Story Time with Parents

In the spring, we had parents come to class each Tuesday morning and read to the children.  What a blessing!

Parents generally brought books from home so the children got to hear the stories their friends like to hear at home.

The size of the crowd varied, but the enthusiasm was always high!  Thank you, parents!

Sorting by Attributes

Sorting is an extremely important preschool skill that gets successively more refined as children age through school. 

Here is a very simple example - sorting by color.  Most children can do this when they arrive in Bunny class at the beginning of the year.  It's a very early form of sorting.  Generally, they really can't think of any other ways to sort, so we spend time exploring other options as a group.  Then the children have repeated opportunities to do their own sorting independently.  They come up with exciting things!

In the photo above, the items are sorted into shape AND size.  Sorting by two attributes is for more complex than just sorting by color.

Sometimes the sorting seems to elude the adults, yet makes complete sense to the children.  Fair enough!

Problem Solving

One thing we really focus on in Bunny Rabbit class is problem solving.  In a single day we have all kinds of problems (mostly small!) and those problems can have a variety of successful solutions. 
Here's a perfect example: a torn paper

Kate came to me and asked me to fix it for her.  I knew good and well the she was perfectly capable of fixing it herself, so I vaguely directed her to the shelves of office supplies we have in the literacy center.  I really didn't know HOW she would decide to fix it, but I had complete faith that she could.  Wait until you see how Kate solved this problem!

I absolutely adore this!  It looks like stitches!  What I love most about this is that she crafted this solution on her own, and it's not even close to what I would have suggested.  I'm so glad I stayed out of it!

Yee Haw!

We spent a few days in March celebrating our western heritage.  We had fun activities such as making our own mud paint, practicing writing letters of cowboy vocabulary and picture matching.  We even had a horse and real saddle to sit on!  The children could easily get on and off by themselves and they took full advantage of their independence.  We had a few children dress in their cowboy/cowgirl duds, too.  Even if families are not originally from this area, the children love learning about these culturally significant themes.  Our culture is steeped in western roots of ranching and farming and livestock.  Learning more about them gives children a sense of place, plus it's fun!

The Mailbox

Let me introduce you to this year's most requested toy.

This mailbox is so wonderful.  First of all, it's super cute.  Secondly, it is sturdy wood with a collection door that swings open.  Thirdly, the slots to accept mail are different sizes.  Along with this mailbox are postcards and letters, each with a matching stamp that velcros on.  The thickness of the mail determines which slot it fits into.

I cannot begin to tell you how much time the Bunnies spent with this mailbox the first few days we had it.  Children were interacting with this mailbox every minute they could.

We found children who do not normally pal around together, really enjoying each other's company here at the mailbox. 
Since we first had this mailbox in the room, we have had requests to have it again and again.  We are happy to oblige!

The Box

We had a wonderful visit from Pastor Tori who is one of the church clergy persons.

She shared a book called Henry's Freedom Box.  It is based on a true story of a man who gained freedom from slavery by having himself mailed in a shipping crate to a state in the North.  Conceptually, the story is difficult for this age group, but Pastor Tori did a wonderful job of making a complex subject matter relevant to preschoolers.  She gently pointed out unkind actions throughout the story and highlighted the importance of treating EVERYONE fairly and kindly.

Pastor Tori brought a box and let each willing child get in it.  Getting in and out of the box was great fun for the Bunnies, but in the end they agreed that they wouldn't want to stay in it and certainly wouldn't want to be mailed in a box.  Even with a challenging topic, this simple prop gave the Bunnies an opportunity to experience empathy.
We hope Pastor Tori will be back to visit us again several times before the end of the year.

Patterns

Here is a simple, yet challenging puzzle we had in our class.  It is a file folder game.  Know what that is?  It's a game or task that is completely contained in a file folder.  They are flat, portable and fun!

In this game there are 8 hearts each with an ever so slightly different pattern on them.  Half of each heart is already attached to the folder and children must match up the other half of the heart.  The patterns on the hearts are so similar that the children have to really look hard.  I love how one Bunny reached over the table to help out her friend.  Two heads (and hearts!) are better than one.

Love

Celebrating Valentine's Day at school is something the children really enjoy.  We don't make a big deal of the commercial aspects, but we certainly take time to talk about God's love for us and our love for our families and each other. 

We had a good bit of heart art.

We had some beading with red, white and pink beads.

The most fun of all was exchanging valentines.  Each Bunny got to pass out his or valentines by placing one in each bag around the table.  This is not as simple as it sounds, by the way.  It was an excellent and motivating way to practice one-to-one correspondence.

We had darling store-bought cards, cards lovingly made at home, and cards with bible verses reminding us of God's love.  Each Bunny was very excited to take them home and read them.  As adults we can certainly remember that fun feeling of sitting down to look at all of our valentines.  We hope the Bunnies always know how much they are loved!

In the Background

Sometimes little, yet important things slip past our vision.

The most important thing about this photo is not the super cute Bunnies eating their snack...

...it's the two Bunny boys in the background referencing our alphabet poster.  We have never seen the children even notice that poster, and here are two kids clearing interacting with what they see depicted there.  Yay!

Creatures of Habit

These two do this....

every single morning.  First thing.

Carpentry

In our talks about Jesus as a little boy, the children learned that Jesus was a carpenter and he learned carpentry skills from his father, Joseph.  In the Bunny Rabbit class the children have frequent experience with wooden things.  To learn more about carpentry the children painted wood and created a class sculpture.  We're pretty sure Jesus didn't have plastic paintbrushes or wood glue, but still we recreated what basic carpentry was like.

We read a book about tools and what each tool does and then we had tools to try out.  The children are very familiar with hammers - we use them often!  They also got to try out sandpaper.  By far the most favorite tool was the hand drill.  Oh my, there was a long waiting list for that hand drill! 

At home, don't be afraid to put real tools in your children's hands.  With some simple safety demonstrations, they can be quite confident with tools.  Using the same tools that adults use gives the children confidence and a sense of control.  Go for it!

Growing Up

Marking birthdays is a significant builder of children's self worth.  It proves to them that their entrance into the world was so wonderful it is worth celebrating.  We celebrate birthdays in the Bunny Rabbit class in a non-traditional way.  We don't share a big sugary snack with party napkins and balloons and treats.  There are other environments for that kind of celebration.  At school we send home a birthday journal for each family to add a photo and a simple explanation of how they celebrated the child's birthday.  The ways people celebrate birthdays are as varied as can possibly be!  Over the years we have read of simple poignant celebrations of grateful prayers offered on behalf of the child.  We have read of elaborate birthday parties with children, food and entertainment at every turn.  And we have read of everything in between.  Each is significant in the life of a child and we learn so much about families by sharing the journal.

Unfortunately we don't know how or even IF Jesus' family celebrated his miraculous birth and birthday.  During our talks about Jesus' childhood, we noted that he had birthdays, and we had a little wooden cake in the class.  We didn't sing or make a big deal of it, but the children had fun assembling and decorating this little cake.

Guess What? Jesus Grew Up!!

Through the years we have learned that most children know Jesus was a tiny baby born in a stable.  They also know Jesus was a grownup who did wonderful things. 

Most of them are super surprised that Jesus was a little boy!

We have a fantastic book called If I Had Lived in Jesus' Time.  It shows drawings of modern life and ancient life.  It's perfect for comparing and contrasting they way we live today with the way Jesus lived.  The Bunnies were amazed that Jesus probably slept on a mat on the floor - no bed!!!  Jesus' mother, Mary, probably wove mats and she probably taught Jesus how.  In our class, the children learn to sew.  With the right tools, they can be very successful.

We use burlap, a large embroidery hoop, a plastic needle with a big eye, and some colorful yarn or other fibers.   We use simple repetitive directions like "Go up from the bottom and down through the top."  Easy and fun!

 This little Bunny, who normally is rather soft spoken, said "Mrs. O'Connor, I realllly like sewing!"

We will have sewing out from time to time for the rest of the year.  By May, we'll have a lovely colorful mat.

5 Little Monkeys

At SLC we have some fantastic prop bags that go with some of our favorite stories for children.  The 5 Little Monkeys is popular one because everyone knows the song and story so after a short large-group experience, they can have fun independently. 

One little Bunny was brave enough to put on the Mama mask and boy is she CUTE!

Puzzling

One Monday morning Mrs. Magee and Mrs. O'Connor put out a huge pile of puzzle pieces. 

From this ridiculous pile, the children are supposed to create 15 smaller word puzzles.  Each piece has part of a picture and one letter of one word.  We gave them minimal instruction and walked away.  Thinking this was a conceptual stretch for the Bunnies, we had very low expectations. But guess what?!  We noticed a number of children floating over to this activity and we saw exciting things!

This photo shows the work in progress and a short while later every puzzle was solved!  Each child just did a little and the next built upon the work of the previous child - sometimes alone and sometimes in duos or trios.  We were surprised and delighted and we will absolutely be doing more of this kind of activity!

Fun and Games

We have been gradually introducing the Bunnies to simple childhood games, and they are really loving them.  Playing games may seem very simplistic and basic, but you'd be surprised at how many skills are required, both to even grasp the concept and to be a participant.
Here's a small list:
sophisticated turn-taking
impulse control
ability to follow multi-step directions
a developing sense of fairness
directionality
delayed gratification
sportsmanship
perseverance
ability to hold more than one attribute in mind at a time
sequencing - both of actions and movement of play
understanding of cause and effect
well-developed receptive and expressive language

Wow - playing simple board games can have a big effect on development and it is a powerful way to build relationships in a family.  Try it at home!

Merry Christmas

Blessings to all of you for a very Merry Christmas!  We hope it is your best Christmas ever!

Block Play

Block play takes on many forms, but it's always exciting to see vertical creations.  Charlotte built the two identical structures and told us they were Mary and Joseph.

More Than Just Decorating

At Christmastime we have a little tree in our classroom that the children can decorate and undecorate as often as they'd like.  We typically have a few ornament making projects to offer over a few weeks, but the children are welcome to make their own ornaments at any time.
Besides being festive, there are solid reasons for children to make their own ornaments.  They have chances to express their creativity and fine tune their motor skills. 

Stringing beads is a developmental milestone, but let's face it, putting teeny beads on flimsy string is hard!  We use pipecleaners rather than string for beading.  It stays firm and then bends to any shape. 

We gave the children a variety of old Christmas greeting cards and some scissors and let them cut out images to make ornaments.  There are many levels of scissor skill development, but cutting out an image is one of the toughest. Some Bunnies can do it and others are still snipping.  No matter.  The opportunity and practice is what is important.

Christmas Math

The Bunnies had a great time with this game!  They had a large die with the typical dot patterns from 1 to 6.  They rolled the die and put the same number of pompom ornaments on the tree as was shown on the die.  Once the tree was full, they rolled the die and removed the number of ornaments indicated on the die. 

Simple and FUN and packed with math skills: one to one correspondence, pattern recognition, sequencing, concept of number, addition, subtraction.