Insects and Music on the Hillside

Good afternoon! Today we spent most of our morning outside exploring the hillside. One of our classmates brought in a grasshopper in a bug catcher to show the class. Everyone was excited to watch him hop around his cage and see if he would eat any grass or leaves. On the hillside our class found a fuzzy white caterpillar crawling around and decided to add it to the bug cage. We talked a lot about how the grasshopper blended in with the leaves and what they like to eat. We love to find new insects and learn more about them! We also noticed some new signs of fall on the hillside. Ask your child what signs of fall we found today! Some of our class asked for the musical instruments to be brought outside so they could have a marching band. In the Birch room we love to make music, sing songs, and dance! Have a great evening.

Ms. Brittany

Can you spot Max the grasshopper?

Can you spot our fuzzy white caterpillar?

Spool painting and mud kitchen fun

Hi Birch families! Today we spent a lot of time outside exploring the hillside right outside our classroom. We made some art using small spools and paint. It was similar to marble painting where you move the foil pan different ways to make the spools roll in the paint. The class enjoyed making the spool roll around in the paint and seeing how their artwork came out. Our class also enjoyed racing different spools on the hillside and seeing which ones went faster. We brought out two of our black spools from the classroom and used two big clear spools from the hillside. Our class decided that the clear spools were faster than the black spools and they rolled further. We also enjoyed pretending to cook in the mud kitchen for each other. Our class used their imagination and found leaves, dirt, and sticks to use as food. Ask your child about their favorite activity to do on the hillside. Have a great evening!

Ms. Brittany

Bark Rubbing at the Forest

Birch Room walked to the Forest today. We made bark rubbings by placing paper up to the bark of our meeting tree. Then we gently rubbed the crayon against the paper. Some children worked in pairs and held the paper for their friend and some held the paper with one hand and rubbed with the other. We then practiced writing our names on our rubbings. We continued to explore the bark and noticed the different textures and patterns of the trees of the forest. Some had so much fun making the rubbing that they decided to do more than one. As we investigated the forest, we found bamboo, sticks, bark, and leaves. We love to play in the forest.  We played kings and queens and some were knights. We played werewolf and howled. We also played tag in the forest. Ask your child about their favorite thing they did in the forest today.

 

Spool Exploration

Hi Birch families! Recently our class has been interested in spools and making them move! On the hillside we have some big spools that we love to race down the hill. Today we had a challenge of creating our own ramps and hills for small spools in the classroom! Some of our class enjoyed building with big blocks, cardboard tubes, and a cardboard box to create their own ramp. During our morning meeting we talked about our challenge and wanted to see if the spools rolled on the big carpet. The class took turns rolling the big and little spools to each other on the carpet. I asked the class "Do you think the spools will roll in the sand?" Most of the class said no because it would be too bumpy in the sand but some thought it would. We brought out two big spools and three small spools to test out in the sandbox. Ask your child if the spools rolled and how else they made them roll outside. We will continue to explore spools and things that move in the classroom. Have a great evening.

Ms. Brittany