Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice

One of our parents gave us two cases of apples and oranges. Now.. we eat a LOT of fresh fruit but even we would have a hard time getting through that much before it spoils. So, we are getting creative. Today, the kids got a lesson on where we get orange juice from. Many thought the grocery store. They made orange juice for snack this afternoon !

After squeezing Randy put all the orange half on the tray and we estimated how many oranges the kids thought were there. It was really a good math lesson. I explained how two halves make a whole.

It took 33 oranges to make that pitcher of juice !

Another math lesson today when we patterned . We made a flag ! This type of activity is always done in small groups of 3 or 4 children.

One of my favorite " sneak a peaks" today was when I found a group of kids playing doctor. Audrey and Geneviette were the doctor and Cohen and Malia were the patients. I was told that Cohen had strep throat and Malia had a belly ache. Audrey and Geneviette had papers and squiggly lines and letters were drawn on it. They said this was their list of names to call when it is their turn. It is so fun to see those literacy skills developing and kids using their imagination. ( Audrey was most likely the instigator of this game. Yesterday afternoon she became a BIG SISTER. Sylar Dash was born. He weighed 7 pounds 1 ounce. Mom and baby are doing well. Audrey was so excited to bring in pictures of Sylar to show off this morning. )

Milk does the body good

Today we are finishing up our small health unit. We talked about milk and how it makes our teeth and bones strong. The kiddos in our program get milk ATLEAST twice a day.

I took 30 pictures but can't get them to upload today for some reason. :( When I get the problem straightened out I will remind you to look back at this page!

Our fun today was sorting all our play food and we have a LOT. So much in fact that after it was sorted I decided to put some away to rotate in at a later date. It was interesting to see how the kids categorized the food we had. When we were finished we had no place for the pie, cake, popcorn and ice cream. Didn't realize it but what a great visual way to explain they don't " go" anywhere. Noah was on his toes today. When we got to the popcorn he placed it in the veggies pile. I asked him was he sure and he replied " Yes, it started out as corn !" And... that is true . Some things are just too hard to explain. Then when I held up a slice of cantalope and asked what it was. Audrey replied " a smile!" The way I was holding it looked like a smile.. so she wins! :)

We got a new table and chair set for the play room today. The old set had two chairs and one table. This one has four chairs and it is heavier. I may use the old set in the quiet room for games. Also, it will cut down the space the boys have to wrestle and run. That is a good thing!

There is more than one way to skin a cat and there is more than one way to use a salad spinner. today we dropped water colors on a piece of paper in the salad spinner and the kids turned the handle as fast as they could . That took some real coordination. When they opened the salad spinner they had a wonderful piece of art.

For water play today we added a hand held and powered egg beater. The kids used it to make bubbles !

In circle time we read a story called " The wonderful pot ." All the kids have to look at is one large picture of a man and lady looking into a pot with three legs . For the older group I told the story in depth about the pot that comes alive and skips away singing and returns with food and gold. After reading I asked questions for comprehension like " What did the pot return with the first time it skipped away?" Then I asked some questions to broaden the kids vocabulary like " The man wanted to SELL his cow but another man offered to TRADE him the pot for his cow . What does TRADE mean ? Then to take it a step further I said " The title of this story is " The Wonderful Pot" if YOU wrote it what would you call it . I got great answers like " The pot who talked" and " The Pot of Gold." We've got some smart kiddos. For the younger group, I paraphrased the story to make it shorter. When finished with the story my questions for this group were more like " what did the pot do " ( skip and sing ) and " Can real pots skip and sing?"

I also videod our two favorite songs for the week ... but alas I can't upload them. Grr....

Have a great weekend everyone. I am blessed to have such a wonderful job that I love.

Fruit Salad.. Yummy Yummy !

Today we talked about fruit and vegetables. This year I have a group of kids that LOVE fresh veggies. One day when we were making a list for a shopping trip for snack their first request was cucumbers. Just last night Geneviette was asked what she wanted for dessert and her choice was ice cream, strawberries and olives !

Today we tasted 10 different fruits that aren't on our menu on a consistent basis. They were FRESH pineapple, watermelon, cantaloupe, plum, pomegranate, mango, fresh peach, kiwi, fresh pear and a nectarine. Some of these such as pears, peaches and pineapples we have often but usually they are canned. If you have never had a FRESH pineapple, you are missing out. WOW! It is like eating a piece of candy.

We graphed who liked what and then compared them. Lots of counting and estimating went on. We were able to use the terms least and most..... those are two terms on our assessments that many kids miss.

Have you seen these nifty pineapple cutters. They are like the small apple corer. cutter type utensils. Love it !

Have the kids mentioned to you that we have new trikes ? We have made an order of over 1000.00 to buy some new equipment and 4 trikes were part of that. They are loving it !

Other fun going on outside.

All in a days work....

Bread

Today we continued our exploration into FOOD. I went upstairs to the resource room, which my son Addam is working to organize and found a few materials we can use. Like these potato heads. The kids LOVE this!

For small groups today we made Alphabet Soup. The kids stirred the " soup " and then closed their eyes and pulled out a letter and shared it with the rest of the group.

We even tried writing a few of the letters we found. This is an A. Rosanna had an A and I said " Rosanna, are you going to try to write your letter?" She said " I DID!" I thought this was MY writing and I had given her an example.

Emeri pulled out a letter and said " Look ! The letter in MY name !"

After playing with the soup I laid my notebook on the table and Daniel said " Look , they match" and laid his magnetic 5 on my 5 !

This is my new system for taking " observations" Through out the day sometimes I see things that are significant events in a child's development. I take notes on these and this helps me to assess them for further help or help in planning what I need to focus on for teaching. ( I know.. you thought I just threw things out and played all day.. right ? ) I was using a note book and then transferring the notes to a binder. I am all about minimizing the paperwork steps. So, now I have this posterboard. Randy and I keep post it notes handy. As I see something that needs to be recorded . I put the day on the note and then tag it under the child's name. This is my first day for this. I will either transcribe into the binder OR place the post it in the proper place inside the binder. Observations are very important. Sometimes I focus on specific skills. Sometimes the observations are " on the go" or random. Sometimes they are planned - for instance at the beginning of the year when we put them all in a line to see who could jump on one foot or skip.

I love Audrey's structure!

playdoh fun

After our small groups I put the " Alphabet Soup" on the table and several kids revisited it and played again.

Folder game ( matching )

Morning Message- The older children circled the first letter in their name.

We also read a book called "Wheat " and talked about how wheat grows and ends up being bread. We learned new words such as harvest and silo . One of the kids favorite songs this month is the old camp song called " McDonalds, Pizza Hut " . Do you remember this one ?

What a great day. Five years ago today I became a grandma . Can't think of a better job to have .

My Friday

Randy and I will be leaving very early in the morning to travel to southern Arkansas to be there when they set my parents gravestone. It will be an emotional day but one we have planned for for a while. Following that, we will attend a family reunion. This will be the first one since my mom and dad passed away. This time last year we were all there. Tough stuff ahead ....

On to happier things !

Most every day after lunch we " journal." We do this mainly to make sure that every child has the opportunity to write each day. Some children would never chose to pick up a marker or other writing tool- they would rather build with blocks or play house. This makes sure atleast once a day they get exposed. The only thing I ask the kids to do is TRY to write their name and then they can draw whatever they want. It is amazing to see the difference between the three year olds and the P4's. P4's will go to kindergarten next year and most this is their second year with me. Look below at the names on their paper, their drawings and how they are holding their crayon. Many of the three's still grip the crayon or maker in their fist. Eventually it comes..... when they are ready.

Today we took a first aid kit and went through it piece by piece. This one had cool stuff in it like a blanket that was folded in a tiny little pouch and glow sticks!

Malia pretending she is a nurse !

When you come in breakfast is on the table - on good days! :) You might think that the toys you see is all the kids play with all day. That is hardly true. Not only do the toys in the other rooms get rotated out but there are activities added to the tables. They are generally learning type activities. As I was walking around helping this morning, I noticed how full and busy the tables were. This is free choice... they come when they want. I took a picture to show you how busy at the tables activities they all were.

I use a wonderful math program. New parents there will be a book in your cubby this afternoon that explain more what I do. Parents that were here last year, received this last year.

Noah wrote mom without help !

I dont know when I will get to blog tomorrows day. I will try to talk to Jodie and Devin and do it while I am gone. If not, it may be Sunday night.

Thanks everyone, have a great weekend and say a little prayer for me this weekend !

Visiting the Health Dept

Today we walked to the Health Department. We are so thankful we are centrally located and can visit places to learn. The whole experience is a teaching opportunity . We learn how to cross roads safely. We find reminders along the way of other things we have learned. In the pictures below two of our friends have leaves in their hands. We have been talking a lot about Fall and how the leaves will change colors and fall off the trees. We saw heavy machinery working in the creek and ducks waddling in the muddy water to find food.

When we arrived at the Health Dept we found this sign. Sarah is one of my favorite people. She is so funny and positive. Love her! If you remember last year on our leprechaun hunt we saw one lady who had GREEN hair ! This was Sarah ! She mainly talked to the kids about GERMS and hand washing. We didnt discuss shots a lot . Sarah gave the kids coloring books and cookies! What a treat! Thanks Sarah !

When we got to the park Mary, Williams mom was there. Since all 16 kids were there and someone else to take pictures, we got a group photo !

And then look what appeared ! Look closely under Randy's arm. Sneaky Mr Gary.

Down from the Health Dept was a beautiful storefront with fall colors.

Since we were so close to the park , we played for a while.

















Then we walked home.

What a wonderful day. We had circle time as a large group when we got back home and talked about the things we had heard and we looked at our egg from yesterday that we soaked in vinegar. We felt it. It was " smooshie." We all decided we should make sure we brush our teeth so that the germs dont eat the enamel on our teeth and make them soft and " smooshie".