The winter of 2015 is one to remember...fondly!  We spent a few cozy months in our birght and cheerful rooms, playing with friends, learning and having lots of fun!  Here are three happy faces to illustrate!

We were only able to get outside a handful of times this winter in spite of the efforts of Miss Laura and Mr. Snow Shovel!  But the children enjoyed making their way through the shoveled-out paths, climbing the snowy mountains and sliding down the little slides! The views out our windows were enhanced by our snowy friends who were superimposed on the frosty landscape, and the kids got a lot of joy from Frosty the Snowman greeting us at the door, and Mr. Ice Cubes adding a warm glow to our front entry all winter long.  

We hope that you enjoy reading about our happy times at Hazel Drive!  We send you bundles of springtime warmth!

Love, Miss Laura, Miss Gloria, Miss Missy, Miss Linda, Miss Sam, Miss Janet and Miss Lori 

LITTLE BUNNIES AND COTTONTAILS:

The Little Bunnies and the Cottontails have had a marvelous winter of growing.  Unlike the tulip bulbs which had been hidden under the snow while they grow, these little wonders have been growing right before our very eyes! 

Playing together, being kind, and using words are some of the many ways in which our little ones have grown socially.  "Please" and "Thank you" are the Magic Words, but we discover that there are many more "magic" words that make ourselves and others happy while getting us the things we need or want.  Our play times offer many opportunities to practice sharing and taking turns.  It's a beautiful thing to hear this exchange between two little children:  "May I please have a turn?" ... "In a few minutes..." and then see them follow through, too!  As they grow, the children's play is more and more interactive, and it is such a joy to see them running, shouting and laughing together!

Using their hands and little fingers in many ways have enabled out littlest children to grow in their fine motor skills.  Snipping with scissors, tearing paper, crumpling squares of tissue paper, coloring with crayons or markers, brushing on glue and placing everything just so has given the children lots of practice! We're having lots of fun with play dough, too, squishing, pounding, rolling, poking, tearing, cutting with sticks, cookie-cutting shapes, adding feathers just for fun!  Every child has his own homemade dough and was able to choose the color to mix in. 

Using our big indoor recess room has been such fun for the Little Bunnies and Cottontails this winter.  Our ride-on and pushing toys are a great source of fun and exercise for them.  Whether riding on a cute caterpillar, driving a little school bus, pushing a dump truck, mowing the lawn, riding a horse, crawling through the tunnel or just having a great game of Chase, the children enjoy the "Running Room" as they call it.  We've also used that great space for organized games.  We have running races (for example, go under the rainbow, run around the hoops, go back through the rainbow the other way and find your spot!) while everyone cheers the runner on!  We're doing great things with the parachute and learning the very important skills of COOPERATION and FOLLOWING DIRECTIONS! Our little guys have learned to make the parachute "blow" in a light breeze, steady wind, and ...HURRICANE!  We can lift it up on the count of three and say a big "HELLO!" to our friends on the other side.  We can make it go around and around like a merry-go-round.  The boys and girls can take turns alternately holding up the parachute and going under! It's amazing how far they've come.

 They are growing in knowledge and thinking skills as well.  They are champs at the calendar, counting, figuring out the pattern, singing the days of the week, reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, and identifying the weather.  And have you heard the Color Song at home?  Just start singing to the tune of "Frere Jaques" these words: "Red is rojo (pronounced "RO-ho"), and you will no doubt hear the whole song!  We play games like "Who Has My Bone?" and "Concentration" with objects that all begin with the same letter sound.  Lots and lots of brain-building going on!

BIG HOPPERS:

Check out those cute little bears!  Looks like they're getting ready for hibernation!  There are big boulders around their cave, snow on the roof, and happily there is a pond full of good things to eat which will keep them through the long winter!  There is even a honeycomb nearby loaded up with their favorite treat!  The Big Hoppers use dramatic play to learn about their world, and the bigger world around them.  While learning about fire safety, the children were treated to a campfire complete with toasted marshmallows.  The fire and the marshmallows were pretend, but the fun and learning were REAL!

The Big Hoppers learned about ALL the seasons this winter through the use of props created by Miss Gloria.  They played a game of riddles to guess the season.  They marked the passage of time through the holidays of winter and early spring: Ground Hog Day, Valentine's Day and St. Patrick's Day.  There was quite a parade of leprechauns hopping around Hazel Drive in March - a jolly-looking bunch! 

The Big Hoppers kept busy with their academic lessons this winter.  They could be seen coloring by the numbers, decorating letters, drawing self-portraits, playing rhyming games, counting, adding and sorting, writing their names, and practicing writing their numerals, to name a few!  There is always something to exercise young minds going on in the Big Hopper room!  All the while, the children are learning a larger range of social skills.  Kindness, responsibility, helping one another, working together are among the concepts that are encouraged and taught daily.  Our Hazel Drive song speaks of the Golden Rule, and the children recite "The Pledge to Myself" along with the Pledge of Allegiance every day.

I pledge to myself every day,

To try to be kind in every way

To every person, big or small

I will help them if they fall,

When I love myself, and others, too,

That is the best that I can do.          

WASCALLY WABBITS:

The Wascally Wabbits are growing every day in every way.  We have been very busy during the past few months.  We are practicing writing our names using both upper and lower case letters.  We are also using the letter sounds to spell or sound out words.  We can even pick out the sound that is in the beginning, middle or end of a word.  Our math skills are improving as well.  We are very good at recognizing patterns, shapes, colors and numbers up to ten or more.  We can add or subtract with the help of pictures or manipulatives.

Our fine motor skills are awesome!  We have all showed much improvement with cutting, tracing, coloring, drawing, and printing letters and numbers.  Our grossmotor skills are strengthening, too.  We have been working on balancing on one foot, skipping, hopping, jumping and walking backwards.  We have all mastered RUNNING!

We finally said "Goodbye" to winter and "HELLO SPRING!"  We are using some of our five senses to find the many signs of spring all around us.  We can SEE flowers popping up in front of Hazel's cottage, and there are pussy willows growing behind the school.  We can HEAR birds singing happily on bright mornings.  Everything around us SMELLS fresh and new.  We can FEEL the warmth of the sun when we go out to play and it is super fun to squish our boots in the mud left from the melted snow.

Wow, we are busy bunnies!

Happy Spring!

Miss Missy