Back to Basics: ABCs and 1,2,3s

It's review week in the curriculum, so I decided to spend some time going over the basics this week. 

All of us have been dealing with various degrees of illness, kids and moms alike. So instead of my usual sugar-laced snack the kids ate fruit and veggies while we read a book. Apple slices and carrot sticks DO NOT incite the same level of joy as hot chocolate and candy do, but the kids didn't complain. 

Serving ourselves from the snack plate 

Politely reaching for more...

We read a great book called "I Did It, I'm Sorry" by Caralyn and Mark Buehner. On each page is a scenario with a series of multiple choice answers, e.g. Rudy Racoon came across a radio while riding his bike. Should he a) run it over with his bike tires? b) sell it on the black market? c) Return it to lost and found? The kids had fun hearing some of the crazy options. It also inspired some admissions of wrong-doing: one kid had lied that day; another had pushed his baby brother over (JACK!). 

The kids all wrote their names this week. What an accomplishment. When we started this in the fall I don't think anyone could write their names. Now they can identify their names among other words and pick out individual sounds in their names. I'm starting to see how reading will be coming soon...

After we wrote our names I showed the kids flash cards and asked them to name the letter, the sound, and a word that starts with the letter. Then I asked them to write the letter on their paper. The free-style letter writing was tough, but it was interesting to see how their brains are working. In terms of the letter identification, the kids are all spot-on. So cool to watch.

Next we did a upper-case and lower-case letter matching game with old Easter eggs. Each egg half had either an upper or lower case letter and the kids had to find the pairs. This was tricky for most of the kids, but I think it was a good challenge. I've brought the activity out a few times this week for Jack to play with and he's getting much better. 

The kids always love some free drawing time, so this week we drew pictures of our families. It will be fun to do this again at the end of the year to see how much more detailed pictures become...and of course to see the new additions! (See the bottom of this post for the finished products.)

The kids were pretty well done with sitting, but I tried a team activity this week that involved working in pairs to put the correct number of items into the corresponding buckets. FYI: working together is not something three- and four-year olds do naturally. Eisley and Jack were pretty into it, but the backyard was calling by this time, so we kind of rushed through it and headed outside. This could be one to bring back in a few months. 

On day two, the weather was beautiful and the teacher had run out of ideas. So we went (faux) camping! I set up the old tent in the grassy area outside our house (it's really a dog pooping station...quite disgusting, but in Vegas you take what you can get when it comes to green grass). Before we headed out we talked about what we needed to pack (blankets, food, water, candy) and then hit the road. 

The kids were having a great time. And then the sprinklers came on and ruined our fun. It was all very Pacific Northwest to have an outdoor activity interrupted by showers. 

"sleeping..."

Poor Gus doesn't realize he's NOT one of the big kids

Doc is officially one of the big kids :)

Sweet Jules and her "pretty"

We took the party inside for some Gak playing, Valentine making, and beading fun. 

Look and them all so focused!

It was wonderful to be outside so much this week and was a good sign for things to come. Here we go summer!!

Family portraits:

Addison's family

Jack's family 

Eisley's family

Noah's family 

Week 5: A boatload of shaving cream

Phew, I'm beat. Our planned rotation gave us three weeks off between teaching duties (four moms, one teaching week per month) but a nasty round of illness bumped things around a bit and I had just one week off between. I think my fatigue may have shown as I watched with glazed-over eyes as seven toddlers ran around covered in shaving cream and silly string this morning. My house smells like a freshly shaven man and I'm taking a nap right after this post!

This morning we read On Noah's Ark by Jan Brett. The pictures are beautiful and it hits all the important highlights of the story of Noah's ark.

After we played out the flood portion of the story on the felt board, I let the kids pretend they were boarding Noah's ark. We spread stuffed animals around the room and asked the kids to carefully gather them into the ark. Then it was their turn to board.

Once the kids were inside the box we made our own rainstorm...first rubbing our fingers and hands together to make wind, then snapping and clapping to make rain, then hitting our thighs to make thunder. At the end of the rainstorm, the sun came out and a rainbow appeared. We talked about how cramped and crowded the boat felt and even rocked the boat back and forth to experience how it might feel to be caught in a storm in a boat. 

Once again, an empty box proves to be the king of all kids toys.

Dayna performed an awesome rendition of "Arky, Arky" for us. The kids watched and sang along from the boat. 

After an appropriate snack of rainbow Goldfish crackers we headed outside for some messy play. 

One Dollar Store tablecloth + two cans of shaving cream + two cans of silly string = me wondering why I thought this would be a good idea a good time.

While we were outside making a mess we worked on our secret project (a present for grands). We can't reveal too much, but here's a sneak peak at the process.

As all good days should, this one ended with a good hosing off in the driveway! 

Happy week 5 everyone! We're headed to the Nevada State Museum tomorrow for a Friday Field Trip. Should be fun! 

Week 5: Noah Tastes the Rainbow

I can't believe its been a month! Our experiment in co-op preschool continues into week 5 where we are learning about the story of Noah's ark, the letter "b" and the number 3.

The story of Noah's ark is a great one for this age group (3-4). Plus, we have our very own Noah in the group, which makes it even more awesome. We read the story and then played it out on the felt board.

Addison adding Noah's neighbors. All of whom drown.
I decided not to dwell on that aspect of the story :)

The ark in the sky.

After calendar time we read Jane Belk Moncure's "My "b" Book" and "My Three Book," both of which captured the kids attention. The Moncure number books are especially wonderful. 

Hoping three hops from "My Three Book"

My "b" Book

Using the rainbow template from our workbooks we played with the colors of the rainbow, i.e. Fruit Loops. The kids glued the correct color Fruit Loop into the corresponding arc (we drew in a line of the correct color to help guide them). The girls were awesome at this. The boys were more interested in eating the cereal. They still turned out pretty cute.

Noah tasting the rainbow

In keeping with the Noah's ark theme we had animal cookies for snack. The kids practiced serving themselves, scooping cookies into their cups.

Next we headed outside to practice painting rainbows with fizzy paint, which is baking soda-based outdoor paint that fizzes when you spray it with vinegar. It's lots of fun. Until someone gets squirted in the eye with vinegar.

Fizzy Paint Ingredients (per color):
1/4 C cornstarch
1/2 box baking soda
10 drops food coloring
3 T water

Add in the water until its a little soupier than you might prefer - the paint thickens up as it sits. 

Then, the most amazing thing happened: A GARBAGE TRUCK CAME AND PICKED UP OUR GARBAGE. For the three year old set, garbage trucks are like the Beatles, New Kids on the Block and Justin Bieber wrapped up in a big, stinky box. Heaven.

I love you little garbage pail kids!