the boxes. It made a loud noise, but was very exciting. We also used dolls, dress up clothes, food, and tools. Dressing up in the dramatic play area helps to promote creativity and language development.

Tracks

Sensory: After we painted with the toy trucks, we used soap and water to wash the tires. We used washcloths to get the trucks very clean. Some of our friends had fun squeezing water from the washcloth into the bucket and some friends liked to just drive the trucks in water.

Learning about tools

Last couple of days

November 30th:

Laying Bricks: We pretended to be bricklayers. We used shovels and triangle spatulas to put shaving cream on our wooden blocks. We stacked the wooden blocks on top of each other just as people do when they are building a brick house.

Art Smart: The Cockatoos used purple, orange, blue, and pink roller painters at the art easel.




December 1st:

Art Smart: The Cockatoos painted with hammers today. Children were given black paper and shiny paint to paint a picture using tool hammers. The Cockatoos enjoyed dipping the hammers into the different colored paint and making circles on the black paper. They noticed how the hammer could make different shapes each time they put the hammer on the paper.

Table Toys: The Cockatoos were given Lego’s to build. The children loved building towers and tall buildings! The other table had a BIG! Digger puzzle. The Cockatoos used their fine motor skills to fit the puzzle pieces together. The children worked together to help put the puzzle together.

Center Time: A USA puzzle, which was a bit challenging, was out on the carpet and several of the children worked together in small groups to put it together and they were all very successful.

Making applesauce

The children learned how to make applesauce today. They watched as Ms. Sausen peeled and cut the apples, then as Ms. Erin put them in the cooker, and while they cooked. At lunch the children got to enjoy the applesauce.

Exploring flubber

New haircut

Yesterday we took David for his first professional haircut! He now has a "big boy" haircut...

Sensory Table: Our friends helped empty the sensory table today. We put all the pasta in a zip-lock bag and put the dinosaurs away. Then we poured in a bag of colorful feathers. Our friends had fun tossing the feathers into the air. They also liked running their hands through the feathers and feeling how soft they are.

Math Counts: We did a turkey feather math game. There were six turkeys. Each turkey has a number on it and dots to match the number. The children then count out how many feathers they need and add them to the turkey. The dots help our friends who do not recognize the written numbers.

Art Smart: We painted a big paper tooth using toothbrushes. We used pink and purple paint. Some of our friends pretended to brush their own teeth when they were painting.

Art and math

Art Smart: We painted dinosaurs on poster board at the art easel. We used regular paint brushes and pink, yellow, purple, and red paint. The cockatoo’s like using the art easel; they are also getting really good at putting on smocks all by themselves.

Math Counts: Our friends are really enjoying measuring. Today we used rulers, a big tape measure, and yarn to measure things in the classroom. We compared the length of three toy dinosaurs, we used yarn to measure the dinosaur tape on the floor, and some friends used the yarn and rulers to measure other toys and even a shelf in the classroom!

Counting apples and even more dinosaurs...

Art Smart: We used paint brushes to spread glue onto paper dinosaurs. We then added Penne pasta to show the bones that are inside dinosaurs.

Dinosaur Fossils: We made dinosaur fossils using play dough. We pushed dinosaurs into the play dough then pulled them out. We looked at the fossil that it left behind. We talked about what we saw and we touched it and noticed that the textures felt different. Some dinosaurs left a crises-cross pattern and others lift a bumpy circle pattern. The tail and feel left indents or holes.

More on dinosaurs

Thursday:

Science Rocks: We made volcanoes today. We put baking soda in a cone and then poured in vinegar with red food coloring in it. We then saw it foam up and spill out just like lava from a volcano. The Cockatoo’s were given their own set of baking soda, vinegar, and a cone to do the experiment on their own after it was demonstrated.

Friday:

Group Project: The cockatoo’s worked together to make a paper mache egg. Today we mixed flour and water to make a paste and then dipped strips of newspaper in the mixture. We then laid the strips of paper on a blown up balloon. We made our first layer today; we will continue the project Monday.

Space Man

Dinosaurs

Math Counts: We matched colored dinosaurs to each other. We also tried matching dinosaurs with dots to dinosaurs with corresponding numbers. We counted the dots on a dinosaur and tried finding that number written on another dinosaur. We also counted the dinosaurs we were using.

Language Works: We read Dinosaur! By Peter Sis, Dinosaur Train By Steven Gurney, Trouble at the Dinosaur Café By Brian Moses, and a tape story called Little Grunt and the Big Egg A Prehistoric Fairy Tale By Tomie dePaola.


Outside: We built with tree blocks and used dinosaurs. We also had a lot of fun on the climber and the slides today. Our friends were very busy trying to use each of the three slides. We also played with the instruments outside and rode tricycles.

Thomas' sweater

Kid Rock: We learned about the opposites LARGE and small. We caught small bubbles, used maracas as large sharks swimming in the ocean, we used ribbons as airplane wings and flew around to a fun airplane song, we pretended that plastic colored balls were frogs and we hopped as we caught the frogs and put them back in a bag, and we looked at a picture of a whale and a frog and talked about which was large and which was small and which we liked best.

Nene loves this sweater sooooo much, he never wants to take it off! And as you can see, he has to wear the hood, even inside...

Halloween!

Finally they meet: 70's Batman and present day Batman...

And Batman is attacking Mami!!!

Is it Halloween yet? Yes! Let's go trick or treating!

We caught up with Tía Betty and MJ while we were out trick or treating, and they came home with us and gave the kids some presents. Thank you!

The kids got to enjoy they presents and a big Hershey's bar each... ;)

We finished the night at a greek restaurant, still accompanied by Batman and Batman...