February 7th - 13th, 2018
Tuesday, February 13, 2018
Hello!
Here is an update for you on our last few days of activities.
Thanks for reading, and have a great night!
Anine : )
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Valentine Exchange…
Thank you, all, for helping your kiddos prepare for a Valentine exchange with their friends today! The kids were so excited, and they had fun.
Each of the kids decorated a Valentine bag to use to hold their valentines shortly after they arrived today, and then one at a time, the kids took turns passing out their Valentines, and placing them in their friends’ bags. Each friend decorated a great big heart-shaped cookie today, too.
Cookie Decorating…
Each friend had a turn to use pink, white, and red frosting, and three colors of sprinkles to do their decorating. In the late afternoon yesterday, the kids who were here had mixed up some sugar cookie dough with me, and then last night after it had been refrigerated for a while, I rolled it out and baked the cookies to have them ready for today.
When the kids weren’t busy decorating Valentine bags or Valentine cookies, they had fun sharing favorite toys that we brought up from downstairs today.
Valentine Sensory Container & Treasures…
The kids who woke up earliest from rest today took turns hunting for “treasures” like foam stickers, Valentine pencils, erasers and rulers, tiny notebooks, tiny containers, and other fun items in our Valentine Sensory container. A couple of friends in particular pulled every “treasure” out of all the hiding places in amongst the red and white paper shreds, then sorted and organized them into tiny valentine containers. “Anine! You should come see our sorting!!”
Abe Lincoln’s Birthday…
Monday was Abe Lincoln’s birthday, and we had some fun with that topic. The kids played a game - a “penny” toss challenge (tossing “pennies” into a hat a bit like Abe Lincoln’s). We also looked at a real penny and at a five-dollar bill and found pictures of Abe Lincoln on them. We read a simple board book called “The Story of Abraham Lincoln”, and then each of the kids had a chance to build with Lincoln Logs.
Circle Time Songs, Stories…
We’ve been enjoying songs and stories. We have a group of songs that the kids request pretty frequently, and then we have a bunch of lyrics for other fun songs saved on a Pinterest page. The other day I brought my laptop with me when we sat down in our circle, and we intentionally chose a bunch of the songs that we have sung less often.
Some of our songs we sang recently were * This Little Light of Mine * The Birthday Cheer * The Vowels * The Address Song * The Circle Song * The Rectangle Song * The Alphabet Rap * Five Little Monkeys * The Color Song * The Slippery Fish Song * Three Little Monkeys/Tree * Three Little Monkeys/Bed * Hello * Little Red Caboose * On Top of Spaghetti * Bumblebee * Fire Truck song * Five Green & Speckled Frogs * Rocket Song * I’m a Little Snowman * Up in the Arctic
Some of the books we’ve read recently include * Barnyard Dance * Itsy Bitsy Spider * Pete the Cat: Old MacDonald Had a Farm * Jamberry * Llama, llama, I Love You * Blue Hat, Green Hat * Moo, Baa, La La La! * Nibbles (thanks to our friend “J”, who shared his book with us!) * Hippos Go Berserk! * Diego’s Springtime Fiesta * But Not the Hippopotamus * Brown Bear, Brown Bear * Ready, Set, Brush! * Show Me Your Smile * The Story of Abraham Lincoln * The Story of George Washington * Flutterby, Butterfly! (thanks to our friend “R”, who shared her book with us!)
Banana Bread…
In the late afternoon on Wednesday, one group of friends made a batch of banana bread. I baked it that night and the next day every friend got to have a taste. During our cooking/baking activities recently, the kids have been especially excited about getting to crack eggs!
Snow Painting…
Twice in the last week or so, we have filled plates with fresh snow from the deck, and brought them inside to the kitchen table. We covered the table with a big towel and then gave each friend a plate full of snow to use. Both days we gathered assorted magic markers that were starting to dry up. I let the kids use them, and once the markers got wet from the melting snow, they were fun for the kids to use to “paint” their piles of snow.
Group Birthday Card…
Happy birthday to our friend’s big sister, “R”, who turned 8 on Friday! The kids had fun working on a group birthday card for her. They used lots of markers and colored pencils, and especially liked covering the card with stickers. “R”, we hope you had a wonderful day!
Puzzles & Games…
Some of the puzzles and games the kids have enjoyed recently were Blokus, Connect Four, a Lakeshore “Unlock It!” number match game, a Minnie/Daisy puzzle, a “Sofia the First” puzzle, a “Doc McStuffins” puzzle, and a Lakeshore “Ladybug Number Match” game.
We have often been playing “Spell Your Name Games” at mealtimes. I either ask the kids to spell their names for me, or I spell the names out loud while I am passing out their plates and cups, and the group guesses whose name it is. We made tiny songs out of each of the kids’ names.
Two dramatic play games the kids made up were popular this past few days, too – a version of “School” and a game inspired by the “Frozen” movie. Most of the kids were excited, too, when we brought a certain container of dress up clothes out for a few days.
Other Fun…
The kids have continued enjoying spending time in our classroom space, working on “homework” and/or practicing with scissors, and building temporary “areas” upstairs during arrival time most days. One little friend was excited about doing his “homework” the other day. He looked up from his “work”, beamed at me, and exclaimed “I workin’ hard! My mom proud I workin’ hard!”
Meals - Wednesday February 7th…
Breakfast was homestyle pancakes, fresh strawberry slices, and a little dollop of whipped cream (Reddi Whip) on the side. The kids had skim milk to drink.
Lunch was Schwan’s Cod nuggets, Mild Cheddar cheese slices, steamed mixed vegetables (corn, green beans, carrots, peas, lima beans), fresh raspberries, Kraft macaroni, Triscuit crackers, and milk.
Snack was whole grain pretzel Goldfish crackers, whole grain cheddar Goldfish crackers, and apple juice.
Meals - Thursday, February 8th…
Breakfast was chocolate chip “wafflers”, bananas, and milk.
Lunch was grilled cheese sandwiches (Orowheat Country White bread, Kraft Deli Deluxe American cheese slices, butter), homemade white chicken chili (shredded chicken breast, Pinto beans, seasonings – creamy broth mostly removed), fresh blueberries, milk, and a little slice of homemade banana bread, too.
Snack was Wheat Thins crackers, thin slices of Kraft sharp cheddar cheese, fresh blueberries, and apple juice.
Meals - Friday, February 9th…
Breakfast was blueberry waffles, cinnamon-toast waffles, and/or Homestyle pancakes, fresh blueberries, and milk
Lunch was homemade chicken & vegetables (kind of like the middle of chicken pot pie, but with just a tiny bit of sauce). Thank you to Grandma Bente, who visited this morning and made that for us! (chicken breast, carrots, peas, corn, leek, parsnips, “mixed vegetables” and seasonings). The kids also had unsweetened applesauce, 100% whole wheat bread/butter, and milk.
Snack was animal crackers and apple juice.
Meals - Monday, February 12th…
Breakfast was blueberry waffles, fresh blackberries, fresh blueberries, and milk.
Lunch was Tuscan seasoned pork tenderloin slices, steamed peas, fresh cucumber slices, fresh raspberries, Orowheat Oat Nut bread/butter, and milk.
Snack was Oikos vanilla Greek yogurt with “Special K: Strawberry” cereal sprinkles on the side, animal crackers, and apple juice.
Meals - Tuesday, February 13th…
Breakfast was chocolate chip waffles, fresh strawberries, and milk.
Lunch was hamburger pizza, steamed edamame, steamed corn, applesauce, and milk.
Snack was original Cheerios, apple juice, and water.
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