boy howdy.  in order to have both morning and afternoon sessions, we limited our class time to two and a half hours instead of three and we’ll meet more often during the school year.  but i forgot to change my lesson plans/daily routine.

so this is why we’re tired:

we had to find our picture on our cubby and sometimes we look different than we thought.

we’ve been catching up on facts circa 1956.

we’ve been making lists, writing, scribbling-reminding our hands what to do.

we’ve smooshed all seven colors of playdough together.

we’ve been treated to the gift of food.

we’ve written verses to a silly, silly song.

we also learned that if you add an “s” to a word (usually) it means more than one.  so one friend thought we needed aiken drums, not just aiken drum.  clever.

we smelled bamboo and learned the workings of an electric knife.  it was still fun even though the blades were missing.

(thank you, jane and fiona’s mama)

we chose a favorite color and painted.

we found out that certain letters are called “vowels” and they can make the “apples and bananas” song really fun.

we got our own water-no ice!- in our real glass cups.

good thing our new circle time rug arrived mid week so we had a soft place to rest!

i am so grateful,
deeply grateful,
for all the support of our families.

we had a table overflowing with donated supplies.
we have lots of families signed up to bring snacks and play doh.

i’ll end up putting these on the sidebar for reference,
but for now…here are our snack and play doh schedules.

{ i didn’t specify AM or PM on tuesdays and thursdays
because i figured you’d know when you were coming : ) }

{families: if this looks different than information i sent you, let me know}

i noticed a “CAUTION CHILDREN AT PLAY” sign the other day. i thought it would be fun to have one at preschool. but then i thought about explaining the word “caution.” i get what the sign is intended for. it’s a downright good idea. it is important for people to be careful where children are playing. of course.

but i also thought about a big chunk of our society’s view of play:
as unnecessary,
as not real work,
as not real learning,
as a sign of neglect,
as something to be wary of.

none of these are new thoughts. none of these are unique to me. in fact, the conversation can get kind of boring. yet as i prepare to start a year with a stated goal of “better preparing children for kindergarten,” i don’t want to forget the necessity of play. it is cause to celebrate!

so, i made my own sign.

:: :: :: ::

UPDATED:  go ahead and print a copy if you like…celebrate play!

well, the classroom is ready.
as it should be.
i’ll welcome the first 14 of 45 kiddos on friday.

there is fresh chalkboard paint almost everywhere you look.  so fun.
(that is a post in and of itself…to come)

i made a new cozy corner.
{and when we had open house noticed that i better pad that pole.}

 

i finally cleaned out our drying rack
so we can use it as a drying rack (instead of storage).

and, glory be, finally turned our books into a rainbow.

the mailboxes have arrows reminding families to look under the names.

our science display case is now a chunk of nature drawers.  
inspired by the local museum.

we have a new preschool tshirt design in honor of our clean up song
(thanks to mr rob AKA new music friday man).

and i think it fits:  
with 45 preschoolers,
new teacher helpers (3 of them new)…
we will be
hard,
hard
workers
everyday!

 

this is a fantastic group of people.
people who respond to a request for help.
i got many, many emails of ideas and offers,
well wishes and few silly notions.
in then end, it only took a few grown ups,
a bunch of kids and the right tools
to get the shed up the hill.

(and i know my husband was grateful not to be coordinating this effort. again.)

there is no doubt in my mind that children learned by watching today.
you could almost see them memorizing where the strap went,
what button was pushed, how the jack went up, why the trailer was moved.
they noticed how people held tools and jumped off the truck bed.
they watched their faces as the dads called instructions back and forth.
it was cool.

{i may have screamed a little at this point}

and now the shed is at the top of the hill,
inside our fence, next to the circle sidewalk,
ready for easy access to the bikes and big blocks,
hula hoops, plastic bones and shovels.

and now we have 3 walls (!!!) to use.
outdoor easle? more gutters? a basketball goal?

oh, thank you, families!