Leaf People

During our march through learning about creation, we took some time to talk about plants.  Being natural living things, plants are fantastic specimens of art.  In class we read the book Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert.


This author used leaves to create birds, fish, cows and other animals.  Great idea!  So we took a box outside to the playground and filled it with leaves we could use to make our own Leaf People. (We certainly can't limit ourselves to just leaf men!)

Unfortunately we didn't have sweet gum balls and acorns as embellishments like Ms. Ehlert did so we had to improvise with the next best thing: google eyes.

Firetruck Fun

A big highlight of October is the annual visit with firefighters and their firetruck and ambulance.

There was much talk about hoses and water and ladders and axes and smoke. Yay!  Each year without fail, the children are AMAZED to learn that firefighters wear seatbelts!!

The children were also very interested in the "rolling bed" in the ambulance.  They all knew that an ambulance takes a sick person to the doctor very quickly.

It is always exciting to encounter our community helpers in person.  Preschoolers are a bit too young to understand the value of 911, but they are old enough to learn what to do in an emergency.  If a firefighter ever comes to them, it is important that they don't hide.  They need to jump right out and let the firefighter see them.  It's a good lesson to reinforce at home.

Puzzles and Games

One of the skills we measure at School for Little Children is whether or not your child solves puzzles. 
What does that mean exactly?
When we think of solving puzzles, most of us narrowly think of working jigsaw puzzles.  Jigsaw puzzles ARE a kind of puzzle, but there are so many, many more!
At school, we take the w i d e view of solving puzzles.  To us, any toy or manipulative with pieces that need assembly or ordering or nesting is a puzzle.  Just look in the photo above. One Bunny is matching egg halves to each other.  Another Bunny is ordering pegs by size, shape and color.  Also on the table are beads for stringing, and pattern blocks to create pictures on mats.  ALL of these are puzzles!!  And they all need solving.  It is important to give the children a variety of puzzles to solve so they can exercise different cognitive skills with each attempt.  Lucky for these kiddos our closets are stocked with fun activities for them to try each week!

Creation

Our curriculum for the fall semester involves learning about creation.  Each week or two we will take time to learn about a feature of God's plan for our world.  One of the very best ways to teach children about creation is to allow children to be creators.

The Bunnies rolled marbles covered in gold and white paint over black paper to represent light and dark.

On a different day, they painted bubble wrap with white and gold paint, then pressed a large piece of blue paper on top and rubbed to print the "stars" on the paper.
There will be many more opportunities to be creators and the weeks go by...stay tuned!

Stacking and Stacking and Stacking

One day we had these builders.  They aren't particularly special or unique, but they do fit together nicely and they are easy for little hands to manipulate.  We had one Bunny in particular who spent most of her day around these builders.  At one point she asked Mrs. Magee for help to hold the tower steady while she made it as tall as she possibly could.

Once we see a child really excited about a particular toy or skill, it's our job to help the child fully explore his or her interest.  So, the next day we hauled in Unifix cubes which can be assembled in a similar way.  We cleared off an entire shelf and turned her loose. 

LOOK what happened!!!

With incredible determination, she diligently stacked the cubes and laid them out to cover the ENTIRE length of the shelf.  Amazing!!

The Sensory Table

One of the most favorite places in our Bunny Rabbit room is the sensory table.  It's a big tub and each week there is something different there.  Beans, birdseed, rice, pasta, pompom balls, pine cones, beads (and many others) are all items we will have in our sensory table.

Already we have two little girls who ADORE the sensory table.

It feels great to run your hands through cut up Mardi Gras beads!  By the way, if you have extras at your house that you want to get rid of, send them our way!

The Beginning

At the beginning of the year, we primarily see children playing alone.

This is very normal!  The children don't know each other yet.  Plus, the room is filled with toys and activities they have never seen before.  The Bunnies are so very eager to try it all out that they prefer to go it alone.

Before long, they will be enjoying each other's company in duos and trios. 

First Day Fun

Simple is best on the first day. 

Basic office supplies...

Fresh squishy playdough...

Happy faces!!  It's going to be a great year!

Welcome!

Welcome to a new year in Bunny Rabbits class!  Check this blog often to see what the kids are doing and feel free to share the blog address with grandparents who might want to peek in on their grandkids.

Mrs. O'Connor and Mrs. Magee are looking forward to a fantastic year!

Spin Art

Do you have an old record player hanging around collecting dust?

Just put a cheap paper plate on the turn table, set the arm aside and turn the record player on.  Give your child some markers to hold on the plate while it spins.
That's how we do spin art SLC style!!

Pet Vet

Pet Vet is an activity that never grows old.  The Bunnies love it!

 We transformed our kitchen area into a vet's office.  We had an exam table and all the necessary examination tools such as thermometers, blood pressure cuffs, tweezers, bandages, shots, and grooming supplies.  We had shelves of dog and cat food, treats, and feeding bowls.  We even had child size medical clothing.

In addition to our own stuffed animal puppy and bunny rabbit (of course!) we encouraged the children to bring a lovey from home.  The children had a blast taking care of their animals and role playing as the doctor and as the "parent" of the animals.

We set up a rest and recovery area for our animals.  The animals had an opportunity to get some rest while their "parents" had other plans such as eating a snack, painting and playing outside.
It was so exciting to hear the the children's conversations with each other about their animals.

YeeHaw!

In the spring we love to explore and celebrate our western heritage.  Most city kids don't have experience with western life even though just an hour outside of our city are miles and miles of ranch and farm land.  In our class, we had a saddle, some farm puzzles, rope art and cowboy and cowgirl clothes.  Year after year one of the Bunnies' favorite activities is udder painting.  Mrs. Magee is the pro.  She filled a couple of rubber gloves with paint, and the kids got to pull on the fingers to squirt the paint out!