Happy 3rd Birthday, Mason!! What a big year it has been for you. You are such a kind and smart little "diaper man".
Some other fun fall photos...
Friday, September 23, 2011
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
September
A is for Apple!
We have been exploring apples lately, eating apples, and making apple crafts. Check out our bulletin board to see the fun apple trees we made by tracing our hands!
The kids should be able to tell you the difference between the peel of an apple and the "flesh" of the apple. There is great debate amongst the kids regarding whether or not you should eat the peel of an apple. Some kids love to eat the peel and others are completely turned off by the thought of an unpeeled apple. We have talked about how many extra vitamins are in the peel, but they don't seem to make their decisions based on nutritional value!
We have also been using apples to count and do math problems. Mason wanted to put 200 apples on his apple tree, but when he started counting he realized that it would take a long time, so ultimately, he decided to stop with 7 apples on his tree. It is fun to see their brains working to figure out 1)how many more apples we would need to get to a certain number 2)how many would be left if we took apples away and 3) how many we would have if more apples grew.
Aside from the curriculum, we have made good use of the sun shiny days to play outside, ride bikes and run while we still can! The younger set have been adjusting so well to the structure of our pre-school time! They love to "Shake Their Sillies Out" and "Sing Hello, Hello" but once we get to the table and they realize that there is no food involved in our projects, they are quick to head downstairs with Miss Brooke to play.
Baby Eleanor has begun making appearances at daycare. The kids are quite disappointed that she doesn't want to play yet and that she spends so much time sleeping. I have no doubt though that she will be a rockstar soon enough, and the kids are going to love watching a baby grow up over the next year!
We have been exploring apples lately, eating apples, and making apple crafts. Check out our bulletin board to see the fun apple trees we made by tracing our hands!
The kids should be able to tell you the difference between the peel of an apple and the "flesh" of the apple. There is great debate amongst the kids regarding whether or not you should eat the peel of an apple. Some kids love to eat the peel and others are completely turned off by the thought of an unpeeled apple. We have talked about how many extra vitamins are in the peel, but they don't seem to make their decisions based on nutritional value!
We have also been using apples to count and do math problems. Mason wanted to put 200 apples on his apple tree, but when he started counting he realized that it would take a long time, so ultimately, he decided to stop with 7 apples on his tree. It is fun to see their brains working to figure out 1)how many more apples we would need to get to a certain number 2)how many would be left if we took apples away and 3) how many we would have if more apples grew.
Aside from the curriculum, we have made good use of the sun shiny days to play outside, ride bikes and run while we still can! The younger set have been adjusting so well to the structure of our pre-school time! They love to "Shake Their Sillies Out" and "Sing Hello, Hello" but once we get to the table and they realize that there is no food involved in our projects, they are quick to head downstairs with Miss Brooke to play.
Friday, September 9, 2011
Science is EVERYWHERE!
"New" toys have been rotated into the mix this week, and it's always fun to see the excitement and the creativity when the kids are given new tools for learning! Blocks have been one of the simple toys that have brought out such thought and creativity from the kids. 
Have you ever watched an episode of "Sid the Science Kid"? I LOVE that show, and I am always jealous of how the teacher always has a lessson prepared for exactly the same topic that all of the students are currently wondering about. I have long hoped for a program where the children are motivated, curious and completely enthralled with what is being taught.
So, you can imagine the excitement I felt when we had a day just like that! While playing out in the backyard we came across this big, fat caterpillar. It was just like the one from one of our favorite books, "The Very Hungry Caterpillar".
We named that caterpillar "Slinky Emma Sophia"....Ella has cousins named Emma and Sophia, so she that would be good. They were completely taken by this new friend...it was so awesome to see!
Just like Sid and his class, we observed the way Slinky moved, the way he looked and what he ate. We used the computer to find out more about him and what he might turn into.
(Nevermind the fact that we found out he is a Tomato Worm, turns into a moth, and really is more of a nuisance than anything else. I also had to let him go one weekend when Slinky and the 8 other caterpillars we found were no longer thriving in our cage.) They sure were fun while we had them!
Then, when we were playing outside, a Praying Mantis flew right up to us. Wren proceeded to scream and freak out, while all of the other kids were happy to hold him, look at him and talk to him.
This week we also began the new pre-school year by starting our curriculum. FunShine Express has made many very cool changes to improve the lessons and communication between teachers and parents. Please read the newsletters that will be sent home at the beginning of each month to see what we will be learning about.
One neat addition this year is monthly journals that the kids will work on here. Rather than sending home worksheets each day, we will do a page in our journals and then send them home when we are done. If you want to check out your child's journal at any point throughout the month, they know where they are and can get them to show you!
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