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A waiting umbrella, loose dogs, hiding worms, a spaghetti story read 4 times and looking under an egg: THURSDAY U WEEK

Once upon a time there was a red umbrella waiting under a rain cloud. The red umbrella was waiting for rain to fall from the cloud. Finally some children came by and the rain began to drip from the cloud over and around the umbrella. How did the children do that?

Read on to learn more about the umbrella story, loose dogs, hiding worms, a spaghetti story read 4 times and looking under an egg.

How did you get the paint to drip on the umbrella?

With a pipette! We are practicing using the same tools that teenagers use in science classes!

Why does Ms Kristin always go first on the way to the playground?

There are a lot of loose dogs in the neighborhood. If we are running on the sidewalk to get to the playground, the dogs might think we are ready to play chase. Since we are at preschool, we never will be ready for that. So, we walk on the sidewalk with Ms Kristin as the engine and Ms Brenda as the caboose. We have such wonderful train car children!

Once outside we visited the Show and Tell bench, ran, screamed, played I Spy, dug in dirt and moved the house to the hill for building!

What color worms were in the Tub Table?

Red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple in 4 different sizes.

However, these friends were so clever that it looked like there were NO worms at all. They were all hidden in the cloud dough!

Why could Minnie the monkey not play with Freddy the monkey?

She was too busy eating spaghetti! This silly book from 1977 captivated a growing circle of children during Work Time (when they can decide what to do). In fact, per request, Ms Kristin read it 4 times in a row.

What was hiding under the Easter egg?

A Smartie!

At Circle Time we worked at tracking eggs to find the one with a candy under it. Everyone got a turn and these kids are sharp!

Welcome to April, friends!

Enjoy more photos and video from our day…

Too much glue? Not a problem and in this case, not a joke either:

The big green papers, an Easter Egg hunt, finding props for our play, a bunny who hides underground and the unusual snack spots.: WEDNESDAY U WEEK

Once upon a time there was a big piece of brown paper on a table. Children used their hands and rollers to turn it all green. Then when that paper was green, another brown paper appeared. When that turned green there was yet another paper! What were all of those green papers for?

Read on to learn more about the big green papers, our Easter Egg hunt, finding props for our play, a bunny who hides underground, and the unusual snack spots.

What did the green paper get used for?

A tree for our play about the bunny, grass for our paper bunnies and another tree at the Tiny Things table.

Where did we go for our Easter Egg hunt?

Outside! Ms Brenda made quick work of hiding plastic eggs, paper eggs, fruit snacks and Smarties!

Happy Easter, everyone!

What did we put on the end of the fishing pole?

A carrot!

We worked together to act out the play about The Runaway Bunny. We also had fabric to make the tree a mountain for one scene, blue scarves for the river, our fireplace corner for the home, a rocking chair, a cardboard hoe for the garden, a trapeze and circus tent, a basket for a burrow and a boat with a sail. There were 8 scenes all together and we clapped after each one.

Can you show how your bunny hops in the hole in the ground?

Usually we do this poem with our hands, but we can also do it with our paper bunnies.

Here are the words and directions to do with hands. The actions to this poem suggest the availability of left and right hand/arm mobility. When this is not an option, modifications can be made. While there is no assumption that all people have left and right hand/arm mobility and I do model these modifications during Circle Times, if you would like further ideas for someone in your care, please contact me.

Where did you choose to eat snack today?

Once again we had all the chairs at Circle Time for our play so children chose where they wanted to eat snack. Jensen brought us a yummy Easter snack! Thank you, Jensen! No matter where they ended up, they were under something…even if it was our ceiling. Some people had their “ceiling” closer than others.

Enjoy more photos and video from our day…

Some friends turned the letter U into an umbrella today, some will do it next time.

Today was the last preschool day of March which means the last day for our green things. The next time we come back to preschool, all of these green things will be purple! See you in April!

The sanctuary visit, using our fingers as legs, cracker work, going under the tables and showing before Show and Tell: TUESDAY U WEEK

Once upon a time there was a sanctuary. It was empty almost every day of the week. It liked to hear the children playing downstairs and liked the times that they peeked in the door. Then one day the teachers and all the children came into the sanctuary! They were smiling and sometimes ran a little. They were looking on the windowsills, the sand tray and every pew. What were they doing?

Read on to learn more about the sanctuary visit, using our fingers as legs, cracker work, going under the tables and showing before Show and Tell.

What did you find in the sanctuary?

Easter eggs and candy!

Everyone found one Easter egg under a kleenex box, one package of Smarties in the candle tray and one package of Smarties on the windowsills. Then they went in our little green grass pockets while we read Easter stories about a lost bunny and Clifford’s Easter egg work.

Happy Easter, everyone!

How did you make your paper bunny walk or jump?

By putting fingers through the holes! These are the perfect addition to our poem about the bunny who gets scared of a noise so they jump in a hole!

We played with these after our Circle Time puppet show about The Runaway Bunny. There was nothing that baby bunny could do to have that sweet mama bunny stop loving him. We walked on our chairs when it wasn’t Circle Time and sat in the chairs when it was!

What can you do if you are hungry?

Get a cracker to eat and/or put in your School Box.

We keep a container of crackers on the Quiet Shelf (with other sensory toys, feelings cards, books, etc) and today that container was empty. Good thing we’ve got helpers!

Our snack time today included more crackers and fruit snacks. But instead of eating at our table like usual, children could pick anywhere in the classroom to eat. No matter where they chose, they were under something!

Where did you go to do your journal work?

Under the big table!

It was pretty impressive to watch so many bodies navigate a very crowded space. I never heard any complaints!

Are you allowed to show your Show and Tell before Show and Tell?

Yes. Often it is so exciting that children show or tell us about their Show and Tell item when they arrive. This also allows other children to get a sneak peek which we can use as an opportunity to recall what we already learned about the item.

Enjoy more photos and video from our day…

The bunnies and chicks had an egg shaped pen for hopping around in. The sign invited us to count how many hops they made but they were so fast it was hard to do!

The project table was in full use again today. The next time these friends come to school all our collage supplies will be purple!

A table with no chairs, a bunny who turned into a tree, a double snack and underwear on the ceiling: MONDAY U WEEK

Once upon a time there was a classroom with a big round table. It was big enough for all the preschoolers and all the teacher friends. Then one day there weren’t any chairs at the table at all! Where would the children do their journal work? Where would they eat snack? Whatever would they do?

Read on to learn more about the table with no chairs, a bunny who turned into a tree, our double snack and underwear on the ceiling.

Where were the chairs that are usually at the big table?

At Circle Time!

We sat in them during Circle Time and walked on them during the other times.

This means that we went under the table to do our Journal Work!

Why did the mama bunny say she’d turn into a tree?

The baby bunny said he was going to turn into a bird to get away from her and she wanted to be a place for him to land.

Ms Kristin did a puppet show of the whole book, The Runaway Bunny. We noticed that one of the pages looked just like the room in Goodnight Moon!

Where did you eat your inside snack today?

It had to be under something. These friends found a lot of clever “under” spots for sure!

Thank you, Walter and Annie for our delicious “tree house” snack. After Show and Tell, we ate them outside by real trees and were surprised that the cold front already moved in!

What very funny thing is on the ceiling at preschool?

Underwear!

A long time ago Ms Kristin cut up some old underwear and glued it on a letter U shape. How silly.

Enjoy more photos and video from our day…

The bunnies and chicks had an egg shaped pen for hopping around in. The sign invited us to count how many hops they made but they were so fast it was hard to do!

A towel on a hook, taped up eggs, eating 4 T things, a bell in the bathroom and scary talk: FRIDAY T WEEK

Once upon a time there was a chicken who lived in a treehouse. She laid her eggs on top of a key. The key was for the lock that is on the shutters of a window. She lived under a table with her food bowl and water bowl. Then someone came and sat down in the chair. He was going to have to be in charge of something…

Read on to learn more about this person in the treehouse, taping up eggs, eating T things, a bell in the bathroom and scary talk…

Who did Ms Kristin draw sitting at the table in the treehouse?

Captain America! She did her best to make him look like Captain America. We decided he would have to be in charge of cleaning up after the chicken since he was right next to the towel on a hook.

We added even more to this treehouse…monster trucks, a tablet, another key on a hook, a hidey-hole for yet another key and a sign to watch our for the chicken poop, water and food.

Since we are pretending our treehouse is in an apple tree, we looked at the Kansas Apple Tree Through The Seasons. The light bulbs are going off as the children are making sense of the cyclical nature of time.

We also looked at the rings of trees knowing that is a way to find out its age.

What color tape did you use on your Easter Egg?

We worked hard with the 47 rolls of tape and cardboard egg shapes.

Since we don’t have school next Friday because of Easter Break, we did some Easter work today.

What T thing was holding the turkey together?

A toothpick!

In addition to the turkey rolls held together by the toothpick, Jacob brought us tortilla triangles, Teddy Grahams and tapioca pudding! Jacob, we thank you very much!

Here we are extending a limb towards Jacob while we sing our thank you song.

How did you know when it was time to wash your hands?

Before Snack Time, our Golden Letter friend Theo T went first to wash hands. We knew it was our turn to go when he rang the bell! Thank you, Theo! (Also enjoy the friend who is “so happy for him” that it’s his Golden Letter day).

What do you know that is scary?

Our Scary Pictures from last week were still on display which led to some sweet talking time and extra journal work.

Ms Kristin also found a book to retell about a monster who doesn’t know he is a monster and feels upset that everyone keeps calling him a monster!

I just noticed a friend trying on my reading glasses 😂)

Enjoy more photos and videos of our day…

We ended our day outside only to find the north wind really picked up! Thanks to Grandpa Kelven we have a wind break against the fence. At pick up time we noticed some very clever mamas who were getting shelter from the wind too!