Animal fun!

The Birch students have been full of energy today! We began our morning by sharing what we had for breakfast and sang a song. The students made choices in the room that consisted of building with loose parts and playing with animals. Another invitation read "How can you create a bird out of these materials?" While creating their birds, the students began to wonder how birds fly with their wings. Ms. Gayle found some old cardboard materials. The students poked holes in the cardboard to attach cloth material around their arms. We went out to the hillside and students took turns "flying" around on the hill. They had so much fun being birds!

 

 

Out on the hillside, students played with some building connector toys and practiced walking across the slackline. The kids have improved on their balance and making it further down the slackline. Way to go, friends! We returned inside and read a few books and made more choices before lunch. One of the choices was a group project/challenge. The students had to create an art piece of a bird with the given materials. They were to work together to make one big bird. Great teamwork! Have a great rest of your day!

Forest Adventures

A few friendly reminders...

-Monday's are forest days! Please have your child wear appropriate shoes, especially for the forest. 
-Please apply sunscreen and bug spray to your child in the morning. We will reapply in the afternoon. Thanks and happy reading!

Hello and welcome back from the weekend! Today was very exciting because we were able to go to the forest today! 

We began our morning by greeting one another and making choices in the classroom. Students built with loose parts and designed at the light table. Some students played a dice and button game while others completed the challenge at the art table. The students were given a picture of a bird and were asked "What do you see when you look closely?" Some students drew detailed pictures of what they observed about the picture.

 

 

Later in the morning, we walked through the neighborhood and visited the forest! The students were SO excited to be in the forest on this beautiful day. Some friends took care of the forest by collecting trash. We had a pair of binoculars and a bird book that were both brought in by students. They were very excited to put these tools to use and the students were looking for birds! They found a lot of robins and a few students were determined to find some crows. Although they did not see any crows, they shared how they saw a lot of other birds and saw some big nests up in the trees of the forest.

 

 

We later went up to the top of the forest and spent some time walking across the two big tree trunks that were cut down. The students said it was an obstacle course and did a great job at balancing and walking across the two trunks! We returned to school and continued to practice balancing on the slackline on the hillside. Stay tuned for more adventures about birds!

Fun Friday!

Good afternoon and happy Friday! Or as the kids call it, "pizza day!" This morning started off by listening to some read aloud books. They made choices in the classroom that consisted of building and designing. Some friends created another forest on the carpet using loose parts. Another group of students built designs with blocks and towers out of popsicle sticks and spools.

 

 

As the morning continued, we went to the gym for some movement time. Some friends rode bikes while others worked on building Ms. Abby a chair out of blocks. It was very comfortable and even came with a footrest! We came back to the classroom and the students completed puzzles. Some students discovered how to make different colors by using colorful connectors. They used a variety of colors (ex: blue and red) and would spin them in a circle to create the color purple!

The students enjoyed their delicious cheese pizza. Have a great weekend with your child and enjoy the weather!

Rain, Rain Go Away!

What a rainy day it has been, but that doesn't stop the Birch friends on having fun at school! There was a lot of discussion about the storms last night and how the thunder was so loud! Some students shared how their dogs were really scared and how they had to take care of them last night. Sounds like a busy night for some kiddos!

The students made choices in the room that consisted of building with blocks and designing at the light table. Some students made letters and shapes out of popsicle sticks while others made a habitat for toy animals and insects.  A group of students practiced creating self-portraits and used a mirror to study their faces. They are getting very good at choosing their skin color and adding more detail to their pictures. Way to go, friends!

                     

Some friends went to the collaboratory to exercise and build with the blocks. Other students played counting games in the classroom and number sorting with cards! The counting game consisted of identifying the given number and counting out the desired number. During this counting time, one student found a worm near the back door leading out to the hillside! We scooped up the worm and put him in a bowl for the students to observe. After all of the excitement, we let the worm free and placed him back in his home on the hillside.

As the morning continued, Ms. Gayle played some literacy games with a group of children. Other friends built with loose parts on the carpet and created a forest! We danced to some "gonoodle" before lunch and the students may be in a pasta coma from their lunch. They were really hungry today! What a great rainy afternoon for a little snooze. Enjoy the rest of your day!

Trying new things!

Just a friendly reminder to apply sunscreen on your child in the morning, before drop-off. Happy reading!

Hello all! Wow, we have had a busy day with trying new things! The class began the morning with experimenting with paint while using a variety of painting tools. Others built with loose parts and designed with shapes on the projector. A few friends went to the collaboratory with Ms. TC.

 

Later in the morning, we went out to the hillside and tried the new slackline! The students quickly discovered that it is very hard to balance and walk along the line. Did they give up? Goodness, no! The Birch friends continued to master their balance and some even walked all the way down the line! We attached a string to our bird feeder and found a spot to hang the feeder for the birds. We placed it on the bush outside of our classroom, close to the nesting materials. We are excited to see the birds enjoy their food!

 

We returned to the classroom and completed a 100 piece puzzle! The students worked very hard together to complete the puzzle. Other friends painted with watercolor pencils and created towers at the light table. The class will be going outside this afternoon to enjoy the sunshine!

Feed the Birds

Good Day Birch Families! Our students are doing a great job of rhyming and exploring letters, sounds and words. This is one way we enjoy our Morning Circle. As we go off to choices, the children make decisions based on their interests and interactions with peers as they develop deep friendships. More flowers were made at the art table, buildings were made at the light table, block area and with loose parts. We enjoyed some fresh air before returning to the class to make and fill our new bird feeder. Estimates were made on how many scoops of birdseed would fill the bottle. As we filled it, some students helped make tally marks to count. Half way filled, we re-evaluated and made new estimates. The final total was 18+3/4. We encourage you to estimate and count at home too. It’s as easy as filling the cereal bowl or counting raisins in a jar!

Have a wonderful evening. We hope you can take a walk and listen to bird song!

We like walks, oh yes we do! We like walks, how about you?

Good afternoon and happy Monday! I hope you all had a great weekend with your child.

We began our morning by observing some interesting bird objects Ms. Gayle brought in to place on the hillside. Two of the objects were nesting materials in dried seed pods. There was also a seeded stick to hang for feeding.

 

The class continued their morning by measuring objects in the room, sorting and building with blocks and loose parts, and creating flowers out of art material to display in the mirrored area in front of the gym! After completing our morning routines and playing, we went for a walk around the neighborhood. The Birch friends listened and observed a lot of birds in the yards and at the top of the forest. After our long walk, we returned to school and played on the playscape with other classes. I have a feeling that we will have some sleepy kiddos after our long walk and playing outside all day!