Coffee shops and puppets

Good afternoon and welcome back from spring break! I hope you all had a great week with your child. The students were VERY excited to see all of their friends and teachers this morning! We went around and shared what we did over spring break. A few friends went on some trips while others spent some time with grandparents and playing outside.

We began our morning by building with loose parts, writing letters and making designs at the art table. One of our students brought in a big cardboard box that quickly turned into a car. Some of the kids took turns pushing and driving the car. Some other loose parts formed into a coffee shop and candy shop! The kids were making and selling their coffee and candy to each other and even created a drive thru! How creative!

 

 

 

As the morning continued, some students adventured outside while others made puppets in the classroom. Another group of students built with puzzle pieces and created sculptures. Have a great Monday!

Walking and dance parties!

We are almost to spring break! We began our morning by showing off our pajamas and playing in the classroom. The students made art with watercolor pencils while others made letters out of loose parts.

 

   

Since it is SO nice outside, we went on a long walk around the neighborhood. We stopped to watch several squirrels collect their food in yards and saw several dogs on walks. A lot of the students noticed how there were tiny purple flowers blooming in some yards and we began to get really excited for spring! We thanked Mother Nature for this wonderful weather!

When we came back to the classroom, we had a dance party! We danced to several Disney songs and listened to the instruments and practiced keeping the beat. The students used their instruments to play along with the music while others showed off their dance moves. The students had a yummy pasta lunch and will hopefully have a good nap after all of the action today! Have a wonderful spring break with your child!

Let's go for a listening walk!

Welcome to the blog! What a great morning it has been for a little outdoor time. We finally got outside today to get some fresh air! We began our morning by sharing what pajamas we wish to wear for tomorrow. We talked about how if our pajamas we plan to wear are dirty and came up with a backup plan and thought about another pair we can wear in case our original plan does work out! After playing in the classroom, we went on a listening/sound walk. The students observed the sounds they heard around the neighborhood, such as cars driving by, birds tweeting in the trees, children talking, and construction happening right down the street! The class stopped to observe the construction men working on a house. We watched them hammer wood onto the roof, saw pieces of wood, and the construction men lift giant pieces of wood up onto the roof! This was very interesting to watch and the students started to think about building a house with the blocks in the classroom.

 

 

After our walk, we played outside with some toys and enjoyed the weather. We returned to the classroom and read one of our We Stories books and did designs with tissue paper and glue. Other friends played with loose parts and built a house out of our classroom blocks! Each student had a "room" in the house and they even built a kitchen! They are so creative! I am looking forward to conferencing with some of you tonight. Please remember that tomorrow is pajama day!

Hudson Harmonies!

Good afternoon and happy Tuesday! Today has been full of activity and fun! The students started the morning by playing with loose parts, drawing letters at the art table and creating designs at the light table. The Hudson Harmonies came and performed for our school! They sang some great songs and had fabulous soloists. At the end of their concert, they came into the audience and danced with us! The students really enjoyed the show and gave them some new ideas for performing and singing in the classroom.

 

 

 

We returned to the classroom and made books, made designs with nails and peg boards, and did some artwork with watercolor pencils and paint. As the morning continued, we had a hot chocolate stand opening up where some friends were making this yummy drink with loose parts. Our class also experimented with our class instruments and their singing. Some people were part of the orchestra while students took turns being the conductor. If you have any cereal boxes, cardboard cylinder boxes, or any container you think would be good to use for sound, please send it our way!

Writing our own music

Hello all and welcome back from the weekend! We began our morning by performing our usual routines and making choices in the classroom. Friends built with loose parts, experimented with sand at the sensory table and wrote their own music! Some of the written music looked like classic music notes while others added different designs to their music, such as swirly lines and letters. Later in the morning, the students were able to share their music and one student even performed her song she wrote!

  

 

We exercised in the gym and practiced our putting with clubs and balls in the hallway. Other friends completed a 100 piece puzzle and worked very well together! To end our morning, we read The Quickest Kid in Clarksville by Pat Zietlow Miller. This story was about two little girls who competed in running against one another. Although they were each other's competition, they began to see the similarities in one another and became friends. What a great message! We ate delicious tacos for lunch and had great naps!

Golfing and "The Sleepy Reader"

Happy Friday! It has been a great, active Friday here at AFC. After completing our morning routines, we built with loose parts, designed at the light table and created books. A group of students went down to the gym for some movement time while others built in the collaboratory. Some of the children made houses out of magnetic tiles while others rode bikes.

 

We returned to the classroom and students made choices in the room while others practiced putting balls through tubes! This activity was so popular that some of our Maple friends came to join in on the fun! Students built houses for pretend people, practiced their catapulting, and read some books.

 

After our pizze lunch, we were invited to be audience members for an author who came to our school! Ms. Beth's cousin, David Beck, wrote a children's book called The Sleepy Reader. The book was about David reading a bedtime story to his son and he is just too sleepy to stay awake! He was so sleepy, he even started to fall asleep while reading to our class! It was the students' job to wake him up. The students were very excited to meet an author of a book and really enjoyed this experience.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Bowling and Rainbow Cities

Hello all! The Birch room began our morning with singing a few songs and choosing some activities around the classroom. Some students built with magnets while other students made unique shapes by tracing different materials on paper. The students got out a ball from the classroom and started to set up cylinder blocks as the bowling pins. They quickly built a bowling lane out of our classroom blocks and took turns being the bowler. One student stood at the end of the bowling lane and fixed the bowling pins after each turn! While waiting, the students took chairs and lined them up and waited patiently for their turn! They started to sing songs and cheered for the bowler to knock down all of the pins! What great teamwork, Birch friends!

 

The class went to the gym to exercise and play with our Dogwood friends. The students exercised with balls and released some energy by playing catch and throwing them at the wall. We returned to the classroom and the students continued to build with blocks and loose parts at a table. The students began to fill the table with different colored tile and fabrics. They started to call it a "rainbow city" and added detail to their city, such as a pool and a playground.

Other students played pass with a ball in the hallway. The Maple friends later came into the hallway to join in on our exercising.

I think the students will take good naps from all of the exercising from today! Hopefully some spring weather will be here soon. We miss the great outdoors! See some of you at conferences tonight!