Five Senses

This morning we did a station rotation around the five senses! Here's what they were- ask your kids about them!

Hearing- we listened to different recorded sounds and guess what they were- their favorite was a toilet flushing :)
Feeling- children tried to guess what objects were in tube socks
Seeing- telling a partner when to drop a bear into the cup- easier with one eye than two!
Smelling- guessing what is in the brown paper bag by the smell- garlic, coffee, lemon, banana, etc
Tasting- jello- blindfolded - is it strawberry or orange?

This Week

We have taken a break from our usual routine of Fundations, Writer's Workshop, Work Board, and Math Workplaces. We are busy doing other projects and activities with a little extra (much needed!) choice time. Children have been working hard making and illustrating make believe stories, and making up their own problem solvers with sharks, whales, and seals. The finished work is really amazing and I can't wait to share it with all of you!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Kids on the Block- Friends to Friends

Today we saw a puppet show about how to be a good friend, in particular to students with Autism. The show was terrific and they did an amazing job helping children to understand that all children have differences, and what some of the differences are. They talked a lot about "stims", or things people to do to help them focus, etc. They explained that "stims" help us to do something, and all of us have certain things we do when we are bored, tired, nervous, etc. Some of the examples were pulling/chewing on a shirt sleeve, sucking your thumb, tapping your fingers or feet, twiddling hair, etc. They also talked about how some people have stims that are less common like making loud noises, flapping arms, etc but that they do the same thing- help them feel calm, etc.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Don't we all just love a comfy, cozy spot to read?

Make a Smilebox slideshow

100th day!

We celebrated the 100th day of school today! Can you believe your son or daughter is more than halfway through kindergarten?!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Dramatic Play

Choice time has become very focused lately on dramatic play, and acting out all kinds of situations. You can really see how the kids are not really playing along-side each other but playing together, which much more complicated story lines! They have found it to be so fun to make believe many situations, but are just beginning to learn how to figure out who is in charge, what to do if someone doesn't want to do what you want to do, etc. Good life lessons! The latest has been pretending they are riding a bus somewhere... This afternoon they were on the rug pretending to be skating and skating...it was too cute!

Performance- The Amani Group

Today we went to the gym for a school wide performance. The Flynn Theatre presented a The Amani Group from New York who played instruments (oboe, clarinet, flute, bassoon, and french horn). They played a song where the kids were supposed to imagine acrobats at a circus, then explained each of the instruments and how they make noise (through vibrations). Then they performed "Peter and the Wolf" which we had listened to on tape on Wednesday.

2/4/10

Yesterday we started the uppercase letters during fundations. We will go through the alphabet in order, but much quicker than we did the lowercase letters. Kids will have a chance to make the letter in its uppercase form, and then be reminded of and practice the lowercase form as well.

We have a UVM sophomore named Courtney who will be joining us on Thursday mornings from 8-11. Today was her first day, and it was great!

I am seeing some great creativity during our choice times, especially at the end of the day. Kids are loving playing pretend and they are FINALLY crossing over from girls coloring and boys playing blocks! They are acting things out together such as playing house, baby, or riding the bus :)