Tuesday, November 26, 2024

Reading under the stars and being thankful!

It was a wonderful day in Birch, full of stars, reading, thankfulness, and learning. 


Birch Families, we are incredibly thankful for you and your beautiful children.
We count ourselves lucky every day that we get to build meaningful, loving relationships with the children in the our classroom! Thank you for sharing them with us each day, we hope that your break is full of love, gratitude, happiness, and warmth!


We also were visited by Ms. Beth to talk to us about body safety. The children did a great job listening to all of her wonderful safety tips and will go home with a coloring book that can reinforce what they learned today!

We learned that if someone is touching us in a not safe way that we should:
Say NO!
Run Away
Tell an adult


Have a wonderful long weekend full of relaxation, family, friends. 


Monday, November 25, 2024

Meandering Monday to the Top of the Forest

TOMORROW IS BRING YOUR FAVORITE BOOK and WEAR PJs 
for a "read under the stars" day! 

We are so fortunate to have a school campus that allows us to enjoy being outdoors regardless of the weather.  Cold weather means bundling up for our explorations, so please make sure to always send weather-appropriate coats and accessories.  

If you are wondering if we might go outside on a given day, the answer is YES!  

We know our Birch friends have grown since last winter and they likely have different coats, hats, and gloves that they might not so quickly recognize.  You might also be amazed by how many of our friends have the very same winter-wear!  Please, help them be independent in caring for their belongings by putting their names in all of them so they know whose are whose.

Twenty coats...forty sleeves...twenty zippers...forty mittens...two teachers!
SO many more coats, sleeves and mitten than teachers.
AND...that's okay!  We take a LONG time to go outdoors, because those two teachers don't put all those coats on and off.  Those two teachers don't zip all those zippers.  
What those two teachers DO, is to model, show, talk and encourage, and allow alllllll those friends to put those coats on all by themselves!
There are LOTS of ways to get a coat on and off.
Some friends do it lickity split.
Some friends put one arm in and go round and round and round chasing that other arm.
Some friends lay the coat on the floor and lay down on top of it.
LOTS of friends do "flip flop over the top"
At Ambrose we talk a lot about the flip flop method.  
Lay your coat spread out on the floor.
Toes by the top (or by the tag)
Hold on to your sleeves.
Arms in the holes.
Now FLIP FLOP over the top!
Voila!
Check the link below for a video demonstrating this method.


While "I need help" is an often heard preschool expression,
their favorite expression is...
"I DID IT!"

Check out all the ways we played today! While we did not go INTO the forest, we found ways to create, play, work together, and imagine at the TOP of the forest. 






I drew the crab nebula! - SyS














Friday, November 22, 2024

Forest Friday Fun

 It was our first cold forest Friday! We got all bundled up in our hats, coats, and gloves and headed to the forest. 






We found so many fun things that grow in nature today. Some friends found berries, some found a sort of fungi, and some even found mushrooms!
"I found berries that remind me of pumpkins or tomatoes!" EH



Look at all the different sizes of mushrooms we found! Did you know that mushrooms help trees communicate? 
 



Enjoy your weekend and stay warm!