The Missing Mitten Mystery

 

 Are you laughing yet?!  This is what I saw when I walked into the classroom on Monday morning!  Three mischevious Tiggers - one in a bassinet, complete with pacifier, diaper and baby powder; one riding the horsey; and one in the high chair, snacking on veggie straws.  Isn't this pure silly fun?!  I love it!  (Thanks for making my morning bright and sunshiney, Pops!)

 

*****

Today, after all of us finished gawking and oogling over the Tiggers, we read:

 

This book is adorable!  If you've not read it, you're missing out.  Check it out at the library or grab a copy at the bookstore.  I love love love the end!  After we read, the children took a few minutes (and by minutes, I mean seconds) to find our missing red mitten.  It was under the table by our library books!

 

At the matching table, the kiddos worked on a mitten color match game as well as a similarly-designed football number match game (1-10).  There was also another mitten matching game, in which they were supposed to match the designs on the mittens.

 

At the discovery table, we worked on the concept of left and right.  Your child brought home a yellow paper with a pair of mittens.  We placed our hands on the mittens, and sang, "This one is the left, and this one is the right" several times, while pointing to each hand.  We also worked on mitten lacing, which they did very well with!  These are in the hallway for your viewing pleasure.  :)  I'm very proud of the effort and concentration that these smart cookies used for this activity!

 

Wednesday, the kids will be introduced to the February sensory table in the block room.

 

The base is red and white beans, and the sensory items include:

• heart doilies and pink foam flowers
• pink and white feathers
• various sizes of red, pink and white bottle caps and lids
• 2 small empty playdough containers
• heart ribbon
• red and white pipe cleaners
• valentine cupcake liners

(Before Wednesday, we will also add some scoops, spoons and cups.)

 

The kids were eager and interested as I was preparing this table.  I knew they wanted to get into it right away, but I wanted them to have a few minutes of free play at the end of class.  It will be ready and waiting for them on Wednesday!





Penguins, Part 2

Hello!  I know you're all loving this weather, right?!  (You may hear just a *hint* of sarcasm at this point!)  One day it's 12 degrees, the next it's 50 and currently, we've got showers of icy, cold rain falling down!  Wonder what kind of weaher is in store for tomorrow?

 

Today, we had lots of fun learning more about penguins.  We read the book:

In this book, we learned that penguin babies are called chicks, and that penguins are birds that have feathers and wings, but do not fly.  They do love to swim though!

 

In art, we finished our cardboard roll penguin craft.  My hope is that your child will play with his/her penguin at home, and that you will hear some penguin facts during playtime.  For instance, penguins like cold weather, and they love to eat fish!

Our math center had two games for the children to play.  This one is a Penguin Mommy and Chicks math match, in which we used black and white unifix blocks as the chicks and Emperor penguin cutouts at the mommies.  We numbered the moms 1-10, and had the kids match the same number of chicks to the mom.

The other math game was a penguin roll and cover, which I found online, but now can't remember where!  So, to whoever created this cute game, thanks!  The kids rolled a die (numbered 0-5), and placed the same number of goldfish crackers on the penguins.  What do you think happened when they were finished with the game?  Yep - the kiddos got to munch their goldfish!

I also like to incorporate simple science experiments whenever I can, and I thought the sugar cube experiment would be perfect to complement our penguin study.  We stacked up the cubes in a pie plate, and pretended they were icebergs for the penguins.  Each small group of kiddos chose the color they wanted for the water in the pitcher, dropped in some food coloring, and poured the water in the pie plate.  Then the magic happened!  The children were amazed to watch the sugar cubes change color and begin to dissolve.  When I asked them what was happening, several said, "It's melting!" or "It's breaking!"  They are so smart!

We also talked about how the sugar cubes absorb the water, like sponges, and then the water dissolves the sugar.  These experiments are very hands-on for the children, and when they get to participate by doing, it makes the activity more meaningful and interesting for them!

 

Other activities today included:

• playdough and easel
• dry erase writing and drawing
• penguin play
• block room
• penguin action rhyme

Our closing story was:

And for those of you who are still trying to figure out who Chilly Willy is, take a look here for a throwback:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8W9B-ftx_E

 

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Penguins All Around!

Look who greeted me when I walked into class on Monday morning!

Oh yes, the Tigger Bandit strikes again!

I love coming in and seeing things like this first thing.  It just puts a happy, positive spin on the whole morning.  I definitely had a good chuckle, as "Cool Tigger" chatted on his cell!

 

When the kids came in, they wanted to see their gummy bear science experiments.  They were pleased to find that most of the gummy bears grew a little, and that the red ones ended up with a slight hint of red water.  They also observed that the gummies were covered in bubbles!  This was a simple experiment in which the kiddos learned to patiently "wait and see" to observe changes.

 

During Circle, we reviewed the letter Pp and introduced Qq.  We began our discussion on penguins, and the children excitedly told us all about their trips to the zoo to see them!

 

We read a very informative, kid-friendly book:

 

Our Centers included Penguin Play, where they got to imagine and create their own stories with {my favorite} Madagascar penguins.

 

The children also practiced coloring and cutting a penguin.  We're intent on developing those fine motor muscles!  Also at this center, they played a penguin matching game with real-life photos of different kinds of penguins.  Miss D used a yard stick to (get in some math and) show the kids how short or tall each kind of penguin can be.  Did you know that the tallest are the Emperor Penguins, which can grow to be 4 feet tall?!  Amazing!

 

For art, we started the first part of their cardboard roll penguin, which they will finish on Wednesday.  We also built cute sticker penguins.  They could use the bow as a tie or on the head.  They turned out cute either way!

 

For our movement game, we pretended to be daddy penguins, balancing an egg (bean bag) on our feet.  Not as easy as one may think!  We tried waddling, jumping and turning around in a circle.  We also got in some letter recognition, because the bean bag set we used has letters on one side.  I asked the children to pop their "egg" back into the basket by identifying the letter on the bean bag.  They did a great job!

 

See you on Wednesday for more Chilly Willy fun!

(I know the kids don't know who that is, but you do, right?!)



Polar Bears

Oh it was fun getting to school this morning, wasn't it, friends?!  My commute is normally 20 minutes, but this morning, because of the freshly falling snow, it took 3 times as long.  Eeks!

 

We started the day in the block room, because I knew if I was late because of the roads, others would be too.  (It's just part of our lovely midwest weather, right?)  The kids had a great time playing in the gingerbread sensory tub, which they collectively decided was "inside snow".  Love it!

 

We read the books:

 

We learned where polar bears live, the temperature they prefer, why their fur is white and what they like to eat.  Ask your kiddo to share some new polar bear facts with you!

 

At the science center, the children played with the polar bear play set, which included large blocks of ice, water, and later on, cottonball snow.

 

We also did a gummy bear science experiment, just like the one at Teach Preschool.  The kids poured some water into a clear cup, then dropped in one gummy bear.  We talked about what might happen to the gummy bears, and how they might change over the weekend.

 

 

They came up with some excellent ideas!  Their brains were really working hard today.  I love their responses!  We will check on the gummies first thing Monday morning, and make some observations about what happened to them.

 

Our other centers today included:

• Art/Writing - painting at the easel, stickers (which promotes fine motor development) and tracing their highlighted names 3 times
• Coloring - polar bear coloring page (also good for fine motor)
• Puzzles/Blocks - variety of wooden puzzles and blocks

We also reviewed the letter Pp, and we will wrap that up on Monday.  We will also begin the letter Qq, and start our unit on penguins (my favorite!).

 

Ask your kiddo what was best about our polar-ific day!

Happy Weekend!!

White Dot Snowkids



Looking for something simple to keep the kiddos busy while you're making dinner?

 

Make some snowkids out of white dot stickers!

 

This is super easy, inexpensive, and a great quiet time activity for kids.  We used Avery 1" mailing seals, like these:

 

I got them in the office supply section at Wal-Mart, but I have seen them at Dollar Tree too.

 

Let your kid stack them up on a sheet of construction paper and add details with crayons or markers.  This is the creation my daughter made:

Her snowgirl has boots!  You can't see the top, but she also put the dots in a line and wrote her name.  She wrote one letter on each dot.

 

This is my son's winter day creation:

He added some cool facial features, but then decided he wanted his snowpeople to be robots, so he colored them gray!  Creativity at work!

 

This activity is a great storytelling tool as well.  Let your kid draw and create 'til their little heart is content, then ask him/her to tell you all about it.  What are the snowkids doing?  Where are they?  What is the weather like there?  The possibilities are endless!

 

Happy crafting with your kiddos!

Hot Chocolate Cafe

Yesterday, we had so much fun in the Hot Chocolate Cafe!

 

One of my favorite quotes of the day was when a little girl came in and said with great wonder, pointing to our housekeeping table, "What IS all that?!" It doesn't take much time for them to notice things that are different!

 

We set up the housekeeping table with cups of hot chocolate (brown tissue + cotton balls), a tray of cupcakes, kettle, plates and spoons.

 

For our math activity, we played a hot cocoa and marshmallow counting game.  The children played in pairs, and each took turns rolling a large die.  They picked up the same number of marshmallows (cotton balls) that they rolled on the die, and added them to their cup.  When their cups were full, we dumped them out and counted the total number of marshmallows.  Lots of counting going on with this game!

 

We read the books:

 

 

Other classroom activities included:

• reviewing the letter Oo
• building playdough snowmen and snowballs
• making hot chocolate and marshmallows to take home to drink
• playing at the sand table
• painting and mixing with green, brown and white paint at the easel
• singing the Hot Cocoa song (a copy came home in the cubbies)

It was definitely a hot chocolatey kind of day!



Build-Your-Own Snowman Kit

As I was making the playdough for our class to build their own snowmen, it struck me that it would be fun to make a Build-Your-Own Snowman Kit!  When I thought of this, it was getting late, and my daughter's birthday was the next day.  But...being the kind of person that can't seem to stop until something is done and knowing that my girl adores anything crafty and creative, I forged ahead and decided that this kit would be one of her birthday presents!

Want to make one for your kiddo?  It's easy peasy!  Check it out...

 

I already had all of the "ingredients" at home or in the recycling bin.  (My husband teases me for saving boxes and other recyclables, but they come in handy for crafting!)  I packaged these little goodies in a sandwich-sized zipper bag.  Here is what I gathered: 

• Scarves: colorful strips of fabric that I thought my girl would like.  Don't you love the rainbow cheetah print?!  I snipped fringe at the end of each.
• Eyes: assorted sizes of googlies
• Nose: large orange pony bead and the orange tip of an Elmer's glue bottle
• Buttons: various sizes and colors
• Arms: popsicle sticks and bobby pins
• Hat: recycled top from a sports bottle
• Miscellaneous: small silver bells, heart hairpin and silver string, all for extra embellishments
 



Next I used my favorite playdough recipe (below) that I learned about when I first started teaching

pre-k.  I doubled the recipe, let it cool, and packaged it in a clear bag with a twist tie.  You could even add vanilla or peppermint to scent it or glitter to add a little sparkle!

 

Then I went back to the recycling bin and found the perfect container to package everything in.  (A large, clear, plastic container works best.)  I grabbed some complementary blue construction paper to cover the original pretzel label, then printed my own Build-Your-Own Snowman label to top it off.  Since it was a birthday gift, I also added a cute little bow as well.  :)

 

When she found her kit on the table the next morning, she was so excited!  After school, she made her first of many adorably sweet snowmen.  I love how she tipped the hat over to the side and used all 3 scarves!  This is definitely going to be one of her favorites for awhile.  :)

 

If you decide to make this cute, little treat for your sweet pea, be sure to leave a comment.  I'd love to see pictures of your little crafter's snowmen!  Have fun!!

 

 

Homemade Playdough Recipe

(This is for a single batch.  Double everything for an extra large, softball-sized ball of dough.)

 

1 C. water

1 C. flour

1/2 C. salt

1 T. cream of tartar

1 T. canola/vegetable oil

food coloring, glitter, etc (if desired)

 

Mix all ingredients together in a large pot over medium heat.  Stir constantly, making sure to scrape bottom and sides of pot as playdough begins to solidify.  Remove from heat once dough is no longer sticky and has formed a ball.  Let cool on counter.  While still warm, knead dough.  (This is the point where you would add food coloring, glitter, etc.)  Store in an air-tight container or zipper bag.





Snowballs Everywhere!

We had a fun, exciting class today! 

 

We started out by reading:

Each time someone was hit with a snowball in this book, it went in their coat and down their pants.  So in order to get the snowball out, they had to do the cold snowball dance!  Can you guess what we did in our class?  You got it - the cold snowball dance!  The children had loads of fun wiggling, jiggling and giggling to get their pretend snowballs out!

During Centers, the kids were able to build their own playdough snowman.  On each tray, we included a large ball of white playdough, a hat (bottlecap), googly eyes, a scarf, buttons, carrot nose (orange pipe cleaner) and sticks for arms (brown pipe cleaners).  Some kids made flattened out, melty snowmen, like the one below, and others made 3D ones.  They mashed them down so quickly after making the 3D snowmen that I didn't have a chance to take a picture!



 

Our art project was to make a snowman stick magnet.  Aren't these super cute?!  One of my own kids made one a few years ago, and I've seen them on the web on several blogs.  I love the faces, and the range of emotion that's shown, just by drawing different kinds of mouths - some are happy, sad, so/so, and one even looks surprised!  These will come home on Friday.  :)

 

 

Our end-of-day story was:

What do you feed a snowman?  Snowball soup, of course!

 

Our other activities of the day included:

• reviewed the letter Oo, signing and sounding it out, naming words that begin with Oo
• practiced writing the uppercase alphabet
• used fine motor muscles to dot a colorful snowball
• indoor SNOWBALL FIGHT!  This was a lot of fun!  We used wadded up paper, and the kids had fun throwing snowballs at each other.  They even bombarded me and Miss D!

Ask your kiddo what he/she liked best about today.  Maybe you can even get them to do the wiggly, jiggly COLD SNOWBALL DANCE! 

Exploring Snow

Thank goodness we explored snow last week, because after our unseasonably warm weather, it's almost all gone!  The kiddos had lots of fun playing with the snow inside.  We read:

 

 

In writing, the kids played Winter Roll 'n Write (from PreKinders).  This was something out of the ordinary and brand new for us, but I think we'll definitely do it again!  The kids had dice with a different lowercase letter on each side.  They rolled the dice and wrote the letter that was facing up. You can see on the grid below that there is space for 16 letters, but I only asked the children to fill 8 boxes. As they get more experience with this activity, we will increase the number of boxes to fill.

 

In science/math, we played a snowflake matching game (also from PreKinders).  We had two different boards, each with 9 snowflakes.  The kids had to look very carefully, because some snowflakes looked very similar to others.  This was a challenging game for them, but still fun!

 

And the very BEST part of the day was playing with real snow...inside!  We had two individual tubs set up with shovels, assorted bottle tops, tongs and cups.  The children came to the center, put on a pair of mismatched mittens (because that's how we roll in our class!), and happily played in the snow!  We saw lots of shoveling, scooping, pouring and building.  Yep, we had snow-covered tables, and had to all but mop the floor at the end, but it was worth it for the kiddos to have such a great experience.  I love the magic that such a simple activity can bring!