What a wonderful party! Thank you for everyone who attended and for the delicious breakfast. Thank you for all of the generous gifts and sweet words. It is such a pleasure to work with such a sweet group of girls. They have grown so much over the last few months and I can't wait to see where we go from here. I pray you all have a wonderful and restful Christmas break. See you in 2023!
To say that this theme was a hit with the girls is an understatement! We had the best time feeding, diapering, bathing, and swaddling our babies today. We also managed to squeeze in a few science experiments. Our kitchen also had everything needed to whip up some birthday cakes and cupcakes. The girls loved the mixers and being able to ice and slice the cakes. We even had birthday candles that helped us sing, "Happy Birthday Jesus". While tending to the babies there were some very interesting discussions taking place. Overheard while playing... "I have baby Jesus in my tummy." "This is milk for the baby. If my baby needs water I have it in this bottle." "I want to change her diaper." "Wrap my baby in a blanket so she can sleep." "Babies burp and spit up." "Be quiet, the babies are sleeping." "Mine is drinking," "Mine is eating," "Quiet! The babies are sleeping!" (stated at the top of her lungs) "Babies sure do poop and pee a lot." "I gave the baby a shower in the sink!" "What kind of cake do you think baby Jesus will like to eat on his birthday?" "Did baby Jesus have to wear a diaper too?" "I think I will have a baby when I grow up." "Hey, watch my baby for me. I need you to babysit." We enjoyed more time outside collecting acorns and exploring the Life Skills garden. When we returned to the classroom we gathered for circle time. We read another Nativity story and had a discussion about what kinds of things babies need. The girls knew that babies need milk, baby food, toys, bottles, pacifiers, blankets, Mommy and Daddy to take care of them, and of course diapers. This lead perfectly into our first science experiment, Diaper Dissections! The question was posed, "What happens to the liquid in a diaper?" I challenged the girls to guess how many drops of water would a diaper hold. After our guesses, we sat a the table to investigate. Each child was given a clean diaper, large water dropper, and a cup of water. They began transferring water to the diaper and watching it disappear. We learned that it really wasn't disappearing but rather the diaper was absorbing it. Such great vocabulary to explore too! We continued transferring water into the diaper far past our predictions. Then one of the girls decided to dump her whole glass into the diaper! Followed shortly by everyone else. I refilled cups several times and each cupful was absorbed into the diapers. We even tried holding the saturated diapers over our heads and were surprised dripped on us. We compared a clean diaper to a wet one and noticed how much heavier the wet one was. Then I asked the girls if they wanted to get the water back out of the diaper. Everyone was excited to see where the water went. We carefully tore the diapers open and to our surprise we discovered a substance that looked like snow! The diaper is full of polymers that are super absorbent and resemble snow. We took a few minutes to play and explore before washing up for our second experiment. Our second experiment was a baby food taste test. Every time I do this someone objects and says they won't taste baby food because they are not a baby. Not this year! Everyone tried the samples. I even gave the girls their baby food spoon to keep once they were done (in case you were wondering where that spoon in the tote came from). We tried four different flavors and the banana, apple, pear was voted the favorite. It was a day jam packed with fun!
Looking forward to our Christmas Pajama Pancake Party on Friday morning. Wear your favorite PJ's and join us for a breakfast party from 8:45-9:30. There will be pancakes and fruit for all. We will participate in a wrapped book exchange and play a game or two. Please pack a lunch for later in the morning. The girls are very excited to give you their presents too. Call or text me with any questions. See you then! With everything going on today we only had about 90 minutes in our room. We enjoyed centers, played outside, went to Chapel, saw Spikey Mikey, went to Motor Skills, and finally made it back to our room for lunch. The wrapping station was still a hit. Some of us got the hang of the tape dispenser while others continued to put in their best effort. If you are looking for a little activity to keep your kiddos busy this holiday season set up a wrapping station at home. The playground remains closed for the time being so we went back to the amphitheater to get some energy out. The girls enjoyed hunting for acorns and mountain laurel seeds. We amassed quite the collection. During Chapel we visited baby Jesus. We have been reading many versions of the Nativity story. By now most of the girls know who's birthday we celebrate on Christmas. We know who Mary, Joseph, baby Jesus are. Ask your daughter what town Mary and Joseph were traveling to. What happened when they arrived in Bethlehem? When there were no rooms available where did they find shelter? We also know that the shepherds and the Three Wise Men saw a star in the sky which led them to Bethlehem. A few of the girls even know what gifts the Wise Men brought. As soon as Chapel was over we headed upstairs for the Spikey Mikey Show. He has a few silly magic tricks and a lot of corny jokes but the kids absolutely love him. For some, the laughter was a bit much but everyone enjoyed his funny show. One of our classmates siblings was even called up to the stage to help with a magic trick. I'll send out a little video clip so you can get a taste of the roaring laughter the show brought out. Spikey Mikey sure has a fan base with the preschool crowd.
Next week our focus will be on Babies and Birthdays. Specifically Jesus' birth. We will also gather Friday morning from 8:45-9:30 for our Pajama Pancake Breakfast. Hope you can all join us. Have a wonderful weekend. Oh my were we busy little elves today! The girls absolutely LOVED our wrapping station. Some of them never left it the entire time we were in centers. We also enjoyed some creative building time and a sneak peek at the new playground. By far, the biggest hit of the day was our wrapping station. The girls were provided with wrapping paper, bows, tape rolls, and large foam dominos to wrap, unwrap, and rewrap. They didn't care what they were wrapping. Having the freedom to do it their way (and to use the tape roll all by themselves) was captivating. Most of the girls, I would expect, had never used tape before. In the beginning I just let them go with it. Tape was flying off the rolls and sticking to everything. It was actually a lot of fun to watch them try and figure it out. One by one they would come ask for help. I showed them the little serrated edge of the dispenser and how to pull the tape down. It wasn't long before they were successful on their own. They enjoyed wrapping a block for a friend and seeing their reaction upon opening the gift. We all played along and were very excited to open the packages. Next up, Playdough! Today's playdough was green and had some glitter in it. We paired that with some Christmas cookie cutters and everyone enjoyed pressing cookies. Today's art is top secret. Our little elves were busy making Christmas gifts. We also enjoyed a special challenge in the block area. Normally not an area that garners much interest with this age group but today we spiced it up a bit. I challenged the girls to work together to build a gingerbread house and provided several holiday themed props. Everyone was very excited to get building. After lunch I took the girls out to the playground for a little sneak peek. Only half of the play area is complete and it was pretty muddy but we couldn't wait a minute longer to test it out. This play structure is amazing. It going to provide some wonderful gross motor muscle building opportunities. The kids loved it! Friday should be another special day. Spikey Mikey will be here with his comedy/magic show. Hopefully the playground will be complete and the weather will cooperate so we can explore a bit more.
Looking ahead to next Friday, December 16 and our Christmas Party... We will be having a Pajama Pancake Party. Wear your favorite holiday PJ's and join us for breakfast from 8:45-9:30. We will be serving pancakes and fruit. Please bring a wrapped book to exchange with a friend. I will do my best to read all of the books during the day. Since our party is a breakfast party please still pack a lunch for the end of our morning. Parents are welcome to join us. Just park after pick up and meet us in the room. Let me know if you have any questions. See you Friday! We were a busy bunch this morning "baking" up a batch of fun in the dramatic play area. The girls really enjoyed the bakery as well as the other cookie themed centers. With the playground still under construction and the weather not in our favor, we came up with a plan to trade classrooms with Ms. Rebecca's Dragonflies during our playground time. Her class enjoyed playing in our room while we had fun exploring their room. Back in our room, the girls were excited to bake a real batch of cookies. Before we got started I asked them how you make cookies. They had quite an interesting recipe. What you will need:
Recipe: Put everything in a bowl. Mix it hard. Put it on the pan and use cookie cutters if you want shapes. Put it in the hot oven. Bake it at 10 degrees for one hour. Put icing on them. While our cookies baked we decorated the gingerbread men we painted on Wednesday. The girls had access to a wide variety of "icing' options. They all turned out so cute! After lunch we enjoyed our freshly baked cookies and a cupcake to help celebrate another friend's birthday! We are hopeful the playground installation will be complete by next week. The girls are eager to explore all of the new equipment. I hope you have a wonderful weekend ahead. Next week our room will be transformed into Santa's Workshop. There will be many present to make and wrap. We will be busy little elves.
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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
March 2024
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