At small group time this month we practiced sorting, an important math skill.  The children were able to sort and categorize small plastic animals by color, size and type.

We used another small group time to practice following directions and waiting for a turn as we measured, stirred and cooked up something special for our upcoming Thanksgiving celebration! 

This month the children experimented with paint and fire trucks.  They drove tiny fire trucks through trays of paint and then glided them across sheets of construction paper, making brilliant tracks or roads in red or black paint.  Later, they gathered around the craft table to draw a picture or write their names on a thank you banner presented to Firefighter Joe after a wonderful tour of the town fire station.  Later in the week the children again experimented with paint as they made hand prints in yellow, red and orange on long sheets of banner paper.  Their masterpieces will be used as colorful table runners at our Thanksgiving celebration.  

 As we talked about recycling and keeping our world clean, the children became sculptors using recycled materials.  A variety of materials were available including assorted paper scraps, bottle caps, egg cartons, Styrofoam feet, and buttons.  They enjoyed squeezing the glue onto paper plates and using their hands to sculpt wonderful works of art.  This promoted great conversation as they worked on their masterpieces as well as developed fine motor skills.  Next the children enjoyed stringing beads on magic cord using pony beads and letter beads with the letters WWJD (What Would Jesus Do?).  The children were asked about making choices and to think about what choice Jesus would make, as we talked about using our good manners and caring

Coming up to go along with our discussions about families, the children will be drawing pictures of their own families.

Autumn was the centerpiece of the science table as assorted gourds, pumpkins, and apples were displayed along with measuring scales.  The children engaged in some predictions and delighted in the accuracy of their findings.  This activity prompted many children to recall fond memories of pumpkin and apple picking, leaf raking, as well as the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. 

Our science center experienced a transformation as our theme of recycling was incorporated.  Three large blue boxes were prominently displayed around the table with illustrations and accompanying words consisting of “paper”, “plastic”, and “cans”.  Another large plastic container housed the items to be sorted.  Critical thinking, identification, and sorting were the skills utilized here as the children established which item belonged with the appropriate category. 

Next the concept of static electricity will be explained and explored as the science center is transformed once again. 

The Colorama board game welcomed the children at the math center.  The introduction of colors and shapes appealed to many players as it offered several variations to the game, satisfying different skill levels.  The children arranged the playing pieces according to color and shape, placing them in appropriate places on the game board.  Shape and color discernment, logical thinking, and manual dexterity were showcased.