Exploring with play dough using wiggly eyes and decorative leaves.

Painting with cars.

Discovering colors and shapes.

Drawing and creating with leaves.

Being creative with a birdcage & Lego.

As the seasons turn from summer to fall, the children have been observing the changes in the weather and the trees. They were wondering about the different colors; so we went to the park to pick fallen leaves and brought them back to the classroom for closer observation.

Making a tree collage.

Observing and drawing a maple leaf.

Tracing part of a leaf puzzle.

We will be learning and discovering much more as time goes by. Stay tune for more of our classroom adventures!


(Karen, Michelle, Sandy, and Matt)

We began one of our circle discussions with a question for the children, “What would you like to learn, wonder or hear about?” Here is what they said:

• “Skateboarding, Soccer, Perches” (Connor)
• “Bikes” (Taylor)
• “Going outside to see if I left my toy” (Jun) 
• “The Sun” (Jack)
• “Rollerskating and Swimming” (Daniella)"Skating” (Noel)
• “Ball” (Sofie)
• “Scooter and Tricycle” (Masaki)
• “Shoes” (Ashlan)
• “When you put something under a pillow you can find it” (Tia)
• “Soccer” (Kyle)

From my list I noticed quite a few of the children were interested in wheels, so at our next circle discussion we looked closely at a scooter and a pair of roller skates – as well as the wheels on a long board. The conversation brought up more questions and answers, which the children confidently discussed amongst themselves. One of the questions was “What makes this a scooter?” The conversation followed with “The scooter has a handle and a brake” and “I know how to ride a long board.”

All of the children are pretending to balance on a long board (as Connor demonstrated earlier).

We end the morning with some outdoor time. Daniela and Ashlan are enjoying climbing on the bars  and looking at the fallen leaves.

To celebrate Thanksgiving, we made cranberry sauce to take home to our families. The children observed the cranberries, smelled the cinnamon sticks, squeezed juice out of oranges and cut apples into pieces. Then we put them all into a pot.




 


We then added sugar and water to our cooking pot and waited patiently for the ingredients to boil. The children noticed steam rising from the pot and concluded that the pot must be very hot. They checked in with the teacher every few minutes to see if it was still hot. When the cranberry sauce cooled down, the children were amazed how the ingredients had changed into yummy cranberry sauce.

Before and after photos of our cranberry sauce.

The children counted the cups to be filled with cranberry sauce and decorated doilies for a finishing touch. We hope they were enjoyed at home and that you had a happy Thanksgiving!

(Karen, Michelle, Sandy, and Matt)

pile them up

line them up

stack them or build houses

The ceramic tiles had a base that became a natural board for a game to be created on.

adding triangles

adding squares

DAY 1:

On the first day of class the children saw me up on the tree, nibbling a nut. They were all pointing and looking at me, which made me feel a bit like a movie star. I think they were excited to see a furry creature near their playing area. Julia pointed to the acorn on the ground and identified what it was. She said that those were my favorite, and she was right! The children gathered around Julia and looked for acorns. As they were searching, I quickly tried to run down the tree and escape the limelight - but they saw me! Chloe F. said that I was going home and that is why I got down from the tree. The children started to talk about where I live and what my house looked like.




DAY 2:

The children gathered some materials from outside so that they could make me a home. I saw them gather some sticks, leaves and grass. The children filled a tray full of materials for my new home. Chantel said that the grass could be my soft bed, while Claire said that the leaves could be my pillow. I can’t wait to see their different creations and to have a comfy place to sleep!





DAY 3:

The children made my home for art with the different materials they gathered, as well as some cotton and yarn.

Chantel made me a bed with lots of cotton so it is really soft!

Julia made me a glittery rug and a fuzzy couch.

Chloe F. made me a colorful couch... with lots of TVs!

DAY 4:

Inside the trays at the sensory table, there was some popcorn and oatmeal. Julia was mixing it and said that she made some nut cereal for me. I’m sure that food would be really yummy! At circle time, the teacher read a story called Those Darn Squirrels, by Adam Rubin. It is about my silly but kind-hearted friends. I think the children liked the story because all eyes were on the book while the teacher was reading. When it was outside time, the children tried to look for me. Sure enough they did find me! I was in one of the trees inside the golf course. Even though I was pretty far away, I was still happy to see them.









PS. I cannot wait to find out what other fun and interesting “squirrelly” things the children will do. Also, big thanks to my human friends, Patricia and Sandy, for helping me write this.

Until next time,

Mr. Brown Squirrel