Caroling and Festivities

This month’s Family Activity is Christmas Caroling at a local Nursing Home. So, the children in the 3 year old Preschool Classroom, Magic Kingdom, did several activities to prepare for it.

First, the class made Christmas cards to give to the residents. They had fun drawing pictures of what is important to them this time of the year. They also decorated the cards with cute holiday stickers.

The class practiced singing Christmas songs all week so that they knew the songs that will be sung during the caroling. Their favorite song to sing was Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. The next favorite song to sing was Jingle Bells. The class decided that in order to perform the song the best that they could, they really needed to have their own jingle bell instruments.

So, during one of the large group times, each child made their own jingle bell bracelet out of pipe cleaners and jingle bells. When the bracelets were all done, the class went over to the music area so that they could sing their songs with their newly made instruments!

We Are A Thankful Bunch

This month we got to make handprint turkeys using various colors of stamp pads. The children got to choose what color they wanted each fingerprint to be and had fun exploring patterns in their fingerprints with a magnifying glass. Our friends really enjoyed this activity and it made for an adorable art project!

We also enjoyed reading Winnie the Pooh's Thanksgiving. After reading the story, we pretended to have our very own Thanksgiving Feast in the House Area. We cooked up quite a meal and had to take a long nap because our bellies were so full of delicious food! Sesame Street also drew pictures of what we are thankful for, Ms. Melissa shared what she was thankful for and showed the children pictures of her family and friends!

Here's a thoughtful quote of Thanksgiving! Enjoy!

"For each morning with its light
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food, for love and friends,
For everything they goodness sends."
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

All About Me

This is a time of transition for the children and teachers in Elmo's
Explorers. The children are getting used to their new room and materials.
To help us get to know each other better we are focusing on the theme,
"All About Me!" We have talked about how each of us is special and
unique--

a one of a kind masterpiece!

This week the children examined their finger prints by using the stamp pads
and paper. We also talked about our families; the children drew
pictures of their families, which are now hanging up in our classroom!

One special highlight this week, which ties in nicely with our discussion
of families, was having Quinn's dad, who is a policeman, come in and show
us his uniform and police car. The children had fun taking turns sitting
behind the wheel of the police car with their sticker badges on. This was
a great experience for the children, and I think Quinn's dad had just as
much fun as the children did.

A Sensational Sensory Day

A Sensational Sensory Day –

Getting Down and Dirty!

This week, the children in Magic Kingdom at Laurence Avenue enjoyed a day packed full of sensory activities. We started off the day by making sensory items that they could take to use at home. We made sensory water bottles with glitter and rice in them. The children were amazed to watch the water changing colors as they added different food coloring. We also made sensory gloves. To make the gloves, we took 1 plastic glove and filled it with either rice or flour. For an extra sparkle to the gloves, some of the children added glitter to their rice or flour.

With our take home projects done, we then moved on to the dirty work! The children had applesauce, yogurt, pudding, jello, chocolate syrup, and spaghetti that they used to spell their names, draw, and/or put their hands in. Some of the children wondered what would happen if they mixed the spaghetti with the chocolate syrup. They quickly realized that they had created a new type of spaghetti….. Chocolate Spaghetti!

The sensory table was filled with dirt, vehicles, and various containers. The children enjoyed driving the vehicles around in the dirt. They used the containers to build hills for their vehicles to drive over.

Our final area was a table with shaving cream. The children enjoyed drawing and writing in the cream. They also enjoyed pretending that the shaving cream was lotion and that they were relaxing at the beach. It was messy, but we all had a great time learning with our senses!

Shaving Cream Exploration

Activating children's senses is an effective way to stimulate their mind. This week, the children of Sesame Street engaged in a shaving cream and paint exploration which encouraged the use of three of their five senses. Sight: They were able to observe the paint swirling, twirling, and mixing with the shaving cream; creating a variety of color shades. Smell: Shaving cream has a distinctive smell and the children absolutely enjoyed it. Touch: The children were able to use their hands to explore the smooth, fluffy shaving cream. The children enjoyed making these shaving cream creations, and, little did they know... they were learning the entire time! They were exploring self-help skills and exploring building and art materials! Who knew learning could be so interesting?

Taste and Texture Day!

TASTE AND TEXTURE DAY!

In the end of August, the infants of Pooh Corner were able to experience a "Taste and Texture Day". Ms. Amber and Ms. Mel provided the infants with yummy, slimy foods to touch, taste, smell, and of course, throw. The teachers provided cooked spaghetti pasta, chocolate pudding, jell-o, whipped cream, and water. Along with the foods, a variety of utensils such as spoons, cups, and small bowls were given to the infants to encourage their exploration. A few of the infants were hesitant to touch the materials and some couldn't get their hands on the materials fast enough, and dug right in! They were smearing the pudding and whipped cream around, waving the noodles in front of their faces, and not to our surprise, eating it right up! Yes, it was messy. However, it was so much fun to watch the children explore the different tastes and textures that the mess was entirely worth it. "Taste and Texture Day" was a fun and exciting way to wind down from a fun and exciting summer. We cannot wait to do it again... good thing we will have to wind down Fall soon!

New Year, New Friends, More Fun!

Preparation is under-way... a new school year is among us, just around the corner and we can hardly contain our excitement!

Over the next few weeks please plan to have a Transition Meeting with your child's teacher. The purpose of this meeting is to provide helpful information about your child's classroom, establish goals for your child, and answer any questions or concerns you may have.

This year we are using our grandparents to help us kick off the school year! Our annual Grandparent's Day Gala will be held on Friday, Sept. 9 from 10-11 AM. We will share cookies and special activities with our great, wonderful, maginificent grandparents! Please encourage your child's grandparents to attend!

Since grandparents are not the only important members of your family, we are holding a Family Night on Thursday, September 15 from 4-5:30 PM. There will be hands-on activities prepared to allow you to see how your child interacts within the group and how learning takes place in a HighScope Preschool environment. The teachers will be available to answer questions or concerns you may have.

We look forward to spending a wonderful school year with you and your family!