website newsl 2What a winter!  We found many creative ways to enjoy "The Great Indoors" when the weather was too blustery for outside play!  You can see a happy family here enjoying dress up as they learned about the members of la familia from Miss Gloria. There were caves for hibernating, dog houses for Mama Dog and her puppies, blanket tents, tunnels to crawl through, and lots of other inventive play spaces to keep the children of Hazel Drive happy, safe, loved and COZY!  Come and visit with our little kids and our big kids and see how we spent the Never-Ending Winter of Early 2014!

Little Bunnies and Cottontails:

For our younger children the days and weeks flew by during our Endless Winter.  They had a happy time learning, playing and pretending with friends and teachers. 

website newsletter Jan-Feb 2014 2Building blocks, cars and roads, trains and tracks, stuffed animals and dress-up clothes have provided hours of fun for the little guys and gals.  Add puzzles and games and the water table to the mix, and there is plenty to keep everyone busy.

The ABC box has made several appearances this winter!  When the box comes out, we sing the ABC song.  Then...we take a look inside.  There is a letter in there, and then many items that begin with that sound.  We sing about each item: "P is for pizza, that's good enough for me..." Then, we play "Concentration." Look at all the objects. Concentrate!  Close your eyes and cover them up, something has disappeared - can you guess what it is?  The children were VERY good at this game, and also at waiting to be called on and not shouting out!  Some even remembered what was in the box days later.  How neat is that? 

A happy rite of passage to age three is the privelege of being "The Helper." Not a day goes by when we don't hear the question, "Who is the Helper today?"  Among other jobs, the Helper acts as the line leader.  We usually use music to get from "here" to "there" (although sometimes we tiptoe and whisper "Don't wake up the bear!").  It might be marching along to the "Mickey Mouse Club" song, boarding the "Line-Up Train," or weaving around to Miss Laura's cousin Jeff's caterpillar song:

Weave around, weave around like a big caterpillar does,

Weave around, weave around like a big caterpillar does,

Hold together, that's how it's done,

From the very first child to the very last one,

A caterpillar has lots of fun, weavin' around, whoa - oh -oh....

There are more happy verses to the song, and the children enjoy the skill of holding the line together as they move about.  We have learned and applied this skill to other games and songs as the children grow.  We began with our Circle Time song to learn the concept of holding hands to form a circle, and being able to do the cooperative task of moving the circle as one - and then - changing direction!  We have since played games like "Ring Around the Rosie" and "Here We Go 'Round the Mulberry Bush" to practice and have fun moving in a circle.  Our most recent circle games are "Going to Kentucky" and "Bluebird."   The "windows" are formed by our arms when our joined hands are raised, and the bluebird flies in and out while we sing:

Bluebird, bluebird, in and out my window,

Bluebird, bluebird, in and out my window,

Bluebird, bluebird, in and out my window,

Oh! Johnny I am tired!

The bluebird stops at the end of the chorus and positions himself behind a child as we sing:

Take a little girl and tap her on the shoulders

Take a little girl and tap her on the shoulders,

Take a little girl and tap her on the shoulders,

Oh! Johnny I am tired!

The first bluebird holds on the the shoulders of the new leader, and the two birds fly in and out of the windows.  Play continues as bluebirds are added to the line one by one.  When there are three bluebirds, the smiles begin, and the children are so delighted as the line of bluebirds grows and grows! It takes a lot of cooperation to make it work, and what an accomplishment when only the teachers are left to be the windows, and all the bluebirds are holding on to one anothers' shoulders in a long line!!

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Our little ones love art time, and they have plenty of opportunities to paint at the easel with brushes and tempera, or on the table using theri hands and fingerpaint. It's a beautiful exercise in cause and effect as they watch the dripping paint and mix the colors, and practice in both gross and fine motor skills.  There is a wonderful sensory experience as well.  The children clamour for a turn to dip their hands in the slippery paint!  Crayons and markers are provided for coloring fun, and there are regular opportunites to snip with scissors, a developing skill.  Small cups of glue and brushes are a staple at the art table.

During the early months of 2014, the weather and some special days provided themes for our art work and activities.

Children used their little fingers to make tiny tissue balls to glue onto the bare paper trees.  

We have a little furry friend who decided to use Miss Laura's apron pocket as his burrow.  Mr. Groundhog hibernated there all winter!  Every day the children would wake him up with their loud singing of "You're a Grand Old Flag."  He didn't mind because he liked the singing.  We talked with him about the weather, and looked for signs of spring!  Sometimes they were hard to find, especially during the snow storms!  Over at the art table, white paint and pre-cut "hills" made a nice landscape for a cute groundhog puppet made out of paper.   

We sang a song about Mr. Lincoln and Mr. Washington, and the boys and girls knew their faces well - we even found them on money!  They made their own "money" using plenty of artistic license!  Have you ever seen a 437-dollar bill?  With Nanny's picture in the middle - or maybe the family dog??  You have to be really special to have your picture on money! 

Valentine's Day boxes were decorated, and we had fun and excitement all week long giving and receiving Valentines from our classmates.  The children sat in a circle with their boxes and took turns delivering their Valentines.  They were champs at this, and the happiness generated by this simple exchange was priceless!

Everyone enjoyed meeting Mr. Leprechuan. He showed up in Miss Laura's apron pocket and was surprised to find Mr. Groundhog still hibernating in there. What was it he called Mr. Groundhog?. . . Oh, yes, a "big, hairy beast!"  He's so little, and yet he can be very grumpy!  He told us all about his gold, and wouldn't you know, he said we couldn't have any of it!  We sang a song and there was a lot of laughter as we ran and ran in place, trying to catch the leprechaun:

 

I'm a little leprechaun

No one can catch me woman or man,

I won't let them 'cause I've been told,

All they want is me pot of gold!

I'll run and run, but they'll never catch me....... 

 

 

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Big Hoppers and Kindergartners:

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 website newsletter Jan-Feb 2014 23  WOW!  The Big Hoppers did a lot of maturing and growing this winter!  Their classroom was a winter beehive buzzing with pre-reading, pre-writing, pre-math and motor skill sharpening activities!  Whether stting at the tables with their papers and pencils in hand, looking at the chalkboard, or sitting on the floor playing an engaging game, these children were learning, learning, learning!

The winter provided lots of time for ongoing learning about shapes.  Shapes can be found everywhere!  When they are put together, they can form pictures.  Miss Gloria incorporates the learning of shapes into her drawing lessons.  When broken down into step-by-step instructions on the chalkboard, the children are able to draw amazing pictures! The Big Hoppers continue to hone their fine motor skills as they control their pencils and crayons, trace shapes and color them in.  Art projects like the happy leprechaun and merry snowman seen here utilize many developing skills as the children cut, draw, paint with brushes or their fingertips and glue everything into its place.  Each child follows the same steps, and each has a unique result.  And each is just beautiful!

The Big Hoppers play many games that have helped them learn about numbers.  Numeral recognition, counting, addition and subtraction are all taught with games!  The teachers create materials that are just right for this particular group of children.  They also learn mathematical concepts such as size (big and little) and length (long and short) through games.

They continue to learn how to write their names and other letters as they cruise through the alphabet with songs, games and art.  Alphabet puzzle letters are placed in order on the floor, an object is placed above each letter to represent the sound of the letter.  Letters are colored, cut and decorated.  Names, days of the week, months of the year, signs around town all are more easily recognized with lots of practice!  Quality time with books, whether during read-aloud time or on their own, fosters a love of books that we hope will never be replaced by things with screens!

The children also have the mind-developing experience of learning another language!  They count easily now in Spanish to 31 (Why 31? Think calendar!) They know the names of fruits, animals, weather words, parts of the body, family members and much more that is learned through rhymes, games and Circle Time activities.website newsletter Jan-Feb 2014 26

And of course, the children learn, learn, learn every day through their play with classic toys like Duplo and Lincoln Logs, puzzles, dolls, trains, animals, and dressing up. 

 

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 Running throughout this enriching curriculum were the themes of good listening, cooperation, helping others and working together.

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 Our group of Kindergartners love to color, cut and create!  One of their favorite activites is making books to read to the younger children when they wake up from their naps.  From the quiet inside the nap room they can be heard asking Miss Gloria, "How do you spell _______?" and Miss Gloria patiently reciting each letter.  Pictures are drawn and pages stapled together.  Then the author/illustrator proudly sits in a rocking chair to read aloud in the story corner.  Well done!

Kindergartners worked with a real needle and thread to create their own stuffed animals.  They decide what kind of critter it would be (a bear? a bat?) and drew the outline on fabric.  Two of the shapes were cut out, and then were sewn together in an overhand stitch.  After stuffing them with fluff,the hole was sewn shut and the coloring began. Details were added with markers, and the animals got their personalities!  The children were very pleased with their handiwork!

We join you in eagerly anticipating the sunny days ahead and the scents and sounds of the awakening earth!

Happy Spring!

Miss Laura, Miss Gloria, Mrs. Stacy, Mrs. Shirley, Miss Donna, Miss Linda, Miss Cathy and Miss Janet