love.  We anticipate many surprised faces when the children reveal their Christmas masterpieces to you!  Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

SCIENCE

An assortment of cardboard tubes and balls provided lots of creative activity at the science center this month.  The children worked together to build long pathways (including inclines) by connecting the tubes and releasing the balls to go through them.  They were very excited to see the ball go in one end and then come out the other!  They also used their problem-solving skills when the ball did not make it out the other side.  They learned they had to use some force when they released the ball to make it travel out the other side.  They witnessed the principles of physics in action along with gravity and motion all in the name of fun!

Currently the children are experiencing the properties of “smooth” and “rough”.  There is a container labeled “smooth” wrapped in smooth paper and a container labeled “rough” wrapped in sand paper, with a variety of smooth and rough objects available for them to sort.  Their job is to feel each object and to decide which container to put it in.  This is truly a hands-on activity that provides the opportunity for the children to practice sorting and classification. Up next is a variety of tops and jacks to spin.  What fun!

WRITING AND LANGUAGE

There were several “Leap Pad” learning systems available to the children this month.  These are interactive toys that provide fundamental reading and writing skills.  The games have interactive “magic” pens that the children use to point to letters or words. 

The game will read the word, spell the word and sound the word out.  The systems also allow the children to play games like “point to the red balloon” or “point to the balloon over the frog’s head” which teaches them color identification and directional words.  The systems also provided Math, Science, Foreign Language, Social Studies, and Music activities for the children to enjoy.

At present there are Christmas cards and decorating materials available to the children.   They are having lots of fun decorating their cards using stamps and bows, and writing words like “Merry Christmas” and “I Love You Mom and Dad”.  Up next are dot-to-dots.

SNACK ROOM

The snack room has been very exciting for the children this month.  We made some changes to try to have this room provide a more relaxing and social atmosphere for snack time (block building tends to be a “high-noise” activity).  The wood blocks have been moved into the large “activity room” and the small manipulative toys, puzzles, and flannel board have been moved into the snack room.  Some of the children participated in the change by carrying blocks and puzzles to their new homes.  We feel the change has been quite successful in meeting our goal to provide an atmosphere more conducive for social interaction at the snack table. 

Currently, two Nativity sets made of soft pillow-like cloth are available for the children to arrange through imaginary play.  A small lighted Christmas tree also brightens the room.  A burlap bag sits next to the tree, filled with soft ornaments for the children to put on and take off the tree.  This gives the children another opportunity to practice their fine motor skills as they have fun.