Warning!! Large Box

We have had this box for over a week. It seemed like a typical fort-sized horizontal box. Until this morning, when it suddenly flung upright in the middle of the classroom. It wasn't until shortly after that I noticed it said...

"Warning!! Large Box."

Better be on the safe side and bring this box outside...

Our curriculum coordinator for the morning.

Peer Guidance

Playground Treasure Hunt

Last week, as part of her Map Unit for her internship, Ashley created a treasure map for the children. Each day they were given a new hint, which told the kids what landmark needed to be added to the map.  

They had to figure out where to place the landmark on the map in relation to the school and previous landmarks.  The hints also specified how they would get from one landmark to another (22 paces, zig zag steps, etc). 

On Friday, they had their final hint and the map was completed. They followed Ashley along as she showed them the map at each landmark and reviewed what they had recorded over the week. 

The Hidden Treasure: A Picnic!

Thank you Ashley! 

The preschoolers really enjoyed this activity.

Springtime? Is that you?

Just over three years ago I was truly inspired by the amazing outdoor play experiences that take place over at Learning for Life. 

Their motto is:

 "Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, and snow is exhilarating; there is no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather." John Ruskin 1819-1900

The pictures on Kierna's blog always amazed me. Seeing all the children playing in the mud. And what are those suits that they are wearing? Surely that must just be something they have in Northern Ireland, not here in the USA. So glad that I learned otherwise and discovered our Oakiwear Rain Suits. This is our second spring with them and last week it was finally warm enough to shed the snowsuits.

They keep us dry on the rainiest days. The suits allow them to sit, jump and splash in puddles without having to spend the rest of the morning waiting for their turn to change out of wet clothes. (Not to mention it saves on laundry for parents)

 Kids that would be hesitant to get messy before feel that they have a whole new sense of freedom.

Always proud to be a part of the...

Mole Holes in the Snow.

I can't remember... Did the groundhog see his shadow in February?

The driveway is muddy. The snow mountain is brown and crusty. 

So last Friday we decided to explore the lower playground to get a different perspective on "Spring."

The preschoolers thought it was quite funny when I broke through the snow and sunk in as far as my hips. They were even more excited when it resulted in a giant hole for them to explore. 

Meanwhile....Last April

Of course one hole and several children was never going to work. Only because it was a warm sunny day and we are so very bored with snow, I willingly agreed to make more and more and more holes. 

Have you ever heard of a "pencil dive?"

"We are floating down the Lazy River"

We were having Snow Much Fun that an hour later 

I had to drag them inside for lunch.

Special of the Day: Lego Building

We have several different "Specials of the Day" that we rotate through (writing, math, art, movement, music, and messy hands). I recently added "Lego Building" to the rotation. This group is very into building with Lego (even before the movie). I know how much learning takes place through Lego Building, so I decided to give it more focus once in awhile, to really expand their planning skills. 

Our "Special" always takes place directly after circle time and is one of the few times a day where I choose the activity and we all focus on the same activity at the same time.  

When they left circle time they were given a three step direction.

1) Choose 4 wheels from the Lego Table

2) Make sure they are attached to the pieces that allow them to spin.

3) Bring them back to the big table

Back at the table they found yellow Lego bricks and basic accessories. Now their job was to build a car. They really enjoyed the focus and all being together working on a similar (not identical) task. Their cars were all very unique and there was a lot of conversation about types of cars, how it moved and other details they wanted to share. We had everything from jet ski cars, to turtle cars and even a flying car with wings.