A very loud banging, a nest for a dog, Dotty the Dot D and containment: WEDNESDAY D WEEK

Welcome to D Week where we learn that dots do a lot! We’ll sit on dots and next to dots, we’ll do fine motor sticker dot work, we’ll make noise with dot painting all while exploring the opportunities for Containment: getting small and cozy, using blankets, getting held, safely hiding. You can read more about this Coping Skill below as well as some ideas to try at home. We are playing hard and learning more every day about each other, ourselves and the world!

We did more dot work today including our cardboard Dotty the Dot D. Dotty the Dot D will get her eyeballs and name tag on Thursday. (We’ll make one each week…they feel very 1970s Sesame Street to 51 year old me).

Yesterday Bobby the Bubble B lost an eyeball and today Claudia the Cloud C did too but both times they were repaired!

Our Story Time book this week is Dad’s First Day. This sweet (and a little silly) book is from our local library and I will return it after this week. We also read about a creature who likes to curl up small like a ball and had our dog puppets act it out during Circle Time.

We also welcomed October with new orange things: all the Tiny Things are orange, there are orange pumpkins in the Cloud Dough, the play dough is orange and the books have a lot of orange pumpkins and leaves.

We are continuing to keeping track of who wants a turn to swing, who needs a turn to swing, who wants ANOTHER turn and who has had a turn to swing using picture rosters. Our orange pumpkin swing will be up for the next weeks, so more turns will be had!

Here are 3 questions to learn more about Wednesday:

What was making that very loud banging noise?

Was it someone knocking on the door? No… Was it a bunch of toys falling down? No…. Was it the dot painters in our journals? YES!

What did you do with your grape stems or date pits?

Did we put them in the garbage? No…. Did we put them in the recycle can? No… Did we put them in the wash tub? No… Did we put them in the compost bucket? YES!

Our new tiny tub table (with pom poms this week) came with a lid that I drew on to turn into a Snack Clean Up Station. It’s working great!

In the morning we had donut holes, dot shaped cheese balls and dot shaped grapes from Millie. Thank you, Millie!

In the afternoon Rex brought us donuts, donut shaped apples (from a spiral cranky thing that Rex got to turn) and dates. Thank you Rex!

Does our poem have a nest for an elephant?

No…. Is it a nest for a whale? No….is it a nest for a dog? No….Is it a nest for a bird? YES!

Our cozy poem for the week turned silly. I will often mix up words as a way to get the focus of the group and it was a hit. They may be able to do it the joke way for you (and then the way it is written!)

Coping Skill of the Week: Containment

This week we are exploring “Containment.” We already have practice with sitting or laying on our dot spots at Circle Time, making our bodies small to hide in our cubbies and curling up in blankets. This week we will be naming these behaviors and noticing how and when our bodies want it. When children come and lean in to a caregiver’s body, it may be meeting this need. When they request a blanket to make a fort or a cozy den, it may be meeting this need. Read on for some ideas to use at home as well as understanding how your child uses this Coping Skill at preschool.

This week’s Coping Skill questions you can ask your child:

What blanket do you like to use at preschool? Children have access to a wide variety of blankets at preschool: knitted and crocheted afghans, cotton quilts, synthetic fuzzy blankets and thin sheets. We have hooks and clips for making forts and also allow children to have a blanket whenever they want one (at snack time, Circle Time, while playing, outside, etc).

Do you ever like a teacher to hold you or do you like to sit by a teacher? We will absolutely hold children when they request it. As you can see in many photos, the teacher’s hands will be by their sides so that the child has 100% autonomy in ending the interaction. We will also honor a child’s request to sit by a teacher (when there isn’t room because both sides are occupied, we might invite a child to go to another teacher, make a plan for next time or to squeeze them in behind…I call this the Mama Hen pose lol).

Is there a cozy spot at home? You can offer a corner in a room, a place under a table or even a box. When given a designated space to “hide” or contain themselves, you may notice your child gravitating there. This could very well be them intuitively knowing they need containment to regulate their nervous system.

Things turning orange, peeling dots, sitting by a color and containment: TUESDAY D WEEK

Welcome to D Week where we learn that dots do a lot! We’ll sit on dots and next to dots, we’ll do fine motor sticker dot work, we’ll make noise with dot painting all while exploring the opportunities for Containment: getting small and cozy, using blankets, getting held, safely hiding. You can read more about this Coping Skill below as well as some ideas to try at home.

We started to make our cardboard Dotty the Dot D. My dream came true: the children have begun to play with the cardboard letters! Abe the Apple A, Bobby the Bubble B and Claudia the Cloud C are free in the classroom. Dotty the Dot D will get her eyeballs and name tag on Thursday. (We’ll make one each week…they feel very 1970s Sesame Street to 51 year old me). Also, Bobby the Bubble B did lose an eyeball this afternoon but had friends reattach it with tape. Phew!

Our Story Time book this week is Dad’s First Day. This sweet (and a little silly) book is from our local library and I will return it after this week. We’ll also be singing about a little dog who is cozy in the Shelter window and reading our favorite dog books…they can sure curl up small too!

We’ve got new music playing during Play Time and we’re learning a new poem about some cozy animals (including us!):

We played hard and learned so much today.

Here are 3 questions to learn more about Tuesday:

What things turned orange this week?

It is October so we have new orange things: all the Tiny Things are orange, there are orange pumpkins in the Cloud Dough, the play dough is orange and the books have a lot of orange pumpkins and leaves.

P.S. The paper for our alphabet project was orange and many orange dots were also used.

What did you eat for snack today and what color dot did you sit at?

In the morning we had a Birthday Celebration snack from our Golden Letter friend, Drew. He brought Doritos, Donuts and Dunkaroos. What a party! In the afternoon we had a Birthday Celebration snack from Zander. He brought Doritos, Dinosaur fruit snacks and Donuts. Another great party! Thank you, friends! During our Snack Time, we sat at our new color dots. These are not assigned spots, so if children didn’t get the color or location they wanted today, they can the next time!

What blanket do you like to use at preschool?

Children have access to a wide variety of blankets at preschool: knitted and crocheted afghans, cotton quilts, synthetic fuzzy blankets and thin sheets. We have hooks and clips for making forts and also allow children to have a blanket whenever they want one (at snack time, Circle Time, while playing, outside, etc). During Story Time we got as small and cozy as Oliver’s dad did when he hid behind the couch:

Swing plan, FYI:

We are keeping track of who wants a turn to swing, who needs a turn to swing and who has had a turn to swing using picture rosters. Our orange pumpkin swing will be up for the next weeks, so more turns will be had!

Coping Skill of the Week: Containment

This week we are exploring “Containment.” We already have practice with sitting or laying on our dot spots at Circle Time, making our bodies small to hide in our cubbies and curling up in blankets. This week we will be naming these behaviors and noticing how and when our bodies want it. When children come and lean in to a caregiver’s body, it may be meeting this need. When they request a blanket to make a fort or a cozy den, it may be meeting this need. Read on for some ideas to use at home as well as understanding how your child uses this Coping Skill at preschool.

This week’s Coping Skill questions you can ask your child:

Do you ever like a teacher to hold you or do you like to sit by a teacher? We will absolutely hold children when they request it. As you can see in many photos, the teacher’s hands will be by their sides so that the child has 100% autonomy in ending the interaction. We will also honor a child’s request to sit by a teacher (when there isn’t room because both sides are occupied, we might invite a child to go to another teacher, make a plan for next time or to squeeze them in behind…I call this the Mama Hen pose lol).

Is there a cozy spot at home? You can offer a corner in a room, a place under a table or even a box. When given a designated space to “hide” or contain themselves, you may notice your child gravitating there. This could very well be them intuitively knowing they need containment to regulate their nervous system.

A paper moon, pushing mama cloud, cloud data complete and exploratory orienting : THURSDAY C WEEK

Today we finished up our focus on exploratory orienting (just like a curious cat looking for her bowl of milk). In keeping with this theme, we have cat, cloud and car activities…all of these are easy jump off points for exploratory orienting. Read more in the Coping Skill section below.

Our Story Time book for the week is Kitten’s First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes. We have our own preschool copy but it is also available at our local library…in English and Spanish..La Primera Luna Llena de Gatita. Today we also read How Many Cats? It doesn’t seem to be at our local library, but we have 2 copies that can be borrowed from preschool.

On Thursday we finished up the Car Problem group drawing. There was a simple track and lots of scribbled problems (oil slicks, banana peels, water, strawberries, a blankie and more!). We played with the paper moon that used to be above the cat water play table (first it was on the owl’s eyeball and then on Ms Kristin’s back!). Read on to find out more about Thursday and watch us play!

The morning class finished their journal based on our Story Time book about the cat. They made a lot of moons and bowls of milk! There were even ponds and cats too:

Here are 3 questions to learn more about our day:

What could you do with Mama Cloud?

Push her! These children did an amazing job navigating the space around them while having to reach up high to push the cotton ball filled pretend cloud.

We used the rest of the cotton balls to finish covering our big cardboard C.

What did you eat for snack today?

Note: I have adjusted our routine in hopes of having a less hurried experience with Snack Time. As soon as all children arrive we will gather to eat right away and it has worked great. We are sticking to it for now!

Children were invited to try to lap their water up like a cat would. This simple activity helps keep those mouth muscles toned which is beneficial for swallowing and speech development. We did it again outside around the chalk moon that the cat would surely think was a big bowl of milk.

In the morning we had a triple Birthday Celebration for Rain and brothers Gus and Max! We had cupcakes and Veggie Chips. In the afternoon we had snack from Scarlet and Cade: chocolate animal crackers and apple sauce. We took a little trip down memory lane recalling all our apple activities during A week. Thank you, friends! (Apparently I was busy enjoying snack time and didn’t get a picture taken either time).

My camera was on selfie mode so they are looking at themselves.

Did we see any clouds outside this week?

We have been keeping track of the number of clouds we see during Outside Time as well. This is a prime example of encouraging exploratory orienting-a relaxed gazing at the sky.

The data was split 50/50 with 3 sessions seeing clouds and 3 sessions seeing no clouds. Thursday afternoon was complete with NO clouds being seen until the last second when one friend saw a tiny cloud peeking behind a tree then floating over the church. We had to cross out all the data and write YES!

BONUS: The afternoon class got the surprise of the air conditioner worker coming to install a part. Despite him removing a tile from the ceiling and then being gone, he was NOT in the vent, he was out in his truck (which we saw when we went outside). Thank you, worker!

Exploratory orienting: This week’s Coping Skill

This week we are practicing exploratory orienting (just like a curious cat looking for her bowl of milk and finding the moon, little bugs, trees and her own porch). In keeping with this theme, we have cat, cloud and car activities…all of these are easy jump off points for exploratory orienting. Read more in the Coping Skill section below. This is described as relaxed alertness to both internal and external environment, curiosity and gathering information about the environment with a low level of activation.

Practice together at home:

Sit together inside and notice things on the walls around you.

When riding in a car, rest your head and notice other cars, trees, grass, buildings passing by.

In bed at night, look from one corner of the wall and ceiling to the other, to the next and the next.

When walking outside switch between looking in front of you, behind you, next to you on both sides, over you. Is there a sidewalk? Trees? Houses? Sun beams? Shadows?

Remember: NO SCHOOL NEXT WEEK OCT 1-3

Drawing moons, chalk in the rain water, throwing clouds and exploratory orienting : WEDNESDAY C WEEK

This week we are practicing exploratory orienting (just like a curious cat looking for her bowl of milk). In keeping with this theme, we have cat, cloud and car activities…all of these are easy jump off points for exploratory orienting. Read more in the Coping Skill section below.

Our Story Time book for the week is Kitten’s First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes. We have our own preschool copy but it is also available at our local library…in English and Spanish..La Primera Luna Llena de Gatita.

On Wednesday we honored our fourth Golden Letter friend with clapping and cheering in recognition of their given name. We worked in our journals and did a lot of puzzle work (cat puzzles, cactus building puzzle, cake balancing puzzle, lego creations, and color wheel puzzles). Once we finished our alphabet project for the week, we did something with the cotton balls. Watch our videos and read on to find out more about Wednesday.

Here are 3 questions to learn more about our day:

What did you draw in your journal?

A moon! After reading our Story Time book and checking for the moon on multiple pages, we had Journal Time.

But wait, in every drawing of a moon, these children made the C shape as well. At our preschool I am not looking for mastery of letter writing at this stage, I am looking for ways that their play and exploration will naturally develop those skills. Scribbling in round formations and making circles are the same motions needed to write the letter C. It may not look like a C, but the C is in there!

We also made a huge chalk moon outside (and moved chalk to the rain tables as well).

What did you eat for snack today?

Note: I am adjusting our routine in hopes of having a less hurried experience with Snack Time. As soon as all children arrive we will gather to eat right away! So if children say we ate early today, I agree and I think it’s working great!

In the morning we had c shaped donuts, clementine Cutie oranges and goldfish!

In the afternoon we had snack Golden Graham cereal from Zander and carrots from Ms Kristin.

How did you throw a cloud?

Cotton balls! Once everyone finished their alphabet project, we threw the extra cotton balls as high as we could…we were throwing clouds! One of my favorite ways to connect with children is through playfulness. Telling those clouds to “get back in the sky” was definitely playful and had the children gazing up and around.

We are still keeping track of the number of clouds we see during Outside Time as well. This is a prime example of encouraging exploratory orienting-a relaxed gazing at the sky.

Exploratory orienting: This week’s Coping Skill

This week we are practicing exploratory orienting (just like a curious cat looking for her bowl of milk and finding the moon, little bugs, trees and her own porch). In keeping with this theme, we have cat, cloud and car activities…all of these are easy jump off points for exploratory orienting. Read more in the Coping Skill section below. This is described as relaxed alertness to both internal and external environment, curiosity and gathering information about the environment with a low level of activation.

Practice together at home:

Sit together inside and notice things on the walls around you.

When riding in a car, rest your head and notice other cars, trees, grass, buildings passing by.

In bed at night, look from one corner of the wall and ceiling to the other, to the next and the next.

When walking outside switch between looking in front of you, behind you, next to you on both sides, over you. Is there a sidewalk? Trees? Houses? Sun beams? Shadows?

Remember: NO SCHOOL NEXT WEEK OCT 1-3

Cats falling in water, pulling clouds, early snack and exploratory orienting : TUESDAY C WEEK

This week we are practicing exploratory orienting (just like a curious cat looking for her bowl of milk). In keeping with this theme, we have cat, cloud and car activities…all of these are easy jump off points for exploratory orienting. Read more in the Coping Skill section below.

Our Story Time book for the week is Kitten’s First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes. We have our own preschool copy but it is also available at our local library…in English and Spanish..La Primera Luna Llena de Gatita.

On Tuesday we honored three of our four Golden Letter friends! This included an exploration of the C+H chunk sound and the hard C sound. When we honor our Golden Letter friends, we are simply clapping and cheering in recognition of their given names. Plus they take home their every-year-they-are-a-little-different Golden Letters made by me. Read on to find out more about Tuesday and enjoy the video snippets of us busy at play.

Here are 3 questions to learn more about our day:

What kept falling in the water?

The plastic cats! Just like in our Story Time book, our cats fell in the water.

Thank you to those who have donated to our Preschool Fund: we have a new water table with easily removable tubs.

What did you eat for snack today?

Note: I am adjusting our routine in hopes of having a less hurried experience with Snack Time. As soon as all children arrive we will gather to eat right away! So if children say we ate early today, I agree!

In the morning we had snack from a Golden Letter friend, Charlie: cantaloupe, Cheetos and chocolate chip cookies. 6 C words!

In the afternoon we had snack from a Golden Letter friend, Cade: cuties, cheese sticks and chocolate chip cookies! Another 6 C word snack!

What did you use to make a cloud?

Cotton balls! There was the option to leave them as round balls or to unroll them or to pull them apart.

We are keeping track of the number of clouds we see during Outside Time as well. This is a prime example of encouraging exploratory orienting-a relaxed gazing at the sky.

Exploratory orienting: This week’s Coping Skill

This week we are practicing exploratory orienting (just like a curious cat looking for her bowl of milk and finding the moon, little bugs, trees and her own porch). In keeping with this theme, we have cat, cloud and car activities…all of these are easy jump off points for exploratory orienting. Read more in the Coping Skill section below. This is described as relaxed alertness to both internal and external environment, curiosity and gathering information about the environment with a low level of activation.

If you need another copy of our Coping Skills poster, please let me know.

Practice together at home:

Sit together inside and notice things on the walls around you.

When riding in a car, rest your head and notice other cars, trees, grass, buildings passing by.

In bed at night, look from one corner of the wall and ceiling to the other, to the next and the next.

When walking outside switch between looking in front of you, behind you, next to you on both sides, over you. Is there a sidewalk? Trees? Houses? Sun beams? Shadows?

Remember: NO SCHOOL NEXT WEEK OCT 1-3