A real spider, hurting our feet, a surprise ingredient, writing EXIT and moving the jungle gym: THURSDAY X WEEK

Once upon a time there was a little spider playing in the classroom. She found a smooth white tub to walk around in. All of a sudden some giant children found her. They were scared and called for a teacher. The teacher discovered she wasn’t a dangerous spider so they could safely look at her. The teacher got the special magnifying glass and they carefully put it over her. After taking turns looking at her, the teacher said she had to go live somewhere else. Where did the teacher take the spider?

Read on to learn about the real spider, hurting our feet, a surprise ingredient, writing EXIT and moving the jungle gym.

Where did Ms Kristin take the spider?

Outside!

Also, we are open to the idea that this is a baby spider who hitched a ride in a backpack:

What bumpy poky things could we walk on?

Plastic stepping stones. They have little plastic bumps on them that kind of hurt a little when barefoot. Good thing we have the healthcare center with band aids and bandages.

What surprise ingredient was in the cookies today?

Carrots! Along with these egg free cookies, Ella also brought Ritz crackers and cucumbers. Since Everett was home sick, we thanked his cubby picture and sent a cookie back home for him.

What letter did you have to write to make the word say “exit?”

X!

Our Kindergarten bound kids also met the challenge of writing “exit” in lowercase as well.

At the end of the day when we lined up to go outside, we turned off the lights. Since it is a cloudy day, we could REALLY see the EXIT signs all lit up.

Where did we move the jungle gym climbing dome?

To the rocks between the slides. We hope that the grass will grow extra tall under it so it feels like a jungle in there.

It took a lot of muscle and determination to move it as far as we did!

Enjoy more video and photos of our day!

There was baby work, link work, alphabet project work, magnet tile work and lots of drawing today.

May you discover new things today!

Green bookmarks, the sun at the center of the earth, x-rays, eating dog bones and a creature chasing a ball: WEDNESDAY X WEEK

Once upon a time Ms Kristin was a little girl and followed her teachers directions of circling and underlining things. Then she grew up and was a teacher. She showed the children how to circle the big Xs and underline the little Xs. She told them to find the X page in their journals but there were so many pages! What ever would the children do?

Read on to learn about the children and their journals, the sun at the center of the earth (?!), x-rays, eating dog bones and a creature chasing a ball.

What color were the bookmarks at Journal Time?

Green! These bookmark tabs helped to get us to the X page in our journals.

We also had real pencils “like 4th graders.”

Is the sun in the center of the earth?

No! The picture looked like the sun but it is really the boiling hot inner core!

Thank you to another preschool teacher friend for sending us this present. It’s a wonderful book and already has had a lot of pages turned! Thank you, Ms Linda!

Friends painted more shades of blue, green and white on our flat earth project as well.

Did you play in the Healthcare Center?

When X is for Xray, we turn part of our classroom into a Healthcare Center!

We had a very busy center today with nurses, doctors, technicians and patients. They displayed wonderful bedside manner.

Did you eat dog bones for snack today?

Yes! There were Scooby Snacks from Lane that look exactly like real dog bones. He also brought EXTRA cheesy goldfish and fruit drinks. Thank you, Lane!

What animal chased a ball during outside time?

Ludo and Auden’s dog! We got to watch from the fence.

We also had butterfly wings, pretend food, walkie talkies (with no batteries), a parachute with the Kansas wind, bubbles and more digging on the dirt hill.

Enjoy more video and photos of our day!

We had some friends work with the well loved links. They made chains reach across the entire Circle Time corner.

“I’ve been looking for this bird all the time!”

May you find what you are looking for today.

Stopping the wind, our healthcare center, going in Ms Kristin’s office, drawing Xs and making clouds and snow: TUESDAY X WEEK

Once upon a time there was a Kansas wind so big that it blew the parachute over everyone’s heads. Along came some strong children who decided to try to stop the wind. They worked for a long time using all of their muscles. How in the world did they do it?

Read on to learn about the children stopping the wind, our healthcare center, going in Ms Kristin’s office, drawing Xs and making clouds and snow.

What did you do to stop the wind?

Held on to the parachute handles with all our might! If any children have sore arm or shoulder muscles, it might be due to spending 15-20 minutes playing “Stop The Wind.”

We also enjoyed the rest of our popcorn outside until the wind blew it away! Good thing we ate most of our snack inside today while listening to a story. Thank you, Asher for bringing “perfect” bananas and popcorn!

It’s also the time of year we finish off the crumbs and bits of leftover snacks too.

Did you play in the Healthcare Center?

We had a very busy center today with nurses, doctors, technicians and patients. They displayed wonderful bedside manner.

What color tape in at Ms Kristin’s office doorway?

Red. That means “stop…wait…get a teacher.” Today was an unusual day because children got to come in to the office while Ms Kristin was getting some supplies. Otherwise the children know that they can stand in the doorway and look but not go in.

For safety, Ms Kristin told the other teachers what was happening, left the door open and recorded the visit. FYI: the office is otherwise never used as a place for children to go.

What color Xs did you make in your journal today?

It won’t be long before the journals come home and you can see all the work your child has done this year!

Why did we add white to the earth project?

For the snow, clouds and white capped waves.

We also added lighter green and blue for more land/trees/water. We also talked about circles vs spheres in terms of the earth project vs earth planet.

Enjoy more video and photos of our day!

Thank you to another preschool teacher friend for sending us this present. It’s a wonderful book and already has had a lot of pages turned! Thank you, Ms Linda!

May you find balance today!

A blue and green planet, eating xylophones, real x-rays, jumping over a snake and hiding food: MONDAY X WEEK

Once upon a time there was a huge planet. It was a sphere, like a ball. There was blue, white, green and brown on it. It looked like it was all alone but there were actually creatures all over it. What planet was it?

Read on to learn about the blue and green planet, eating xylophones, real x-rays, jumping over a snake and hiding food.

What planet did we make at Circle Time?

The earth! In honor of Earth Day, we did a symmetry painting project by adding paint to half of a paper and then folding it over.

Each child could choose blue or green paint to add.

What did Rex bring for snack today?

Rice Krispie treat xylophone birthday treats! Our Earth Day Birthday friend also brought kiwi and cheese crackers.

We had a very cozy snack time playing our xylophones and listening to a story Ms Kristin read.

Did you play in the Healthcare Center?

When it is X Week, we turn part of our classroom into a Healthcare Center. Animals and babies and even Ms Brenda got wonderful care today.

We have a pretend Xray machine but real Xrays to look at.

What does Ms Kristin shake to be a snake outside?

A jumprope! In our wonderful pavilion we attach one end to a post and Ms Kristin shakes the other end for children to jump over. They are so clever with situational awareness!

Where did we hide food outside?

In, on, under and around the logs! It felt a lot like an Easter Egg hunt.

There are 9 children in this photo!

Enjoy more video and photos of our day!

May you find light today!

Expandable washcloths, putting glue everywhere, turning water to watermelon juice, 3D work and hiding watermelons: FRIDAY W WEEK

Once upon a time there was a little white disc. It kind of looked like a mint candy. But there was a safety message to NOT but it in your mouth, so it couldn’t be candy. Then the little white disc got dropped in a cup of water. Something amazing happened!

Read on to learn about the disc in water, putting glue everywhere, turning water to watermelon juice, 3D work and hiding watermelons.

What happened when the discs went in water?

They expanded into washcloths!

Then we used them to wash our hands for snack time!

Could you put glue all over the wood scuplture?

YES! We started this wood sculpture last year and have added more to it this whole week.

Some friends made mini sculptures to take home.

What did we do to our water?

Added watermelon lemonade juice!

Theo brought Wheels, Watermelon juice and White chocolate chips. How wonderful!

We had a big crew of helpers to set the table and adding in leftover W crackers too.

What is water for?

We had a conversation about water and its uses.

The green highlighted phrases were about our washcloths, the red means they were not about our washcloths. We also used paper to make 2D water Ws and 3D waves.

Where were the watermelons hiding?

Under the W! One of our puzzles has pictures hiding under the alphabet shapes.

Our wooden puzzles also had pictures of wheels, windows, whales, watering cans, walruses and the color white.

Enjoy more video and photos of our day!

May you feel strong and sturdy today!