December 20
This week was a delightful adventure into pancakes, pajamas, and song. The past few months have been about getting to know each other and building our community. This week we saw the results of that work as children played together, shared, collaborated, worked together, helped their teachers, helped each other, and created magical play together. We can’t wait for more in the new year.
December 13
ART
We have been working hard to finish a very special gift for our families, created with a combination of printing and collage. Be it marks, scribbles, designs or representational imagery, each print represents a valuable individual phase of interest and expression. These gifts will be given out at our Winter Sing celebrations next Thursday and Friday. We hope you will enjoy them as much as we enjoyed making them! We have also been working on decorations for the upcoming Winter Sing. We are demonstrating growing design skills as we play with patterning, discover symmetry and confidently handle a variety of materials to create charming paper snow people and gingerbread men.
DRAMA
In our drama groups last week, we told the story of the gingerbread man. We incorporated motif, call and response, singing, and narrative pantomime into this reenactment. The children enjoyed being in role as the sassy, runaway cookie, who in our version never gets caught and eaten.
DRAMATIC PLAY / SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING
The children continue to use the lab coats and doctor kits in the dramatic play center. This week we added some new play food! They have been learning what food groups each food item belongs to, so that we keep our kitchen organized. I also added some new play-doh tools but still encourage them to make their own shapes before introducing pre-made shapes. They are so creative, and I want them to continue using their imagination!
LITERACY
This week in literacy, we used oil pastels with stencils to decorate envelopes and then wrote letters and/or drew pictures for people of our choice. We used our new magnetic wooden letter slices to practice rhyming words and create the letters in our names. We also used them on the big wipe board and took a tally of how many friends’ names started with each letter of the alphabet. At the end of the week, we played I Spy games, used alphabet puzzles, and searched for letters in the sensory table.
MATH / COMMUNITY CENTER
This week in the math and community center we continued writing letters to mail to friends and family. We also started a block naming project. The kids all brainstormed ideas for what different blocks looked like. Once they came up with a few ideas they asked the rest of the classroom to vote on the names. Some new block names include block of cheese (small square block) and half moon (semi circle block).
MUSIC
This week in music, we sang Hanukkah songs during group to add to our repertoire of holidays songs for our Winter Sings. We sang “Hanukkah Oh Hanukkah” and learned a fingerplay called “My Menorah.” In addition to learning some new songs, the children also enjoyed exploring jingle bells! We had fun shaking our bells to different tempos and imagining that we were riding on a sleigh covered in lots and lots of bells. We are just so excited to sing for you next week at our Winter Sings!
SCIENCE
This week at the science center we started a unit on the five senses. In the beginning of the week, we started with taste: we had a maple syrup tasting and the children voted on their favorite syrup: dark, medium or light. We discussed the different flavors and compared the difference in tastes. Using T-charts, we will add up the votes and see who the winner is. We also played a fun matching/counting/numeral recognition game involving pancakes and blueberries, and we also voted on our favorite foods to eat with syrup: pancakes, french toast or waffles.
TWOs
The twos had a great time exploration new space and new activities in the larger classroom this week. Rotten weather prevented us from taking our daily trips to the park. Instead, we used the large, back space of the classroom for a variety of different games. We created an obstacle course using crawl tunnels and gym mats - not only practicing all sorts of different movements, but practicing taking turns and encouraging our friends when it’s not our turn. We played several dancing and moving games to different songs - our favorite was “Let’s Go Swimming!” We took out the wooden boat and practiced rocking back and forth in small groups. Lastly, we spent time in the nest working on a variety of seasonal fine motor projects. Our favorite book this week was Frosty The Snowman, adapted from the classic song with illustrations by Corinne Malvern.
December 6
ART
As the winter holidays grow near we have begun work on a gift for our families. We are developing spatial concepts as we organize and glue our selections of printed papers around and within the unusual perimeters of our work surface. The children are being encouraged to carefully control materials and order their choices considering color and patterns. Once again, we are discovering how art can be a beautiful and valued gift!
DRAMA
In our drama groups the week before Thanksgiving, we set up a Harvest Farmers' Market. We had stands for vegetables, fruit, pumpkins and pumpkin pie, and freshly baked bread. Four year olds made some wonderful signs for the stands with Caroline in literacy and Kelsey provided copious $1 bills and support with our 1:1 exchanges of money. (Each item costs $1.) The children took turns both buying as customers and selling as vendors. I facilitated dialogue for the children to greet, ask questions, and converse in exchanges of dialogue. Thank you to all the teachers who jumped in to support with this activity. It was so much fun, I am now planning to do a Holiday Gift Market before the end of the year.
DRAMATIC PLAY / SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING
This week we had white lab coats in the dramatic play center. Some children pretended to be doctors and used the doctor kits, while others were scientists or princesses. They also played with these awesome tubes that are able to be pulled apart and pushed back together. They love the sound they make! In the small sensory bin we had a lot of fun with both slime and Thera-putty. The children loved being able to get super messy with the slime, and not so messy with the putty. The Thera-putty is much harder to manipulate and is definitely a hand strengthening exercise.
LITERACY
This week in literacy, we worked on tracing and identifying sight words with dry erase markers. Some of us used wipe boards and others used their journals to copy down each word. We also matched letter rocks to spell out the various sight words and pointed out the different letters that make up rhyming words. In the middle of the week, we used picture cards to practice story sequencing. At the end of the week, we played alphabet bingo and worked on identifying upper and lower case letters. At the listening center, we heard stories such as “Alice The Fairy, “Miss Rumphius,” and “Goodnight Goodnight Construction Site.”
MATH / COMMUNITY CENTER
This week at the math and community center we played “roll a snowman.” There were numbered pieces of snowmen on the table and the kids had to roll a dice to match the number on the die to the number on the snowmen pieces. We also wrote letters to family and friends and will be “mailing” them next week!
MUSIC
Winter sing preparation is in full swing! The children are enjoying singing festive winter songs and discussing their favorite wintertime activities and traditions. Last week, we learned "The Reindeer Pokey," and added some reindeer dance moves to the song. This week, the children were introduced to the holiday classic "Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree" by Brenda Lee. We learned the tune of the song, and added some movement with scarves. This song is quickly becoming a CHP favorite! Lastly, our original song "The Snow Falls Down On The Ground" is almost complete. We had the chance to take out our big drums this week to explore some different tempos, and also to tap the rhythm of the words to our original song. We can't wait to share all of these wintertime classics with you at the Winter Sings on 12/19 and 12/20.
SCIENCE
This week at the science center we finished voting on our favorite owl. The owl nominations were: Short Eared Owl, Long Eared Owl, Great Gray Owl, Barn Owl and Snowy Owl. The winner was Snowy! In preparation for a unit on the five senses (starting with taste) we have begun discussing food that comes from trees. We began with a study of maple trees and maple syrup. Nancy helped install a spigot in our classroom tree to tap the tree for sap in order to make maple syrup. We watched a few videos of people tapping trees and discussed what kinds of foods we can use maple syrup with. We will continue to play at tapping the tree, cooking the sap, and using it on play-dough pancakes. We are waiting for a delivery of real maple syrup, at which time we will have a syrup tasting and vote on our favorite syrup (which comes in 4 different flavors/consistencies).
TWOs
This week in the nest we spoke about snow and read some books about snow. We also did some painting using water colors, exploring color and texture while honing fine motor skills. We are increasingly “flying” into the big classroom on our own and when the big kids are present. This gives our twos the chance to begin getting to know the center teachers and begin exploring some of the various manipulatives used at each center. A clear favorite this week has been the colored counting bears in the math center, which support two concepts: that objects can be identified by their attributes (size or color or both) and that objects can be compared (using language such as “bigger than” or the “same color as”). This week’s favorite book in the nest was Hug Machine by Scott Campbell.
november 22
ART
This week we made a third visit to an activity that is essentially an introduction to collage - an assemblage of different materials on a flat surface. This time we explored an assortment of rubber stamps, ink pads, markers, glitter and glue to finish our Thanksgiving collage. Playing with different colors, textures and patterns helps us to make sensory discoveries and further develops our fine-motor and hand-eye coordination. We are continuing to learn about communicating through materials as we make independent choices to organize visual elements into satisfying arrangements.
DRAMA
Last week in drama, we did an interactive retelling of the familiar story of “The Little Red Hen.” The children played multiple roles of the duck, the cat, and the pig, who eventually come around to share the work of making the homemade bread for Thanksgiving dinner. We used poly spots to represent the bread dough. We had fun rolling, kneading, pounding, and baking together.
DRAMATIC PLAY / SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING
This week the children have been helping each other make their own capes in the dramatic play center. We have a bunch of large pieces of cloth, and the children figured out how to help tie it around each other’s shoulders so that they can be superheroes or princesses! It is great that they are able to help each other rather than ask teachers. They love to look in the long mirror admiring the capes they made.
LITERACY
This week in literacy, we listened to lots of stories at the listening center. We discussed how most stories have a main character, and we also started to identify each main character in the stories we listened to. We started putting the final touches on our Rules of the Roost (or the Rules of School) book. Each 4 year old (and some 3’s) contributed a rule they think is important to keep each other safe while at school. We wrote down each rule and added a colorful illustration. This annual book project will be published soon, and each family will be able to take home a copy. At the end of the week, we made signs for Caroline’s (drama) farmers market activity. The signs helped us to identify the different stands at our farmers market. We also played with alphabet sensory bags and wrote down what letters we identified in each bag.
MATH / COMMUNITY CENTER
This week in the math center we worked on our November self portraits. It’s been great to see the difference between their portraits in September and their portraits now! We also teamed up with Caroline in the drama center for her farmers market. We made dollar bills to buy fruit and vegetables and talked about how to count their money. Some of the kids also made wallets for their money!
MUSIC
This week in music, we continued on with our exploration of fast and slow tempos. Also, we started discussing our upcoming Winter Sing! Using a call and response format, the children began to learn the wintertime classic “Happy Holiday” by Irving Berlin. They were encouraged to “echo” back the tune that they heard me sing, a skill that hones their listening capabilities and ability to match pitch (sing back the note that our ears hear).
SCIENCE
This week at the science center we continued to focus on trees and animals that make their homes in trees. Our projects inspired great conversations about wood, trees, and the various habitats of different animals. We made a chart called “Parts of the Tree” wherein some children created a representation of a tree and others helped label the various parts of the tree. We also started making a home for our two new adorable beaver friends. The children worked together, sharing and listening to each other’s ideas. We discussed how beavers work together as a team to make their homes. We read several books about beavers and animal homes, including Animal Architects and Animal Homes by Angela Wilkes. Lastly, the children made a special place for our owl, which they decided to call an “owl pocket,” and they constructed a little house for our two frogs, which the children named Sam and Elliott.
TWOs
This week in the nest we started talking about Thanksgiving, and we spoke a bit about being thankful for our mommys, daddys, teachers, toys, and even our baby brothers and sisters. We began making turkeys which we will finish up next week. This week’s favorite book was Are You My Mother? by P.D. Eastman.
november 15
ART
This week we have been introduced to some basic printmaking concepts. We are discovering that many things can be used to create a print... even our own hands! As we press our hands or shaped sponges into paint and then onto paper we are experiencing cause and effect through our own actions. We are learning that rubbing will not transfer (print) the shape but that by carefully moving our materials up and down we can create multiple images. We are discovering, through this sometimes messy process of playing with color and shapes, that the unfamiliar or uncomfortable sensation of messy hands is not only harmless ..it can even be fun!
DRAMA
This past week in drama, we reenacted two fall-themed stories. Three year olds played multiple roles in the interactive telling of Possum's Harvest Moon by Anne Hunter, celebrating one last harvest soiree before hibernation. Four year olds interacted as the two famous friends, Frog and Toad in The Surprise. They have the same idea to surprise each other by raking the leaves in each other's yard, until some pesky squirrels have the last word. The children enjoyed exploring Frog's and Toad's houses and playing with colorful laminated leaves.
DRAMATIC PLAY / SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING
The children continue to enjoy using the (non-functioning) computers in the dramatic play center. Some of them even decided to take them on their train trip this morning! (Please see the photos of the train in this week’s folder.) At the sensory and playdough tables, the children used popsicle sticks with play dough and continued to rip paper in the small sensory bin - a wonderful fine motor activity.
LITERACY
This week in literacy, we used unifix cubes and alphabet templates to create letters. We also started to talk about kindness, as we will be introducing a weekly kindness project in the upcoming weeks. We continued to work on our collaborative Thanksgiving project with Nancy. Lastly, we contributed to the classroom by writing the days of the week on big poster board to help us identify what day it is during our daily morning and afternoon meetings. We finished the week with a fun day of Zingo to help work on matching pictures and words!
MATH / COMMUNITY CENTER
This week in the math and community center the kids worked on patterning and shape identification. They completed different puzzles using a variety of shapes. I also started speech screenings this week, which meant that our super substitute Nancy D covered the math and community center on Thursday and Friday. She and the children used a variety of different materials for building, exploring balance and stability while they built.
MUSIC
During music, all of our students worked hard to find the beat of many of our favorite songs. The three and four year olds explored fast and slow songs by tapping rhythm sticks to the pulse of our music. The children enjoyed "playing in a band" and making sure they were tapping in time with one another. They also learned a new word: tempo. We learned that tempo measures how fast or slow a song is played. Our two year olds joined in on the rhythm fun, as well! They were introduced to egg shakers this week and last. They had the opportunity to shake along to their favorite songs, and play "Stop and Go" with their shakers, which is a fun way to hone our listening skills in group.
SCIENCE
This week at the science center we continued our exploration of trees and leaves, focusing more closely on how trees are also homes and food for many animals. The children remain particularly interested in beavers and owls, so we will continue to explore those animals and the ways they use and interact with trees. We have begun work around constructing a beaver dam - stay tuned to see how this project unfolds. In addition to our work on beavers and owls this week, we also planted our Halloween pumpkin seeds in large pots and predicted when the seeds might sprout. Answers ranged from “tomorrow” to “100 years!”
TWOs
This week in the nest we finished painting the first letters of our names, which is a great exercise for letter recognition as well as fine motor skill development. We also played more frequently in the big classroom because the weather was often too cold to allow us to fully enjoy the park or walks. When in the nest, we started talking about feelings and how sometimes we can feel happy, sad, mad or silly. To accompany our feelings conversation we read the books When Sophie Gets Angry, Really, Really, Angry by Molly Bang and also the book Everything by Christopher Silas Neal.
november 8
ART
We have been painting using wide brushes, thinned tempera and liquid watercolors in varying shades of blue onto large sheets of watercolor paper wetted with clean water. The objective in this first step of a three step Thanksgiving activity is to create a beautiful sky using a “wash”. We are watching how color spreads and blends as it floats in the water, and we are learning to brush gently rather than scrubbing with our brushes which might cause our paper to pill or even drill holes . By working side by side and comparing solutions we are discovering that even using a limited and subtle color palette our paintings are each wonderfully unique.
DRAMA
This past week in drama, Old Mother Witch made her annual visit to celebrate Halloween with the children. She taught them some games, incorporating various call and response rhymes that explore different emotions. We used this rhyming dialogue to play a version of Red Light/ Green Light. The children really enjoyed sneaking up on Old Mother Witch when her back was turned and running away when she "caught" them moving.
DRAMATIC PLAY / SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING
This week we had paper for the children to rip in the small sensory bin. This is great for their fine motor skills as well as a great lesson in cause and effect. In the dramatic play area I put out some old real laptops and keyboards which they have really enjoyed. There are only a few so they have had to work hard at taking turns!
LITERACY
In literacy, we started the week by opening the listening center and listening to stories like “The Very Hungry Caterpillar,” “How Do Dinosaurs Eat Their Food,” and “The New Bear At School.” We started to work on a collaborative project with Nancy by talking about Thanksgiving and what it means to be thankful. We then drew pictures and wrote all of the many things that we were thankful for. The children also enjoyed drawing in their journals and “fishing” with magnetic letters at the sensory table.
MATH / COMMUNITY CENTER
This week, we discussed the different attributes of objects by way of understanding that objects can be sorted according to different factors. For example, we organized the counting bears by color and then by size. We also collaborated with science by building houses for the plastic animals, designing each habitat to match the size and shape of each animal or animal family.
MUSIC
This week in music, we continued to explore the cigar box guitar and started talking about how instruments are made up of many different parts. We learned some of the names of the guitar, such as resonator and strings.
SCIENCE
This week at the science center we continued to talk about leaves and trees. The children sorted, counted and charted an assortment of leaves. On the table, I presented an assortment of objects that come from trees. We identified the objects and compared them to other objects in nature such as rocks, crystals, feathers, and shells. This led to a conversation about environments and where the different objects come from. We also started a discussion about trees as homes for animals, thus far focusing on beavers and owls. We read Tree by Britta Teckantup, Animal Homes by Angela Wilkes, and Tap the Magic Tree by Christie Matheson.
TWOs
This week in the nest was action-packed. We brought out some new toys, LEGO’s, and new puzzles. The children really enjoyed building towers with the LEGO’s - working alone and also in groups. We also took both groups to the playground for the first time. We learned the rules of the playground and the importance of staying safe. Lastly, the twos loved exploring the different fruits and vegetables that our duty parents have been providing at snack!
Photos will return next week!
november 1
ART
This week as some of us busied ourselves putting final touches on our Halloween webs, other friends who had already finished had the opportunity to drop by the Art Center to create a 2-D paper pumpkin. Markers, stickers, scissors, black paper and glue were provided as well as encouragement to consider our lines, shapes and design possibilities. Using the iPad together, we looked at the expressive qualities of jack-o-lantern faces for inspiration. The threes were particularly enthralled with practicing their scissor skills causing the table and floor to become quickly littered with scraps of paper as they happily clipped away. On Halloween we observed as our large classroom pumpkins were cut open and transformed into jack-o-lanterns. As we took turns scooping out the pulp and seeds we enjoyed exploring slimy stringy textures, smelling the pungent flesh, amplifying our voices inside the empty cavity and observing the exciting glow when a light was placed inside. Finally, we proudly delivered our excavated pumpkin seeds to the Science Center!
DRAMA
In our drama groups last week, we celebrated Halloween with a visit from Baby Bones and his dad, Mr. Bones. Everyone had a great time moving and shaking their Halloween bones, as we talked about the skeletons inside of our bodies and also played a follow the leader activity incorporating the song, Them Bones.
DRAMATIC PLAY / SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING
This week was a super exciting time in the dramatic play area because we introduced some “technology!” We added four realistic looking cell phones that unfortunately came pre-charged to blink and beep (a CHP no-no!). The kids were sent on a mission to “drain the batteries.” They were so proud when they finally got them to stop making noises and lighting up. The children made so many phone calls to those near (friends in the classroom) and far (family members not at school). I also added some old cameras which they have loved. They are able to press the buttons, strike a pose, and feel like real photographers.
LITERACY
This week in literacy, we used alphabet rocks and explored upper and lowercase letters. Some friends used them to line up and spell out the letters of their names and others used them to trace and copy the letters onto paper/ wipe boards. We spent time drawing and writing in our journals that are now out and accessible everyday for the children to use. We also enjoyed the listening center. This week we alternated between listening to a book on CD and reading a book aloud. At the end of the week, we worked on story sequencing and letter recognition with sequencing cards and word puzzles.
MATH / COMMUNITY CENTER
This week in the math and community center we got in the Halloween spirit! We pulled out our creepy spiders and webs for a 1-1 correspondence activity. We also practiced turn taking and group work during a pass the pumpkin activity. The kids all sat in a circle and passed a pumpkin to each other as we sang the Wonderpumpkin song (the same lyrics as the wonderball song). The student left holding the pumpkin when the song ended turned into a pumpkin themselves and sat in the middle of the circle (aka the “pumpkin patch”:)
MUSIC
This week in music, we dove into a spooky songwriting activity all about Halloween night! While singing to the tune of "Ten Little Pumpkins," we used our imaginations to picture the sights we might see while trick-or-treating on Halloween night. The children enjoyed singing about spooky ghosts, meeting their neighbors while trick-or-treating, and their very imaginative Halloween costumes. During group, the children also had the chance to hear Mel's cigar box guitar. We talked about its unique characteristics, and the ways it differs from the ukulele they usually see in music class. We learned that in the past, musicians without access to traditional instruments often made their own, out of things they found in their homes or cities. This sparked an interesting and unexpected discussion about making music with found instruments. I was delighted to hear about all the ways the children find and create music as they move through their own neighborhood!
SCIENCE
This week at the science center we continued talking about pumpkins. We sliced opened a small pumpkin and washed the seeds using sieves and spoons. We examined the pulp and seeds from the big pumpkins that Nancy carved and washed those seeds in the water table. This week, we also did some leaf observations on a neighborhood walk and did leaf rubbings and drawings of leaves in the classroom. We read Leaf Man and Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf by Lois Elhert.
TWOs
This week we finished our dot, dot paint Halloween activity, which was a great chance to practice fine motor skills alongside turn-taking and sharing. We did our first indoor activity and obstacle course in the back, because the weather didn’t always allow for a daily walk. This weeks favorite books were Little Owl Lost by Chris Haughton and Giraffes Can't Dance by Gile Andreae and Guy Parker-Rees. It is so fun to see as the children begin to take ownership of our bookshelf, selecting their favorite books and finding a cozy spot and a teacher with whom to share a story.