Halloween Is Here

Today we celebrated Halloween! 

Choice Time:  With the help of some of our parents, we did the parachute!  We made it go fast, slow, high, low.  We put leaves on it and shook them off.  But, the most fun thing was when the parents held it up high and the children were able to go underneath it.  It was a lot of fun!  On Thursday, we did not have choice time as we needed to get into the other room for our Free Play.

Circle Time:  We read the story "Where Is Your Mummy?" a book on CD.  We also sang our fall songs one more time.

Free Play:  The children had a short time to play due to the party. 

Snack Time:  We had mandarin oranges and frosted cookies.  Thank you, party parents.  Our Thursday party featured frosted cookies and juice.  Thank you, party parents.

Party:  We had a fun party.  Our games were Pin the Bow on the Skeleton, Bean Bag Ghost Toss, tattoos and Spaghetti Eyeball Search.  Again, thank you party parents.  It was great!  On Thursday, we played putt putt golf, Bean Bag Ghost Toss and Halloween Squishy Bags.  Each child was also given two Trick or Treat bags compliments of the party parents and Payten.  Again, thank you to all who helped with the party.  It was a great success.

Thank you everyone for turning in your picture proofs! 

 

Almost Halloween

Once again we have experienced technical difficulties and we were unable to post a blog yesterday.  This is that post.

This is the week of Halloween.  The children always look forward to the activities the season has to offer.

Outdoor Classroom:  We were able to go outside today and we brought with us the hoops and balls.  We encouraged the children to keep moving to stay warm.  They really enjoyed being outside.

Circle Time:  We read the story "The Little Old Lady Who Wasn't Afraid of Anything".  There were felt pieces that went along with the story and the children found it all to be very interesting.

Snack Time:  Snack was bananas and milk.  Thank you, Alice.  Elliott brought Scrabble CheezIts on Tuesday.  Thank you.  We had fun talking about the letters on our crackers.
   
Free Play:  Everyone was offered a chance to make Halloween pictures on dark paper with chalk. 

Our Halloween party (Green Group) is Wednesday, October 30th at 10:30 a.m.  Everyone is welcome to attend.  The children may choose to wear their costumes to school or they may change into them at party time.

Our Halloween party (Yellow Group) is Thursday, October 31st at 10:30 a.m.  Everyone is welcome to attend. The children may choose to wear their costumes to school or they may change into them at party time.

If you still have your picture proofs, please send them in this week.  They are due on Wednesday, October 30th.  Please do not be late.  And remember, we need all proofs returned, not just orders.

Halloween is Coming

We are sorry for the lack of a post on Wednesday, October 23rd.  We were experiencing technical difficulties.  This is that post.

We introduced some small Halloween themed manipulatives for the children to look at when they first come into the classroom.

Choice Time:  Tabletop easels, an eye dropper activity and an obstacle course with a tunnel were the choices offered for the children today.  On Thursday, we focused on our fire drill.  The children were taught to line up quickly, follow the teacher out the door to the parking lot and wait to be counted.  They followed directions very well.  When we came back inside everyone played with the parachute together.  We put some leaves on the parachute and tried to shake them off.

Circle Time:  Our stories were "Five Little Pumpkins" and "Halloween Colors".  After reading the books, we practiced our fire drill.  Mrs. Whiteman said "Fire drill, fire drill, fire drill" and the children tried getting in line by the EXIT sign as quickly as possible (without running, of course). 

Snack Time:  Chloe brought us pretzel and cheese packs with juice.  Thank you.  On Thursday, we had penguin crackers from Sydney.  Thank you.

Free Play:  All of the children were offered another opportunity to do more beading.  They also were given many different fall craft items to choose from and they made a lot of different things with them.

Picture proofs went home today.  They are due back (whether you order or not) on Wednesday, October 30th.  Thank you to the parents who have been so quick to return the proofs. 

Some of the children had their eyes checked by the Lion's Club today.  Reports will be provided at a later date to all of those who participated.

Changes

There are changes going on all around us.  The temperature changed and we have to wear coats and hats and gloves to stay warm.  The leaves are changing and starting to fall to the ground.  Our class has changed because Treya has finally joined us.  On Tuesday, we had to change our schedule a little bit to accommodate the Lion's Club Vision Screening.

Choice Time:  The three choices included:  tabletop easels, a magnet activity where the children had to "rake" the leaves, and marching with musical instruments.  On Tuesday, our choices were:  tabletop easels, an eye dropper activity to help with fine motor skills and an obstacle course with a tunnel.

Circle Time:  We read the book "Leaves, Leaves, Leaves".  The children should be able to answer the following questions:  When do leaves change color?  What colors are fall leaves?  Do any leaves stay green in the fall?  What helps the leaves fall from the trees?  What fun things can you do with fall leaves?  We also sang our fall songs.

Snack Time:  We had CheezIts and grapes.  Thank you, Evan.  On Tuesday we had crackers and juice.  Thank you, Bryson.  We also had a helper today.  Thank you to Olive's mom for playing with us.

Free Play:  The children were offered the opportunity to do some beading.  They made bracelets.  Easton brought in some cool stickers to share with his classmates.  Thank you.  Bryson brought in stickers on Tuesday!

Do you think the weathermen are correct and it is going to snow this week?  I hope not!  On Tuesday, we found out the weatherman did know what he was talking about.  Several children were even singing "Snow, Snow, Go Away!". 

FYI:  Our lesson plans on Wednesday and Thursday include a fire drill practice (no loud bells or flashing lights).  If you want to talk to your children about fire safety, that would be helpful. 

Leaves Are Falling

We have continued to talk about the season of Fall and all of the changes that are happening. 

Choice Time:  The children were given three choices:  tabletop easels, Play Doh or our game Jump the River.  On Thursday, the three choices were:  an activity where they used magnets to pick up leaves with a paperclip attached, tabletop easels and musical instruments which they used to play and march to Halloween music. 

Circle Time:  We read the book "Leaves Are Falling, Counting 1 to 10".  This book helped us learn to count up to ten.  We sang our fall songs and introduced a new one called "Leaves Are Falling". 

Snack Time:  We had tiny Clementines, string cheese and apple juice.  Thank you, Priyanshi.  On Thursday, we had Angry Bird Cheese Nips and apple juice.  Thank you, Ethan.  Sydney's mom came and helped today.  Thank you!

Free Play:  The children were given a chance to cut with scissors again and we have some very good cutters.  Some new children came over and gave it a try, too.  We also put some Moon Sand into the sensory table.  This was a big hit.

Please take notice of the the information that went home today regarding the Lion's Club Vision Screening.  This is a free service and we just need your permission for your child to participate.  The screenings are next week, so make sure to get your forms in if you would like this service.

The Season is Fall

At preschool, we have been talking about the season of Fall and focusing on the changes that are going on around us.  We looked at field corn on the cob and picked some of the kernels off of the ears.  Thank you to Sawyer for bringing in the interesting bugs and sprouts.  Also thanks to Kyanna for the Day Lily seeds.

Outdoor Classroom:  We went outside today.  It was noisy due to the fact that the construction workers were busy trying to finish the road.  Let's hope that it gets done soon!  On Tuesday, we had to stay inside due to the rain.  Our three choices included tabletop easels, Play Doh and a game called Jump the River.

Circle Time:  We read the story "Time to Harvest".  The children should be able to answer the following questions based on the book:  When is it time to harvest? (Fall)  What does harvest mean? (to pick foods)  What things do we harvest? (pumpkins, corn, grapes...)  We continue to sing our Fall songs.  Ask the children to sing them for you as some of them know them very well.

Snack:  We popped popcorn and had it with pretzels and juice.  We celebrated Kaitlyn's birthday with a Birthday Brownie!  Thank you to Kyanna's mom for helping on Tuesday!

Free Play:  The children were offered an opportunity to cut with scissors.  If they participated, we put their cuttings in a baggie and sent them home.  We also had a new product in the Sensory Table; Moon Sand.  It was very soft and easy to mold.  One of the children said it smells bad!  (plastic smell).  They loved it.

A Beautiful Day

It was a beautiful day outside.  We went to the Outdoor Classroom and enjoyed ourselves. 

Outdoor Classroom:  We introduced the children to the woven balls.  These are hollow balls (8-10 inches in diameter) that look woven.  We used them to kick around like a soccer ball.  There were only four balls, so we had to share. 

Circle Time:  We read the story "Busy Squirrels".  It seems that everyone has seen squirrels at home as they have been busy hiding their nuts in preparation for winter.  The children should be able to answer the following questions from the book:  What do squirrels drink?  What do squirrels eat?  Why do squirrels hide nuts?  When do squirrels find nuts?  How do squirrels keep warm?  We sang the songs "Gray Squirrel", "I'm a Nut", "Way Up High in the Apple Tree" and "Five Little Pumpkins".

Snack Time:  We continue to work on using good table manners during snack time.  Today we had carrots, yogurt and milk.  Thank you, Mariyyam.  We also had a special helper, Karley's mom, Stephanie.  Thank you, Stephanie.  On Thursday we had BelVita crackers and apple juice from Olive.  Thank you.

Free Play:  We gave the children a chance to finger paint with red and yellow.  Some of them finger painted for so long that the red and yellow made orange!  The children seemed very interested in using stickers.  We used a lot of stickers, so if you would like to donate any cool stickers for girls and boys, we would appreciate them!

Let's hope the weather holds out.  We love to go outside.

A Day Inside

Due to the fact that it was cold and damp outside, we decided to stay indoors today. 

Choice Time:  When we stay inside we offer the children three choices of areas to explore.  One choice involves a large motor skill and the other two are small motor activities.  We used the multi-sensory balance beam, the table top easels with dry erase markers and erasers, and Play-Doh.

Circle Time:  We looked closely at a variety of seeds.  Our favorite were the seeds from the milkweed plant.  Once those started floating in the air, it was hard to catch them and put them away.  Story time was "An Apple a Day".  This was another giant book.  We also sang some songs about seeds. 

Snack Time:  We had cheese sticks, CheezIts and apple juice from Marley.  Thank you.  On Tuesday, Kyanna brought in Veggie Straws and juice.  Thank you.

Free Play:  The children were offered an opportunity to paint with apples at the Art Table.  Anyone interested did their own paper.  The children will bring them home after they have dried. 

We continue to work on what it means when the gong sounds:  stop playing, start cleaning!

Seeds

Don't forget to check out the pictures from our Pumpkin Patch trips.  That post is right under this one!

Today we turned our attention from bugs to seeds.  Thank you to everyone who brought in such interesting seeds and seed pods.  Our favorite seemed to be the milkweed pods.  We took those outside and played with them.

Outdoor Classroom:  The kids had fun with the toys outside.  We ended our time running around as a variety of different animals.

Circle Time:  Today we did the attendance book silently.  When we saw our picture we raised our hand without saying a word.  Everyone was able to do it.  What a pleasant surprise!  We read the story "Growing Pumpkins".  It was a giant book.  We sang some new songs:  "I'm an Acorn", "Way Up High in the Apple Tree" and "Five Little Pumpkins Sitting on a Gate".

Snack Time:  We had pumpkin bread and V-8 Fusion juice.  Thank you, Sawyer.

Free Play:  We did a group gluing project at the Art Table.  It is drying and will be hung up in the hallway as soon as possible. 

Pumpkin Pictures

Green Group

 

 

 

 

Yellow Group

 

 

 

 

Our Trip to the Pumpkin Patch

Farmer Gene met us at the fence and took us on a tour of the pumpkin patch.  First we fed the goats and sheep.  Then, we saw peacocks.  There was a baby peacock about 6 weeks old and peacock eggs.  We saw the geese and the turkeys.  They were very, very loud and some of the children covered their ears. 

Next we went through the corn maze.  Mrs. Myers was the last one out!  But, she didn't need any help from Farmer Gene.  Then Farmer Gene told us how pumpkins are grown and let us pick a pumpkin from the patch. 

We went to Bunnyville.  The bunnies were a little skittish since we were the first tour of the season.  They need to get used to children.  We learned that if we approached the bunnies very quietly, that sometimes they would let us pet them.

Snack was animal crackers and juice.  Thank you, Nevaeh.  Wednesday's snack was graham crackers, and a decorated cookie for a special treat.  Thank you, Dharmi!  Thank you to all of the parents who helped us with this wonderful field trip.  We could not have done it without you.

We hope that you all got great pictures.  We will post ours later.