I pushed the preschoolers during small groups this week and I wasn't surprised when they completed a very challenging task. They are really excited about learning, and I love it. They did an activity called "Name the Scarecrows", very fall-ish, don't you think? Each scarecrow had a number of different identifying attributes, like a hat, or gloves, or a scarf, or a crow, and various colored shirts. I laid them on the table along with a chart full of information, except the scarecrows name. They had to read each answer in the row (we drew pictures to help with the words, although each boy was able to sound out and reason out a few words, even before the pictures were drawn), and figure out which was which.
We did lots of playing. This week they have been loving the monkeys, thankfully, we have several. :)
We did an experiment at snack time again, and made predictions about oranges vs. clementines. Which would be sweeter? Which would be juicier? Which would be our favorite? It was fun to hear their predictions and see if those matched the results.
Inside recess to day (Friday) due to the HUGE muddy puddles. They were plenty happy to get the tents out again. They went right back to playing the 3 little pigs, like last time. The pictures are rather blurry, but they couldn't slow down, it was too much fun.
We talked lots about the next holiday coming up, Thanksgiving! We read Bear Says Thanks and talked about what we were thankful for! The kids came up with LOTS of really good things, and some unique things that I never would have expected, like;
Red "The color red is just a really nice color."- Ryan
Airports "I like going to airports, and I like when people come to my house from the airport."- Jeff
Rainbows "Rainbows are really pretty in the sky when it's all yucky and gray."- Hawken
The whole world "I like the whole world because it makes me happy."- Lullaby
So, we made thankful necklaces. They wrote and drew what they were thankful for, picked out a few beads, and made a cute little reminder of a couple things they were grateful for.
Coloring during free choice, these all ended up being torn up into "Rescue Bot food", so they didn't go home. :)
Playdoh. We got some new playdoh a couple weeks ago, and they are just now starting to mix the colors and experiment with the different things they can create.
More trains. We love the trains!
Yoga time! These are baby cobras.
These are BIG cobras! We also learned the sun salutation for the first time. We went through it twice, and everyone was picking up on the little repetitive parts. I think a couple more times and they may have it memorized. They are very serious about exercise when there is a routine.
We also made TURKEYS. They were especially happy about glueing on the feathers. I love watching their little hands when they are working SO hard.
Logan is gone in Canada and although we are missing him, we have been sending videos back and forth and learning some fun things about Canada. I will post those videos after our next week of class. And, we made a thankful video. I loved hearing them talk about what they were thankful for, and I thought you would love to hear it too. Plus, a special little shout out for our friend Logan. Enjoy!
