Reading Express

We are now participating in a program through the Springfield Library District and the Missouri Parent Information Resource Center called Racing to Read Express. We will be hosting visits from Library staff who will be working with us on the following concepts:

1) Gaining knowledge about effective literacy activities for children ages 2 to 5
2) Learning methods for sharing books with children that will increase their language skills
3) Learning about valuable resources available at the Springfield-Greene County public libraries
4) Receiving age appropriate materials for all of our children
5) Receiving other materials, expert demonstrations, and recommendations
6) On the last visit, each child will receive a book to take home

Each visit with library staff will last approximately one and one half hours.
We will be incorporating literacy activities into our daily program, sending literacy and library information home to parents, and working with our project coordinator to perform early literacy assessments.

This will be a great opportunity for each child and family!

Happy Valentine's Day

We had a very sweet day today filled with beautiful Valentine cards, a story about St. Valentine, heart searches, red snacks, and pink, purple, and red art!
Thanks to all who brought in special treats to share. The children were excited about the red rasberries, apples, cherry tomatoes, and heart shaped cookies!
Other books we read and discussed included:

The Day it Rained Hearts! by Felicia Bond
Mouse's First Valentine by Lauren Thompson
Sweet Hearts by Jan Carr
The Valentine Bears by Eve Bunting

It was a wonderful day with lots of time to play outside as well, which was a warm and welcome change!!

Ice, Forgiveness

A January Thaw
E.L. Benedict

A glitter in the winter sun, a row of shining tips
And drops of water coming down in slow and solemn drips
What is this music regular, this rhythm without a flaw?
'Tis the icicles a-weeping in a January thaw

What a perfect week to learn about ice!
Since our attendance has been so low, however, we will be extending the current studies for two more weeks.
We will be exploring ice, observing icicles, making ice sun catchers, watching ice melt, talking all about the process of things freezing, and also discussing forgiveness.

Special treats will include frozen bananas and hot chocolate and stories by the fire.

We are starting a new book called Katy and the Big Snow which ties in nicely with our current weather situation as well. Information about all the activities we will be doing along with this story have been sent home or will come home shortly in your child's folder. Please bring the folders every day as this is a great way to keep in touch and provides a place to put important information regarding our learning units. You may also use the folder as a place to put your tuition payments and any notes for the teacher!

Indoor "ice skating", ice painting, freeze dance and musical hugs are some of the upcoming events.

We will hear a story told called North Wind and Little Jack Frost and other books we will share together are:

Ice Palace by Deborah Blumenthal
Ivy's Icicle; Forgiving Others by Gary Bower
The Icicle Forest by Gail Herman
Out on the Ice in the Middle of the Bay by Peter Cumming
Skating with Bears by Andrew Breakspeare
Show Each Other Forgiveness by Melody Carlson
Under the Yellow Moon by Edith Hope Fine

This week's reflection: Forgiveness

" Forgiveness is the giving, and so the receiving, of life."
-George McDonald

"Accepting what has occurred in the past as well as what is occurring in the present, is in itself an act of forgiveness. When we forgive the moments in our lives, we accept them for what they are - without trying to change them. In return, we open ourselves up to receiving Life with all of its lessons, its beauty, its sorrows...we accept that every event in our life has a purpose. Spend some time this week contemplating issues that are causing pain in your life. Allow yourself to use this time to forgive the events and accept them for what they are. Allow yourself to break free of resistance and the desire to make it right or change it. This type of surrender will in turn give you the peace you desire."

Little Acorn Learning

Happy Snow Day!

It's a snow day!
Enjoy the time with your little ones and stay safe and warm. We'll see you soon!

Pajama and Teddy Bear Party Day

We had a fun teddy bear day today as we closed our theme of bears and hibernation.
Each child shared about their stuffed animal, we read bear stories, made bear caves and dens for the animals, and made playdough caves as well. Each child took a turn to hide their animal while the others tried to find it, we pulled the animals in the wagon, and we also made muffins and tea!
Art projects consisted of wet chalk painting and a tissue paper, glue, and glitter piece inspired by Vincent van Gogh's, A Starry Night.
It was wonderful having all the children together today and the beautiful weather called us to have a picnic lunch on the deck as nobody could bear the thought of going inside just yet.
Happy Birthday to Charlie!! He is turning 5!

Thursday Music Class

Another great morning of music with Miss Casey.
We explored the sounds of a variety of objects including nails, spools, and yarn!
Stringing nails from recycled milk jugs was an interesting process for the children as they made these wind chimes. Then someone dropped a nail on the floor! More music! Whole handfuls were then dropped to hear the sound of the nails on the concrete. Quiet and loud sounds were used while singing "Five little monkeys hanging from the tree". The children are captivated by Miss Casey.
Next week: soft sounds and making lavender bean bags.

The benefits of music class

Did you know there are several very important benefits to having a music focus time every week for your child?

1) Increased self-esteem. Children shine with confidence when given the chance to explore real instruments. They love it when they can put on a show for an audience, even for their friends!
2) Better grasp of math and science concepts. Piano training improved spatial temporal ability by 34% in a study of preschoolers.....yes preschoolers! (Neurological Research, Feb. 1998)
3) Scoring an average of 88 points higher on the SAT's (Music Educator's National Conference, 2001)
4) Increase in reading comprehension (Psychology of Music, July 2008)
5) Overall increase in academic performance from childhood to college and beyond (National Educational Longitudinal Study of 1988, U.S. Dept. of Education)