CIRCLE TIME

 
November is a busy and exciting month with lots of information and stories to share!   

Colors:  During color week the children enjoyed dressing in the same color, as we noticed all the colors around our school and experimented with how to mix colors to create new colors! 

Fire Safety:  We are grateful to “Fighter-Fighter Joe” who came to our school and showed us all of the equipment he needs to wear, preparing the children for how different he would look if he ever came to their house in an emergency.  He went over safety rules and precautions, and he also brought his fire truck to school.  The children loved climbing behind the steering wheel and becoming fire fighters for a memorable moment!    During circle time we reviewed all we had learned from our new friend, and wrote him a big, signed thank-you note.  

Families:  The children enjoyed standing before their peers and telling us all about their families as they showed off their family photos.  This is a topic every child feels comfortable with and can easily talk about.  It also provides the perfect opportunity to be good listeners, as they relate to their peers’ stories as well as tell their own.  

Thankfulness:  As Thanksgiving approaches we are talking about the many things each child is grateful for, and especially for the unconditional love of God.  We wish each child and their family a blessed holiday, filled with gratitude and love.

During our first small group this month we played games and shared our knowledge of colors and shapes.    At our next small group we worked on sorting, which is an important math skill.   The children had fun sorting plastic animals by size, color, and type.   As you will notice, these skills are then reinforced throughout the school. At our most recent small group we practiced listening, following directions, and waiting for a turn, as we measured, poured and mixed ingredients to make pumpkin bread.   We hope you’ll enjoy this special treat at our Thanksgiving celebration!
 

Shaving cream prints:  During “colors” week, the children loved mixing liquid water colors into mounds of shaving cream on the table.  It was a fun sensory experience as they squished it around, watching the colors blend and talking about the feel and smell of their creations.  When they felt that enough swirling and shaping had been done, they placed a piece of white paper on top and patted it down to capture their design on paper. 

Gadget painting:  What fun it was to dip household items such as potato mashers, an apple slicer, slotted spoon, butter slicer, bristle block, and more into brightly colored paint and stamp them onto dark paper!   The children also increased their vocabulary as they tried to identify some of the objects.

Family picture:  During family week the children were encouraged to use markers to draw a picture of their family.    

Table runners:  We hope you notice the table runners on each table at our Thanksgiving celebration.  The children enjoyed putting their painted hands onto banner paper to create the festive design!
 

SCIENCE

Sight, discovery and color:  Glasses, sunglasses, binoculars, cameras, kaleidoscopes, magnifying glasses, color paddles and a periscope were available to provide an opportunity to discover different ways to look at objects around the room. 

Exploring air power:  Squirt bottles and tubes of different sizes and shapes were available.  By  squeezing the bottles, objects could be moved from one place to another.  The children enjoyed racing cotton balls and other light objects.

MATH

Counting and sorting:   Three sizes of brightly colored teddy bears were available to count and to sort by size or by color.

WRITING/LANGUAGE CENTER

Visual observation and discrepancy:   Giggles and laughter can be heard as the children try to find the many silly things wrong on 4 different picture cards, and then “correct” the mistake by placing the proper picture in its place.
 

CREATIVITY ROOM

Sensory table

Fine motor skills, conversation, and turn-taking:  Colored water, funnels, cups and squeeze bottles filled the sensory table engaging the children in water play.

Encouraging number recognition, counting, and language:  Using scoops and shovels, wooden numbers were excavated from the sand  prompting comparisons to the accompanying numbered stacking cups.

Playdough

Strengthening fine motor muscles, promoting social skills and creativity:  Orange playdough with black spiders complimented the autumn season, while teal playdough created some decorative leaves.  Thank you to Mrs. Sassaman for contributing a package of colorful playdough for the children to enjoy.

Easels

Creativity, experimentation, identification, and language:  Oil pastels graced one side of the easel while orange and white paint provided a different artistic experience. A flat table offered a new surface to paint on as the children used pumpkin shaped cookie cutters, dipping them into orange paint.  Geometric shaped sponges followed, re-enforcing the previous week’s small  group activity. The children dictated the next activity on the flat table as finger painting was added.  Orange paint adorned many excited hands as the children tapped into their tactile side. 

DRAMATIC PLAYROOM

With fall in the air and memories of our trip to Jane & Paul’s farm we transformed the Dramatic Playroom into a farm stand complete with pumpkins, apples, gourds, and apple cider  that the children shopped for and sold to each other.  The children were able to practice counting and math skills using play money and cashing out at a cash register.  They were also able to role play as they dressed up like farmers and cared for stuffed sheep. 

Currently the room is set up as regular housekeeping.   With Christmas coming up we will soon transform the room into the Nativity scene. 
 

MUSIC AND MOVEMENT

Rhythm, rhyme, and awakening the senses!  Recent songs included:  “Tony Chestnut”, “Wake Up you Sleepy Heads”, “Wiggle, wiggle”, “Hurry, Hurry Drive the Fire Truck”,  “The Shaky Egg Song”, “Bear Hunt”,  “I am Thankful”, and “Share His Love”.
 

WACKY WEDNESDAY

The children at Wacky Wednesday are having a great time!  They really enjoyed making their Wacky Wednesday shirts.  Painting pumpkins was another huge hit!  With the holidays coming up we decided to make a meal for a deserving family from the church.  The children helped put together a meal that included pasta, salad, and brownies.  This was a good way to teach the children about others’ needs and not just their own. 

I think the favorite part of Wacky Wednesdays so far is seeing if you’re the next one to bring home Zach the Zebra!  Zach, our class pet has  visited many homes, but has many more to go.  The children really enjoy bringing Zach home, and we love to hear about his adventures when he comes back!   We look forward to a great year!
 

FRIDAY ENRICHMENT

Our enrichment class is full of fun, from science experiments, to watching the hermit crabs walk around the room, to dancing to funky music, the children are kept on their toes!  Another favorite is the “favorite book” read at story time.  The children really enjoy being able to bring in and share their favorite book with their peers.
 

QUOTES

Happy Thanksgiving!

Miss Kelly

Miss Nancy

Miss Meg

Miss Julie

Miss Brenda

Miss Maryann

Miss Chris

Miss Andrea