Just some random snapshots of our day. It is busy and sometimes loud, but so much fun! We learn through work and play and are growing so much. The children move independently through centers and work tables. Some of us read at the book center or play with blocks and Lego's. It is hard to believe that it is the middle of January, it truly feels like yesterday was our first day of school. My how times flies when you are having fun!
Since Monday was a holiday for us, we spent some time on Tuesday learning about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. This is one of those topics that is really difficult for little people to learn because they cannot comprehend what "prejudice" means. They have no idea what it means to not like someone because of what they look like because we all know that God made us the same in our hearts. So we talked about all of the things that God made and how they are all special and good. We talked about the colors of the rainbow and why God made so many different colors if only one was His favorite, so for fun we did a "rainbow" art project. They are displayed as you come up the stairs to our classroom. I did not give any specific instructions for this project except to say that needed to use each color. I think they turned out just perfect. God loves us all, no matter what color our hair is, how tall we are, or what our favorite food is...He just accepts us right where we are!
Meet our snow friends. We have been having fun this week making these special sock snowmen. The children helped fill the socks with rice and did the decorating, They are so excited to have a permanent snow friend to keep at home. (Rice doesn't melt like real snow...so these snowmen will last as long as they don't get a hole.) It is amazing how much personality these snow friends actually have when they are done. I love the expression on their faces and can only imagine what they would do if they were real. Imagination is a wonderful thing and your children are going to love bringing these little friends home this week. (PS - We did talk about being careful with our friends because one little hole could make big mess. So we did talk about safe ways to play with our snow friends.)
Our letter of the week is "x." It is one of those letters that doesn't really have to much to offer with snacks, books or art projects; so we had some fun the concept of the "x-ray." Now since getting an x-ray can be scary, we had a good time putting together an x-ray puzzle. The children enjoyed this child sized skeleton puzzle and it inspired some very thoughtful conversation during our circle time. They were amazed by the way the bones all work together. This was the first time most of them had seen an entire skeleton and they had fun laying beside it and looking at where the bones would be in their own body. We also talked about ways to keep our body healthy and how to make our bones strong. What a great way to start 2012...being healthy!
This is winter, right? We have been learning about this since we returned from the holidays, but it hasn't really felt very cold. Usually during this time of year we get a small "snow blessing" to help us really identify with this season, but so far we have had no luck. Well to help us get in the spirit, we had a delicious snack reminiscent of my childhood...snow cream. Yes you can buy this in the store next to the ice cream. It is simply called "snow cream" and the children loved it. Now in the "olden days" of my childhood my nanny would make this frozen treat for me when God blessed Lexington with a snow shower. She carefully gathered the snow, mixed it with milk, sugar and vanilla flavoring and then tenderly stirred this together to make a creamy snow ice cream. (When making snow cream, you have to be careful when mixing it together. If you stir too much you can make the snow melt and then just have sweet vanilla milk.) So this was a happy snack for the week and I am glad the children loved it so much. If you have never tried this, I am quite sure your little one would not be disappointed to have some of this sweet treat to enjoy at home. Maybe when you get to the "do a funny snow dance" homework assignment, you could use this as a celebration. Anyway, happy winter and thanks for letting me share my childhood memories with you.
If you are participating in our homework program, don't get worried if you miss a day or two. You can make them up and do them at your convenience. Just make sure that your child colors each day that an assignment is completed. At the end of the month, have your child bring their completed calendar in to our classroom and exchange it for a treat from our prize bucket. (Please make sure that they write their name on their calendar, because some of us are so excited when they bring them in and they can't remember which one belongs to them.) This little program is designed to encourage excitement about learning and build self confidence. My children always loved these little homework calendars because the daily assignment was easy and fun. I hope that you are enjoying this at home. (and who knows, you might learn something too.)
Just a little update from chapel. Pastor Jay is doing an awesome job with us. He has been teaching us some great songs along with lessons from the Bible. Before we left for Christmas vacation he taught us all about the Christmas story and the birth of Baby Jesus. On Wednesday, we started learning about the "fruits of the spirit" and he helped us understand "love" just a little bit better. His message to the children was about how easy it is to love fun things, but God expects us to love things that are also "not so fun." We need to love others even when they might hurt our feelings or make us sad. So if your little one shares this with you, it is a lesson from chapel. Oh... and we started learning a super fun song to help us remember this story. Thanks Pastor Jay for helping us learn God's word.
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