Litter Patrol!

Well, maybe the litter-free neighborhood of Dilworth isn't the best place to demonstrate the harmfulness of litter, but we did manage to find a few pieces!  Today's patrol was quite a contrast to Tuesday's short walk (which was along East Blvd.), where we found litter just after leaving the building.  Since we headed toward the park, most of the streets were quite clean-it was difficult to find litter even the stream in the park.  We managed to each get a few small pieces and were able to discuss being a good steward of our Earth in the process. 

Today was a morning of learning through song.  The kids kept requesting some of our favorite educational tunes, so we sang and sang, learning all the way!  After our morning circle, we were thankful the rain was gone so we could head to the playground. 

During our litter patrol, which followed the time on the playground, the children focused on working together as a team (in groups of two).  One held the bag while the other picked up, then swapped.  Using kind words and teamwork was fun work!

During lunch, we had a surprise visitor....Mr. Holloway!  He enjoyed meeting the kids and I thought it was great to see him during the day.....even if only for a few minutes!

After lunch, Evan shared a book about Taking Care of the Earth.  This simple text was a perfect way to end the day! 

Tomorrow will be the last day with Earth as the theme, but will continue with our conservation efforts the rest of the year!

Reduce, reuse, recycle!

The recycling materials are so much fun!  We made music, used the as 'phones', folded paper, and found all kinds of creative uses!

Some children even 'read' the recycling!  "Ms. Ellen, this says 'Sprite'!"

Recycling fun

Fine motor play with recycling (feeding little wooden pieces into bottles)

Sorting the paper

Sorting the plastic

The available materials for the art project

Selecting the art components

The Masters at work

Our beautiful 'Recycle People' are complete.

What do plants need to grow?

We learned what plants need to grow!

Grow Flower Grow by Lisa Bruce was today's well-enjoyed story.

How do you make a flower grow? Spaghetti, pizza, and ice cream don't seem to work. When Fran gives up and tosses the flower pot outside, it gets rain, wind, and sunshine...and Fran gets a big, beautiful flower!

Welcome back to school from spring break!  It's hard to believe we are in the home stretch of our TK class.  There's so much left to do! 

We began the 'In the Garden' theme by learning what plants need to survive (see the above chart we made).  Using the song and visual cues below helped reinforce this learning.  Tomorrow we will learn the parts of a plant and plant a seed.   

Check out today's new song about the five needs of plants:




As a special treat, Ms. Michelle conducted occupational therapy outside!  What a beautiful day....  She brought these foam circles (I forgot their name) that the children used to keep balloons and balls afloat in the air by hitting underneath the balloons.  The kids loved it!  Ms. Kelly and I used different types of blocks to work on fine motor and visual discrimination skills.  It was neat to watch the 'wheels turn' as the boys looked at a block tower and tried to replicate it.  Poor Ms. Cortney was stuck leading the 'floam' center.  The floam was extra gooey and stuck to everyone's hands...the reason for your child's pink palms!