Monday January 11, 2015

We decided to stay indoors today for our large motor play time...we practiced catching and throwing, problem solving, sharing, taking turns, running, jumping, whew...we were worn out and sweaty after that! :)

The rice in the sensory table was a popular station during free choice today.  This activity is a way for boys and girls to sharpen their cognitive skills.  For instance science skills: (what happens when I pour the rice into this container?), gravity (rice slides down the funnel, not up) math skills (which container holds more rice?) Without even realizing it kids grow into amateur scientists by making predictions and observations, and even develop analysis skills!

We got some new (to us) wooden planks to use in our classroom that will help us to build larger structures!! This is so exciting!  They are still in the exploring stages with these planks.

Lots of pretend play is always going on.

I interviewed the boys and girls today for their portfolios.  I asked the kids if they had anything that they thought they would do in the new year of 2016, what they predicted the weather to be like in January, and what they like to do in the winter time.  They also wrote their name on paper as well...they are becoming old pros at that. :)

I read on of my all time favorite stories to the boys and girls today, "The Snowy Day" by Ezra Jack Keats.   After we read the story the boys and girls made a piece of artwork using different shapes and then they had to tear the paper to make snow.  We noticed that Mr. Keats put snow on top of the buildings and other objects in the story.  We also put snow on the ground as well.

A mom taking pictures of her baby.

Painting can be so much fun!

More snowy day projects! Come check them out in the hallway!

Teamwork!

Building those fine motor skills!

Our meteorologist always does a fine job.  

It was our coldest day yet!!!

Our story from the Bible is the story when Mary and Joseph couldn't find Jesus, they searched for him for 3 days!! Finally finding him in the temple, teaching the priests from the scriptures.  

We played a little musical chairs today.  It's a good lesson to learn to be a good sport when you don't have a chair.  We didn't get rid of one chair yet.  We are practicing just going around and listening for the music to stop and finding a chair to sit in!

Then we did a little free dancing as well to get our bodies moving since we didn't all have boots to wear outside and it wasn't our gym day. 

We had some puppet friends visit our class today and they talked about how sometimes we feel differently about the same thing.  These two puppets were both going to visit the dentist and one was excited while the other was scared.  Sometimes that happens, we don't all feel the same way about everything.  This got the boys and girls thinking...one of our friends said that just like in her family she doesn't like chicken cordon bleu and everyone else does! :)