Sand and Bagels

Dear Parents,

We started our week playing in a sand bin with partners. The children said the sand felt dry, soft , hard, and they liked the color.  It is kinetic sand which does have a different consistency than regular sand. (Sand which- not sandwich).

On Tuesday we walked to La Bagel Delight. We saw a 450 degree oven, a bubbling cauldron of water, and many bagels. Rodrigo told us that he gets there at 4am every day and that they make about 500 bagels a day. “What is the most popular?” we asked. He said, “Everything and plain.” Afterwards we ate so many bagels, we barely ate lunch!

During tumbling with Casey we saw everyone balancing on a spot and on a beam, while playing with scarves. While half the class was tumbling, the others played ABC bingo in the classroom.  

We have been brainstorming words for each letter of the alphabet. On Wednesday we did F words: friends, fun, firetruck, family, farewell, first, four, five, fur, and fish.

On Thursday we worked with red Mexican clay. The children said it was much harder than play dough. We added water to soften the clay and used our hands to squish, roll, pat, poke, and squeeze the clay. Children made snowmen, balls, the school, the teachers, each other, and more. 

We played with our parachute on Friday. We sang a song about the colors of the parachute and named fruits and vegetables of the same colors. We sang “ I’m Being Swallowed by a Boa Constrictor”  while the parachute swallowed us up. When we were under the parachute, the class said, “ It’s like a tent.” Everyone took turns sitting in the middle while we sang London Bridge and took the keys and locked them up. That song always gets the most delightful smiles and laughter. 

Have a colorful weekend,

Therese

Potions and Portraits

Dear Parents,

We began our week mixing potions of glue and water, and Borax laundry detergent and water, to make Gloop. We added red to one bowl and yellow to another. The class guessed we would get purple or orange when we mixed them together. 

During circle we wrote a list of what everyone did during our break. Some said they went skiing, several went to a new play space,  someone sledded in snow, one friend said they lived in a beautiful hotel that looked like a castle, someone else said they went to Harrison’s house, another went to Pennsylvania, and another to Spain with her dada.

In preparation for our self-portraits, everyone looked in mirrors as we asked, “What shapes do you see?” The children said they saw circles, triangles, squares, half-circles, and straight and crooked lines. Then we worked on our drawings. When we were finished, one person thought he looked like a skeleton, and another said he looked like Harry Potter. The portraits are hanging above the cubbies.

On Thursday after circle and snacks, we went into the big room to ride wheels, climb on the jungle gym, and use our rice table. Everyone wanted a turn to pour rice using cups and funnels. We also poured rice over a water wheel. Some said they were making a rice cake. 

On Friday we spent more time playing with our Gloop. The first day we made it, several children did not want to touch it but were surprised the next day when they did touch it, that the Gloop was not sticky. “It feels dry,” someone said. Everyone agreed that it is different from play dough. 

Our first tumbling class with Casey was a success. We saw children balancing on a beam and tumbling across mats. While half the class was tumbling, in the classroom we played an animal bingo game. The children worked in pairs to identify baby animals from different habitats. 

Have a calm weekend,

Therese