Recently, we all have holiday fever and our vocabularies have changed to holiday words ;) Yes, we have been very involved in holiday decorations and practicing for our upcoming holiday performance. Moreover, the addition of rain last week truly made it a happening week! We are living in our true holiday spirit :)
Last week D came in with a snowflake and then everyone wanted to make one. They wanted to cover the entire classroom with snowflakes, so they all set out to work on their 'Mission Snowflake' :)
Later we worked to decorate gingerbread ornaments to decorate our Christmas tree. With gingerbread men, star, and angel shapes, they had a variety to choose from and they enjoyed selecting their preferences!
We then hung them up on our tree...
Last week we also worked on making our own Rudolphs...
We started painting the faces...
Then chose the antlers to go on...
Added the ears and colored the eyes...
Worked on gluing the different parts...
We will continue working on this project to add more details. They have been loving this and are so proud to make their customized reindeers!
Friends wanted to make snowmen and so we decided to put a snowman village together...
Starting to shape the white model clay...
Adding all the dimensions like eyes, scarves, hands, buttons, and hats!
Preparing to put them in their so called 'lighted snow village' right next to our Purple Room Christmas tree!
Letter D...
For letter D we did dot art...
And celebrated two 'D'ays - Pajama and hot chocolate day and L's birthday :)
Preparing the hot chocolate on a warm and fuzzy Pajama Day!
Adding marshmallows to our empty cups...
Seeing them float as the hot chocolate was poured in...friends did make many guesses here. Some said the marshmallows would stay on the bottom, some said they would float, while a couple did guess that they will melt because of the hot cocoa. Well, we soon found out the conclusion and discussed it.
Adding sprinkles as the final decorative touch...
Yummmm!..slurping and gulping it down, feeling the warmth all the way down to our tummies ;)
For L's birthday we had fresh fruit treats and his own birthday fresh fruit set up was simple awesome. We all gave him a big birthday card that we decorated with our special thoughts and wishes!
L' smiley face with four candles...Happy Birthday once again L!
Fresh fruit party...
Making a special big card for L...
At Creative Minds, our natural environment acts as a teacher and is a huge part of our learning. Our children love to explore all that it has to offer, and appreciate and enjoy every flavor of it!
Children delight in rain and indulge in so many ways of having fun in it: feeling it, hearing the sound of water dripping, catching it in bins and tubs, spying areas where water is collected, splashing and jumping in puddles, and overall just enjoying water!
K feeling water and enjoying getting wet...
A hearing the sound of rain falling on the umbrella!
Stepping in mud puddles and checking shoe prints on the sidewalk...
Next day, all the preschoolers were excited when we told them it's a puddle jumping day! We combined classes and ran outside to the parking to jump and splash. We discovered how much nature has for us to enjoy!
Splashing in the first puddle they encountered...
More puddle jumpers...
They found a mud puddle and some big tan barks to throw in it...some friends were wanting to know how deep the mud puddle was and boldly used their hands to measure the depth :)
L found oranges on the bush and learned the trick of how to twist the orange and pluck it carefully. Other friends tried it too and put the plucked orange in their pockets to enjoy as a healthy snack...
Another set of friends found a box filled with rain water and weeds/ dried dead roots...they explored that one as well!
L found some cool colored leaves and spent a long time looking for more....
L feeling the coziness of the tree!!!
We even did some bird watching. With all that rain and these white birds all around in the sky, it was such a breathtaking scene...wow, nature and its beauty - we are so thankful for it!
This bought an end to our puddle expedition. Last but not least, remember our philosophy was and always will be - "Rain or shine, we will go outside every time!"
Other activities we got involved in...
Making puppets...
L making popsicle puppets and making her reindeer eat the leaves of the tree....
Weaving and fine motor skills...
Geo boards with rubberbands.
D said he made a letter E with 5 sleeping lines...
S said she made a big window and many other tiny windows inside...
Friends love watching the snow glow on our weather tree when we dim or shut off the classroom lights...
Keep seeing you'll around.
Hugs,
Teacher Rashida
