Pumpkins, play dough, puzzles, patterns...robots, space, doctors, stairs, ramps... Adventure! Excitement! Just another week? Nah.
Classroom Happenings
Infant I: Our focus for the week has been talking about the importance of personal space and modeling how to give one another this type of space. The room spans in age from 3 to 14 months, so we have a range of movers. As older children, it's our job to take good care of our younger, less mobile classmates by allowing for enough space between our play or movement and their bodies. We also help foster a safe environment by demonstrating types of play that are more gentle if we are in fact near a smaller child, or a child who is simply taking some quiet space.
Infant II: The reality of the weather changing is starting to set in, and we have been working hard to keep our socks, shoes and coats on when playing outside as they keep us comfortable and cozy. Speaking of outdoors, we have a few things holding our interest right now. We have a small three step stairway which has been a tremendous hit. We climb, take turns, balance, and just sit together and hang out. We have also been constructing board benches, bridges and ramps, again using these places to climb and congregate. We've been doing more sensory play outdoors, this week with soap, water and brushes. The bubbles were certainly an exciting part of using the table. We are are having fun with pushing and pulling wagons. We are working on lots of gross motor skills as we steer around objects.
Toddler Room: It's been a beautiful fall week and we've been enjoying it both in and out of doors. Outside we are taking close notice of the leaves, both their color and their falling. We are gathering them for inspection and crunching. The group seems to be moving into a developmental stage where imagination is flourishing. There are more pretend play experiences and scenarios occurring such as pretending to make pasta in the play kitchen, nurturing the baby dolls with back rubs and blankets and so on. A note to parents, to please be sure and label all food items. Thank you!
Preschool I: We are all "falled" out. Ok, not really, but our fall interests have waned and our investigations will come to a close this week. There has been a tremendous interest in singing and music this week, with the children independently going after the instruments and making song requests. We've also had lots of building of rocket ships and robot pretend play...so next week we'll start some work with musical concepts. And robots? Dōmo arigatō, Mr. Roboto? We shall see. Otherwise, our week included watercolor painting with our fall cookie cutters as patterns, continued interest in taking impeccable care of our dolls, and checking out a few new books from the library such as Lois Elhert's Leaf Man (which we may have to turn into a song for next week). We are experimenting with our early morning schedule. As you may know, the period from 7-8:45 can be a bit hectic with drop offs and a tad boisterous as the children settle into their day. To support the children's needs for physical activity and desire to be LOUD, we are heading outside. If you child is one of the first five children to arrive, they will likely head outdoors by 7:45/7:50, while the remainder of the class works on projects and plays upstairs. Let us know if you have any questions!
Preschool II: "Take 2 of these, and call me in the morning."
We've been playing doctor. A lot. We've been working with our octoscope and have recently been trying out the BP cuff. In circle today, we took turns sharing the names of our doctors. Despite the number of ailments we seem to have, we seem to recover quickly. A testament to our medical training indeed. We now have three pumpkins in the room, and keeping with the alliterative trend of 'P" names, we have Petunia, Prudence and Polly. We have been dressing them in different outfits and covering them with blankets so they can sleep well at nap time. Our drumming practice continues and we are getting quite good. We are working hard to match Sarah's movements as we drum. At lunch time we have been taking in afternoon tea, and enjoying an essential oil spray of relaxing lavender at nap.
Pre-K: We've fought many a fire, and now are starting to look towards retiring from the force. Still a little interest in firefighting, but overall we are moving on to construction of our classroom wrecking ball. We've been brainstorming how to put this together, and our most current idea includes crumbled up paper and lots of tape. Other topics we're thinking about include pumpkins, play dough patterning, and puzzles. We have a few new puzzles we're working on, we've turned fall leaves into patterns, and can't wait to carve up Patrice, the classroom pumpkin. And on the fall front, we have been noticing and talking about the changes we're observing and experiencing. Small groups have been making trips to Wednesday story hour at the library, with other groups heading out into other places and play areas in the community.
Also Seen at MVS
Thanks for Reading
Sam
Classroom Happenings
Infant I: Our focus for the week has been talking about the importance of personal space and modeling how to give one another this type of space. The room spans in age from 3 to 14 months, so we have a range of movers. As older children, it's our job to take good care of our younger, less mobile classmates by allowing for enough space between our play or movement and their bodies. We also help foster a safe environment by demonstrating types of play that are more gentle if we are in fact near a smaller child, or a child who is simply taking some quiet space.
Infant II: The reality of the weather changing is starting to set in, and we have been working hard to keep our socks, shoes and coats on when playing outside as they keep us comfortable and cozy. Speaking of outdoors, we have a few things holding our interest right now. We have a small three step stairway which has been a tremendous hit. We climb, take turns, balance, and just sit together and hang out. We have also been constructing board benches, bridges and ramps, again using these places to climb and congregate. We've been doing more sensory play outdoors, this week with soap, water and brushes. The bubbles were certainly an exciting part of using the table. We are are having fun with pushing and pulling wagons. We are working on lots of gross motor skills as we steer around objects.
Toddler Room: It's been a beautiful fall week and we've been enjoying it both in and out of doors. Outside we are taking close notice of the leaves, both their color and their falling. We are gathering them for inspection and crunching. The group seems to be moving into a developmental stage where imagination is flourishing. There are more pretend play experiences and scenarios occurring such as pretending to make pasta in the play kitchen, nurturing the baby dolls with back rubs and blankets and so on. A note to parents, to please be sure and label all food items. Thank you!
Preschool I: We are all "falled" out. Ok, not really, but our fall interests have waned and our investigations will come to a close this week. There has been a tremendous interest in singing and music this week, with the children independently going after the instruments and making song requests. We've also had lots of building of rocket ships and robot pretend play...so next week we'll start some work with musical concepts. And robots? Dōmo arigatō, Mr. Roboto? We shall see. Otherwise, our week included watercolor painting with our fall cookie cutters as patterns, continued interest in taking impeccable care of our dolls, and checking out a few new books from the library such as Lois Elhert's Leaf Man (which we may have to turn into a song for next week). We are experimenting with our early morning schedule. As you may know, the period from 7-8:45 can be a bit hectic with drop offs and a tad boisterous as the children settle into their day. To support the children's needs for physical activity and desire to be LOUD, we are heading outside. If you child is one of the first five children to arrive, they will likely head outdoors by 7:45/7:50, while the remainder of the class works on projects and plays upstairs. Let us know if you have any questions!
Preschool II: "Take 2 of these, and call me in the morning."
 |
| CK is an excellent diagnostician. Here he diagnoses a double ear infection. |
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| Board certified neurologist MT brushes up on anatomy. |
Pre-K: We've fought many a fire, and now are starting to look towards retiring from the force. Still a little interest in firefighting, but overall we are moving on to construction of our classroom wrecking ball. We've been brainstorming how to put this together, and our most current idea includes crumbled up paper and lots of tape. Other topics we're thinking about include pumpkins, play dough patterning, and puzzles. We have a few new puzzles we're working on, we've turned fall leaves into patterns, and can't wait to carve up Patrice, the classroom pumpkin. And on the fall front, we have been noticing and talking about the changes we're observing and experiencing. Small groups have been making trips to Wednesday story hour at the library, with other groups heading out into other places and play areas in the community.
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| 2036 Tour de France winner, MH with proud papa, Matthew. |
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| Taking a break from being "ballerinas"on Tuesday afternoon. |
Sam
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