a holistic pre-school and kindergarten

Thursday, September 25, 2008

more Pix from 9-25-08

Otis watches on as Isabel and Elena work on a puzzle...








...almost finished!





Pix from 9-25-08

Otis looks closely at the snake skin...








...and records his observation...








James and Rowan work on their observations...








...and Rowan shared his with James.

News of the Day 9-25-2008

  • During arrival we were excited to see that play dough was out on the project table and we worked with it until Hello Meeting
  • During Hello Meeting Andy introduced a baseball greeting that he thought was blah, but we liked! We also read 'Stanley Mows the Lawn" because of Hank the Snake (who's in the book), inspired by our continued investigation of Rowan's snake that he brought in on Tuesday
  • During Explore some of us made Science Observations of the snake skin under the magnifying glass. These look really nice! We also played in the blocks and dressed up and worked on some new puzzles that Elena brought in
  • For snack we had watermelon and goldfish . 1 scoop of goldfish to start and 3 watermelon pieces
  • During Morning Meeting we read Little Pea. We shared our Science Observations and also shared our News of the Day.
  • Outside we spent much time collecting crab apples and putting them into different containers.
  • After Lunch we finished off 'Poppleton in Fall' by reading part 3, Pancake Breakfast. I offered to start a different "chapter book" but the unanimous decision was for another Poppleton...

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

News of the Day 9-24-2008

  • During arrival we again attempted to build a fire truck out of play dough (eventually to no avail...). We were happy to welcome Otis's mama, Amy, to our group today and she read a book to some us in the meeting area. We also read 'New Baby Train' again which seems to have become a favorite
  • During Hello meeting we sang our Hello greeting with a Jambo verse. We read Four Fur Feat
  • For Snack we ate apples and homemade COOKIES. (thanks to Rowan's family)
  • During Explore some of us worked hard in the blocks to create a road for some vehicles. Later on we added some people and put them in little "houses". Some of us also worked in the store and loaded up the shopping carts
  • Outside some of us swung and the swings and practiced giving "underdogs". Some of us filled up the dump truck in the sandbox and buried "treasures" (shovels) in the sand. We also collected crab apples and played ball
  • During lunch guess what happened??? "Sing the monkey song!" So I did plus I introduced this group to 'I had a Rooster' and 'Little Red Caboose'
  • Next week we plan on getting to read a book after lunch! You heard it here

Little Monkeys

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

News of the Day 9-23-2008

  • During arrival some of us used watercolors while others investigated the snakeskin that Rowan brought to school. Andy was excited to set up the foldable magnifying glass and we looked at the enlarged image. We then looked at a snake book to see if we could identify it... no luck. Some of us wanted Andy to read a new book 'Gone Fishing' and the whole group ended up listening, and we morphed into Hello Meeting...
  • During Hello Meeting we finished reading 'Gone Fishing' and sang Telephone and had slipper greeting.
  • During Explore some of us pretended we were mommies and took care of babies while others set up an elaborate tea party and picnic
  • For snack we had cereal, Pirate Booty, and oranges . We used scoops for the dry stuff and counted out 1 scoop, 2 scoops, and 3 oranges...(thanks to Rowan's family)
  • For Morning Meeting we took some time to learn how to clean up the kitchen dramatic play area. We sand 'Riding in My Car' and read part 2 of 'Poppleton in Fall' (called The Coat).
  • Outside we used the play dump truck and pretended it was a cement truck in the sandbox. Some of us helped Andy rake the yard. We are getting excited to rake a HUGE pile of leaves and jump in it!!!
  • long Lunch again...

Friday, September 19, 2008

News of the Day 9-18-2008


  • During arrival we used watercolors that were introduced on Tuesday. Some of us played Snail Pace Race and some us looked at 'Poppleton' books
  • During Hello Meeting we sang a new greeting called Telephone. . along with our slipper greeting.
  • During Explore some of us worked in the blocks to create a structure for an animal parade. Today was the first day where we really started using props (animals, trees, vehicles) to enhance or play. Some of us worked in the store and also took care of the babies. Some of us also took some time to work at the water table. During clean-up Otis showed the group how there are now stickers to indicate which block goes where on the shelves. A GREAT clean-up ensued
  • For snack we had wheat crackers, bananas, AND Scooby Snacks . We counted 4, 3, and 2 respectively.*** (thanks to Rowan's family)
  • For Morning Meeting we read Part 1 of 'Poppleton in Fall'. We told our News of the Day and sang 'Monkey and the Engineer'. We talked about "picking" guitar strings versus "strumming"
  • Outside we got back to work on "stick gardens" in the sandbox. Thankfully the Wed group had saved me the time of removing all the sticks! Some of us played on the swingset and some used the firetruck to help water the "garden"
  • Lunch has become a marathon more than a sprint so everyone was picked up right after lunch!
*** we are counting out snack to take advantage of an organic time to begin work on one-to-one correspondence (fingers to objects).

more Pix from 9-18-08

Do you know it's pick up time...










Our group is working hard on routines and how to clean up together!

Pix from 9-18-08

We play one of favorite games, Snail Pace Race...











...and build a place for some animals to have a parade...











...Rowan and James...












...take care of a couple of babies.

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

News of the Day 9-17-2008


  • During arrival we played with play dough a bit and then retired to the meeting area to read a new book Woody Guthrie's 'New Baby Train' to celebrate the arrival of Lily's new brother Eli. It was a little bit of a hard transition morning so we fooled around with our schedule a bit...
  • For Snack we ate watermelon and a mix of pretzels, popcorn and cranberries. (thanks to Isaac's family)
  • Outside we played in the sandbox a bit, taking out all the sticks the the T/Th group left for us. We also played as firefighters with the firetruck and other vehicles.
  • During lunch "Monkey and the Engineer" was the popular choice for a song altho "...happy and you know it" took a distant second.
  • Another long lunch. We may try to come inside a little earlier so that we can make sure to have a relaxing pickup where we don't have to involve cleaning up lunches!

more Pix from 9-17-08

Rowan made a garage for his vehicles...












...while Firefighter Isaac worked on balancing blocks...











...Lily had a tea party with "baby"...








...and Anika made a new friend.
"Yeah Boppy!"

Pix from 9-17-08








Isaac and Lily experiment with color

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

News of the Day 9-16-2008


  • During arrival we worked with play dough and talked about the giant pumpkin that arrived with Elena. We're still not sure if Cormac is in it or not. We didn't see him anywhere...
  • During Hello Meeting we sang "Where is ____" (Frere Jacques) and some of us hid so we could pop out and say "Here I Am!" Slipper greeting of course. We also talked about our survey of 'Who likes crunchy cereal and who likes soggy cereal'
  • During Explore Andy introduced new watercolors! We spent much of our time creating beautiful artwork that will be amongst the first artifacts to be included in your child's portfolio. We also worked in the kitchen and served food to Andy
  • For snack we had tings and melons. We counted 3 melons and 6 tings and then passed it on...
  • For Morning Meeting we read Part 2 of 'Poppleton in Winter'. We told our News of the Day and sang a Twinkle Twinkle, by request of Nico.
  • Outside we planted "stick gardens" in the sandbox for the whoooooooole time (now I have to go take the sticks out)...
  • After lunch we read Part 3 of 'Poppleton' and finished it! We love Poppleton!!! Ask to see if your little person remembers who knocked down Poppleton's icicles and how he reacted...

Monday, September 15, 2008

more Pix from 9-11-08

Elena prepares some food for the shop...










...while James waits patiently...








...so he and Rowan can sell some to Otis...








...who gets some help with his money.







Thanks James!!!

Pix from 9-11-08

Elena, Otis, Isabel, and Nico begin the creating on their block
structure...










...and it grows...











...and grows!

News of the Day 9-11-2008



  • During arrival we cookie cutters to make different shapes with play dough and served them as cookies to each other
  • During Hello Meeting we sang our hello song using Bonjour and Jambo along with our slipper greeting. We read 'Angus and the Cat' and talked about our news of the day.
  • During Explore we had our first big block building exploration, where a house and beds were made for some kittens. We also played in the kitchen using the dough to make cookies which were then served to our friends. We also had a tea party
  • For snack we had oat cereal and carrots. We counted out an amount of each and passed on our snack bowl to the next person. If we needed help a friend or Andy would help
  • For Morning Meeting we read 'In the Night Kitchen' (by request) and sang a couple of songs
  • Outside we spent much of our time in the sandbox creating volcanoes. We also played as "fire-fighting power rangers" and climbed in the lilacs
  • After lunch we read part 1 (of 3) of 'Poppleton in Winter'

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

News of the Day 9-10-2008



Note to self: charge camera batteries the night before...
  • During arrival we played with the new green play dough and made cars and pancakes! We also made green apples that we pretended to eat
  • During Hello Meeting we sang a greeting song substituting jambo (hello in Swahili) for hello. We read 'Stanley Mows the Lawn' as well as a number other books. This group can really sit and listen for a while... they just kept handing me books!
  • During Explore time we had a tea party, went shopping (for everything), explored the color blocks on the light table, and made lots of phone calls.
  • For Snack we ate bananas and yogurt with granola (thanks to Anika's family)
  • Outside we enjoyed the sandbox WITH sand!
  • During lunch we sand "Oh My, I Want a Piece of Pie" (a bunch of time) and Andy brought out his guitar to sing "If You're Happy and You Know It" and "The Monkey and the Engineer" among others...
  • We took a looooooong time during lunch so everyone was picked up as they finished!

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Pix from 9-9-08


Rowan and James create with shapes on the light table.

The whole group works together in the kitchen.

News of the Day 9-9-2008



  • During arrival we worked with play dough and looked at books
  • During Hello Meeting we sang a new hello greeting to the tune Frere Jacques and also did our slipper greeting (the favorite I guess). We read 'Stanley Mows the Lawn' and discussed our news of the day (I ask each child if they have any events they want to share during arrival and then relate them to the group during Hello Meeting - Soon the children will share these events themselves)
  • During Explore we used blue and yellow play dough (inspired by last week's reading of 'Little Blue and Little Yellow') and ended up with green dough! We transferred the dough to the kitchen which may or may not have been a good idea and continued on with some wonderful dramatic kitchen play. Some of us built a rocket with shapes at the light table while others created a garage for vehicles with unit blocks
  • For snack we had crackers and peaches
  • For Morning Meeting we read Cookies Week and talked about the days we are at the BB and the days when we are not
  • No outside today due to rain so the water table was introduced and we had a ball adding color to the water... first blue, then yellow, and finally red. All 6 children worked great at the table together!
  • After lunch we looked at books together and Andy introduced the game Snail's Pace Race

Monday, September 8, 2008

News of the Day 9-4-2008

  • During arrival we worked with play dough and also used Unifix cubes to make a long train the length of the meeting roo,
  • During Hello Meeting we sang a hello greeting and also did our slipper greeting. We read 'Little Yellow and Little Blue'
  • During Explore some of created treasure maps while others dressed up in the dramatic play area
  • For snack we had apples and cheerios
  • Outside we played on the swingset and worked on the lilac area by the Big Maple
  • During lunch we talked about favorite foods and played "raise your hand if you like..."
  • After lunch we looked at books together and Andy read 'Jane and the Dragon'

Welcome To The "Stinky Cave"

The development of a group identity can often take some time. In two days this group is already showing signs that they will gel splendidly! After playing in various groupings during outside time, we all ended up together in the lilacs by the Big Maple. Unfortunately the compost bin hadn't been turned often enough, leading to the affectionate moniker "The Stinky Cave."

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

First Day - Wednesday Group

...and away we go! What a wonderful first day. All of the children dove right into the day. Playdough was the big hit, but going "shopping" was also a choice activity. For snack we had apples and pretzels. Outside we practiced on the swings and going down the slide. We were firefighter and climbers in the lilacs. During lunch we sang: Oh My, I Want a Piece of Pie! Take Time in Life. I've Been Working on the Railroad. 5 Green and Speckled Frogs. 5 Little Ducks. AND Oh My! again... whew! After lunch we read 'In The Night Kitchen' and then drew with marker and crayons and used LOTS of tape. We had a fun first day.

The First Day (reloaded)



While Isaac and Anika discussed which
direction the fire truck should go...




Otis and Rowan devised a plan to spring Lily from the BB!

Beautification Continues...

A quick shout out to the garden fairy who sneakily potted and arranged a beautiful container garden! We at the BB appreciate your efforts muchly!!!

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

In The Books

So with some anxiety and lots of excitement we made it through the first official day of the Blue Bungalow! I thought perhaps I was in for some trouble when at 8:30 I was asked: "is it time for lunch?" (8-1? I meant 8-9:30). But it was only uphill from there. Today we played in the blocks and made a road and garage. We played in the kitchen and wore baker's caps. We kept returning to the playdough for more and more rolling! A treasure map was made with X marking the spot. Outside, after determining the swingset needed some more stabilization, we were firefighters and drew fireworks on the driveway with chalk. It was a great first day!