One of the most exciting things we did this week was introduce the class to Panda! The Panda stuffy will go home with each of the kids for an overnight...twice!
The first friend to have Panda visit stood up and talked about their page and adventures with Panda. The kids did a great job of sharing and listening!
The kids were busy at the activities tables this week. They worked on a special gift for you! :)
At the other table, they explored designing with a magnetic marble run. They were very creative and we are keeping it out another week!
We used another kind of magnet to paint with! The kids dropped metal balls covered in paint onto a tray and used the magnetic wands to move the balls all around, mixing colors and making designs.
Balls seemed to be a theme, because we also put up our ball run this week. The kids can drop balls down a series of gutters mounted to the loft. They learned how to take turns being a sender and a catcher. So fun!
While all of this was happening, they also managed to place a token in their Memory Box to remind them of the fun things we did this month.
The building table provided an opportunity to create with bristle blocks.
There was a lot of action at the water tub, which contained water beads or orbeez. The kids love these!
At carpet time we sang, danced, read stories, did yoga and had Friendship Circle.
It's wonderful to see all of the collaborative play going on and friendships being formed. At this point in the year we see a lot of social growth in the older class as they mature and form relationships.
Next week we jump into a fairy tale land full of magic beanstalks, knights, dragons, and fairies!
Warmly,
Sheri and Lisa
We had a ball with your kiddos this week - literally! There were balls rolling all over our classroom 🤣.
We set up our ball run, which is a series of gutters attached to our loft. On Tuesday the kids worked with a parent to learn how to take turns dropping balls into the gutter at the top and then catching them at the bottom. Of course, it's also lots of fun to let them fly off at the bottom and roll all over the rug :)
Another parent activity this week was painting with magnetic balls. Once these had been dipped in paint and placed into a tray, children moved magnetic wands underneath the tray to drag the balls all over the paper. These colorful creations are on display in our classroom.
There were tiny balls (water beads) in our water tub. They're hard to see when they're floating under the water, so dipping nets below the surface results in a fun surprise every time.
We learned a couple of new games: Finders Keepers (kind of like I Spy), and A Snail's Pace Race. It's fun to see the children learning to take turns and play these games together.
We got to do some messy finger painting on Tuesday, decorating hearts that will go in the children's song books. If you haven't seen these, they are stored on one of the shelves under the guinea pig cage. Each child's book is filled with their artwork, illustrating some of the songs we've learned this year. These will come home with them in June!
Here are some more photos of your children busy with all of the different activities around the room at play time:
During our time at the carpet we practiced yoga.
We read Jack and the Beanstalk and The Three Billy Goats Gruff to introduce a fairy tale theme.
We learned a song about planting seeds (after reading about Jack's magic beans) and another one about a snail creeping through the garden (on the same day we played the snail race game).
It's chilly, but spring is definitely in the air which makes our time outside even better!
We've tucked all of our Valentine's Day activities away until next year, making way for some fairy tale fun. We can't wait to see you on Tuesday!
Warmly,
Lisa and Sheri
