March in Kanga's Kids

March was the month for birthdays; we had five children turning five and anticipating a birthday treat and milk!

Dr. Seuss also had a birthday this month. We experienced sequence, change and casuality through making green eggs and ham as inspired by the Dr. Seuss book, Green Eggs and Ham. The children were heard exclaiming, "they are turning yellow!" "Now they are green!" Are you wondering what we did with our green eggs and ham? We ate them, of course, well... we tried them at least. Then we created a chart to indicate whether we liked, disliked, or refused to try the green eggs and ham!

On our "wearing o' the green day", we had a great green celebration. The students took turns hunting for green coins around the classroom and then counting our findings! We found the lucky amount, 18! Looking for lucky shamrocks the students gave each other clues and experience identifying position and direction saying, "look up." "Look under." "Find them underneath."

We will end the month of March with a day full of camping experiences. We will be putting up tents, cooking hot dogs and eating s'mores! We plan to tell stories around a "campfire" thus enhancing language and communication by having fun with language and relating to adults and other children.

Fox in Socks Day

On Dr. Seuss' birthday, March 2nd, we had a "Fox in Socks Day". The children were able to explore a variety of activities throughout the day to expand their appreciation for the book, Fox in Socks.

On this day, we took off our shoes and paraded around the classroom wearing only our socks! We took turns wearing and having our picture taken in a tall striped hat, similar to the one worn by "The Cat in the Hat" and holding our Fox in Socks stuffed animal, while we listened to the story.

At group time, we painted with socks and used blocks to build tall towers inspired by those mentioned in the book. We explored the mysterious blue goo (a combination of equal parts glue and shaving cream, then colored with blue paint) in which Fox and Mr. Knox discover a Goo-Goose. We also manipulated boxes, like the one that Slow Joe Crow sews Mr. Knox into; climbing inside them, pushing them, and stacking them.

We had an extremely educational and exciting day role playing Fox in Socks.

Think Spring!

Pooh Corner has been expanding with new faces over the past few months. It is truly amazing to watch our new babies adapt to their new environment and all of our babies grow and develop.
We have been working diligently on the Key Developmental Indicator of Communication and Language with our infants. We have been reading to them and holding meaningful conversation with them throughout all parts of the day. Though they do not use words to return communication with us, they sure do love to babble back!
Recently Pooh Corner was given sand for the babies to explore. Lola and Sophie really enjoyed discovering the sand and its unique texture. Now we are extremely excited for spring, when we can experience the playground and its giant sandbox!

March is Reading Month!

Do you remember the excitement of turning the bright and colorful pages of your favorite book? Or reciting from memory every word on the page even before you were able to read? That excitement is what reading is all about and it is the feeling that we hope to instill within the hearts of our preschoolers this month. With reading month upon us, do not forget to fill out shamrocks with the titles of the books that you and your child are reading at home. We hope to see our “Reading Rainbow” overflowing with shamrocks soon!
To help you out this month, we decided to compile a list of tips and tricks for reading to your children in order to help promote their language and literacy development. First, try to read to your child on a daily basis. If you have a lack of confidence about your own reading ability, have no worries. Children are more than satisfied to hear a story that matches the pictures; their concern is not about whether or not the words have been read correctly. When you read do not be afraid to use expression and emotion to portray the words or situation within the story; changing your voice when a character is speaking adds interest as well. Pause during the story to ask questions that will get your child thinking more critically about the story. Prompts and questions that are helpful to ask include: “I wonder what will happen next”, “How do you think (a specific character) is feeling?” “I wonder why that character made that choice.”
If the story you are reading is familiar or repetitive you can stop at words or phrases and allow your child to fill in the missing pieces. While reading, make note of the letters on the page, words that rhyme or begin with the same sound, or words that may be unfamiliar to your child. It is also helpful to follow the words across the page to encourage your child to notice the top to bottom, left to right pattern in the way we read. Most importantly, have fun when you read to your child. When they see you having fun while reading they will learn that books are fun and strive to be better readers themselves!

Here is a list of books that we love to read in our class:
-Anything written by Dr. Seuss
-Chicka Chicka Boom Boom
-The Very Hungry Caterpillar
-Click Clack Moo: Cows That Type
-Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus”
-The Cow That Laid an Egg
-Victor Vito and Freddie Vasco
-Dr. Ted
-The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, and The Big Hungry Bear
-Never Ever Shout at a Zoo
-Go Away Big Green Monster
-Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?
*Add a comment below and let us know what you are reading at home!

"Children are made readers on the laps of their parents."

~ Emilie Buchwald ~