Just catching up !

Last Day

The last day and we get to add one more visiting animal to our list of pets brought in by the kids. Kimber and his mommy found this turtle on the road and brought it in the share with us. We did end up sitting him outside . He became a little stinky. :)

Today is a bitter sweet day. We have spent a year getting to know these little guys and teaching them while we play and today is our last day. Some of them will move on to kindergarten while others will return next year.

Dear Parents,

I give you back your child, the same child you confidently entrusted to my care last fall.

I give him back pounds heavier, inches taller, months wiser, more responsible,

and more mature then he was then.

Although he would have attained his growth in spite of me, it has been my pleasure

and privilege to watch his personality unfold day by day and marvel at this

splendid miracle of development.

I give him 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 we shall always retain a little of each other.

Ten years from now if we met on the street, your child and I, a light will shine to our eyes,

a smile to our lips, and we shall feel the bond of understanding once more,

this bond we feel today.

We have lived, loved, laughed, played, studied, learned, and enriched our

lives together this year.

I wish it could go on indefinitely, but give him back I must.

Take care of him, for he is precious.

Remember that I shall always be interested in your child and his destiny,

wherever he goes, whatever he does, whoever he becomes.

His joys and sorrows I’ll be happy to share.

I shall always be his friend.

~Author Unknown~

I look forward to seeing what each child will do in the future. If there comes a time you have to " take away" something - make sure it isnt your child's faith in adults, their confidence or their spirit. No matter what we give kids, these are some of the most important there are.

I will not be blogging every day this summer but I will periodicially as I clean, purge and remodel our playrooms over the summer. I have never had this much time at home at one time. Randy and I are not traveling as much doing concerts this summer so I have a summer bucket list a mile long.

Thanks ... for letting us love your child.

Snowball Fight

Here's your Friday Flick. The kids are calling them marshmellows, but they are cotton balls. Whats learning about winter without a good old fashioned snow ball fight.

Today we did a science experiment making faux snow from a mix.

The kids played in shaving cream on the table . Randy made a game of it. He would write or draw something on the chalk board and the kids would try to make it in the shaving cream. They loved it !

The practiced writing their names !

Christmas Rush

This week seems to have flown by. Especially since " Holy Gaucamole" I FORGOT TO blog yesterday. I had a doctors appointment yesterday and we had all those great discussions about doing genetic testing to see what my risk factor is for ovarian cancer since my mom died from it and to be honest.. it just never crossed my mind once I got home.

So, first let's recap yesterday.

Dillion loved playing with his olives...

Audrey was counting presents to put under the number trees !

We played a rhyming game.

And Mary, Williams mom came to write the kids letters to Santa that will be in the paper. If you dont allow Santa at your home, we respected that and just asked what they might want... not necessarily from Santa. ( And we appreciate you not making a HUGE deal out of the fact that many of our children do believe and ruining the joy for them. ) I think we have a good balance of secular and religious values in our Christmas units.

Today we made snowmen. The kids said they looked like pirates. I think they might be right.. :)

And here's your Friday flick !

Sorry it's sideways.. I dont know how to change it . :)

Friday Flick !

# 2 We'll get you !

The kids have been admiring our number 2 pinata all week. Today we filled it with candy ( tricky way to get the rest of that Halloween candy out of my house ) and we took turns taking 2 swings until it busted. Finally , we let our friend Nolan hit it until it bust ! SO much fun and learning at the same time. After it was opened and we all scrambled for the candy, we we allowed to eat 2 pieces.. just two. I said one but Mr. Randy reminded me that we were talking about the number two , so....

and now for Friday flicks ! One video was taken on our walk as Mrs. Jody helped Malia count out ten leaves. Most kids can count to ten but being able to count out ten objects is all together different - and more important ! The second video is of an impromptu doctors office set up and some conversation there. ( I think this was initiated by Audrey who had a new little brother born on Monday. )

Pizza Pizza !

To wrap up our unit on people and places that provide food - today we went to Eureka Pizza. The manager, Glenn surprised us by giving us each aprons and letting us cook our own pizzas!

We went in the walk in freezer, it was SO cold !

Here we are rolling our dough balls.

What a fun day! Thanks Eureka Pizza ~

On the way there we passed Rosanna's home !

We we got home we ate our very own pizza's that we cooked.

Yum... what a great day.

And here's your video clip of the week. This one is of RosaMaria ( Rosanna's mom ) reading a book to us in spanish before she shows us how to make homemade tortillas.

Happy Friday!

Blogging our day a little early today since I am leaving at noon to head south to speak at a conference. Today we wrapped up our unit on feelings and emotions. We've talked about how to control OUR emotions a little better but today we talked about what to do when people around us have strong emotions. Interesting conversations... and funny . :)

Today is FRIDAY FLICKS!

DANCE PARTY ! ( Um..... please excuse that nice little cord laying on the floor that is SCREAMING safety hazard. gah... )

I am sure the kids have told you about our calm down song. I encourage you to use this one at home !

Happy Friday everyone. See you on Monday!

Friday Flicks !

Today has been a great day. It was so good that I didn't want to interrupt the children's play to do circle time or cook. WHAT ? We have had a few rough days and the children were socializing so well and learning together doing what they do best that I chose to have a child centered day. Child centered or child led means I follow their lead. That is not always possible but today it was needed. Not one child cried today... ever. I love it. We have arrived. :)

Here is your Friday Flick !

It's a New Day !

It is 2:00 and I am just now blogging. We didnt get the children laid down until after 1:00 today. We will probably let them sleep until almost 2:30 . Our day has been busy - finishing our assessments - but now we can get back to the business at hand - playing and learning. I didnt take the time to take any pictures today so I thought I would entertain you with a video I shot of Randy on Monday morning. Just when you think your children go to a regular preschool you see this...

Oh, incase you wondered my day was better today.

Fabulous Friday Flicks !

We have made it to the end of our first week. It wasn't near as tough as some have been. If you have asked your child each day what we have done and they replied " play" . They are correct. Don't tell them but we already did a lot of other things as well !

How to use the art center *** 3 D Art **** The proper way to wash hands *** How to line up *** How to clean up **** What the loft is for and it's special rules *** Nap time routines *** Journaling **** Our first weekly reader ! ****Gate and Door Rules *** Made new friends*** How to let go of mom or dad in the morning and know they are coming back ****

We also sang, and read and counted.... a lot.

Friday is our day for cooking . We try to make sure that once a week we do a cooking activity. The kids were super excited today when I told them we would be cooking. The first group of kids made cornbread and the second group mixed honey and butter for a spread. We will taste it at snack time today. Cooking with kids is a great opportunity to count, estimate, use our fine motor skills and... learn patience. :)

Some things I FINALLY got finished this week I have been working on:
CUBBY TAGS~

The sign in sheet book came back from the printers !

I dont know who keeps leaving me these little notes each day, but it makes me smile. Thanks sweet person - whoever you are. Now.. if money starts showing up you will see me turn flips !

The fun never ends. We are still putting things away from the remodel. We need to have a HUGE yard sale. Tonight I have a webinar for Arkansas Better Chance from 6 -8. Perfect way to spend a Friday night, huh ? :) Next Thursday Randy and I are teaching a music workshop to providers in NWA ... so excited!

Other plans I have with YOUR KIDDOS next week are:

Have our first fire drill.

Start brushing our teeth.

Spend time talking about what goes on in the dress up room.

ALL ABOUT ME unit

I also HOPE to get the rest of your paperwork ready for you, schedule the dial three developmental assessments and then after that - our first parent /teacher conference to discuss how the assessments went and work with you to make a plan for the year.

So , here's what you've been waiting on - FABULOUS FRIDAY FLICKS! This is a song that is a favorite of many.

Such cute kids ! See you all on Monday!