Syrup...sort of!

This morning, we set out to boil our 2+ gallons of Maple sap in hopes of turning it into syrup!

First we strained it through a coffee filter...


Then we poured it into our high tech evaporator... ( a Presto electric frying pan, circa 1974!)

We kept a close eye on it, adding sap throughout the day...

During nap time, we added the last bit of sap. It finally came to what we thought was the right temperature. Hooray!!!!

We poured it into a jar...

...and realized that it was a bit too thick to be considered "syrup". It's more of a cross between Honey and Maple cream. It's still delicious, though!

We'll try again on Monday!

Look!!!

It worked!!!

Another Sure Sign of Spring...

Can you guess what we're making?

Spring!!!!

We have been waiting so patiently for signs of spring here in the Frog Room! thank goodness they are starting to show up all over!

Now that the sidewalks are clear of snow and ice, we have been going on frequent walks around the neighborhood. After months of quiet, gray winter days, the outside is waking up again. Our walks are accompanied by lots of new, springtime sounds; birdsong, rushing water from the creek across the street, the sounds of the local high school's marching band practicing outside. It is a welcome change!

The children have become expert bird spotters. Can you spot the bird in this picture?

The Frogs did from about half a block away!

How about this one? thr Frogs heard this bird before they saw it. It was so loud!

How about now?

Woodpecker!

In addition to our walks around the neighborhood, we took a recent stroller trip to visit the annual bulb show at the greenhouse at a local college. It was so crowded with flowers and people that we didn't take a single photo indoors! We did manage to snap a few pictures of the gardens in front of the greenhouse though;

Crocuses...a sure sign of spring!

To celebrate the actual Vernal Equinox, we brought some color back into our classroom with a floral inspired art project;



We suspended our flowers from the ceiling above our dining tables, then we put together a special snack in honor of the ground thawing;

Chocolate pudding "soil" with gummy "worms"...

Topped with Grahm cracker "topsoil"!
Mmmmm...wormtastic!

Happy Spring!!!

Green Day!!!

In honor of that return of spring, (and that other green-centric event...) we went green in the Frog Room today;

Minty-scented green water in the water table...

Assorted green manipulatives onthe light table...

Green paint...

...And green paintings!

Recycle With Us!

Spring is just around the corner! If you just happen to be doing a bit of spring cleaning, we'd be happy to take the following items off your hands;

• Uncooked Pasta and Rice (for crafts)
• Coffee Filters
• Muffin Cups
• Small Plant Pots
• Potting Soil
• Paper or Styrofoam bowls and Plates
• Tissue Paper
• Sugar Cubes
• Rubbing Alcohol
• Food Coloring
• Large Ziplock bags
• Raincoats for dress up
• Baseball Caps
• Backpacks
• 'Career" clothes (Scrubs, Work uniforms, etc)
• Old Halloween/Dance Costumes
• Kid sized Rakes and Shovels
• Old cell-phones

Thanks for looking!!!

Preschoolers and Morality

As of tomorrow, all of the children in the Frog room will be at least two years and nine months old. This is quite a milestone, since according to the Massachusetts Department of Early Care and Education, children who are 2.9 are officially considered "preschoolers".
Based on what we've observed with the children in our care, this is not an arbitrary decision. We see many differences between children who are in their second year and children who are on the verge of their third. Perhaps the biggest reason that EEC considers 2.9 to be the age where one could reasonably expect a child to function safely in a larger class group is that three year olds are beginning to monitor their own social behavior based on their internal sense of empathy and an emerging moral code.
The emergence of a sense of morality and the exploration of moral rules vs. social rules is a huge part of the third year of life. We see the Frogs testing out social rules and piecing together the moral reasoning behind those social rules over and over again during the second part of our school year. It certainly makes for some fireworks, but it also means that we get to witness children making their own decisions about how they are going to interact with one another based on their own sense of what's right and wrong. This is incredibly rewarding.
What a happy coincidence that a story about this very topic aired on NPR this Morning. If you're interested, you can listen to it here.

A Bushel and a Peck

Every Thursday, Sarah (a parent of a child in the Possum room) joins us for music time. Sarah always brings along a nice little stack of storybooks that are based on popular songs. For the last few times, the Frogs have been especially interested in her rendition of A Bushel and a Peck by Frank Loesser, illustrated by Rosemary Wells.
Today, as were were putting the group down for nap, we heard several children singing it quietly to themselves.

Apparently, it is very popular with the three year old set...