Fire Station #2

Call The Firefighter!!

Today we started the day with Fire Hats and Fire Trucks in the Touch and Feel Pool.  The kids were having a blast!  This week's topic is an easy hit with the kiddos....and they loved starting the day with some good old fashioned pretend play!

Ms. Michelle was here today with another obstacle course for us.  This one started with a scooter ride.  Using one foot to push, the other foot to steady the scooter, and two hands to drive around the cones.....this required a lot of coordination and organization!  Then the kids walked across a balance beam and some jumping dots on the floor before moving on to a classification activity on the floor.  The classification activity had four boxes, a barn, a toy box, a lunch box, and a house, that the kids had to pick an object and find the right place for.  We ended with Finger Fun.  Today we used play-do to make muffins.  The kids were making all kinds of muffins....blueberry, pumpkin, chocolate, and banana were some of their concoctions.  Then they used special tongs to pick up pom pom balls for sprinkles on top of the cupcakes.

Today's book was This is The Firefighter by Laura Godwin.  This book describes a day in the life of fire company 8-50-0.  The book tells about all the equipment in the firehouse, and then follows the firefighters to a fire in a downtown building.  Two families and a cat are rescued, and the flames of the fire are safely put out.

After the book, we made a chart of all the Firefighter vocabulary we knew. Some we learned from the book, some from our songs, and some we already knew.  The kids were able to come up with lots of tools, clothes, and concepts about firefighters.

We made our own fire extinguishers today for art after talking about fire safety.  Don't be surprised if the kids come home looking for and asking about a fire extinguisher!  First they all colored their extinguishers red.  Then we glued them to yellow paper.  The fun part was adding the foam that extinguishers use to put out the fire....a special mix of glue and shaving cream!  Then....we practiced....many, many times.....the number to call for emergencies.....911!

All About The Dentist!

Today we read "Going to the Dentist." We learned how the dentist cleans our teeth and checks for cavities. It is important we brush our teeth twice a day to keep our teeth healthy.

We made a chart of all the things that we knew....or had learned from the book about dentists.  I had a few interesting facts to add to the list.....considering my dad, my sister, my brother-in-law, and two of my uncles are dentists!!  The kids were certainly surprised....and a little confused....that Ms. Kelly had a daddy.....and then to find out his job was a dentist......wow!!

For art we used a toothbrush and white paint to "clean our teeth." The kids loved pretending to brush the dirty yellow tooth and make it white again.

The Doctor Is Our Friend!

Ms. Danielle was here today for Young Athletes.  She set up four stations for the children to rotate through.  The first center was basketball.  The kids took turns shooting the ball in the hoop.  The second center was tossing bean bags into hula hoops on the floor.  The third center was throwing balls into a bucket.  The last center was tossing scarves from one hand into the air and catching it with the other.  Lots of throwing, catching, and motor planning needed for each station!

Today we had our first music session with Ms. Laura.  She is filling in for Ms. Stacey while she is preparing for her new baby that's coming any day!  We had a good time singing a "Get To Know You" song, where we answered Ms. Laura's questions like what our favorite ice cream flavor is, and what our favorite color is.  We used lummi sticks to learn rhythm, and played bells, drums, and shakers while marching, hopping, and freezing when Ms. Laura stopped playing her guitar.  We learned a song about our community helpers - the doctor and the dentist.  Ms. Laura sang clues and we had to guess who the helper was.  We sang about 5 monkeys that had to go to the doctor because they fell off the bed, and we sang a song about brushing our teeth while making the "ch ch ch ch" sound.  Ms. Laura sang about things a doctor uses like a stethoscope and a thermometer, and we got to see real ones too.  She also sang about a toothbrush and toothpaste, which we learned a dentist uses to clean our teeth.  We did a dance called "Bop Til You Drop", and sang a song called "Bright Light". Ms. Laura said she can't way tot come back next week!

Our book today was Going To The Doctor by Anne Civardi.  This book describes a family visit to the doctor.  One child in the family is sick with a cold, one has a hurt arm, and one has to get shots.  The doctor explains all the tools she uses, and introduces all the vocabulary surrounding a first doctor visit.

Our language lesson was recalling things that the doctor does for us.  The kids came up with a good list of reasons the visit the doctor, things that happen at the doctor, and the tools that the doctor uses.

For art today, we put band-aids on arms.  Each child received a drawing of an arm and a red crayon.  They drew two "boo boos" on the arm.  Then we took band-aids and covered up the hurt places to keep the germs out.  We've been talking A LOT about germs lately!!  And, we didn't think about it during planning....but opening up the band-aids was a great fine motor activity!!

Mr. Jon was here today with some fun balancing and coordination skills for us to practice.  We started with an obstacle course.  First balancing across a beam, then jumping over a row of cones, then walking across a ladder on the floor.  The second time the kids went through the course, they had to side step across the beam, zig zag through the cones, and walk across the edge of the ladder.  Then, when Mr. Jon handed out bowling pins as our pretend items today.....the kids had a blast balancing them and using them as flashlights!  Then, easily the highlight of the day.....the kids took turns practicing hand stands....with Mr. Jon's help, of course.....but it was amazing how well they did keeping their arms straight out and strong!  We ended the day with our practice skill.  The practice skill of the day is called the Steam Engine.  This skills works on balance and core strength. Children stand with hands clasped behind their head.  While balancing on one foot, bring the knee and opposite elbow to meet in the middle.  Then switch and do the other knee and elbow.