We have had a full week here with our apple theme which was a huge success.
Friday's events included visiting the chickens in our next door neighbor's yard, bringing banana bread to our neighbors, walking to a nearby pumpkin patch, and starting our lanterns for our upcoming lantern walk on November 7 at 5:30 p.m. Hopefully you will all make it over for an evening of singing, warm snacks, and walking around the neighborhood with lanterns aglow.
Last year's lantern walk was a wonderful time of connecting with all of our children and families and sharing a night of warmth together. We want our home to feel like home to all of you as well and our vision is to create a deep sense of community among everyone.
There are new health procedures in place effective Monday morning as we are striving to keep everyone healthy. Upon entering, we will be having everyone use a natural hand sanitizer from Mama Jean's before walking through the gate. We hope this helps to eliminate bringing any new germs into the house. We will also be using this throughout the day in addition to our normal hand washing routines. It would be a good idea for you to purchase this as well to keep with you when you have your children out in various places.
We will also be taking temperatures throughout the day.
According to the parent handbook, no child will be admitted who has a fever, who is vomiting, or has diarrhea. If one of these develops once the child is already here, we will call and ask you to take your child home. A child must stay at home for 24 hours after the fever has gone away and/or after the last episode of vomiting or diarrhea. This is so important in keeping the other children from getting sick as well. If your child has any of these symptoms please keep them at home. Many of us have been getting ill these past few weeks and it can be very frustrating. We are doing all we can here to prevent future sickness and we appreciate your help and cooperation.
Our recipes starting this next week will be taken from the book SuperImmunity for Kids...what to feed your children to keep them healthy now and prevent disease in their future. I would highly recommend this resource.
One of the most important supplements to be giving your child on a daily basis is cod liver oil.
This has multiple benefits. It provides a barrier of warmth, keeps skin smooth and moist, and helps boost immunity against many illnesses. I have noticed lots of dry, itchy, scaly skin that happens a lot during winter and is also a sign of a lack of essential fatty acids in the diet. It's very simple to add to the daily diet in pasta, smoothies, etc. Nordic Naturals is a brand we use in our family and is available at Mama Jean's also. There are many great children's vitamins there that are invaluable during this season.
We will be exploring pumpkins this next week!
Activities will include a trip to the nearby pumpkin patch, sensory experiences with the insides of the pumpkin, roasting pumpkin seeds, and a variety of art projects. Our new weekly lesson plan will be available on Monday. I will send home a copy for each family and it will also be posted on our bulletin board by the door.
Our books this next week will revolve around the theme of pumpkins, fall, and leaves and some titles I have presently are:
Pumpkin Moonshine by Tasha Tudor
Let's Look at Fall by Sarah L. Schuette
Pumpkin Pumpkin by Jean Titherington
Autumnblings by Douglas Florian a book of poems and paintings
All the Colors of the Earth by Sheila Hamanaka
We will also be earnestly working on our paper lanterns this week, learning our lantern walk songs, and joyfully participating in new harvest and pumpkin circle times.
Thankyou for sharing the children with us.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Apple Days
We are having so much fun with our apple theme this week!
Thankyou to everyone who brought in apples, applesauce, muffins, and more to share with all the children.
Tuesday morning we started out with a hunt for hidden apples that we colored the day before, we made apple prints with colored tempura paints, read Our Apple Tree, by Kristina Naslund (a Swedish author), and made an apple crisp using a recipe from the book sans the sugar.
Today we read more stories about apples including:
Out and About at the Apple Orchard by Diane Mayr
Other books we are reading this week are:
We Gather Together : Celebrating the Harvest, by Wendy Pfeffer
Fairy Houses by Traci Kane
Living Alphabet
One Green Apple
The Apple Pie Tree
Smiles and laughter filled the backyard as the children attempted to take bites from apples hanging on a string from branches......without using their hands.
Hilton was determined and followed the apple around as it swayed.
Addi found the easier way to get that apple and quickly decided to hold onto it and eat it.
This morning we took a walk and toured the art museum. Quietly, the children discovered many wonderful paintings including new fall exhibits made with felt.
Our new class/play/art room is slowly transforming into a magical place for the children who are adding lots of creative touches with their artwork, nature mobiles, and posters.
Tomorrow a new magnetic board will be installed for lots of open-ended play opportunities with magnets, storytelling, and design.
Starting next week I will be sending home a weekly plan sheet that will include all the activities for the week so the daily reports will only have basic information on them such as eating and sleeping times.
If you are not already, please make sure your child brings appropriate clothing for outdoor play.
Warmth is very critical for the developing nervous system in young children. Dress in layers with undershirts, tights, etc. Make sure there is something to adequately cover the head with a beanie that will not come off easily. Nova Natural Toys has wonderful wool head coverings that fully cover the sides, ears, and neck. Hanna Anderson also has very good head caps, slippers, rain boots, coats, and pants.
The children need all of these for their time here as we go outside every day.
Happy Birthday to Finn who has just turned one!!
Thankyou also to everyone who brought in tomatoes, peppers, garlic, zucchini, and cucumbers from their gardens to share with us!!
Having a wonderful time.
Thankyou to everyone who brought in apples, applesauce, muffins, and more to share with all the children.
Tuesday morning we started out with a hunt for hidden apples that we colored the day before, we made apple prints with colored tempura paints, read Our Apple Tree, by Kristina Naslund (a Swedish author), and made an apple crisp using a recipe from the book sans the sugar.
Today we read more stories about apples including:
Out and About at the Apple Orchard by Diane Mayr
Other books we are reading this week are:
We Gather Together : Celebrating the Harvest, by Wendy Pfeffer
Fairy Houses by Traci Kane
Living Alphabet
One Green Apple
The Apple Pie Tree
Smiles and laughter filled the backyard as the children attempted to take bites from apples hanging on a string from branches......without using their hands.
Hilton was determined and followed the apple around as it swayed.
Addi found the easier way to get that apple and quickly decided to hold onto it and eat it.
This morning we took a walk and toured the art museum. Quietly, the children discovered many wonderful paintings including new fall exhibits made with felt.
Our new class/play/art room is slowly transforming into a magical place for the children who are adding lots of creative touches with their artwork, nature mobiles, and posters.
Tomorrow a new magnetic board will be installed for lots of open-ended play opportunities with magnets, storytelling, and design.
Starting next week I will be sending home a weekly plan sheet that will include all the activities for the week so the daily reports will only have basic information on them such as eating and sleeping times.
If you are not already, please make sure your child brings appropriate clothing for outdoor play.
Warmth is very critical for the developing nervous system in young children. Dress in layers with undershirts, tights, etc. Make sure there is something to adequately cover the head with a beanie that will not come off easily. Nova Natural Toys has wonderful wool head coverings that fully cover the sides, ears, and neck. Hanna Anderson also has very good head caps, slippers, rain boots, coats, and pants.
The children need all of these for their time here as we go outside every day.
Happy Birthday to Finn who has just turned one!!
Thankyou also to everyone who brought in tomatoes, peppers, garlic, zucchini, and cucumbers from their gardens to share with us!!
Having a wonderful time.
Friday, September 18, 2009
Leaf crowns and pinecone people
We have been finding and collecting such great treasures this week outside and on our daily walks. Today the children helped to make leaf crowns and pinecone people. Yellow and golden leaves have been gathered in the backyard to make artful designs in between clear contact paper to hang in the windows. Working, shoveling, arranging rocks, watering plants, and riding new tricycles have been favorite activities as well. Several tea parties and picnics on the grass are taking place many times and go along perfectly with our new circle time themes.
Important learning happens all the time as new discoveries and observations are made in the garden, watching the chickens, finding bugs, designing treasure maps, collaborating with friends on the details of fort building, gathering and sorting branches, sticks, and rocks, arranging by categories such as size, color, and shape, and creating original pieces of art. The children get a deep feeling of satisfaction when they are allowed the time and space to carry an idea through to a finished product of their own making. These are the daily celebrations that bring beauty and a sense of wonder to all of our lives. We are reminded again of the gift and honor of having these young ones with us.
Circle time:
Let's go on a picnic - the sun is shining bright
Let's go on a picnic - the weather is just right
And let's call our pony so strong and so true
He'll pull the wagon, that he can do
But look, he comes limping so slowly along
Let's look at his foot and see what is wrong
My little pony needs a pair of shoes, how many nails must I use?
One, two, three, tie him to a tree
Let him have a bag of hay
Then he will not run away
Pitty patty polt
Shoe my little colt
Here a nail, there a nail
Pitty, patty, polt
And what shall we pack in our picnic basket
To take on our picnic today?
How about some apples
Rosy apples grow Rosy apples grow
Pick them, wash them, rub them, shine them
See how red they glow
And we put the apples in our basket."
Regarding the importance of circle times:
"One of the great gifts we receive as teachers is a deepening and enriching of the experience of the course of the year. For busy adults, it is all too easy to become caught up in the pressures of "clock time". Through singing and moving with the children in these seasonal circle plays, we nurture their natural, heartfelt participation in all that lives in the world of nature. At the same time, we rediscover our own connection with that world and the spirit which weaves in and through it. With the children, we enter the realm of the natural cycles of time, as experiences in music and movement. This experience is nourishing to both children and adults, and helps to create the mood of joyful serenity which we seek in the preschool.
There are several festivals we will be having over the course of this new school year and our first one will be happening on Saturday, November 7. Please join us for our second annual Lantern Walk. We will gather for some fall singing, warm cider, homemade baked treats, and a walk around the neighborhood with lanterns aglow. Check out older posts for some words on the importance of festivals. Looking forward to sharing the evening with all of you.
Important learning happens all the time as new discoveries and observations are made in the garden, watching the chickens, finding bugs, designing treasure maps, collaborating with friends on the details of fort building, gathering and sorting branches, sticks, and rocks, arranging by categories such as size, color, and shape, and creating original pieces of art. The children get a deep feeling of satisfaction when they are allowed the time and space to carry an idea through to a finished product of their own making. These are the daily celebrations that bring beauty and a sense of wonder to all of our lives. We are reminded again of the gift and honor of having these young ones with us.
Circle time:
Let's go on a picnic - the sun is shining bright
Let's go on a picnic - the weather is just right
And let's call our pony so strong and so true
He'll pull the wagon, that he can do
But look, he comes limping so slowly along
Let's look at his foot and see what is wrong
My little pony needs a pair of shoes, how many nails must I use?
One, two, three, tie him to a tree
Let him have a bag of hay
Then he will not run away
Pitty patty polt
Shoe my little colt
Here a nail, there a nail
Pitty, patty, polt
And what shall we pack in our picnic basket
To take on our picnic today?
How about some apples
Rosy apples grow Rosy apples grow
Pick them, wash them, rub them, shine them
See how red they glow
And we put the apples in our basket."
Regarding the importance of circle times:
"One of the great gifts we receive as teachers is a deepening and enriching of the experience of the course of the year. For busy adults, it is all too easy to become caught up in the pressures of "clock time". Through singing and moving with the children in these seasonal circle plays, we nurture their natural, heartfelt participation in all that lives in the world of nature. At the same time, we rediscover our own connection with that world and the spirit which weaves in and through it. With the children, we enter the realm of the natural cycles of time, as experiences in music and movement. This experience is nourishing to both children and adults, and helps to create the mood of joyful serenity which we seek in the preschool.
There are several festivals we will be having over the course of this new school year and our first one will be happening on Saturday, November 7. Please join us for our second annual Lantern Walk. We will gather for some fall singing, warm cider, homemade baked treats, and a walk around the neighborhood with lanterns aglow. Check out older posts for some words on the importance of festivals. Looking forward to sharing the evening with all of you.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
NEW FACES
Greetings.
There are many new faces here and lots of changes going on and I am so thankful for your patience and support during this transition.
Our new teachers are Meghan and Tesa and they add such inspiration to our day
The group is growing and this is so exciting as it makes for many new opportunities in our creative play, friendship possibilities, and circle/story times.
A new play and art space will be ready within 3 weeks and this will allow us extra room for more activities and a special place for age appropriate learning and discovery.
We have been enjoying the weather these past few days and spend most of our time outside. Picnics on the grass, parachute play, hoola hoops, observing creatures with magnifiers, making paper airplanes, collecting walnuts in buckets and then setting up "stores" are just a few of our recent adventures. It is so fun watching and listening to the children negotiate, plan, and carry out their own ideas with each other and involving the younger ones in their scenario.
Having a wonderful week....
There are many new faces here and lots of changes going on and I am so thankful for your patience and support during this transition.
Our new teachers are Meghan and Tesa and they add such inspiration to our day
The group is growing and this is so exciting as it makes for many new opportunities in our creative play, friendship possibilities, and circle/story times.
A new play and art space will be ready within 3 weeks and this will allow us extra room for more activities and a special place for age appropriate learning and discovery.
We have been enjoying the weather these past few days and spend most of our time outside. Picnics on the grass, parachute play, hoola hoops, observing creatures with magnifiers, making paper airplanes, collecting walnuts in buckets and then setting up "stores" are just a few of our recent adventures. It is so fun watching and listening to the children negotiate, plan, and carry out their own ideas with each other and involving the younger ones in their scenario.
Having a wonderful week....
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Welcome to Addi
We have a wonderful new little girl joining our group this week!
Addi is 2 and will be sharing in our daily adventures. Her parents are Anthony and Grace and we want to extend a warm and joyful welcome to them also.
Some new discoveries happening in the past weeks include magnets at the water table, talking about what floats, observing and holding caterpillars, playing with lots of cars, making colorful roads and hopskotch designs with chalk, and eating fresh green and purple beans!
The story lady from the library, Amber, will be reading to us tomorrow morning at 10 a.m.
If you haven't already, be sure to pack sunscreen and large sunhats for the outdoors to keep little heads shaded.
Looking forward to another great week with all of you!
THE TIRED CATERPILLAR
A tired caterpillar went to sleep one day
In a snug little cradle of silken grey
And he said, as he softly curled up in his nest,
"Oh, crawling was pleasant, but rest is best."
He slept through the winter long and cold,
All tightly up in his blanket rolled,
And at last he awoke on a warm spring day
To find that winter had gone away
He awoke to find he had golden wings
And no longer need crawl over sticks and things
"Oh the earth is nice," said the glad butterfly
"But the sky is best, when we learn to fly"
BUTTERFLY
Come, bright butterfly, close to me,
Your beautiful wings I should like to see
You fly like a bird, you sip like a bee,
But you're really a flower the wind set free
Addi is 2 and will be sharing in our daily adventures. Her parents are Anthony and Grace and we want to extend a warm and joyful welcome to them also.
Some new discoveries happening in the past weeks include magnets at the water table, talking about what floats, observing and holding caterpillars, playing with lots of cars, making colorful roads and hopskotch designs with chalk, and eating fresh green and purple beans!
The story lady from the library, Amber, will be reading to us tomorrow morning at 10 a.m.
If you haven't already, be sure to pack sunscreen and large sunhats for the outdoors to keep little heads shaded.
Looking forward to another great week with all of you!
THE TIRED CATERPILLAR
A tired caterpillar went to sleep one day
In a snug little cradle of silken grey
And he said, as he softly curled up in his nest,
"Oh, crawling was pleasant, but rest is best."
He slept through the winter long and cold,
All tightly up in his blanket rolled,
And at last he awoke on a warm spring day
To find that winter had gone away
He awoke to find he had golden wings
And no longer need crawl over sticks and things
"Oh the earth is nice," said the glad butterfly
"But the sky is best, when we learn to fly"
BUTTERFLY
Come, bright butterfly, close to me,
Your beautiful wings I should like to see
You fly like a bird, you sip like a bee,
But you're really a flower the wind set free
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
OCEANS
Having fun with our ocean theme this week.
Many different types of shells are on display and give us good opportunities to discuss textures, sizes, shapes, patterns, and colors.
Today we created an ocean scene with sandpaper, shells, and blue watercolors, played a deep sea diving game where each "diver" held their breath and went under the blue ocean (as we all held a blue sheet over them and waved it) and collected as many shells and treasures as possible before coming up to breathe, read Ocean Babies, Eyewitness Shell, Octopus Under the Sea, and First Words at the Aquarium, we listened to Meditative Ocean and Handel's Water Music, and went fishing at the water table outside.
Friday we will be eating Salmon for lunch...
Wishing all our traveling friends a safe, peaceful, and memorable journey.
Elias is currently away with Per and Stephanie in Sweden for the next month.
Katie and Collin have now moved to Rolla with parents, Scott and Laura. We will miss your family dearly and hope you will come back sometime for a visit!
Many different types of shells are on display and give us good opportunities to discuss textures, sizes, shapes, patterns, and colors.
Today we created an ocean scene with sandpaper, shells, and blue watercolors, played a deep sea diving game where each "diver" held their breath and went under the blue ocean (as we all held a blue sheet over them and waved it) and collected as many shells and treasures as possible before coming up to breathe, read Ocean Babies, Eyewitness Shell, Octopus Under the Sea, and First Words at the Aquarium, we listened to Meditative Ocean and Handel's Water Music, and went fishing at the water table outside.
Friday we will be eating Salmon for lunch...
Wishing all our traveling friends a safe, peaceful, and memorable journey.
Elias is currently away with Per and Stephanie in Sweden for the next month.
Katie and Collin have now moved to Rolla with parents, Scott and Laura. We will miss your family dearly and hope you will come back sometime for a visit!
Friday, June 12, 2009
OUR BEANS ARE GROWING.....AND SO ARE THE CHILDREN
Bean pods
Pea pods
Poppy pods and
Seed pods
Split when they ripen
And they open with a POP!!!
Lots of growing activity around here as well.
We carefully water our plants each morning and then have our singing and circle time out on the grass.
Big trucks have been a recent big attraction and we walked up the street for a closer look at all the noise and work being done.
Working with the story, Tiki Tiki Tembo, we have created pictures with wooden ladders, acted out the brothers helping each other, and made a salt dough mountain complete with a working well.
After reading Pete's a Pizza, we made our own creative pizza's out of paper, acted out the story by rolling each other out across the floor and added toppings, and then made our own pizza from scratch.
Next week we will be talking about the ocean, all the creatures who live there, playing a special fishing game outside and sampling some seafood.
Thanks to Beth for bringing in some more sign language books and to Finn's dad, Jason, for giving us wonderful logs and stumps! These have added significantly to the children's play opportunities outside.
Appreciating all your encouragement and support.
Have a wonderful weekend.
Pea pods
Poppy pods and
Seed pods
Split when they ripen
And they open with a POP!!!
Lots of growing activity around here as well.
We carefully water our plants each morning and then have our singing and circle time out on the grass.
Big trucks have been a recent big attraction and we walked up the street for a closer look at all the noise and work being done.
Working with the story, Tiki Tiki Tembo, we have created pictures with wooden ladders, acted out the brothers helping each other, and made a salt dough mountain complete with a working well.
After reading Pete's a Pizza, we made our own creative pizza's out of paper, acted out the story by rolling each other out across the floor and added toppings, and then made our own pizza from scratch.
Next week we will be talking about the ocean, all the creatures who live there, playing a special fishing game outside and sampling some seafood.
Thanks to Beth for bringing in some more sign language books and to Finn's dad, Jason, for giving us wonderful logs and stumps! These have added significantly to the children's play opportunities outside.
Appreciating all your encouragement and support.
Have a wonderful weekend.
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