Getting ready for tomorrow...

Group Meeting:  Today was our final regular class day.  I encouraged the children to play in all of the areas one last time including the art table.  I explained our schedule for tomorrow so that the children would know what to expect.

Story:  I know that many of you may be planning a summer vacation, so I read Twas the Night Before Summer Vacation.  In this story, a family is preparing to go on a camping trip.  They begin to pack the night before including all of the things that they think they will need.  The car is crammed full.  As the family pulls out of the driveway, a child asks, "are we there yet?"  

Small Group:  The children were measured for their "graduation" hats.  They will wear them tomorrow during the program.

Large Group:  The children practiced the program for tomorrow.  Then, we went to the Outdoor Classroom.

Snacks:  The morning class had Go-gurt and juice brought by Mason W.  The afternoon class had Cheddar Chickadees and juice brought by Mason D.  Thank you!

I am hoping that the rain holds off long enough for both parties tomorrow.  We noticed that it was quite buggy outside today.  I would suggest sunscreen and bug spray.  I'm looking forward to a fun day.

Summers coming...so are the ants.

Group Meeting:  The children discussed things that they saw on our field trip.  They seemed to enjoy climbing inside of the helicopter the best.  I want to thank all of the parents and grandparents who were able to take us on this trip.  It interesting for the children and adults.

Story:  The story I read today was The Ants Go Marching One by One.  This is a story version of the song by the same title.  It has lots of rhyming words and repeating phrases that the children enjoy.  This story also went along with our snack for today.

Small Group:  The children practiced the Last Day Program.  We learned a new song to sing and brushed up on a few of the old.

Large Group:  The children went to the Outdoor Classroom.

Snacks:  Today was Summer Birthday Day.  We celebrated the birthdays that will take place in June, July, and August.  The snack that the children prepared was Ants on a Log.  The children spread peanut butter or cheese onto a piece of celery and added raisins as ants.  When we were outside, we noticed quite a few ants (real ones) on our new play house.

I shared a "duck" story with the afternoon class today and one of the children asked me to put it on the blog so that her parents could read it, so here it goes...  I have a pen of five ducks that I have raised as pets.  Occasionally, we have had predators try to get into the duck pen.  Over the weekend, I noticed that something had scratched a small hole on one end of the pen.  I asked Mr. Christiansen to put out the trap to see if we could catch whatever was trying to get into the pen.  We have had to do this before and usually catch skunks.  However, on Wednesday morning, Mr. Christiansen found a raccoon in the trap.  The raccoon was not very happy.  After school on Wednesday, we took the raccoon for a long ride and left him near a farm creek where I'm hoping he will make a new home and not hitch hike back to our house.  We'll set the trap again tonight to see if he had any friends or relatives!

Preparing for our Field Trip

Group Meeting:  The children prepared for our trip to the National Guard tomorrow.  I told the children a few facts about what we would be seeing.  We also discussed good manners and how to ask questions.  I think we are ready!

Story:  To prepare for our trip, I went to the library and checked out three books.  One was The National Guard.  The other two were both titled Helicopters.  Both of these books had a lot of information to help us prepare for our trip tomorrow.  We read a few pages from each book.

Small Group:  In the morning, Lucie's dad came to visit.  He has an electronic keyboard that makes wonderful music as well as some really cool sounds.  He explained to the children that a keyboard is easy to carry around so that you can make music without having to move around a piano or organ.  This keyboard could also make the sounds of thunder, trains, footsteps, and a few others.  The children each had a turn to make some sounds.
In the afternoon, the children counted M&Ms.  Each child was given a fun size bag of M&Ms.  They had to sort them by color and determine how many they had of each.  We compared and found that no two bags of M&Ms are the same.

Large Group:  The children practiced their last day songs and then headed out to the Outdoor Classroom.  Mrs. Hoogheem and I put the playhouse together with some help from Mr. Hoogheem.  The children enjoyed playing in it, but also enjoyed playing in the empty cardboard boxes!

Snacks:  The morning class had cheese crackers and juice brought by Lucy.  Thank you!   In the afternoon, the scheduled snack person was absent.  Because I knew this ahead of time, I told the children that I would bring the snack and asked for suggestions.  Many of them suggested macaroni and cheese.  I laughed at first, but then thought that there aught to be a way to make that work.  I went to Hy-Vee and bought a pan of frozen macaroni and cheese, popped it in the oven and had it for snack!  These children can think and make me think outside of the box!

What is your favorite thing about preschool?

Group Meeting:  The children and I talked about many of the things that we have done at preschool this year.  I asked them to think of one thing that was their favorite.  During small group, they will draw a picture of their favorite thing.  We also started a countdown to the last day.  I drew 6 stars on the board.  We will erase one each day.

Story:  The story I selected for today was An Annoying ABC.   The children and I talked about what it means to be annoying.  I told them that the ABC's were in the book, but that they would have to find them. In the story, all of the children's names are printed in alphabetical order.  Adelaide annoyed Blair, Blair bothered Clive, Clive chased David, etc.  At the end of the story, all of the children apologized to their friends.  

Small Group:  I gave the children paper and crayons and asked them to draw a favorite thing about preschool.  Everyone drew a picture and printed the words to describe what they had drawn.  These pictures will be placed in the hallway for everyone to see.

Large Group:   The children will be performing a program for the grown-ups on the last day of school.  We practiced it today.  It is called "We Know Our Stuff".

Snacks:  The morning class had cheese sticks and juice brought by Logan.  The afternoon class had fruit bars and milk brought by Leah Z.  Thank you!

Piggies!

Group Meeting:  Today, we are celebrating the May birthdays.  We will be making the snack for the day.  A while back, we read the Three Little Pigs.  We reviewed it yesterday because we will be making Pigs in a Blanket today!

Story:  I read the story The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig.  This story if very similar to the Three Little Pigs, with a twist.  This time, it's the pig who is big and bad.  He chases the wolves out of three houses.  How can the wolves be safe from the pig?  What kind of house did they build?  What happened at the end?

Small Group:  The children made Pigs in a Blanket for snack time.  The pig was a hot dog.  The blanket was biscuit dough.  The children flattened the dough and wrapped it around the hot dog.  We put them in the oven. 

Large Group:  The morning class went to the Outdoor Classroom.  By the afternoon, it was raining.  We stayed inside and did a music action song.

Snacks:  We ate our Pigs in a Blanket and Birthday Brownies!

I was absent yesterday and did not post.  However, the afternoon class had a special visitor.  Lucy's dad came to share his musical talent with the class.  He plays the guitar in his band "Wild Oats".  He brought his guitar, drums and recording equipment with him.  The children had the opportunity to strum the guitar and play the drums.  They also sang and recorded songs.  I am attaching a video that was taken.  I hope it will work!

A Time to Say Thank You

Group Meeting:  The countdown has begun to the last day of school.  During group meeting today, I asked the children if we should send thank you notes to any grown-ups who helped us during the school year.  We made a list of places that we visited and people who came into the classroom to help.  The children will make a thank you card during small group time.

Story:  One of my favorite stories is Caps for Sale.   In this story, a peddler is selling caps.  He carries them through town balancing them on his head.  When he can't find anyone to buy a cap, he decides to go out into the country to rest.  He sits down under a tree and falls asleep.  When he wakes up, his caps are missing.  Where did they go?  How will he get them back?  Ask your child to tell you!

Small Group:  The children printed their name on a thank you card that we will send to grown-ups who were helpful to us throughout the year.  Some of the children wanted to draw little pictures as well.  

Large Group:  The children were divided into two teams to play a game.  Mrs. Hoogheem and I distributed little cubes all throughout the classroom.  When we said go, the children were to pick up the cubes and put them into their team's circle.  However, they could only pick up one cube to bring to the circle at a time.  When all the cubes were gathered, we counted to see how many were in each circle.  

Snacks:  The morning class had crackers and juice brought by Addisyn.  The afternoon group had Go-gurt and juice brought by Lucy.  Thank you!

Chicka, Chicka, BOOM, BOOM

Group Meeting:  Over the weekend, the green bean seeds really grew!  We took a few minutes at group meeting time to look at the stems and leaves that were growing.  Some of the seeds are still getting roots.  If that case,  I have told the children to try to hang them in a window a little longer before putting them outside.  We also took another look at the May calendar.  The days are winding down and we have several events coming up.

Story:  When the children sat down on the rug today, they noticed that the coconut tree that we had been putting our letters on had fallen down.  I asked them to think about why that had happened.  Then someone remembered the story Chicka, Chicka, Boom, Boom.  In this story, the letters climb to the top of the tree, but when all of the letters get to the top, the tree topples over.  We got the book out and read it again.  What will happen to our tree next?

Small Group:  After looking at our green bean seeds, we completed our Green Bean Book.  The children  are bring the books and their seeds home today.

Large Group:  The children played in the Outdoor Classroom.  We were able to add water and water painting today.  The new play house has arrived.  We are still looking over the directions.  We may need some help, stay tuned!  

Snacks:  The morning class had apples, peanut butter and milk provided by Addison.  However, Addison was ill today.  Get well soon!  The afternoon class had Cheese Nips, apples, and juice brought by Jameson.  Thank you!

Group Meeting:   The children have been enjoying the camping and fishing items that we have put to the play areas.  Today, we added flashlights and talked about using them when camping. During playtime, I saw a few children holding them under their chins to tell ghost stories.  They think of everything!

Story:  In the morning, I read The Selfish Crocodile.  Selfish was a new vocabulary word.  We talked about what it meant.  In this story, the crocodile would not let the other animals in the jungle drink or bathe in the river.  When they were thirsty, the animals had to walk a long way to another river.  One day, the crocodile had a terrible tooth ache.   The animals were afraid to help him because he was so mean, except for a little mouse.  The mouse scrambled up the crocodile's tummy and pulled the tooth out of his mouth.  Because the mouse was so kind, the crocodile was friendly to the other animals and allowed them to drink and bathe in the river.

In the afternoon, Evelyn brought a book with the title The Watermelon Seed.  Yesterday, we read One Watermelon Seed.  Evelyn's book was about a crocodile that accidentally ate a watermelon seed.  He became worried thinking that the seed would grow vines out of his ears and a watermelon in his tummy.  Then he burped.  Out came the watermelon and all was well, until he took another bite! The book was funny.  Thanks, Evelyn!

Small Group: I told the children that numbers could be odd or even.  Then, I showed them a way to figure out which numbers were odd and which were even.  I gave the children a two column grid.   We selected a number and counted out that many Cheerios.  We put the Cheerios into the grid.  If every Cheerio had a "buddy", that number was an even number.  If there was a left over Cheerio, that number was odd.  They caught on pretty quickly.

Large Group:  We went to the Outdoor Classroom.  In the afternoon, we were worried that it was going to rain, so they went out first thing and we did our routine backwards.  Very interesting!

Snacks:  The morning class had blueberry muffins and juice brought by Dawson.  The afternoon class had Cheez-its and juice brought by Noah.  Thank you!

What are our seeds doing?

Group Meeting:  Last week, we planted bean seeds in a plastic bag with a wet paper towel.  The bags are taped on the windows to receive the most light. In a weeks time, they have begun to grow.  The children and I took a few minutes today to look at the seeds.  They are beginning to grow roots.

Story:  I read the book One Watermelon Seed.  In this counting book (first by ones and then by tens), children plant one watermelon seed, two pumpkin seeds, three eggplant seeds, etc.  They water and weed the garden.  When the fruit and vegetables are ripe they pick ten watermelons, twenty pumpkins, thirty eggplants. etc.    At the end, they have picked one hundred ears of corn which pops into thousands of pieces of popcorn.

Small Group:  After we looked at our seeds, each child started a book to document what has happened.  The children drew the plastic bag with the seeds and the seeds growing roots.  We will add pictures to this book as the seeds continue to grow.

Large Group:  Our plan for the morning was to go to the Outdoor Classroom.  However, just as we stepped out of the door, it began to rain.  So the children voted to play Musical Chairs instead.  In the afternoon, it rained during snack time.  We thought that we might have to stay in as well, but it stopped just in time.

Snacks:  The morning class had vanilla wafers and strawberry milk brought by Grace.  The afternoon class had cheese popcorn and juice brought by Wyatt.  Thank you!

What is a conductor?

Group Meeting:  Our camping and fishing continued today.  During group meeting, we went over our rules a little bit.  Sometimes new things can get so exciting that we forget them, but they are having a great time.  Thanks to the parents who sent sleeping bags.  They are being well used, but no sleeping!

Story:  We revisited the story Never Play Music Right Next to the Zoo.  This time, we looked for the conductor in the story.  Then, we talked about what the conductor's role is in the band or orchestra.  The children listened to the music from the book to hear when it got faster/slower and louder/softer.  

Small Group:  I rolled a dice to determine a number and  asked the children to build a cube tower with that number of cubes.  Then I asked them to add some or take some away.  Then we determined how many we had remaining.   This is something that you can do at home with items that you have available.  

Large Group:  After hearing the story, we got out our kazoos to see if we could follow a conductor.  I played the role of conductor and had the children follow my lead.  We played loudly and softly, quickly and slowly.

Snacks:  The morning class had apples, strawberries, and juice brought by Riley.  The afternoon class had Rice Krispie treats and milk brought by Leigha.  Thank you!

Camping and Fishing

Group Meeting:  Last week, the children helped me create a list of camping items that we could add to the Housekeeping area.  Today, Mrs. Hoogheem brought a HUGE tent, and we were able to add a picnic basket with dishes, toy roasting sticks, toy marshmallows and hot dogs, and a lantern.    The children would like to have sleeping bags.  This is something that I do not have.  If anyone would like to share a few child sized sleeping bags, we would appreciate it.

Story:  Today's story was  Whistle for Willie.  Peter would like to learn how to whistle so that he could call his dog, Willie.  He tries, but is unsuccessful.  After playing for a while, Peter sees Willie coming down the sidewalk.  He hides in a cardboard box and tries to whistle.  This time, it works.  Willie hears Peter whistle, but cannot find him.  Peter jumps out of the box.  Willie follows Peter as he runs an errand for his mother and whistles the whole way.

Small Group:  The children used a fishing pole with a clothes pin on the end to fish for numerals.  They took turns fishing and hiding behind a divider to put the fish on the line.  Even after group time was over, they continued to play this game.

Large Group:  We went to the Outdoor Classroom.  We took the art supplies for the easels, two new bouncing balls, and the ramps.  

Snacks:  The morning class had Go-gurts and juice brought by Aidan.  The afternoon class had crackers, strawberries, and juice brought by Kadence.  Thank you!

Let's go camping?!

Group Meeting:  The children have been playing with pets and veterinarian items in the Housekeeping Area for quite a while.  While they still enjoy it, we thought that we might try to suggest something new.  I asked the children if any of them liked to go on picnics or go camping during the summer.  There was a lot of interest in this!  The children and I made a list of items that we would need to pretend that we were going on a picnic or camping trip.  I will put these items in the Housekeeping Area on Monday.

Story:  Today, I read A Song for My Sister.    Mira makes a wish.  She wishes that she had a baby sister.  Four years later, her wish comes true.  However, the baby sister likes to cry, a lot!  Mira and her parents are preparing for the naming ceremony which will take place eight days after the baby is born.   Mira thinks "siren" and "thunder" would be good names.  During the naming ceremony, Mira's gift to her baby sister is a song.  While she sings, the baby calms down and coos at her.  Mira's parents decide to name the baby Shira which means song or melody.

Small Group:  The children participated in an tallying activity.  I had a number of questions for them to answer by making a mark under a programmed answer card.  After everyone had marked their answer, we counted the answers.

Large Group:  The children took turns on the tumbling mat and played with the balls.  Hopefully, we will return to the Outdoor Classroom next week.

Snacks:  The morning class had Go-gurt and juice brought by Payton.  The afternoon class had Goldfish grahams and juice brought by Lily.  Thank you!