Happy Tuesday!

 

Today was filled with celebrations and fun.  We added two new birthday crystals to our birthday branch, and we got to sing and blow out the candles on our class cake!

Happy 5th birthdays ESE and MT!

What do you know about these materials?

"They are shapes."

"You can make things with them."

I heard children naming shapes, noticing how they combined to create new ones, realize what "pictures" could be made with them, and more!

Our shaving cream made another appearance today, but this time with some added materials.

Check out what went on in Magnolia and Sycamore today as we capered!

sycamore blog

magnolia blog

In the Birch room we asked children....

What does "Thankful" mean?

"Be happy that your family is here." HW

"Be so so kind." JI

"It means you love your mom and dad." CF

We heard a lot of talk about families as children drew their pictures.  

"I'm thankful for my sister." LB

"I'm thankful for turkey!" MT

As we sat with one another, I was smiling and swaying to the music.  I began to draw something on the board and wondered if my friends might know what I was thankful for in this moment?

"It's music!" one friend realized.

You are right.  I LOVE music!  It is something I am always thankful for.  Iet always makes me want to move and dance.  And...so it seems, is the case for our Birch friends too!

May your break be filled with family, fun, and as much peace as glow-in-the-dark jammies!

Malle it...MESSY!

 Make it Monday turned into...Make it MESSY Monday!  It was one of those days when your teachers sat back and looked around marveling at the work, play, FUN that was happening all around us.  You might think inviting mess into our day would be...well...messy.  And it was, to be sure.  But it was so much more than that  It gave our friends permission to explore, to dig in as much - or as little - as they wanted.  It allowed for complete full body sensory exploration.  It was a chance for children to be brave and try new things.  Believe it or not, not all children like to be messy!  For some, getting their hands all covered in goo is HARD!  For others...well...it was a dream come true!

With the knowledge that mess was going to happen, and that it was okay these Birch friends did amazing work. 

Our friend love to scoop, dump, pour, and fill.  We created funnels, tubes and rice to pour and explore.    

Can you make your own dough?

We gave friends bins with dry ingredients and added spray bottles of water.  How can you make your own dough?  We heard "brownies", "cookies", and "batter".  We noticed friends smelling the cinnamon and cocoa powder.  We saw stirring, scraping, and kneading.

It was messy and felt a lot like baking!

With all of the "messy" play, we knew we needed a place to be "clean-messy"  Bubbly water and loose parts were the perfect combination!

Finger paint...or should we say ARM paint?!

This started with friends using brushes, but quickly became paint exploration to the next level! 

     
 

Shaving cream on the light table was such an amazing sensory experience.  The light shone through and created works of art!

It was a GREAT day!