Day 19: The Three Little Pigs

What a fantastically fun day we had today!

After completing our morning circle activities, we read "The Three Little Pigs". (I searched high and low for a rendition of the story in which the little pigs just run from the wolf to their brother's house! No one got eaten!) The kids were wide eyed as I used my different voices to be the pigs and the wolf. We used the wolf puppet to start acting out the final scene in which he goes down the chimney and falls into the pot of boiling water. Each child had a turn at being the wolf, jumping out of the pot and running around the tables to cool off from the hot water.

During recess, all of the kids pretended to be wolves by running back and forth across the playground together and growling. After their legs were tired, I saw Joseph and Beau making a sand birthday cake with several kids from the church preschool. Evan was fascinated with a child's t-shirt and approached his new friend to ask about the animals on the front of the shirt. Tucker was busy swinging and keeping track of the minutes left on the timer.

We worked together to make 'pigs in a blanket' for a snack. Rolling the Pillsbury crescent roll dough around the little sausages was tricky because it was sticky. But, everyone overcame the 'icky factor' and rolled up those little sausages! While they had a grand time making the 'pigs in a blanket', only one child wanted to eat any. I think Joseph had a grand total of nine!

During open play time, I saw the kids playing together to act out the different episodes of the story. They had set up one of my trifold poster boards, using it as a house to hide behind. They took turns being the wolf, using the words that the pigs and wolf say to retell the story. I was thrilled as the four of them started and continued this cooperative, imaginative play by themselves. As I was taking pictures, Tucker asked me to be the wolf. All four hid behind the 'house' as I recreated the wolf trying to blow down the house.....at least 8 times!

On Monday, we will make each of the houses along with the puppets and hopefully be able to act out the whole story!

Ms. Angela's day...wish I had gotten more pictures!

Yikes! Who could that be?

Playground fun!

Playground sharing

Day 18: "OUT AND ABOUT"!

Your kids should sleep well tonight! We were outside for about 90 minutes today, walking and playing at the park. Ms. Ellen joined us so it was special treat. The kids spotted all the signs that were in the book we took along. Each time they spotted a sign, we put their name underneath the picture. The kids were very careful at the stop signs and and stop lights to look both ways and listen for cars before we crossed. Pretty soon we will be writing letters and sending them in the mailbox just like the preschool kids did today.

Nature holds wonderful surprises and today it was some huge mushrooms that we saw on our walk. We picked up one of the biggest mushrooms and described how it looked and felt.

A wonderful park is just down the road from the church and I am so we found it! At first, there were just a few other children playing at the park. Our kids joined right in, playing on the swings, a great big slide, climbing up the toys, and chasing each other. Evan made a friend with another boy at the park as they played tag and ran around the playground. Beau met a friendly dog, Mandy, whose owner let him talk to and pet. Tucker gathered up some very big leaves to show everyone. Joseph was moving so fast, I had a hard time taking a picture of him!

Evan brought a green mask with green lights for 'Show and Tell'! He shared the mask with the kids who wanted to try it on. A show of hands told us that almost everyone thought the mask was scary.

With little legs and bodies being quite worn out by the end of the day, we had quiet reading time to rest a bit. Then, it was on to music time! The instruments were brought out and played enthusiastically while we sang songs. Between each couple of songs, the kids put their instrument back into the middle of the circle and chose different ones to play. They weren't always able to choose the one they wanted as someone else may have picked it before them. Some disappointment at times, but everyone was able to move through it and enjoy the activity.

Tomorrow is Friday!

Day 17: Yeah for Ms. Angela!

In preparation for our "Out and About" day tomorrow, we looked at a picture book, "I Read Signs", by Nan Hoban. We talked about what we might see in the neighborhood. Tomorrow, we will be keeping track of what we see in a chart as we walk and share it with you after school!

Using a tri-fold 'poster board', we have started to make our very own neighborhood. The kids each named one of the roads with a "B" word and placed it in just the right spot. After we talked about stop signs and what they tell us to do, the kids put stop sign pictures on their roads. As the week unfolds, we will be adding new signs and places to go in the neighborhood and community. Of course, we needed to get our toy cars out and drive down the roads!

Since we didn't have time to make our 'house idea web' yesterday, we worked on it today. I forgot to send it home today, so we will make sure you receive it tomorrow. The different kinds of houses we glued onto the web included: tepee, igloo, apartment, castle, log cabin and a house that might look like one in which we live.

Ms. Angela just makes our day! Everyone had a grand time in the relay race, starting on either a red or blue circle and running to get an object of the corresponding color. Those big bouncy balls were new to some of us and old hat to some of us. I need to find one of those bouncy balls. The barrel jump was back and all the kids balanced on top for three seconds without hanging onto Ms. Angela's hand!

Looking forward to our walking field trip tomorrow!

Fun in the Obstacle Course!

Evan is very strong!

Playing in the Shaving Cream!

Sharing the new toy!

Painting With Household Objects

Day 16: What is in a house?

"Follow the Line Through the House", a book by Laura Ljungkvist, led us through all the rooms in a house. The 'line' in the book drew pictures of things in each room. We took turns identifying the objects and what we do with them. I played "I Spy" with the kids and they found the object that I was describing.

Ms. Michelle was here today! Make sure that you look at the pictures on the blog to see the kids going through the obstacle course. They especially loved crawling under bridges on the scooter boards.

Art was a frenetic, messy painting experience. We used objects that can be found in a home to paint whatever we wanted. Even though, or perhaps due to the kids changing the plan to finger painting, they had a blast! I think that after the shaving cream painting with Ms. Michelle, the natural thing for the kids was to use their hands to paint some more!

We have two class 'pets' that we found on the playground. I haven't quite figured out what they are as they look like caterpillars, have legs like caterpillars, but are not caterpillars. One is named Fred and the other one will be named tomorrow. All the kids touched their little friend and were very gentle.

For some reason, picking up cards with pictures, naming them and putting them in the hole in the top of a box ends up being a favorite activity! Go figure. We continue to work on phonological awareness skills by identifying the first sound of words ('p', 'b').

The kids had a great sharing and turn taking experience today with the new toy. Ms. Ellen brought a toy cash register in and it was a hit! At first we used a timer to know when to take turns, then I orchestrated some time for the kids to play together. I was proud of the kids!

What could be better?

'Yes' and 'No' signs

Bird Nests and Bear Caves

Shapes for a House

Day 15: "Do Lions Live on Lily Pads?"

Hello everyone!

With our new theme this week, 'Where Do I Live?', we started out the day reading a funny book
about where animals make their homes. The kids held up 'yes' or 'no' signs when answering silly questions about where animals live as I read the book, "Do Lions Live on Lily Pads?", by Melanie Walsh. Each child then received a flip book of their own with pictures of animals on the top and homes on the bottom. They took turns reading their book to their friends, asking silly questions.

To make a bird's nest and a cave, we broke out the play doe. We gathered leaves, pine needles and sticks to mix and put in the play doe for the nest. Since we are not birds or bears, we needed a home for people. We cut and pasted different shapes on to a house template. Apparently, 'Ruby' and 'Max' are rabbits that live in this house, which was news to me! I just wanted to find a house that looked like one in which people lived.

The kids received their very own writing journal today, just like 'big kids have'! We glued pictures of our cupcake day onto page one and then 'wrote' what the picture was about. The kids then dictated what they had written so Ms. Carol and I could write what they had said.

We are back on track with the 100s day journal. The purple folder was sent home today for the kids to read to you.

Right before we left to go home, we read a book about 'Little B' who found objects that began with 'b' to put into her box. Since the kids all listened so well, they each were able to choose a song to listen to and watch on the IPad. They love the IPad!

See you all tomorrow!

Just because they are so darn cute......

Working Together to Get Our Table Ready for Lunch

FRIENDSHIP BRACELETS

The egg breaking finally!