Puff Paint

We made our own puff paint for Valentine's Day. It looks like the most delicious frosting ever! It's actually shaving cream, white glue and liquid watercolor mixed together. I don't have specific amounts of each - more like a squirt of this and a squirt of that. The kids mixed it all together with a whisk and painted. Try it at home - it's easy, and more importantly, it's easy to clean up.

Carpet Picnic

Every year between January and Spring Break, we see huge cognitive growth in the children. They suddenly have new ways to play with familiar toys. The kitchen is a favorite spot for Jessica and many other girls and boys. Mrs. Magee and I weren't sure how it all happened, but we looked up and suddenly there was a carpet picnic in the block center. Very creative!

Shopper Girl

Recently, Callie spent the whole day shopping. She toted this little white purse around for hours. She gathered a few items and needed me to show her how to undo the latch. When I asked her where she was going, she said "to the store". I mentioned that I thought she needed a list, and she agreed. I got a small brown piece of paper and wrote down the items she said she needed to purchase. It was a short list, and then she crammed it in her purse. I thought that was the end of it. But no. She came back two or three times to get me to add items to her list. Just like me it seems - I can never remember all that I need. I have to keep adding to my list.

Through this easy, simple child-initiated activity, Callie's understanding of literacy concepts grew. Plus she looked so adorable carrying that purse around all day. A girl's got to have a good handbag!

PomPoms

This year we have been challenged to find new and exciting items for our sensory table. We have some food allergies in the class that limit what we can put out. It's been great fun to hunt through our well stocked closets for cool items. These pompoms were a hit. It felt so good to just rub hands through the soft and colorful fuzzy pompoms.

Puzzle Champs

We have a number train floor puzzle in our class. We've worked it several times as a group, but a few weeks ago we got it out to see if anyone would work it without adult support. Oh there was much excitement! About five Bunnies sat down to work it together. It's a long puzzle (1 to 20) and after a while a few of them wandered away.

Not these two boys. They stuck it out to the end. Look at those big smiles of pride in their accomplishment!
Way to go, boys!!

Stencils

There's been a lot of stenciling going on lately. For months and months no one noticed the stencils on the shelf. Now all of the sudden they are out on the table almost daily. What a fabulous way to improve fine motor skills and have fun at the same time! And also, stencils are great restaurant entertainment while you are waiting for the food to arrive.

You may have noticed that I'm waaaaaay behind on blog posts. So sorry about that. I've got tons of photos and learning to share, so stay tuned...

Snow - Southern Style

When you live in the southern states, your options for snow experiences are limited. Shaving cream is an excellent substitute!

To create snow art, we taped bubble wrap to the table and squirted shaving cream on it. The children rubbed their fingers through it and spread the shaving cream over all the bubbles. (I saw one Bunny massage each individual bubble, but I can't remember who! hilarious) After they finished rubbing the bubbles, they rinsed off their hands.

Then they put a large piece of paper on the bubble wrap and gently rubbed to make a print. The last step was to sprinkle glitter on the "snow". Sofia's snow was glistening with glitter!

If you're brave enough to use glitter at home, here are a few tips. First, get a short box. We use the ones from warehouse stores that were once used to hold flats of canned goods or chips. If it isn't already, put the glitter into a shaker top bottle. I advise you to tape off about half the holes. You'll thank me later! Counsel your child to hold the bottle up high and shake. Once they are finished, you can recycle the glitter that accumulated in the box back into the bottle.

Patterning with Penguins

This week we had a Penguin toy that has an iceburg base and red and black penguins. We've been working on patterning quite a bit lately as a group in circle time and Mrs. Magee and I were curious what would happen in independent play.

Look at all those adorable penguins Audrey lined up. Do you see some patterns?

Scissor-rific

Check out this awesome scissor grip. Dawson has his thumb in the small hole and his next two fingers in the big hole. His thumb is on top and he's got a relaxed shoulder which allows him to aim the scissors away from his body to cut. He guides the paper along with his other hand. You can see that he's made many sizes of cuts. Some are snipping and some are a series of longer consecutive cuts. After I snapped this picture, he kept going until there was quite a pile. Super Duper!

Iceburgs

At SLC we have a whole huge closet full of consumable materials - mainly recyclables. We love (LOVE) this closet and the inventory changes all the time as we use items and "new" things are donated. But every now and then we have something that gets overlooked, maybe because it's hidden or maybe because we aren't sure just what to do with it. Such was the case with these papier mache' triangle thingies shaped like pyramids. I knew they'd make fabulous iceburgs. The kids absolutely loved them! We had a waiting list to get to the art table!! The Bunnies painted their iceburgs with white paint and glue, then they sprinked them with glitter "snow" and added die cut penguins. I'm not quite sure exactly why these were so attractive to the children, but I'm going to keep investigating. Perhaps it was the 3D aspect??

Winter is Here

The Bunnies had a great time exploring winter and winter animals. They painted with "paint pops" at the easel. (Guess what? You can freeze paint!) They had opportunities to play "Penguin Pick Up" a game for two players involving color matching and the always important turn-taking. They played with polar bears and penguins in their natural habitat - the sensory table full of ice! They used tongs and a small rake to keep their fingers from getting frost bite. Brrr!

Costumes

Check out these two handsome fellas!
Playing dress-up isn't just for girls. Boys adore costumes. I feel safer already with a police officer in our midst.

Upside Down Day

It's an annual event - Upside Down Day. It makes the children giggle - more than usual.

We do this on a Tuesday when Monday is a holiday in January. When the children enter the room, two of their favorite table are empty - big shock! Instead they get to play games and work puzzles on the floor under the table. They get to color upside down on the butcher paper taped to the bottom of the art table. It's a totally different view on the world from under the table. (Yes, Mrs. O'Connor got under there, too.) At circle time we read Silly Sally. The children think of places they would like to go upside down. Their responses are taped to the window of the classroom. Check them out.

4 at Last

Aaron is our second four year old. In our class, we have a Birthday Bag that goes home around birthday time. The child's family journals a bit about their family celebrations and attaches a photo or two. Sometimes they toss a favorite book from home in the bag. When the child brings the journal back, we read it and show the pictures. This is a fabulous way to celebrate growing up and a great way to share family traditions. We all have birthdays, but we all celebrate them very differently - from parties to simple prayers. Happy Birthday, Aaron!

Holiday

A reminder: no school on Monday Jan 19.

Puzzled

Ever wonder what happened to those puzzle pieces your children made at home? Here they are! We get them out every few weeks and work our puzzle in a variety of designs. The kids really like it, and they've started to recognize whose piece is whose. Fun!

Sew Fun

Can young children sew?
Absolutely!!
Who could possibly resist these yummy colors of yarn all rolled up?
Since we have been back from Christmas we have been reading books about Jesus' life. Surprise - Jesus grew to be a little boy! And guess what - he didn't have his own bed or his own room or a refrigerator or a sink in his house. He probably slept on the floor on a woven mat. He probably watched his mommy sew or weave mats and she probably taught Him how. I wonder if Jesus enjoyed sewing as much as the Bunnies...
We use a large quilter's hoop and a big plastic needle to make it as easy as possible. The children chose some yarn, unrolled a long piece and snipped it. Mrs. Magee and Mrs. O'Connor threaded the needle and tied some knots. After some very quick directions, the children were able to sew.

All they needed was a steady hand to hold the hoop - and perhaps a little reminder to go "up from the bottom and down through the top."

Clever Isabella was not satisfied with just one color of yarn. She wanted TWO. So in a few places on our mat, you can see two threads twisted together and stitched. So cute!

We will continue to work on this mat for the rest of the year. From time to time I'll pull it out and make it available. This kind of simple sewing is excellent for fine motor development and sequencing.

Sew fun!

Who's Glad to Be Back?

We Are!! These kiddos have been so delighted to be back at school. They have been as busy and engaged as we have ever seen them. By and large everyone slid right back into our routines.

Everyone danced to a snowflake song.People stayed focused on puzzles and games. William liked this egg shape matching game.

As always, Sofie can be found in the kitchen. Her creativity shines in the area of domestic arts. I think she missed our dishes.

Happy New Year

This week I brought in a toy that I knew would be very popular. We have more than one of these garages in our inventory of cool toys, but I only brought one. I knew there would be strife over the ramps and elevator and gas pumps. Strife is an opportunity to teach compromise, and I was ready.

Guess what? I was not needed. They worked it all out themselves! What a great way to welcome the new year together!!

Peace to You

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. I'm thrilled that the holidays will continue for another week or so with lots of time to continue creating memories. While all the hustle and bustle is fun and exciting, remember that young children are easily overwhelmed - even by fun and excitement. They will need time and space to process all of their new experiences into strong memories. Try to find time for "islands of calm" for children (and for Mommies and Daddies, too). Believe it or not, I'm taking my own advice - our calendar is remarkably clear for the next week.

Our cup runneth over with blessings at the O'Connor house. Wishing the same to you...

From Us To You

Merry, Merry Christmas!

Disappearing Peppermints

Clever Mrs. Magee suggested a festive science experiment - Disappearing Peppermints. Each child put a peppermint in a little cup and Mrs. O'Connor poured water on each one. Right away, the water turned pink. In just a few minutes, little fizzy bubbles began to rise from the peppermints. We left them in the window and when we returned from the playground - surprise! The peppermints had disappeared or "vidolved" as one child said. We were left with red water that smelled soooo good. I think everybody tasted it, too. It was Peppermint Water!

Any scientist knows that it is important to repeat experiments to confirm results. Try it at home!

A Visit to the Church

Today, we had a special visit to the church to hear the nativity story. Mrs. Thompson, who has been part of our school family for many years, likes to come retell this special story. She sat in front of the creche and asked the children questions about the story. She was delighted that the Bunnies knew so much already! The children loved watching Mrs. Thompson place a baby doll in a special manger as she talked about Mary and Joseph and their new little baby boy.

Sorting

Math principles are always around us. For example, last week, the children had fun playing with lots of little dinosaurs. Mrs. Magee told the children that in order for the dinosaurs to "fight" each other, they needed to be separated into groups by color so each person could have one color group.

Here's how it all worked out. Notice the piles of dinosaurs and some extras that didn't seem to fit any other group. Guess what? It's division with remainders!

Now I must confess, this was completely spontaneous on Mrs. Magee's part. She suggested this sorting activity simply to get a sad child engaged in play. Nowhere in my lesson plans did it say that we would work on division. This fantastic opportunity was just a whim!

We plan for many math concepts, but more importantly, we capitalize on the teachable moments.

The Warming Tray Part 2

The warming tray reappeared this week - this time over at the woodworking table. The Bunnies had a great time making ornaments.

The children who make their way over to this activity tend to make MANY ornaments - not just one. I know it sounds odd, but the melty crayons are very soothing.

We've Reached a Good Place

We've officially reached the good place - the place in time within a class when five children can play contently with the same toys, and not even glance up when the adult walks by (with a camera). It's a good place. I'm glad we're here.

You Just Never Know

We've played with this cute park mat many times in the classroom. It's perfect for driving cars and creating zoos. The kids request it!

This week, it turned into a whole other thing!

That's right! Suddenly Mrs. Magee and I noticed a huge blob/parachute on the floor accompanied by wild giggling.

I've said it before and I'll say it again - Three year olds are hilarious!

Gingerbread Playdough

Gingerbread playdough is one of my favorite things in our classroom at Christmas time. It is made by simply adding cinnamon to the flour and salt before mixing in the water when you make your own playdough. The dough turns brown, and it smells sooooo good! As you can see in this photo, the children don't really roll out the dough and press the cookie cutters into it (in spite of the presence of rollers). They do just the opposite! They smash the dough into a cookie cutter and hope for the best. Just like in the picture we get some very thick cookies. Love it!

Looking for a Great Gift?

The View-Master is a hit in our class! This toy has been around for decades and I know why.

Everybody loves it!

Hidden Surprise

Surprise! Our car loving Bunny isn't limited to yellow paper and sparkly pens after all.

Celebrating Christmas

We spent the first week of advent really getting into the spirit of Christmas. We have lots of bunnies who like to draw, so paper and crayons were available to draw our class Christmas tree. We learned the important players in the first Christmas story and had many reenactments with the Fisher Price nativity set. We read Jesus, Me and my Christmas Tree, decorated our tree according to the book, and then we sang and danced! (lyrics below) We also made Christmas cards with stars and tree shapes. More fun to come!!

(to the tune of London Bridges)
Let's clap around the Christmas tree, Christmas tree, Christmas tree.
Let's clap around the Christmas tree; Come along and clap with me.

Then substitute "clap" with other actions such as stomp, march, fly, wave, kick, hop...

Growing by the Minute

Want to see something amazing?

We have a boy in our class who loves (LOVES!) cars. He plays with our millions of cars in the classroom. He brings them from home in his pockets. Fortunately for us, he also draws them. And draws them. And draws them. Always on yellow paper and always with a sparkly pen.

This first photo is from late September. When we asked him to tell us about his drawing, he told us it was a car. That's how we initially learned of love of cars. Of course in this drawing it isn't obvious to the eyes of an adult what he intended. We took his word for it.

The second photo is from early October. It's clearly a car. It has wheels, a roof, exhaust, and he drew it in profile. Cool!
The third photo is from mid November. Now we have two vehicles and terrain. He has differentiated the features of the trucks - one being "big" and one being "old".

This last photo is from this week - early December. Not only is there a detailed car with headlights, but there's a witch driving the car!! He wrote some letter B's for the first letter of his name. (The alphabet on the side is a model written by an adult.) He's progressed from simple shapes to representation drawings in composition in just three months.

Absolutely amazing!!!

I can't wait for him to sit down with his yellow paper and sparkly pens in January.

Truthfully all of the children make progress just like this darling Bunny, but they don't always demonstrate it on paper for us to admire and document. He's just happened to make it very easy for us all to see how much a three year old changes over time.