Week 26 (April 20, 21, 22)

The highlight of preschool lately has been our caterpillars! The kids have LOVED watching them grow and change! During the week, they grew and ate a ton! By the end of the week they were hanging at the top of the container!

Over the weekend, they all formed their chrysalides! It was fascinating, but slow, so I didn't get a picture or video of the change. After 24 hours in their chrysalis form, I moved them into their larger mesh butterfly house. They should spend a few more days in this form before they complete their metamorphosis. So exciting!

With all the rain, we had to be tricky about our outside time. It was REALLY puddly in the yard, so one of the days we blew a million bubbles on the patio.

"Look Ms. Jessie, it's a rhyme!" What? "A double bubble!" Jared, you're so clever.

Another day we went for a nature walk to the flooded neighborhood play area.  There is a large sidewalk loop around the exercise equipment and the kids had 2 days of bottled up energy they needed to release.

Of course we stopped a lot on the way to see bugs and pick flowers.

Then the preschoolers ran the big loop and tried out some of the fun exercise equipment.  Warren was especially excited to exercise and told us all of his expertise on the subject. Sofia added on about the importance of eating right too. I love it when you can tell that they're listening to their parents.

The rain kept us out of the yard all week so we went for yet another nature walk and hunted for worms to make our dirt really good for growing our peas.  Abby and Lullaby were the only ones interested in holding the worms.

When we got back we re-used these egg cartons (thanks Abby for bringing them in) to use for planting some peas! The kids were excited. They also went home with some extra peas and sunflower seeds to plant.

The preschoolers made wishes for Earth Day, and they were very thoughtful wishes. They loved hearing about ways they could help the Earth.

The preschoolers got to make their very own, and very official, "Light Police" cards. It entitles them to turn off all lights in the house when they see that there is no one in the room or using the lights.  They were excited to help out at preschool too.

We practiced sorting recyclables, singing the 3 R's song from Jack Johnson, and dancing before the parents came for pickup on Friday. Happy Earth Day!

Here are a few more pictures from the week. These kids have so much fun at preschool.

Color Clix masks. So funny! Jackson and Christian are so creative!

We've been talking about place value words, such as behind, beside, next to, above, in, on, under, in front, etc. We've also been talking a lot about beginning sounds of words.

Week 25 (April 13, 14 15)

The preschoolers made a rainy day picture with a sunshine hiding behind the clouds. We talked about how the sun is still up in the sky on cloudy days, but we just can't see it very well. Some of the preschoolers thought that it just never came up on rainy days.

For table time another day, the preschoolers did a cutting and pasting puzzle. Their scissor skills and visual discrimination skills are improving!

We went for a nature walk to the mailboxes to get something SPECIAL that had just arrived with an important "URGENT Open Immediately" sticker on it! I was so excited that it came during preschool so the kids could see the unboxing.

We got tiny caterpillars! There are 6 of them and all seem to be doing very well so far! We got magnifying glasses out and looked at them up close.  Sofia could hardly tear herself away from the caterpillars for outside time, she was very concerned about their well being.

For table time, the preschoolers got to create their own caterpillars, with our real live ones for the models. They loved this activity.

We/ve also been looking at other bugs! Those magnifying glasses are so much fun to explore with!

During circle time, we talked about metamorphosis and how eggs hatched into caterpillars, who formed chrysalises that opened and butterflies came out. I have plastic versions of each stage of development for butterflies and other bugs and creatures. They loved looking at them and holding them as we talked about the different stages our butterflies would go through.

The preschoolers had a fun time playing with the beans/seeds and the play food during free choice time.  Lullaby likes a lot of sensory input and burying herself in the seeds is a very calming activity for her.

Imaginext toys are always popular.  Christian has ongoing plot lines and scenes that he remembers and picks up from day to day. It's great to see him negotiate with the other preschoolers each day so he can get his specific characters that he needs to complete his scene.

I got a few new potato heads with Buzz Lightyear and Woody and friends, just for fun. They got really into it this week!  Jackson wasn't the only one I bought these for, but he definitely played with them the longest. :)

More sensory play! I have each of the preschoolers on a "sensory diet" and know them each well enough to know what kind of sensory input they need and how much of it to help them to have a successful day. They are such good kids!

The preschoolers tried out a new game called Coco Crazy. I adapted the rules of the game to make it appropriate for them, and they loved it.

And of course Color Clix. They made lots of vehicles this week, they're just so creative!  Abby made extras of her cars because they were just that cool, and she gave one to each friend who wanted one.

I brought out the finger puppets for a fun day of exploration and imaginative play. The  story lines that came out of this play were fantastic. I'm ever impressed.

Also, Jared welcomed a new baby brother and celebrated with the class by bringing treats to share with everyone. Thank you Jared, and congrats!  Warren also brought treats to share on Friday, just because. Thanks Warren!

The preschoolers also got to take home their "bunny grass" on Friday. If you want the grass to continue growing, please keep watering it each day (only a little bit), and the preschoolers can cut the grass as often as they like. :)