ROYGBIV!

Last Friday's sugar Shack field trip did not disappoint! Thank you to everyone who made it possible, especially to Michele M. and all of the drivers. We have tons of photos and a write up for the next post. For now...

Can you guess what we're working on?

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!!!

Catching Up...

Happy New Year!

Phew! The Frogs came back from winter break and hit the ground running! It's been hard find a moment to reflect on what we are seeing...

Winter is really here. The dusting of snow we were so excited about last time is now a good thick blanket all over the playground. Winter usually means that the kids get less exposure to a variety of sensory experiences when they are outdoors (snow pants + mittens + hoods + hats + scarves = warm kids, plus tactile, visual and auditory interference!) We are trying to step up our game in the sensory table to make up for what the kids are missing outside;


We have moved our now empty worm compost box indoors. We are hoping to re-stock it with worms soon so the Frogs can observe the whole process of vermicomposting, as well as enjoy some up close time with soil and crawly things- despite the snow outside!

We are also trying to add a little variety to the Frog day by exploring different environments inside our school building. In addition to our wonderful, wonderful community room, we have been spending time in the Possum classroom (when the Possums aren't using it), and the Art studio.

One of the projects that really caught the children's attention in the art studio was stringing penne pasta tubes to make necklaces and bracelets. Ever since then, we have been putting out more stringing activities to let the Frogs really practice their creativity and their fine motor skills.

We have started work on a new seasonal mural, using lots of whites, greys, light purples and light blues. We will continue to look out the window for inspiration as to what to add next.

the Frogs are still very interested in story telling and books. Abiyoyo is still a favorite, but we are noticing that there are a few more favorite books being added to the "read that again!" rotation. So far, The Mitten, and Annie and the Wild Animals- both by Jan Brett- are very popular. We are also beginning to hear some storytelling from the Frogs. We were treated to a lot of fantastic (literally!) "What I Did During My Winter Vacation" stories!

With so many different things going on, we are watching and waiting to see if any overarching curriculum themes emerge. For now, everyone is happy, intellectually engaged and having a good time, which is exactly what we're going for!

P.S. We finally figured out what to add to the fall mural....

(this image was created using this tutorial on turning photos into coloring book pages using photoshop. We've added the link to the sidebar as well...)

The Frogs spent a morning customizing their very own raccoons-with-spoons, then pasting them onto the mural. Some are flying, some are climbing the tree, all are holding out their spoons and begging for more stinky muffin batter!
Cute, or creepy? you decide;

Fall Mural

We are almost done with our fall mural. We have been working on different pieces of it over the last few weeks.
First, we painted construction paper Maple and Oak leaf shapes with orange, red, yellow and brown tempera.
Then we used sponge brushes and hands to paint with different shades of brown...


Then we put a large piece of paper on the floor with wide brushes and different shades of blue...

Finally, we glued the brown painted paper to the bottom of the blue sheet, added a bumpy, cardboard tree, and glued our painted leaves all over...

Here's what it looks like so far. We may call it finished and add it to our hallway gallery, or we may add some more components. Birds? Squirrels? Pumpkins? Birds and squirrels eating pumpkins, (as discussed during a recent, lively lunchtable conversation between the kids where everyone shared what happened to their Jack-O-Lanterns post halloween...)? Hmmmmm...Keep your eyes out to see what happens!