FROGGY FRIDAY IN PICTURES!

We finished our week of frogs today! We made 5 Green and Speckled Frogs Sitting on a A Log, made a web of all we know about frogs, taught Ms. Beth the "Toottie-Tah", read another Froggy book, and learned a new months of the year song! Good times, good day, GREAT WEEK! I love it!

Katie giving Mykah a lift...

The girls wanted to make pictures using scrap paper and foam stickers

Jaxson using tweezers to sort and classify the bugs...by color!

Jaxson and Adam cutting coloring and gluing 5 frogs.

Jaden made her 5 Green and Speckled Frogs...

Jaxson & Sharae working together.

I put a new book on tape in the loft everyday for the listening. Today it was Froggy Goes to the Doctor.

Whitlee, Katie, Amelia, & Jaden show off their finished frogs on logs while Mykah is working hard on hers.

Have a great weekend! ;)

Busy Day!

Today it seemed we were playing and doing and on the go...very busy!

The children really were into dramatic play this morning. Whitlee, Jaxson, Katie, & Adam set up the chairs in the playroom to pretend they were going somewhere on an airplane. Adam had a blazer on so I am pretty sure he was the pilot, even though he was sitting in the back. Maybe he was just a passenger flying business class. Meanwhile, in the other room, Mykah, Jaden, and Sharae were pretending to be a patient, a nurse, and a doctor respectively. They had all the doctor's kit items out, plus a lot of other things from the dress up room that I would see them carting back and forth.

Some of the children had fun with the "Funoodles", Styrofoam pieces that stick together when they get wet. We had many creations to show off this morning when we were done!

 I put fresh paint out in the art center and Jaden and Whitlee had fun there as well. In the block center, Mykah, Amelia, and Katie used the big blocks to build partitions and they called them their "beds". Then they took markers and paper there to get creative in their "beds".

During circle time we talked again about the life cycle of the frog. We looked at a chart that depicts the cycle, and we will each color one of our own this afternoon. We sang "Five Green and Speckled Frogs" again, this time using frog puppets. We read Froggy goes to the Doctor and Chicka Chicka boom Boom. We charted where we would jump to if we were frogs:

Jaden would jump to her house.
Katie would jump to her trampoline, as well as Amelia and Jaxson.
Sharae would jump to her Grandma's.
Whitlee would jump to her laptop. Hmmmm....interesting choice!
Adam would jump into his swimming pool.
Mykah would jump to her swings.

Final day of Froggy Fun tomorrow!

I have pictures of a lot of the fun stuff that went on today, and will try to get Debbie to help me post them as soon as I can! ;)

Wednesday

Today we had another great day!

Right after breakfast we went outside because I thought it may rain. It did not. Oh well! They had fun anyhow, I do not think they care when they go outside as long as they get to. We did chalk on the porch and got out the bubbles and pom poms. Whitlee drew a stick figure of me and said "Look! It's you!" I commented that I liked it because I looked so skinny. Next thing I knew, she was showing me "the belly" she had added to it...hmph. Next time I will keep my comments to myself I suppose!

We continued our study of frogs todayl. Adam brought two frog books from home and we enjoyed reading them in circle time. One of them was "5 Green and Speckled Frogs" and they of course had fun singing that song. The other one was Frog and Toad are Friends. We read one of the stories in it during circle time and will read at least one more after nap time.

We also worked on phonological awareness about the letter /C/. It was a slow concept to introduce, but they caught on really easily and did really well with it after a short time. We also focused on rhyming words and selecting the word of a group that does not rhyme. We will do this again before the end of the week with the letter /F/

After circle time we leaped like frogs and graphed our distance. I tried really hard not to let it be a competition... Let's just say they all ended up going twice to try to out-leap the next person, and we are doing it again this afternoon. Like I said...NOT a competition.

See you tomorrow! ;)

Froggy fun!

Welcome back from a long weekend! I heard lots of things that the children did over the weekend. Sounds like everyone had fun!

Today we began our new unit about frogs. We talked in circle time about how frogs grow from tadpoles into frogs and how their bodies change. We read frog books and poems. We sponge painted frogs today and after naptime we cut them out to put on a big lily pad Ms. Beth made.

We played shape/color bingo this morning. Whitlee was the caller and Katie was the checker. It was a lot of fun, and Adam was the first to get a bingo!

Outside, Jaxson and Adam took turns mowing and weed eating. It was too cute! The girls played house and took turns taking whoever was the baby to the doctor. Mykah started us a game of tag, and just about anything was base!

Tomorrow we will continue our study of frogs and their life cycle. Looking forward to lots more fun activities!

FANTASTIC FRIDAY!

We wrapped up our first week of our new curriculum talking about animal habitats. In circle time, we learned about the different places animals live. We talked about the similarities and differences that habitats have, and that some animals can live in more than one type of habitat. After circle time, Ms. Beth set up three different containers: sand for desert habitats, plastic grass for land habitats, and water for water habitats. We then took turns placing different plastic animals in the habitat they would most likely live.

We finished out Counting Animals books today and will bring them home this afternoon.

We enjoyed playing outside before rest time, and the neighbors enjoyed the serenade some of the girls were giving them as they walked by. ;)

Hope you all have a great holiday weekend! See you TUESDAY!

Quiet Day

Today we were missing three of our friends, so I kept noticing how quiet it was.

We played again in our "clean" mud. Katie said it was "soggy"...good word! Jaden liked that it was warm. Tomorrow will be our last day with it, and then we will go back to our regular water table. We did a science experiment called Sink or Float.

We filled a tub with water and took a guess at whether or not items would sink or float. Pretty simple, huh? The children really enjoyed it. We put all sorts of things in the water a crayon, marker lid, paint brush, hot Wheels car, paper clip, dinosaur, etc. It was a great activity.

We read a non-fiction book about ducks in circle time, and talked about the difference between fiction and non-fiction. We then made a web on our chart paper about what we have learned about ducks this week.

After lunch, we went outside to play. Ms. Beth soon realized while cleaning off the porch that if you want this group of kiddos to shriek, scream and giggle wildly, break out the water hose! We will definitely have to schedule a few water days this summer!

Clean Mud

Today was a BEAUTIFUL day for playing outside. I LOVE the way the trees cover the play yard like a tent . It is so peaceful.

Randy added a little color today with the umbrellas.  He moved a picnic table to the front yard.

YUK ! Mud!

Finger painting the DUCKS MUCK!

Home -made matching game

Playing with letter tiles and finding the letter  to all the animals in " Duck in the Muck"

Clean Mud

This is Debbie again!   We had fun today. Even though I was only off for two days, I missed the kids and the classroom.  It was fun to get back in there if only for a day. Ms Beth had some personal errands to run so I took back over for the day. I had a meeting last night and this is what I came home to:

Mrs. Beth had already written on the journal for tomorrow. It said Ms Debbie will be our teacher today!   We will play in clean mud.. Then, I walked in the kitchen and there was breakfast and lunch all laid out and ready for me.   WOW... I am impressed. She did all the things I do for other people when I will be out for the day.  Also, she switched the menu from chicken fettucine to hot dogs so it would be easier on me.   Now, you see why I am totally comfortable leaving my home and my business to her? She ROCKS!

We also took four of the animals from the book and graphed who would want to be which animal.   Their responses as always were quite funny.   After that we read a book called " Little Quacks New Friend' and I challenged them to tell me how the two books ( One Duck Stuck in the Much )  were alike.  They were right when they said both had mud and were about friends.  I love to see preschoolers stretching those little minds .

If you would like to make clean mud at home here is how-

 

Ingredients:

3 bars of Ivory Soap, grated
1 to 2 rolls Toilet Paper
Hot water (not scalding!)

 Put the soap and t. paper into a large mixing bowl or dish tub. Gradually add a little hot water, and mix with the hands. Continue to add small amounts of water, until a nice "muddy" consistency is obtained. 

 

MUD

Today was a busy day! Whew! Nothing too special, just alot going on it seemed. Some of the children finished creating the ducks we started yesterday afternoon. Mrs. Debbie has left us workbooks to continue practicing our skills over the summer, and I think all of them worked on them at some point this morning. We talked alot about mud today. We made "clean mud" using grated dove soap, and had fun shredding toilet paper and adding it to the water tub. Tomorrow we will fill it with warm water and see what happens when the soap and toilet tissue dissolve. They are very excited about getting to play in it tomorrow! I told the kids all morning the we were going to eat mud this afternoon. "Ewwww!" was the overwhelming response. In circle time we charted who wanted to eat mud...contrary to what I thought would be the outcome, 5 of our friends sais yes, they wanted to eat mud! After our outside time, we came in to make mud: chocolate pudding and cool whip. We took turns pouring and mixing. They sure do love cooking projects! After nap we will eat our mud by dipping animal crackers in it and pretending they are the animals out of the story One Stuck Duck...yum!

Summer Preschool?!?

Our first day of summer session was wonderful. It took some adjustment to the idea that 6 of our friends were not coming through the door today, that they did not need a blanket put in their cubbies for nap, a name tag for circle time, or that I could skip them when selecting the next person in line for helper of the day. We began our new curriculum today, Itty Bitty Bookworm. This week's book is Stuck in the Muck. It involves a duck getting stuck in the mud and all the animals that try to get him out, but are only successful when they work together like a team. We also read another book requested by the children...a book about Barack Obama. You would have thought we were in the height of the election again, they were begging to read it so badly. I am not sure of the reason for the appeal on today of all days, but we read it. We then charted what we did over the weekend. Amelia had a yard sale, Adam went swimming, Whitlee went to the Naturals game, but Sharae takes the cake. She went to the rodeo. Impressive! "Horses wear shoes", she tells me in the kitchen. "But", she continues, "not flip flops". We played outside, ate fish sticks for lunch, took a nap, and make a duck of our own this afternoon. Tomorrow we will continue to explore the other animals in our book, and make some mud...to both play in and eat! Can't wait! :)

Last Day

Today we visited the kindergarten. It was interesting to see the children's looks full of excitement and maybe even a little anxiety as they toured the school. They were told about bullies and bubbles ( in their mouth ) and how they will get to school and what they will eat. As I looked around I realized how much they have grown . Many of them have been with me for two years. Wow.. how time flies.

I found this on the perpetual preschool site and thought it was perfect.


We give you back your child, the same child you entrusted to our care last fall. We give her back pounds heavier, inches taller, months wiser, more responsible and more mature than she was then. Although she would have attained this in spite of us, it has been our happy privilege to watch her personality unfold day by day and marvel at each new achievement, each new success, each new expansion of self. We give her back reluctantly; for having spent nine months together in the narrow confines of a crowded classroom, we have grown close, have become a part of each other and shall always retain a little part of each other. We have lived, loved, laughed, played, studied, learned and enriched our lives together this year. We wish it could go on indefinitely, but give her back we must. Take care of her for she is precious and only one of a kind. Remember that we shall always be interested in your child and her destiny, wherever she goes, whatever she does, whoever she becomes. Her joys and sorrows we will be happy to share. Please call on us if there is anything further we can ever do for her.

Coke Rocket

Today we had fun celebrating that this was our next to last day in school. We have been talking a lot about what kindergarten will be like and the friends who will be leaving.  Leaving is hard.. even when you are 4 and excited about a new classroom.  We read the book - If you take a Mouse to School. The kids enjoyed it and thought it was a "cool" booK. 

   If you are wondering whether your child is ready or not, here are some published guidelines.

There is a wide difference in the development of children entering kindergarten. Some children will be bigger than others, some will be sociable, some shy. Some will be reading, others will not be able to write their name. Whatever your child's stage of development, there are some guidelines on readiness for kindergarten.

Children are usually ready for kindergarten if they can:

• leave their parents without too much difficulty
• go to the bathroom alone
• play well with and respect other children
• follow simple directions and rules
• resolve some conflicts with classmates without needing the teacher
• work independently for at least five minutes
• sit and listen to a story for ten minutes
• talk in complete sentences

I think we are all there!  I am so excited to see the kids grow more and learn. Ms Gloria came over to visit today and she said " How do you let them go, don't you get so attached to them?"  Of course I  do. 

I will miss-

Elliots sense of imagination AND  his stories SO  much.

Amelia's hugs and helpfulness

Halle's burst of songs with the guitar

Rosies constant reassurance that she loves me

Katie's bright sparking eyes every morning

Mykah's eagerness to learn

Bostons boyish grin that makes you wonder if he tied your shoe laces together

Christians's quiet sweet spirit

Adam's enthusiasm to be a leader

Gavin's singing to the top of his lungs

But.. I love them enough to be excited about them leaving and learning SO MUCH MORE!

One fun thing we did today was a coke rocket experiment!  The kids LOVE IT! Look at their faces!

This Weather

This weather is driving my sinus' crazy and I think I am getting a cold.  I know - whine whine whine. This is not the time of year that I need to get sick. Just two more days and a program and I can rest.  

The exciting news today involved a bird that was found dead in the yard. The kids all crowded around to look at it.  My camera battery is dead so I didn't get a shot, but it was cool. A video would have even been better so you could hear their conversations. This was a baby bird that evidentially wasn't ready to be kicked out of the nest.  He hardly had any feathers.  The kids were all discussing how they thought he died. One child even suggested that he didn't die , he was just being VERY STILL.   Times like these are priceless as you see their little minds going a hundred miles an hour trying to make sense of the world. 

We had 5 friends out today. It was a little quiet... almost eery.  

Everyone got those green shirts for our program washed and ready?

Lets go outside!

This morning just felt like a day to be outside to me.   When I woke up the birds were chirping and the wind was blowing a slight breeze.   I used to meet the kids outside all the time, but in trying to stay on me " quality schedule" I have not done that in a while.   What is quality? For today - it is watching the kids be kids. Do you remember going outside and spending hours?  There are so many things go on outside when children have time to explore. 

This morning we had  breakfast outside on the porch. I brought out quiche, bananas and milk on a tray. The kids sat in the white wicker furniture or the edge of the porch to eat.   They seemed to like  the quiche.  Even Gavin said " YUM!"

I think I have decided we  have decided to spend the day out here.   Here is what I see and hear.

Hoppy ball races on the front lawn ... remember those?

Sharae playing house and sweeping out the playhouse.

A cake pan filled with dirt and mulberries - a birthday cake.

A game of Bocce.

"Go Amelia Go Go Amelia Go!"

Katie used a board to build a bridge across the trellis benches. 

" Ms Debbie is base!"  

Geneviette playing fireman with the firetruck and garden hose.

Have I said recently... I love my job.

SALLY STOP THE FIRE ENGINE!

I wrote that and saved it as a draft  while I was sitting outside and planned to add the pictures during nap time.  THEN... one of the children screamed. I looked up and here comes one of my friends with blood running down her nose- from her head.  Another friend had gotten frustrated and hit her with a toy.  So, sent her to the ER and I am now waiting to see how many stitches she received.  Very seldom do I do this ( maybe 3 times in 20 years) but I sent the other little girl home to spend time with mom.   I think she needed a little more than "redirection". When she left for the rest of the afternoon, I got on my knees and reminded her that I loved her and that I was not angry with her.  Man... that got me.  I love these kids so much.  With tears streaming I watched her go out the door. I guess in my heart I knew that she would be having a serious conversation with her daddy. I remember what those "needed" conversations were like with my own kids- so it broke my heart.  Sometimes it is hard to be a good parent and teacher... 

So much for the birds chirping today.

Last Week of School

Today we spent time getting ready for our program this Friday night  .   One of the things I have been working on is the end of the year DVD.  It is ready and will be usable Friday night. What I am having a problem with is burning it on a CD so that all my parents can have a copy.  I kinda spoil them that way.  I  did ask the kids that were here last year, who has watched their DVD from last year and most had no idea what I was talking about.  So... can it stand to reason I shouldn't stress myself out getting them done?  :)

As I messed with the DVD today I had about 6 kids around me and we were watching the video and the kids were really getting excited about it.  Rosie sad " We have fun."  Wow... That was the nicest thing anyone could have said.  I got all teared up and had to choke it up!  Oh, I could point out the things we have learned this year... but THANKFULLY the memories they have are the fun stuff ( that was teaching in disguise).  These are just three and four year olds! When we walk into a classroom and see no happy faces..... there is a problem.

I am so glad " We had fun" this year!

Fun Friday!

HAPPY FRIDAY! Today we began our day trying to beat the rain and squeezing in our outside time before breakfast. We played outside for about 30 minutes, and then came in to eat. After we ate, we washed up and began our project of making our Muffins for Moms. Each child got a turn to pour in the mix, pour in the water, or stir the batter for 30 seconds. We counted...exactly 30 seconds. Then we passed the bowl and muffin tins around and we all got a turn to fill the muffin tins with the prepared batter. Mrs. Beth then put them in the oven to bake. We talked about bakers and what their job involves. We decided that is a hard job to do! When we played in centers, we got out the Rainy Day toys. The sand box and water tub were pretty popular today. Some of the children found a box of feathers somebody (me) accidentally left out from yesterday. Well they were the item of the day, apparently. Elliot thought his would make a good pen, and even dipped it in paint to make it write. (I never thought quills would make a comeback, but they are.) Amelia and Halle discovered the pink feathers would write with no paint at all, so they sat in the quiet room writing for a long time. During circle time, we welcomed a visiting student, my daughter Whitlee. She is joining us for the summer, and came today to get acquainted with us. The children were very accommodating, and enjoyed showing her around and especially pointing out the rules she needs to learn. Elliot wanted to be her tour guide: "Do you want me to show you the art center? Do you want to see the science center?" In fact, as I am writing this, he pops his head off his mat and states: "I think Whitlee is cute." Awww.... In circle time we also talked about our moms once again and I asked them to "tell me about your mommy". Most of the responses involved hugs and kisses. Here are a few anonymous responses:
"I always give my mommy fishes".
"Me and my dad buy her stuff when it is her birthday."
"I give my mom a cake."
I gave my mama toys."

We read a book called I Love You the Purplest. It is about a mom and two sons going on a fishing trip and they compete for their mom's love asking "who do you love the most?", etc. It was very sweet. In one part of the story it describes that as they are leaving for the trip, the boy locks the cabin door for bears and burglars. I asked who know what a burglar was and Adam was the first one to shoot his hand up. "They come in your house and steal make up, lipstick, and chapstick. " Elliot also wanted to elaborate that they are tall and skinny and run fast. so funny, these kids!

It was a great day...so glad I could be a part of it. See you at graduation! ~Beth

What a great day!

From Mrs. Beth: This is my very first blog posting EVER, so here goes...

We have had a great day together! I am so excited I get to be here today and tomorrow; it is so much fun for me. I told Debbie this morning that I have been waiting for Thursday all week! Today we did preparations for Mother's Day. We spoke in circle time about our mom's and what they were like when they were little (yes, I explained, YOUR mommy used to be little like you!) Crickets...then I explained that I am a mommy now, but I did used to be little like them. I shared that I used to play soccer, go swimming, and ride bikes with my sisters. Then I had to tell them my sisters' names. And where they live. Adam thought he might know them. Once we got back on track, we took turns imagining what our mommies were like when they were little. Adam and Jaxson think their moms were just "like me" (hmmm....). Christian said his mom used to play hide & seek and play in the rain. Katie L.'s mom apparently used to play "go", which upon further questioning I discovered is her term for Red Light/Green Light. This sparked Gavin to agree that his mom also played "Red Light, Yellow Light, Green Light". Halle's mom apparently also enjoyed games as a child, and Halle thinks she played Duck, Duck, Goose, while Jaden thought her mom might have played hopscotch. Elliot thinks his mom liked to read books and play hopscotch, while Clara thinks she enjoyed riding in wagons. Too funny! Sharae, Mykah, and and Amelia's mom were said to ride bikes when they were little. Rosie claims her mom liked to play dress-up, and I assume that is what Bianca intended when she stated her mom "got dressed" when she was a little girl. Finally Katie D. rounded out our circle time by telling me that when her mom was little, she liked to go to bed!

We got our gift bags ready for tomorrows goodies, and some of the children took it seriously. As their marker-stained hands will prove, they wanted to make gift bags better than Hallmark.

Mrs. Gloria joined us after lunch, and we journaled after naptime before heading home for the day.

Can't wait to do it all again tomorrow. Thanks for having me! ~Beth

Hump Day

I put some old pictures out on the table this morning. This is what I heard.

JP!! He goes to my church.

There's Alyssa! When she was here we played Ariel and I was Flounder.

GG- she's a baby.

Ms. Debbie , I found me when I was four years old.

Can we keep these pictures?  ( yes) Good, I am gonna keep me.

We're too busy looking at pictures.

There'e Rosie and she is so cute.

I found Blake !  ( older sister)

Creating memories for little guys is special.  Are you doing your part?

The animals were something else I put out on the table. .. I love it when they teach themselves.  Look at those sorting skills!  

Cinco De Mayo

Today we celebrated Cinco De Mayo!  At the last minute as I glanced at the menu for today - beef stroganoff , I thought SURELY I could have planned better than this! So.... we paired up and  set out on foot to Taquaria.  Yes, 14 preschoolers and 2 crazy teachers went out to eat Mexican food.  

It was really a lot of fun. The children used their manners and thoroughly enjoyed their food.  As we waited  we talked about the things they had hanging in the room ( rugs, sombreros).  Fun stuff ! 

Maybe next time we wont sit so near the door.   The children began to announce when people would come in.  For instance, a group of soldiers came in - they  all yelled ARMY MEN!  Of course, that was an opportunity to talk about the fact that Cinco De Mayo is the celebration of a war won and how these soldiers protect us.  Several of the children said " thank you." Then a man came in with an "outback" hat on. The kids yelled COWBOY.... he laughed- thankfully.  As I sat , I got nervous each time the door opened wondering who would walk in to entertain the kids and what they would yell.  We did, by the way, talk about yelling isn't appropriate in restaurants, but anything that 14 preschoolers say at one time... feels like a yell.

Before leaving this morning we made homemade maracas from baby formula cans. The moms and dads will LOVE this one at home ! :)

Halle's grandmother made mexican cookies for us today! Thanks!

We also played a bean bag toss game. As we tossed the bean bag around the room we counted in spanish.

Uno

Dos

Tres

Cuatro

Cinco

and then we would all yell

DE MAYO!!!!!!!   ( They SHOULD know this means.. the 5th of May! )

Fun day if I do say so myself.  

Do we really just have  8 more this year?

we

Broken Hearts

Gavin and Amelia made a wonderful creation with our new linking manipulatives.  

Getting  ready for Mothers Day!

This is a video that I made last Friday.  Elliot for two years has talked about Amanda.   He loves Amanda.  Elliot makes notes and special gifts for Amanda all the time.  I have always thought that Amanda was one of Jessica ( Elliot's mother's) friends. Well, it seems Amanda is 6.  Amanda went to school and met a new older boy on the bus and Elliot is heart broken.  He is such a great story teller, I asked him to tell me about it and he wanted me to video it.  I asked his mom if it is ok to share and she said SURE!  So... enjoy!