Here are some questions you can ask your preschooler about our day:

What color is our Alphabet Friend?

What were you looking for in the books? Did you find any?

What color is in the middle of your traffic light?

How long ago was the yellow traffic light invented? What does it mean?

Wednesday: Yellow Light Day

YELLOW LIGHT: We learned about Garrett Morgan who invented the yellow traffic light a hundred years ago!  For our project we made traffic lights and got a picture of Mr Morgan in our journals. At Circle Time we added a yellow traffic light to the Big Yellow Picture e of all the yellow things we could think of. Our Alphabet Friend, Yolanda, is all yellow and we added her to the Big Yellow Picture too. At Snack Time we ate yellow things … but we didn’t eat a traffic light!

Y WHY JOKE: At Circle Time we practiced a word play joke. Ms Kristin shows the letter Y and asks what letter it is. When the children call out, “Y” Ms Kristin pretends they said, “Why” so she says something like, “Because I want to know. Will you please tell me what letter this is?” and then we repeat it many times. Try it at home and have fun.

STORY TIME: We went on picture walks through4 books about transportation so we could find some yellow traffic lights. We found them and read about some ducklings that needed help crossing the road!

COPING SKILL OF THE WEEK: Pause. Just like the yellow of a traffic light, we can slow down and pause. Even young children can sense a safety and connection to self by resting with a hand on their belly and a hand on their heart.   

HERE ARE MORE PICTURES OF OUR DAY:

Here are some questions you can ask your preschooler about our day:

How did you make lines in your paint on the gel plate?

Can you do the Y joke?

What happened on the YES and NO page in our book?

What piles of Show and Tell things did we make?

Tuesday: Yellow Day

YELLOW THINGS: For our project we used yellow paint and glitter on the gel plates which has become a favorite art activity: first children rolled the yellow paint and glitter, then drew designs in it and then made yellow prints.

At Circle Time we made a big picture of all the yellow things we could think of.

We got our Alphabet Friend, Yolanda, covered in yellow stickers. She’ll play games with us the rest of the week.

At Show and Tell we made two piles: one of things that had yellow and one with no yellow. In the morning class we had 13 items with yellow and 1 without. In the afternoon we had 8 with yellow and 7 without!

We have yellow ducks in the Water Table and yellow vehicles with traffic signs in the Tub Table. There are yellow traffic puzzles, a pretend traffic light and a yellow flower balancing game.

Y WHY JOKE: At Circle Time Ms Kristin teaches a word play joke. She shows the letter Y and asks what letter it is. When the children call out, “Y” Ms Kristin pretends they said, “Why” so she says something like, “Because I want to know. Will you please tell me what letter this is?” and then we repeat it many times. It’s a good time!

STORY TIME: We read a charming new book called Some Days are Yellow: Some days are easy! The sky is sunny, everything goes according to plan, and we know what to expect. Other days are tough! There might be raindrops or skinned knees. Things don’t go our way and we feel overwhelmed. But “No matter your day, tomorrow’s brand new!” Lyrical text and colorful artwork remind readers of all ages that life is a vibrant adventure with an array of experiences and emotions, and tomorrow always offers a fresh start. What a difference a day can make!  One page had another Y word: yes. It was a page about ice cream…

COPING SKILL OF THE WEEK: Pause. Just like the yellow of a traffic light, we can slow down and pause. Even young children can sense a safety and connection to self by resting with a hand on their belly and a hand on their heart.   We practiced today and they were quiet for a long time!

HERE ARE MORE MOMENTS OF OUR DAY:

Here are some questions you can ask your preschooler about our day:

How far can you see in your telescope?

Woah – what happened to the boy in the book today? (this is kind of a trick question)

What did we find in the big church room today? (it wasn’t the treasure chest we were looking for!)

What did you do in your journal today?

Thursday: X MARKS THE SPOT

X MARKS THE SPOT WORK: We took home pirate hats, treasure maps (that you can use with dry erase markers!) and telescopes today.  Revisiting our Far away gaze coping skill, we could put words to how far away children were seeing things (if you see that building, you are seeing something 2 blocks away! If you can see the bathroom from here, you are seeing something 20 feet away!).

We followed the map to the big church room but instead of finding treasure there, we found ANOTHER map that led us back downstairs to our Safety Shelter Hallway (this is where we would go in times of severe weather or a lock down situation). Our Alphabet Friend X was easy to see with the shiny tape and marked the spot of our treasure again…this time gold coins and treats! 

We worked in our journals today making X shapes…this is a bit trickier than making cross or T shapes so we worked hard!

STORY TIME: We read through What Happened to You? by James Catchpole:  A boy named Joe is trying to play pirates at the playground, but he keeps being asked what happened to his leg. Bombarded with questions and silly suggestions, Joe becomes more and more fed up… until the kids finally understand they don’t need to know what happened. And that they’re wasting valuable playtime!

The children are very captivated by this story and our play figure that has a limb difference.

COPING SKILL OF THE WEEK: X marks the spot: When we straighten and then cross our arms over each other, we are crossing midline which strengthens the neural connection between the left and right hemispheres of your brain (aka bilateral integration). We know that the left brain processes things like language and logic while the right brain processes things like emotions and creativity like music and art.

HERE ARE MORE PICTURES OF OUR DAY:

Here are some questions you can ask your preschooler about our day:

What did the pigs turn the wagon into? What about the school bus? What about the plane? 

What did the frog do on the fire hose?

What is your classroom pirate ship made out of? What are the slide rules?

Does your map show where the treasure is?

Wednesday: X MARKS THE SPOT

X MARKS THE SPOT WORK: With our pirate hats and all the extra dress up supplies, we played on a pretend pirate ship made out of tables, steps and a slide. We went on a treasure hunt and found our Alphabet Friend X (who is covered in reflective tape) marking the spot in the big church room where we found some gold necklaces- to keep!  All week we pretend our Show and Tell things are treasures too!

TREASURE MAPS: We made our own treasure maps collage style by using pages from old datebooks donated in 2018! Then we laminated them so we can write on them with dry erase markers! You can see where the treasure is hidden by the X marking the spot! As we talk about our treasure hunting and maps, we use words like left, right, north, south, east, west, u-turn, etc. You can continue this at home!

We have a big map on the wall over our pirate ship to write on and follow on our make believe journeys. 

STORY TIME: Today we read through an old favorite, Pirates Ahoy! about some farm animals who were feeling bored so they turned different vehicles into pirate ships to create excitement. There was great focus and a lot of curiosity about this silly book! We acted out being the frog on the fire hose and pretended to eat ice cream like the farm animals and school children…I bet they can show you how!

COPING SKILL OF THE WEEK: X marks the spot: When we straighten and then cross our arms over each other, we are crossing midline which strengthens the neural connection between the left and right hemispheres of your brain (aka bilateral integration). We know that the left brain processes things like language and logic while the right brain processes things like emotions and creativity like music and art.

HERE ARE MORE PICTURES OF OUR DAY:

Here are some questions you can ask your preschooler about our day:

What colors did you use for your Earth Day prints?

What are some of the pirate play safety plans at preschool?

Why is the Alphabet Friend X covered in shiny tape?

Tuesday: X MARKS THE SPOT ON EARTH DAY

X MARKS THE SPOT WORK: We added pieces of white on our black hats in the shape of letter Xs. We have a pretend pirate ship and treasure boxes to play with along with our Pirate Play Safety Plan. We went on a treasure hunt and found our Alphabet Friend X marking the spot where we found some bubbles and Smarties! Good thing that X got all covered in shiny reflective tape so it was easy to see!  

THE EARTH DAY: In honor of Earth Day, we did gel printing with different shades of green and blue paint, adding a little glitter because what a treasure our planet is! We made the connection between the earth and bubbles both being spheres. 

STORY TIME: We visited two books today, What Happened to You? by James Catchpole and Pirates Ahoy! by Hans Wilhelm. In both books we’re looking at characters who want to play “pirate.” This helped us come up with our plans for preschool pirate play! 

COPING SKILL OF THE WEEK: X marks the spot: When we straighten and then cross our arms over each other, we are crossing midline which strengthens the neural connection between the left and right hemispheres of your brain (aka bilateral integration). We know that the left brain processes things like language and logic while the right brain processes things like emotions and creativity like music and art.