The Bunny hit the Dogwood Festival

Today was another great day. So glad we live in a town it is safe to get our kids our and about. They learn so much by getting out of our routine and experiencing other things. The big preschool in town takes their children on charter buses to Tulsa and pays everyones way into the aquarium. They also take trips to the zoo. I cant do that. Yes, we are funded the same way but our budgets are set up different. What can I do ? It is a proven fact that children learn more when they are immersed with familiarity . What is more familiar than their home town? Thankfully we live in a place that we dont have to lock doors and the people at the local supermarket still know your name. This weekend is the local Dogwood Festival. People look forward to it all year. Every year we take our kids down there. Sometimes we grab snack or play a game. Sometimes we just look. I am not shopping.... I am watching the kids. I am teaching about stranger safety and how to act in a crowd. I am pointing out interesting things we see and just enjoying watching the wonder on these little guys faces. Life is grand... At the end of the day I feel somewhat like the Aunt Bee on The Andy Griffith show. I love introducing my preschoolers to our hometown. While there today, we saw McGruff the crime dog. ( The weird guy peeking from behind is my brother that we ran into. I TOLD you small town.. ) We also got to visit with the Aarons Rental Dog and saw our favorite nurse Sarah.

Another big thing today was the celebration of the marriage of the ROYAL COUPLE. I used my lap top to show the kids some of the pictures today. I heard one of the little girls say " There's a REAL princess ?" Yes, there is. Downtown is the English Tea Room and they were all decked out for the wedding ! We didnt get time for our tea party but I MAY still try to make scones for snack.

We did finally have our Egg Hunt today. FUN !

SUNSHINE

This is what we saw today! SUNSHINE! After several days of being cooped up inside from rain.. and rain... and more rain. So, Randy and I put our heads together and decided to take the show on the road.

We walked through the woods to the downtown park. When we got there we noticed that there were a lot more people and the water was MUCH higher... from all the rain. We saw two ducks that seemed to be having a conversation. Then we made our way to the park. We ran and we ran and we ran some more. Nolan taught Andrea and Mc Kayla how to use the firemans pole.

We saw portapotties being delivered for the festival this weekend . What a wonderful time to live in a small town. I had told the children there would be many more people out than we are used to on our walks that we needed to stay close . We also talked about strangers and how we can speak as we pass but not to stop or leave the group. I loved my life more this morning as we walked and I heard many of the kids saying " Good Morning.. Happy Dogwood Festival." I think they made some of those vendors day!

Downtown we say a cheetah in a window. Was it real ?

The nice lady from the Siloam Springs Printing Company stopped us to give us candy ! Another small town perk.

Then we travelled on through downtown to the Twin Springs Park. It was beautiful. We sat under this gazebo and listened to Randy tell another one of his childhood stories. The kids love those.

Weird.. roots on top ?

Group picture!

Would you believe this flower garden is a circle ?

Then stopped at the next gazebo and played a game of duck duck goose.

Tired....

Almost home.. Helicopter Pad. H- see we did letters !!!

And it's Still Raining !

A few shots of fun from last week.

Did you wonder what those orange pine cones were ? Well, it really was a cute fun idea. They were going to be carrots. By the time they dried I got sick and I think they gotten taken home. So, it looks like instead of orange carrots you got you an orange pinecone! Creative huh >:)

We taped X's on the floor to make a bunny trail for hopping.

And yes, I leave calm mature people in charge while I am gone.

The day I was sick the kids made the cutest little bunnies out of paper rolls from a film store. Thanks Malia's grandma!

Look what I found today !

Oh how the boys need some outside time.

We read " Alexander's Terrible Horrible No Good Bad Day " today. One of the kids pointed out that the pictures were all black and white . " There is no color." That opened up a discussion about the illustrator. Is the illustrator still an illustrator if it isnt colored? Hmm... Lots of thinking going on. Yes, he is! One of the kids thought the car would look better red. The book would be easier to read.

I am working lots of extra time on the kids end of year portfolio's and reports. Our year end theme will be farm. This will be so much fun !

We finished our Dial Three Assessments !

We finished our Dial Three Assessments today. I even have them scored. It always feels great to get to the end of our year and see how much we have grown and how much we have learned. I would like to take credit for that but for the most part it is part of nature. We all grow. We all learn. I am happy with the scores we all got. My three year olds had really high scores which makes me excited for next year.

I will be taking these tests and my worksampling reports to put together our information for our end of the year teacher conferences. I will also be putting together packets for each child entering kindergarten with copies of their last Dial Three Report, WSS Summary Report and a letter explaining what type of classroom environment your child is accustomed to and what type of learner they are. Hopefully this will help in their placement to get the best teacher for them.

I about exhausted Randy's ability to keep the kids entertained while I was doing the testing. We resorted to part of a movie today ( BUGS LIFE ) and a coloring sheet. I know... sounds like I've lost it. But if you have been keeping count this is 4th time this year ( since August ) we have turned on the TV and maybe.... the third coloring page. I'll take those statistics!

Tomorrow we will get back on our regular schedule .

( On a side note, the kids really enjoyed the coloring sheet. I printed a Barbie one for the girl and a monster truck one for the boys. )

Anyone got an ark we can borrow?

The rain in NW Arkansas is really crazy. The rain at the door where the parents come in is past ankle deep . Randy and I are working trying to figure out a plan to keep your feet dry.

This week I am doing assessments. Today I completed all the kiddos that will be leaving for kindergarten in the fall. I normally just do a DIAL 3 and compare it to the one I did in September to check for progress but today I did a little more with these guys. I wanted to see how much letter recognition they had picked up ( other than the 5 listed in the dial three ) and some numerals, shapes etc.. Many of them did quite well. Some not so much. All children learn at different paces and different ways. We can't compare children. I will be compiling these along with worksampling notes and a letter to accompany my kids to kindergarten.

If you wondered what is developmentally appropriate for children going into kindergarten ; read on . ( from what kids need to know website )

What does my child need to be "ready" for kindergarten?
Kindergarten has changed from when we were in school. Kindergarten previously lasted for two to three hours a day and focused primarily on the development of social skills. Today, many kindergartens last a full day (approximately 6 hours), have a major focus on reading and writing skills, and require significant amounts of seat work. This has implications for what skills our children need to have acquired prior to starting kindergarten.

• Children need to be socially and emotionally ready for school. This is one of the most important areas of readiness for children. Children need to be able to cooperate with their peers in group situations and activities. Children also need to be able to control their impulses and be able to relate to non-family authority figures.
  
  
• Children need to have acquired motor skills. Motor skills include large muscle activities necessary for walking in a straight line and throwing a ball. Motor skills also include small muscle skills such as drawing, coloring, cutting, and beginning handwriting.
  
  
• Children need to be cognitively and intellectually ready for school. Intellectual readiness is a term used to describe the learning skills a child needs to make a smooth transition into kindergarten. These skills include knowledge of colors, numbers through 10, at least some of the letters of the alphabet (e.g. particularly the letters in his/her name), and shapes. Other skills that children need are the ability to assemble simple puzzles, answer questions about his/her environment (e.g. how many legs does this spider have?), and understand similarities (e.g. how are an apple and an orange alike?), differences (e.g. how is an apple different from an orange?), and opposites (e.g. ice cream is cold, coffee is hot).
  
  
• Children need to be curious and eager to learn. Our children will be most successful if they learn to ask questions, think independently, and be creative. Our children need to be curious about the world, interested in how things work, and know how to creatively approach problems. So, if your child asks you a question like, "Do mosquitoes sleep?", resist the urge to answer (you may not know anyway!) or to give them the answer right away. Instead try asking them, "What do you think?" or "Where do you think we could find the answer to that question?". By doing this, you are encouraging them to think for themselves. This also helps build a child's self-esteem!

Did you see anywhere on there where it says know ALL THE LETTERS UPPER AND LOWER CASE AND WHAT THEY SOUND LIKE ? No.... so when the test and they dont know them - remember that.

Did you notice anywhere on that list where it says be able to solve a word math problem? No. Not even sure why that is on our kindergarten assessment for a 5 year old.

Do you recall them asking them to know the front and back of a book, the spine, the title page, how to read from left to right and how to turn the pages? No.. give me a break.

Much of this stuff our kids do know. But I wanted you to know... it is not necessary. Then we do they test for it at kindergarten screening and make you feel like a loser as a parent and make me look like a teacher that doesnt have it all together ? You got me.

It all makes me sad.

Very sad.

Your kids are brilliant. They are creative . They think for themselves. They problem solve. The work out problems with their friends. They have great hygiene. The have manners.

And two of the most important things I think are

They have confidence

and they are

HAPPY!

Owwie My Throat Hurts !

I didnt blog at all yesterday and today I dont have the energy to go downstairs and find the camera to upload pictures so please bear with me. Yesterday morning I woke up with a sore throat. I had Easter Cantada practice the night before so I just assumed it was from straining my voice on too many high notes. My body was a little achy too but that was the day after a killer workout with Cassidy and I went to the gym that morning at 6 am, so I thought.. I am sore from the workout. Then about 10 am I started getting chills and a fever. There was no excuse for this - I was getting sick. By afternoon I was running on half dead. I went to the doctor and was diagnosed with strep and got a big ole shot in my booty and some antibiotics. Thankfully we already had workers coming in today. Randy and I have a concert in Pangburn Arkansas tomorrow . ( Yes.... I dont know yet how that is going to happen AND PRESCHOOL PROM> REALLY?) We were going to get an early start. So, today I got to stay in bed to try and get better and listen to the sounds of the children. Listening to the sounds of children without seeing them is a whole different experience. I never get to be in the house and not work. I listened to giggling girls and boys that tease. I listen to Ms Jodie and Ms Devin doing an excellent job. I listened to them improvising when the planned menu wasnt quite going to work. I always feel comfortable when they are here but today confirmed it. Your kiddos are in good hands when Randy and I are not here. Thanks girls!

Jelly Beans and Hair Cuts

Today we did some math activities with jelly beans. I had forgotten to get them last night so Williams mom rescued me. Thanks MARY! We estimated and graphed and of course... we are them.

We also took brought our grass inside. Remember the grass seeds the kids planted. Our grass heads were ready for a haircut. They are in your child's cubby to take home today to continue to grow and cut.

More jelly bean fun !

Some materials I have on the table this week.

Today we read " Five Little Bunnies Hopping on a Hill." When used props to tell the story and when we were finished we counted bunny tails. ( cotton balls )

I am sending the graph we did today home with you and a stash of jelly beans. Spend some time with your child doing this fun activity.

We also read " Peter Cotton Tail." The kids made a lot of predictions about what would happen to Peter since he didnt obey and how important it is to obey adults we trust.

I forgot to tell you that yesterday Jodie read " The Carrot Seed" with the kids and they made carrot salad.