We started the day off schedule....but with a great surprise.....our very special visitor today....Officer Wade stopped by! First, we sat and listened as he told us all about police officers. They all wear special blue clothes, called a uniform, with a badge and a patch on each arm. Police officers can drive patrol cars, bikes, helicopters, motorcycles, boats, and sometimes....even horses! Officer wade told us some good ways to stay safe. The kids were all really good listeners and asked some intelligent questions! Then we headed outside to tour the police car. Definitely the highlight of the experience! The kids all took turns climbing through the backseat....and some found themselves quite comfortable in the car and didn't want to leave! We walked around the car and looked at the numbers and words written on the sides. We observed the lights flashing yellow and blue. And....then....we listened to the siren. The kids were a little nervous at first, but it wasn't nearly as loud as they expected. And we learned that if we hear that siren, it means to move over and slow down because the police are in a hurry to get somewhere! Officer Wade was so much fun....and he left us all with special police badge stickers and coloring books! We will be looking for him patrolling the neighborhood on our next Out and About!
Our story today was Thanksgiving Day Thanks by Laura Malone Elliot. The story was about a class at school. They were completing Thanksgiving projects and had to think of something they were thankful for. Poor Sam can't think of what to do for his project....or what he's most thankful for. After much thinking, he attempts to re-create the Thanksgiving Day Parade, but a strong wind ruins his project. Luckily his friend Mary Ann uses her arrow-shooting skills to rescue one balloon and save the day. This prompts Sam to finally realize what he is thankful for: time spent with his family and wonderful friends.
After reading the story, we started to discuss what being thankful means and made a list of some things that we are thankful for in our lives.
For art, the kids used leaves we collected outside to make a leaf turkey. The turkey had a head, beak, eyes and waddle. Then we added colorful leaves as the turkey feathers.
After lunch, we practiced the kids special parts of the holiday show in December. They each took a book home with their part highlighted to they can practice! They are so looking forward to the Thanksgiving Feast next week with families! Here are the songs we are going to sing:
Today was a super busy day with LOTS to do! We started the day with some quiet book time instead of at the Touch and Feel pool. We weren't there too long, because we had so much to talk about in the morning circle.
Ms. Danielle was here today helping us practice some baseball skills. It was super muddy outside, so we had a modified indoor baseball game. Each kiddo took turn hitting the ball off a tee....with reminders to do it easy. Then they all ran the bases. Everyone cheered for everyone else. Great little sportsmen! Then we played a game of pass the ball around the circle....with 6 balls. The kids were concentrating and encouraging their friends.
"Today we saw Ms. Laura for music. We worked with rhythm sticks, playing on the beat, fast and slow, loud and soft. Ms. Laura had us tap the floor, our knees, and cross our arms then tap our toes! She said this makes our brains work harder. We played drums, and shakers and bells, while singing "Old McDonald had a Farm"- we got to pull animals out of a bag, and make animal noises while playing our instruments. We then sang a song about the Police, and how they help us stay safe. We talked about how we call 911 only in an emergency! We danced to a song called "Bop Til u Drop", during which we spun in a circle, jumped, moved in slow motion, and wiggled our whole bodies. We then sang a song called "Oh Im glad I'm Not a Turkey", and read/sang a book about giving thanks on Thanksgiving Day called "Thank you Thanksgiving" Ms. Laura says "Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! Gobble Gobble!""
No story today....we read the kids the story that we will perform for the Holiday Show in December. We talked about what that would look like, who would come, and what the different parts in the show would be. They were all super excited. Hoping to send the books home tomorrow, so that you can help us practice at home too!
Mr. Jon was here today for MyGym. We started the day with some stretching. Once we were all stretched out, he gave us our surprises....which were pom poms. We did all kinds of pretend play with the pom poms, even wearing them on our heads! Our gymnastics activity for today was making our bodies a bridge. Hands and feet on the mat, while pushing up our middles. The next thing we did was to move in circle like different kinds of animals. Mr. Jon would call out an animal name, everyone would start to move in that way, all the time listening for "FREEZE" to indicate a new animal. The game for today was Grab Your Tail. We used the belted tails, and each child had one, with the object of running around pulling off other people's tail and keeping your own. The practice skill of the day is the Inch Worm. This sills builds arm, should and core strength. Have your child crouch with their hands by their feet. Then have your child slowly walk their hands out until he/she is in a "plank position", and then slowly walk feet up to hands.
Today we started the day with the Touch and Feel pool full of letters and numbers. We made words, practiced sounds, counted, and ordered. As always, lots of learning happening at the pool!
Ms. Michelle came today....and finally we got to be outside! Each kiddos took a turn riding a tricycle through a road course of cones. Pushing the pedals AND trying not to knock over the cones.....took a lot of concentration and coordination. Once the bike ride was over, the children used a grabber to pick a colored frog, and carry across the dots and river stones, until tossing it in a matching colored hat. Sustaining the grasp on the grabber turned out to be more difficult than expected. Got work on building those muscles!! Finger fun was strings and beads, lacing boards, and sewing. There were lots of choices, and we took turns passing around our favorites, but everyone was hard at work.
Our book today was I'll Be A Police Officer (When I Grow Up) by Nancy Parent. This book describes all the jobs of the police and how they help the community. The book also talks about the uniform and tools the police use to do those jobs.
During language circle we made a recall chart of all the new police vocabulary that we learned. The kids were good at describing things....but we needed some practice with the specific vocabulary. We clapped out syllables and reviewed the words many times.
For art today we made paper plate police cars. We colored the cars blue, added two windows, two tires, a red light on top, and a star police badge. It was a cute completed project....but easily the noisiest art we made this year. LOTS of sirens blaring around the tables!!
