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!