The Owls were very excited to explore insects today . We had the opportunity to examine real specimens up close. We counted their legs, located their antenna, and identified their colors. These little scientists also enjoyed several sorting games, fine motor activities and themed picture books. After lunch we even had a chance to go on a bug hunt in the garden outside our classroom. Most of us found a roly poly to bring home and release in our own gardens. The class also enjoyed learning the song, "Bringing Home a Baby Bumble Bee". Each child was given a baby bumble bee to hold as we sang. The highlight of our morning had to be the bug hunt we went on. Each student was given a little bug box to gather their new friend in. We went through the garden looking under rocks and in the shady nooks until we found a roly poly to bring home and add to our own gardens. I am looking forward to our ladybug release on Friday.
Our day began with our annual Fiesta Shoe Box Float Parade. What creative and unique floats. The children paraded them around for all the parents to enjoy! After the parade we visited several classrooms run by the parents of the school. We danced, got our faces painted, made and cracked carscones, created maracas, participated in a cupcake walk and made tortillas. We even had an authentic Fiesta lunch! We were all wiped out after such an exciting day! Words can not express how thankful the entire staff is for the hard work of our parent volunteers today! You made this a truly amazing day! Viva Fiesta!!!!
Our dinosaur loving Owls were back at it today. We spent much of the day as Paleontologists! Such a big word for these little learners. We discovered that Paleontologists are dinosaur scientists. They are patient learners and take great care in their work. To help demonstrate this we did two science experiments. There was a new twist on the age old favorite of baking soda and vinegar. I made a paste of baking soda and water a few days ago. I formed them into egg shapes and buried a mini dinosaur in each one. The "paleontologists" were given an egg, vinegar and a dropper to work with. We discussed how paleontologist are slow, careful workers. They do not want to damage the fossils they find so sometimes it can take years to unearth a dig site. We carefully dropped the vinegar on the eggs and were surprised to find a dinosaur of our own inside each one! The children took this task very seriously and were patient in their discoveries. For our second experiment the children used a chocolate chip cookie. We pretended it was a rock and the chocolate chips were dinosaur fossils. The tools we were given to extract the fossils were toothpicks and tweezers. Patience and seriousness prevailed for a bit but the temptation to eat the experiment finally won out. Don't be surprised if the next time you offer your Owl a cookie they want toothpicks to go with it! Our little paleontologists were also treated to some dinosaur chicken nuggets provided by Ms. Heidi. They gobbled them up! Thank you Ms. Heidi! In between experiments we were treated to a visit from one of the dinosaurs cousins. He wanted to come check out all the fun the Owls were having today. It is sad to see our dinosaur discovery come to an end but I'm looking forward to next week, seeing all the Fiesta floats and enjoying a day of festivities.
What an exciting day we had! The boys and girls had a fantastic time learning through play. We counted dinosaurs, built them homes, lined them up for parades, unearthed their skeletons in the sensory tub, walked in their footsteps during art and role played with all shapes and sizes of our extinct friends. For our artistic experience, we look off our shoes and socks and tied on some fun dinosaur feet. We literally walked in the dinosaurs footprints and with each step you could hear a resounding "ROAR"! It was such a lovely morning we decided that we would each bring a dinosaur out to the playground. Such adventure awaited! I can't wait until Friday. We are going to become paleontologists and dig for dinosaur fossils!
The boys and girls enjoyed more bird fun today. They took the birds along with them to work on activities all morning. Today we learned about what different birds eat. We made our own bagel bird feeder to hang at home and painted with feathers. It is so much fun to paint with nontraditional instruments. When learning about birds what could be more fitting then painting with feathers. The children enjoyed a special visit from the dentist too!. We learned that we are born with no teeth, have 20 baby teeth and by the time we are an adult we will have 32 teeth! We reviewed how to brush our teeth to keep them healthy and what foods are good for our teeth and which might cause cavities. We rounded out our morning by making bagel bird feeders. We are sure our bird and squirrel friends will be very happy with this special treat we can hang outside.
Our focus for the week is birds. We had a wonderful time exploring the science center as well as several bird themed activities throughout the day. Highlights included painting our own bird houses, listening to bird sounds and meeting the birds that make those sounds. After our snack the children were each given a wooden birdhouse to paint. They are so excited to take them home and hang them for their birdie friends. We also played a guess who game today. During our circle time I had a large bag full of stuffed birds that chirp their given song. I reached into the bag, played the birds song and we tried to guess what kind of bird it was. This was great fun and the children were very quiet and patient listening to each birds call. Once the birds were all introduced we spent some time with blocks building them nests and engaging in some roll play.
Thank you to all who helped make our Easter part so much fun. The children had the opportunity to hunt for eggs, dye eggs, enjoyed a fabulous lunch and decorated Easter cookies. They had such a great time! Hope you all have a very blessed Easter!
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Why Blog?Here you will find little snippets of our days together. When my children were in preschool and would come home I would always ask, "So, what did you do today?". All they ever said was, "Played." That didn't tell me much. I hope this blog will be a place to share what we have done and help you ask more directed questions of your child. You will see first hand just what we do after you kiss your little one goodbye in the morning. It will also be a great place to visit and see just how much your child has grown and learned throughout the year. Archives
May 2023
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