Flying Friday

Hello Birch families! Our morning soared by as we traced friends as birds. Loose Parts invited students to make a classroom nest and create birds.

The art table offered students the opportunity to explore stamping with unusual tools. On the carpet, an animal kingdom arose complete with a wooden enclosure. We read three books today, The Gruffalo, Duck on a Truck and Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs. The students are very interested in adding to the conversations, noticing similarities and differences in related stories. They also look to see how the characters are feeling and predicting what might occur next.

 We took advantage of the mild weather by spending time on the Playscape. A train ride was enjoyed in boxes AND on the slide. What a fabulous morning we spent together!
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Singing and Dancing in the Rain

When stuck inside, Birch finds ways to keep moving! Using scooters and plastic golf clubs, friends used their muscles pulling each other up and down our hallway. The giggles were endless. Miss Margie is helping out the final two weeks of school and rotated groups through the Tinker Room. She was so happy to visit with our students and complimented us on how grown up they had become! Miss Abby also had a group in the room. Students used new tools for painting, created all sorts of LEGO designs and there was an abundance of stories being told using loose parts, people figures and animals. Yoga and GoNoodle completed the morning, leaving us ravenous for our pasta lunch. Have a pleasant evening!

                                                   
 

Signs of spring

*If you have any extra clothing that your child has borrowed from AFC, please return it to school at your earliest convenience. Thank you and happy reading!

Good afternoon, everyone! The Birch students began the morning by singing some songs and making choices in the classroom. Our choices consisted of painting a picture of a flower from our still art piece. We used some flowers that a student brought in for teacher appreciation week! Other friends rolled letter dice and built the given letter out of popsicle sticks. This led to students wanting to build words and write some rhyming words. They are sure building on their literacy skills! Some students made patterns and designs with stones and rocks. 

After playing in the classroom, we decided to go for a walk around the neighborhood to look for signs of spring. The students noticed a lot of birds in the yards and collecting worms for their food. They commented on how they heard the birds as well. We saw a lot of colorful flowers blooming and saw six graduation signs in front yards! The class also walked by a house that is being renovated and we watched the workers use their equipment to dig a hole! We returned to school and made some choices in the classroom. The students enjoyed chicken fingers for lunch and are snoozing away. Enjoy your afternoon!

3D Bird Art!

*If you have any extra clothing that your child has borrowed from AFC, please return it to school at your earliest convenience. Thank you and happy reading!

What a beautiful day it is outside! We began the morning by a student sharing her rocks and crystals with the class. Some students built with materials while others created the alphabet out of clothes pins and hangers. One hanger was for the alphabet, while the other hanger was used for counting numbers. A few kids designed at the light table as well!

The class continued the morning outside on the hillside. We opened the mud kitchen where a lot of students made their teachers some delicious treats...yum! A group of students painted outside while others practiced their balancing and walking on the slackline. Maple and Willow came outside and joined our play! It was so nice to spend this time with some of our friends. Our class returned inside to continue playing and exploring. A few students created blueprint plans before building with blocks. We made a class art piece that consisted of each student creating their own bird out of shiny paper material. Some students made their bird 3D to look like they are flying across the paper! Make sure to check out our art in the hallway!

Forest Adventures

Welcome back from the weekend! We are so happy that we were able to visit our lovely forest today!

We began the morning by building and creating letters out of loose parts. Some friends spelled their names with popsicle sticks! Other friends sorted blocks by color and created patterns with these materials. A group of students created with crayon rubbings. They used different materials in the classroom to rub the crayons and create different designs.

After reading a few books, we headed to the forest! Since it is still muddy from all of the rain, we played at the top of the forest. Students wanted to climb on the two big tree logs and did a great job climbing across this obstacle course! One student brought in a bug container and students were determined to find bugs and worms to fill the container. The students found HUGE worms! They gave the worms some dirt and leaves to make the container feel just like home. They continued looking for worms and bugs when we returned to the playscape. After playing outside (and washing our hands from playing with worms) the students enjoyed some cheesy breadsticks for lunch. Enjoy your Monday!

Friday Fun!

Good afternoon and happy Friday! The students have been full of energy, ready to learn! We began the morning by building with loose parts. Some students created a candy machine that dropped out candy and served the candy to the class...yum! Others built a bird out of loose parts and designed with shapes at the art table. A group of students played in the gym with Ms. TC. Another group of kids built in the collaboratory.

Back in the classroom, students built ships out of loose parts, created pizzas at the light table, and built houses for play people. The students were very into completing puzzles today! They did a great job at working together. We read one book  Five Little Monkeys Sitting in a Tree by Eileen Christelow, and plan to read another version of this story to compare and contrast the two stories. Have a great weekend!

Bug Park

Wow, it sure is rainy outside! Good thing we got a chance to go out this morning before the rain came.

We started our morning by making choices in the room. The choices consisted of two counting games, building with loose parts, and reflecting and drawing a picture of a cardinal bird. After our morning activities, we went to the playscape. Here, we drew with chalk, completed an obstacle course and searched for bugs in the garden! One students brought in a bug container and the students were determined to help fill the container with bugs. The container quickly became a "bug park" for the bugs to visit their friends and play. I would say the students were very successful in reaching their goal!

 

The students continued to discover rolly pollies in the garden, as well as a few worms. The bugs are still in the bug container and we have been checking on them all day to make sure they are nice and safe. They seem to be alive and well, enjoy their new bug park!

We continued the morning by creating a river in the hallway for the toy animals. Other friends practiced throwing balls and hitting balls into targets. Some friends built in the classroom with our new blocks while other students made books. We read a few stories before lunch and the students are currently taking a nice afternoon snooze on this rainy day. If anyone else has bug containers, feel free to share them with the class!