The Dramatic Playroom is back to its regular housekeeping theme.  The children are so excited to plan and play together as they dress up in suit coats and dresses in order to clean, shop, cook, and serve one another.  They also love taking their babies for walks around the school in strollers, and using the tools from the tool kit to fix whatever their imagination or peers tell them needs repair!    Soon the room will be transformed once again- this time into a camping scene complete with tent, sleeping bags, and "campfire".

The playdough table was once again a popular meeting spot as future sculptors created many masterpieces.  Green playdough with glitter offered the children an opportunity to reproduce their Christmas trees as well as decorations.  White playdough introduced the month of January, and encouraged many creations with the addition of buttons, pipe cleaners, and googly eyes.  Snowmen, pizzas, and birthday cakes were just some of the items our designers created.  Conversation inevitably turned to the discussion of snow, much to the delight of the children.  Scented playdough will follow, adding a wonderful fragrance to the Creativity Room.

Have you every painted a picture with a toothbrush?  That was the question the children pondered as they approached the easel.  Textured paint (white tempera paint mixed with ivory snow), toothbrushes, and screens were placed on a flat table.  The children dipped their toothbrushes into the textured paint and brushed the screen, creating many diverse imprints o the light blue construction paper.  The other easel presented a blank canvas for the children to decorate.  Thick multi-colored crayons burst onto the paper producing designs ranging from rainbows to flowers.  Silver glitter paint will soon transform light blue paper into icicles, supplying the painted trees in the Snack Room and Dramatic Playroom with their much needed winter attire. 

The sensory table was converted into a winter wonderland with the addition of dried potato flakes and winter animals.  Imaginative play was observed as the children delighted in creating winter scenarios with some of their favorite animals.  The sensory table will undergo a transformation as sand with wooden numbers and letters will be added along with numbered cups and shovels.

The science table has been very busy so far this month.  The wave and tornado bottles are a big hit.  Bottles filled with oil and water, when tipped on their side, create waves that roll gently.  The children are also discovering that when you take two bottles attached one on top of each other and then filled with water and swirl it in a circular motion, it can create a tornado inside.  This activity is a great hands-on activity as well as minds-on activity.  The children have learned to try and predict what might happen.

Some of the many songs the children have enjoyed singing together this month are “This Old Man”, “Where is Thumkin”, “Alice the Camel”, “Old MacDonald Had a Farm”, “Row, Row, Row Your Boat”, and “Down by the Bay”.

Child:  “I have an ‘adjustable’ coat.  That means I can wear it both ways!” 

Miss Cathy, usually in her office, came out to join the Friday Expanded Class at gross motor time. 
Child:  "Hey, Miss Cathy!  I haven't seen you for two years!" 

Miss Cathy:  “Your mommy’s driving a different car today!”
Child:  “Actually, my other car’s in the mechanic’s place.  It has shocks in it.”