I feel like shouting !

Today the weather was nice enough again for us to split into our two groups for lunch and circle time. That means, for two hours of our day we are at am 8 to 1 ratio. That means a lot more one on one time and things go a little more smoothly.

Emeri is sorting spring shapes ( dollar tree erasers) .

Kayla is playing with this interactive Barbie. She tells you what clothes to pick out and put on her. It is a pretty cool toy and works on the kids following directions.

Sensory box. Got the idea for this weather related one at Counting Coconuts . She has the most awesome ideas for sensory boxes !

Sorting flowers but also doing a little MORE fine motor by using the weird tea tool.

Malia says she loves William ... funny kids today.

Another favorite today has been the Barbie head. I put all kind of hair do dads out and the girls AND the boys have had a ball.

You never know what you will find...

An dragon coming from the loft.

Or a boy ... sleeping ? ( no...)

Kimber was working a puzzle and got side tracked by the gyroscope.

For small groups today we played BINGO. This is a good way to assess a child's ability to recognize numbers.

Kids are so literal. I said.. " We are going to cover up the numbers on our BINGO sheet with the seeds. " And well, that is what he did.

We had a bride almost all day today.

I had to share Rosanna's beautiful picture she did in her journal today.

If you are one of my facebook friends, then you have seen what follows - just stop now. If not, read on. I am often discouraged thinking I am not giving my boys what they need as a foundation to be successful in kindergarten and beyond. I started a book last night. Here is an entry I made about what I have read so far.

This ... I struggle with. I always feel like I fail the boys in my group. The girls can spew letters and number and do quite often . They LOVE all the little literacy things I add all over the room . They love to write and draw. The boys. The boys.. the run and yell and wrestle . I have the hardest time trying to get them involved in a center long enough to even interact in an educational way with them. Today I almost cried as I walked in a room to find several of them huddled quietly. I was a little worried at first. Do they have sport ( the dog ) tied up and are shaving him ? Have they undressed their private areas and playing show me yours ? What is going on ? No, they were taking turns " reading " to each other. I lavished praise on them and let them go through the treasure chest for an appropriate gift for four little boys that touched my heart.

This afternoon the book " Supporting Boys Learning" showed up on my door step. Ok, it wasnt a miracle. I ordered it. :) Finally at 9:30 Pm I am challenged to read the first chapter. ( Ok, maybe I was really delaying putting away from laundry before bed, but the thing is .. I read! )

The first chapter had another " tear up" moment for me. If you know me, you know I am not a flashcard toting teacher. Much of our day is spent in free play. During this time I do set out specific materials to sneak in some fun learning. We dont recite the ABC's just because but I might be heard pointing out a letter on the front of a book and listening for the sound it makes. Of course we do the obligatory " this is the front of the book, this is the back of the book, this is the spine, this is the title page. The author writes the story and the illustrator draws the pictures. " JUST KILL ME.

Anyway, on page 10 I am already excited about this book and wanted to share:

... " By fourth grade children who attended academically focused preschoolers earned significantly lower grades and behaved worse than children from the other two preschools. ( One academic focused, one child initiated and one that was a combination of the two. ) Boys who were best able to keep pace with the girls had attended child-initiated schools. The boys who fell the furthest behind were the ones who had attended academic preschools. "

I think I can take a deep breath now and just know that I am doing SOMETHING right. I might not feel it. Some days I might even want a new job. I might not see the results of it or hear them until fourth grade. But, I can rest and know that the learning environment I have is what boys need !

I am not failing my boys.

Now.... to read the rest of this book.

Hattie and the Fox

Randy and the kids played with the camera today...

Today we read the story of Hattie and the Fox. This book is a great book that practices predictability. As Hattie sees each part of the fox hanging out from the busy the animals all exclaim the same thing over and over - " Well , Well" " Good Grief !" The kids begin after the second time to chime in. Then before revealing the last page we talk about what we think is behind the bushes.

Below you see a picture of Nolan and Dillion playing with the new Woodland creatures set I bought for this unit. There are two families of animals ( skunks and chipmunks ) and a bedroom , livingroom and dining room set. Basically it is playing house but with animals. Sometimes we get in the habit of only exposing boys to what we consider " boy toys" like blocks and cars when in actuality they also like to pretend to play house. They can work out emotions from stress and learn to be nurturers . If you would like to read more about it, here is an article from Education.com .

Two inspections ? Really ?

What a day. It started out SO wonderful. There was a nice breeze blowing and the kids were all in our " happy place." Then..... I look at the door and there is my ABC ( Arkansas Better Chance ) coordinator. He is such a laid back nice guy but he is here to pick apart my weakness - paperwork. Why can't I just do what I am good at and forget the rest ? I know... it all works together and someone has to tend to the business end but if you really... really understood how much of it I have, you would feel my pain. Yes, I am off most holidays, off at 3 pm and all summer. Ok.. that does make up for it, I will stop whining.

Luckily I had Jodie come in today to work with me so that Randy could finish painting the upstairs bathroom. As it turned out, he helped Jodie while I shuffled paper and answered questions.

For the most part I am very pro child- centered teaching. I am not a "worksheet teacher" and feel kids learn the best hands on. But.. ever once in a while a child or combination of children seem to miss what I am trying to teach and to be totally honest, it is usually boys. They are so into wrestling, cars and trucks and more aggressive forms of play, that they dont slow down long enough to play a counting game I have provided . I decided this week that I need to be a little more proactive with teaching my boys that are headed to kindergarten. I do still want to do this in a way that they will enjoy it and be engaged. So, one thing we are doing is these letter mats that have a road on them. Thanks to a kindergarten teachers reminder about the www.makinglearningfun.com website and these road alphabets ; today we met in the middle. They drove their cars on the A's. We wore cool glasses while we had fun writing an A.

HA! I am not sure when this picture was take or what they are doing, but it cracks me up.

We played a math game today with the dice.

In celebration of veterans day we have patriotic stuff everywhere!

In the midst of the chaos we even had a wedding.

And just when I thought it couldnt get any better another inspector showed up with the USDA food program to make sure I was feeding the little munchkins right and .... the paperwork.

All in days work.

I need a cheeseburger.