Dog Days

Miss Laney brought a special dog visitor today! The children enjoyed playing with Gertie and watching her perform many dog tricks including shaking hands, jumping, sitting, playing fetch, and rolling over on the ground. She accompanied our group to the park and was very well behaved.
Our activities this week have revolved around dogs, pets, and taking care of animals.
Dog houses and beds were created by Miss Meghan with cardboard boxes, newspapers, and blankets. The children pretended to be dogs and dog owners. Feeding, grooming, training, and cleaning up after animals were earnestly practiced as the children focused on the care of pets.

We observed many different types of dogs, made dog masks, played hopscotch with dog bone shapes, had "obedience school" with a simon says game, and finger knitted dog leashes.

We also made our own animal books, labeled the animals, did a fun science experiment about rain water running down a foil hill in a big pan, made foil balls to toss into a variety of box shapes and added up the points designated to each shot, and had a "pet show" day on Thursday when each child had the opportunity to tell us about their chosen stuffed pet.

Dogs, Pets, and Taking Care of our animal friends

We are studying dogs this week and how to care for our animal friends!

Easter, Eggs, and Baby Animals

We have many exciting happenings this week.
Our studies include egg observations and discussions about baby animals that come from eggs.

Make Way For Ducklings by Robert McCloskey is our new story focus for the next two weeks.
Activities include:

Finding Boston, Massachusetts on a map, studying family relationships, talking about words that rhyme, finding lines of motion in art, math grouping, counting practice, the development of a duck egg, animal parenting, and being appreciative by saying "thank you".

C is the letter of the week and we will be doing many hands on sensory projects with this:

Filling in the letter C outline with car stickers, baking cookies in the shape of C, building cardboard cities and garages for small cars.

Our egg crafts include:

Egg stained glass pictures, dyeing eggs, watercolor egg painting, making individual nests and egg mosaics.

Fairies, Fostering Trust

Seven Little Fairies

Seven little fairies came,
When the storm was ended,
Seven little fairies came,
Dressed up very splendid.
Hand in hand they tripped along,
Keeping time together,
Driving gloomy clouds away,
Bringing back clear weather.
Seven little fairies came,
When the storm was ended,
Seven little fairies came,
Dressed up very splendid.

Studying fairies this week will inspire many hours of happy and creative play for sure!

We will hear a story told called, The Feisty Fairy, by Eileen Straiton. It's about learning that some of the most precious things we find are more beautiful when they are left untouched.

Some of our activities will include making fairy houses, fairy bread, clothespin fairies, and playing trust games outside. We will be learning lots of new poems, songs, and reading books all about fairies.

Book titles:

Fairy Houses by Tracy Kane
How to Find Flower Fairies by Cicely Barker
Fairy Island by Laura Martin
Glower Fairies by Cicely Barker
The Book of Fairies by Michael Hague
In the Land of Fairies by Daniela Drescher
Mother Earth and Her Children by Sibylle von Olfers
The Book of Fairy Princes by Isabel Wyatt
The Dreamtime Fairies by Jane Simmons


Please Bring in a Special Rock or Gemstone on Thursday.
Please also bring in any natural materials you find around your yard or parks/trails for building fairy houses such as drift wood, moss, rocks, bark, pine needles, pinecones, leaves, acorns, twigs, etc.

We will also be having our Spanish lesson, doing creative and hands-on sensory experiences with the letter B and its sound, sewing fairy pouches, having a special singing with guitar time on Thursday mornings, talking about trust, planting seeds in our garden beds, drawing in our nature journals about many scientific discoveries outside, and creating beautiful Monet-inspired art.

Nature Walk Verse:

Come, follow, follow me,
Ye fairy elves that be;
Light tripping o'er the green
Come, follow Mab, your queen!
Hand in hand we'll dance around,
For this place is Fairy ground.

This week's reflection: Fostering Trust

"I have seen flowers come in stony places
And kind things done by men with ugly faces
And the gold cup won by the worst horse at the races,
So I trust too."
-John Masefield

"Trust is not easy. We must remind ourselves daily that we are right where we are meant to be-right now, right here. When we lose focus and live too much in the future or the past, we lose our trust in the universe-the now. What do you need to do today? Start there and trust that the rest will follow."
-Little Acorn Learning

New Faces, Gardening, and Growing

Welcome to Miss Laney, our new morning teacher! She arrived just in time here at Apple Blossom.
We also have a new baby who arrived on Wednesday, March 30th! It was a very exciting week for everyone.
Our studies this week will focus on gardening and growing.
We are starting a letter of the week and this week is A.

Books we will read together include:

Sow and Grow by Tina Davis
I Love Dirt! by Jennifer Ward
The Gardener by Sarah Stewart
The Money Tree by Sarah Stewart
Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney
Scarlette Beane by Karen Wallace
Tim and Sally's Vegetable Garden by Grady Thrasher
Growing Vegetable Soup by Lois Ehlert
Flower Garden by Eve Bunting
The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss
Sunflower House by Eve Bunting

If you have a plant that your child could bring in to share, please bring it in on Wednesday for our plant sharing day.

Please pack a lunch for your child on Wednesday and Thursday.

Activities for the week:

Homegrown Easter baskets
Signs of Growth Nature Walk
Digging in the dirt to prepare our garden beds
Fish Tank Gardens
Wildflower Nature Books
Planting seeds with Miss Lucy Howell, our gardening expert from Springfield Urban Agriculture Coalition
Spanish lesson on Monday
Letter of the week work: Identifying, sounding out, writing, tracing, finding things that start with the letter, letter collage
Singing with Miss Laney and her guitar
Thursday: Music class with Miss Casey
New Spring Circle time poems, stories, and songs

This Week's Reflection: Growing

"Be not afraid of growing slowly, be afraid only of standing still"
-Chinese Proverb

"The inner feeling we all have to move forward and grow is a gift we are all given. Sometimes we may feel like we are not progressing as fast as we wish. But the feeling we have inside to move forward is a compass that will lead us toward or destiny. Each step we make, no matter how great or small, leads us closer to where we are meant to be. Take time this week to sit in silence and feel the inner urges you have for your own life. Trust the messages you are receiving and act accordingly."
-Little Acorn Learning

Rainbows, Creating Color

The Rainbow
-Christina Rosetti

Boats sail on the rivers,
And ships sail on the seas;
But clouds that sail across the sky
Are prettier far than these,
There are bridges on the rivers,
As pretty as you please;
But the bow that bridges heaven,
And overtops the trees,
And builds a road from earth to sky,
Is prettier far than these.

This week we are exploring rainbows and creating color!

We will be reading the following books:

The Rainbow Goblin by Ul De Rico
Planting a Rainbow by Lois Whlert
All the Colors of the Rainbow Allan Fowler
Rainbow and You by Edwin Krupp
A Rainbow of My Own by Don Freeman
Color Dance by Ann Jonas
A Color of His Own by Leo Lionni
Rainbow Crow by Nancy Van Laan
Rainbow Rhino by Peter Sis
Light and Color by Peter D. Riley
Colors by Chuck Murphy
Color Me A Rhyme: Nature Poems for Young People by Jane Yolen
Vincent's Colors Vincent van Gogh and The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Living Color by Steve Jenkins
Growing Colors by Bruce Mcmillan
Color Kittens by Margaret Wise Brown

Color has a deep effect on us and can often set a mood as we enter a space. Primary colors that are typically used in childcare settings and school environments can often seem harsh and irritating. Soft colors and natural light work to soothe the senses and we strive for this type of atmosphere here at Apple Blossom Preschool.

We will hear a story told called The Sunbeam's Visit by Cornelia Fulton Crary that is about the colors of the rainbow and how each unique beam shines in their own way, just as little children who are bright and happy help others to be bright and happy as well.

Activities for the week include observing photos of rainbows, creating a magical rainbow with colored lights in our classroom, mixing colors to create new ones, making rainbow play dough, natural plant dyeing, experimenting with rainbow colors in a jar, rainbow ice,

Nature Walk Verse:

"I'll be a little sunbeam true,
A tiny ray of light,
And try in all I say and do
To make the world more bright"

This Week's Reflection: Creating Color

"The white light streams down to be broken up by those human prisms into all the colors of the rainbow. Take your own color in the pattern and be just that". - Charles R. Brown

"Each of us has been given our own color and light that we are to share with the rest of the world. what are your true colors? How can you best serve humanity and those around you? Meditate on what your unique talents, desires, and gifts are. Then, consider how you can use them to the best of your ability in all aspects of your life. This can be a life changing process if you are truthful with yourself."

-Little Acorn Learning

Spring, Shamrocks, Luck, and Leprechauns

We are continuing our theme of shamrocks, luck, and leprechauns this week as we also celebrate Spring!
Thanks to everyone who brought in a green snack to share last Thursday. We had green apples, pears, jello, celery, and soybeans! The children were delighted and happily devoured all the treats.

Miss Meghan will be back to teach here on Monday. Her schedule will be Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday from 2 to 5:30. We are all very excited for her return!

Miss Casey will also be helping here three mornings a week from 8 to 11 and may help even more within the next two weeks.

Our planned activities for the week include:

Exploring shamrocks/four leaf clovers
Four leaf clover hunt
Pot of gold hunt
Painting Shamrocks
Clover sun catchers
Setting up a Spring nature space
Spring mural
Wind socks
Wind games

The books we will read together:

Clever Tom and the Leprechaun: An Old Irish Story by Linda Shute
Billy Beg and His Bull; An Irish Tale by Ellin Greene
Brigid's Cloak: An Ancient Irish Story by Bryce Milligan
Jamie O'Rourke and the Big Potato by Tomie dePaola (what other book has this author written?)
The Spring Equinox: Celebrating the Greening of the Earth by Ellen Jackson
Spring by Gerda Miller
Spring Thaw by Steven Schnur

Nature Walk Verse:

Spring!Spring! Spring!
You are a brave thing;
On the ground you will not lie,
Always up from it you fly.
Your own force
Does, of course,
Take you up so high.

This week's reflection: Luck

"Some luck lies in not getting what you thought you wanted but getting what you have, which once you have got it, you may be smart enough to see, is what you would have wanted had you known."
-Garrison Keillor

"When we think of being lucky, we usually think of getting what we could only wish for. More often than not, however, what we wish for is not all we imagined it be in the first place. Spend time this week imagining yourself without all of the blessings in your life. Realize how very lucky you are. Be grateful and understand that when we do not get what we want, it is sometimes for the best."
-Little Acorn Learning