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Double birthdays, being younger than a dinosaur, making orange and welcoming October: MONDAY D WEEK

Our Monday “Red Day” class had first hand experience of experiencing the confusion of colors in our preschool world…

Is Monday Red Day? Yes
Is the Color of the Month orange? Yes
Was the Color of the Month last time yellow? Yes
If we mix red and yellow do we make orange? Also yes!
Is there an Orange Day Class? No! We have Red Monday, Yellow Tuesday, Green Wednesday, Blue Thursday and Purple Friday. Tricky!

Read on to learn more about today!

What did Ms Kristin use to call us to Circle Time?

A drum! That d-r chunk sure sounds like a J sound, though!

The first thing we talk about at Circle Time who is at school today and who is missing….since today is Red Day, we look for all the photos with red tape on them…more class color work! Today we smelled real dirt (one of Ms Kristin’s favorite smells) in anticipation of making mud. Read on to learn more about that!

Whose birthdays did we celebrate today?

Ms Kristin and Drew! Since Drew was home sick, we worked on painting a “Happy Birthday Get Well Soon” card for him and will celebrate the next time we are together! Ms Eliza got a cheese pizza ready for Ms Kristin’s birthday treat … it was a pizza party and Pastor Shana even stopped by!

Was Ms Kristin alive when the dinosaurs?

No. After reminding ourselves of everyone’s age, it was determined that neither Ms Kristin even the oldest teacher were alive when dinosaurs existed. Today we had a silly dinosaur song Ms Kristin kept singing, dinosaur alphabet project and dinosaur play.

Rex (not to be confused by T-Rex) and Grandma Vicki got the glue filled up for all our projects.

How did we get orange play dough?

We mixed different shades of yellow and red play dough! It takes a lot of squishing and pressing to get a solid color….this class did it! Thanks for helping out our school, Monday class! I’ll share more photos tomorrow.

What D thing do we need to make mud?

Dirt! When we mix dry dirt with wet water we make mud!

Making it quieter, glue on the rugs, C+H and the end of September: FRIDAY C WEEK

Our Friday “Purple Day” Class had their third session today. It is easy for me to forget this when they are participating in so many school routines with ease (finding things in their cubbies, moving in all areas of the classroom, knowing where glue is, taking shoes on and off, going to the bathroom, carrying their snack trays, coming to Circle Time and lining up…incredible!)

We looked at the items in the Blue Bucket and their comforting properties. We ran, jumped, climbed and stomped in place which was a great warm up to Story Time with Wee Willie Winkie!

Read more to learn 5 special things about today…

1. How can you make it quieter in the classroom?

Wear your headphones!

Our first order of headphones turned out to be way too small so I sent them back. The second order have proven to be surprisingly sturdy and even though they aren’t “noise cancelling,” they are wonderfully noise muffling.

It’s really cool to see children opt to wear their headphones at random times during the day. When a teacher puts some on, inevitably children do the same.

2. What color tiny things will be out when you come back?

Orange!

Today was the last school day of September which means it was the last day to use the yellow play dough, the yellow things in the Tub Table, the yellow collage items and the yellow things on the Tiny Things Table. Our books will change as well, though any book is always retrieved upon request. The next preschool day it will be October and all these things will be orange!

Family members’ initials. We will always work to nurture a home/school connection.

Over half of the class is at the Tub Table with **cats** and **cows** in the **cloud** dough.

3. What C things were there at Snack Time?

Golden Letter friend Charlie brought Cheerios, Cheetos and Candy Corn. Thank you, Charlie! What a perfect opportunity to practice our little poem with hand or feet actions: Here is C, Here is H, Pound them together: CHHH CHHH

During Snack Time Ms Kristin added the Purple Class photos to our DO YOU HAVE A CAT AT HOME chart. With a little more rearranging of the photos, we could get an easy visual of which column had more. We have one friend who was gone this week who will get their photo added yet. Regardless, according to this chart more friends have cats at home than don’t. However, it has been reported to me that at least one friend in the “YES” column does not actually have a cat at home. Hahahahahaha

4. Where did you do your projects today?

A pillar of our program is children having a balance between following a strict teacher plan and having control over where/when/why/how of other experiences.

Today children had the option of doing their projects where they wanted to…at the table, on a rocking chair, on the rugs, at the Tub Table even! Since a teacher is always with a child doing these projects, having conversation and helping as needed, we aren’t concerned about glue or markers getting elsewhere.

5. Did we get the creek to flow to the sidewalk?

Yes!

Without using a hose, these children got the creek to flow! This means hauling water about 20 feet from the sink to the “creek” (a slight trench that diverts rain water). Children are also traveling back and forth way up the big hill to the play structures. I love the sheer distance they safely and independently have access to. There is much to be grateful for!

Corn for the squirrels, cat tails, a flowing creek and eating caterpillars : THURSDAY

Our Thursday “Blue Day” Class is learning each other’s names and preferences. There are activities that children are continuing from one session to another which is really fun to watch. Most notably: helping get snack ready, block building, tornado shelter in the loft, being the tallest in the class and getting the creek to flow.

Read on to learn 5 specific things about our day today!

1. How did the corn kernels get off of the cob?

There were a variety of techniques used: pinching, pushing, pulling, rubbing and scraping.

Ella and Everett brought some corn from Papa’s field and let friends help shell it. We made a plan that next week we will hide the kernels on the playground for the squirrels to find.

2. What did you draw for the cat in your journal?

There were cats riding on dinosaurs, cat bodies, cat blankets, food, water and one cat with many tails.

3. What was the snack caterpillar made out of?

Grapes on a wooden stick!

Thank you to Scarlet for a C filled snack of caterpillars, Cheez-It crackers, Cap’n Crunch cereal and C shaped chocolate chip cookies. So clever! These children ate a lot today!

4. How do you know if it is your turn on the swing?

The teachers tell you!

Teachers will call out gently: “It’s so-and-so’s turn on the swing in 5…4…3…2…1” at which point the person on the swing gets off and often waits for another turn.

It is also an opportunity to nurture curiosity and encouragement for our peers: “look at how they use the swing…look at their feet, look at their hands…look at their expression…” rather than just sending them off to “go do something else because their turn is over.”

Good thing that our library was open today so children could read books while they waited!

5. What did you put back in the Blue Bucket at Circle Time?

After exploring the comfort items that were in the blue bucket, children chose an item to put back in before washing their hands for snack.

During Circle Time, we had children meeting their comfort needs quite naturally with body positions, pillows, blankets, leaving for the bathroom or to get a drink, etc. We talked about things creatures need to feel comforted in times of upset (tired, hungry, thirsty, anger, needing to go to the bathroom or release gas, sadness, loneliness, etc).

A bucket at Circle Time, underwear on the ceiling and “Mama Chips”: WEDNESDAY C WEEK

Our Wednesday “Green Day” Class was a fun one to be with today. Our play was constructive and the whole class was very attentive to our Circle Time game about comforting techniques. Even though we’re only in our 3rd week of school, these friends are adapting so well to new routines and me changing the schedule up! Read on to find answers to 5 questions!

C snack, a jumping cow, a cat graph and a new clean up plan: TUESDAY C WEEK

Our Tuesday “Yellow Day” Class settled in easily to our third week of school. As a teacher I trust my intuition to introduce new systems or experiences. That happened a few times today. Read on to learn more! One new element is the swing!

1. Where will the cats and cows be on Thursday?

In the playdough!

We played “What’s Missing” at Circle Time with 3 cats and 3 cows. This class is sharp! The next time we’re together on Thursday, those 6 creatures will be at the play dough table!

2. What C things were there for snack?

After Golden Letter friend Carter led us for hand washing, we found carrots, cucumbers, cupcakes, cookie crunch chocolates including safe versions for one friend in our trays! Thank you, Theodore!

Grandma Bonnie again made sure anyone who wanted to help get snack ready could do so. There’s a lot of hand washing on Tuesday and Thursday!

Scissors are available for opening packages.

3. What did you do if you were not cleaning up?

Look at a book!

Our Clean Up Time is less about managing children’s individual behavior and more about getting the room clean. Today we cleaned up earlier than usual and I sang what will be a familiar tune: If you’re not cleaning up then go sit down and find a book to look at. Finding a rug full of children looking at books on their own is as precious and valuable as a clean room.

4. What did Ms Kristin glue on the paper during Snack Time?

Everyone’s picture according to if they had a cat at home or not.

In a very odd coincidence (that I don’t think the children quite understood the significance of), we had the exact same numbers as yesterday’s class. Fun fact: we have one friend who was gone on Monday, so he will be the tie breaker!

5. What animal jumped over the moon?

The cow!

During outside Story Time, we giggled and shook our heads at the silliness of Hey Diddle Diddle. A cat playing a fiddle? A cow jumping over the moon? A dog laughing? A dish and spoon running? So silly.