This month on the Older Pod Patio we’ve been diving into all the fun that comes with this month’s winter theme. We’ve been targeting major skills and concepts from our January skills sheet—the colors blue and white, the shape square, knowledge of arctic animals and winter weather. Check out some of the awesome things we’ve been exploring!
Happy New Year from your friends on the Older Pod Patio! Check out some of the fun and festive activities we did in December…
We enjoyed gingerbread playdough!
We worked our fine motor muscles using gel sensory bags!
We did some STEM building with cups and ornaments!
We read to our Christmas cats!
We built with magna-tiles and jingle bells!
We enjoyed making Christmas sticker creations!
We cut pine needles and explored snow dough in our sensory bin!
We worked with friends to decorate our Christmas tree using loose parts!
We mastered our gross motor skills for the month by practicing going over, under and through the jingle bells!
We enjoyed cheering on our friends as they made their way through our Christmas obstacle course!
Happy Thanksgiving from Older Pod Patio! This week we’ve been exploring fall flowers, cranberries, oranges, lemons, leaves and gourds. Check out the beautiful sensory soup we cooked up on our fun and festive Stone Soup days.
Leading up to farm days, we’ve been having some fun with “chicken coops” on the older pod patio. Our friends are rolling eggs down the coop, collecting them and packaging them in egg cartons. Check out our little farmers hard at work!
In the month of November, we explore life on the farm. We also focus on the colors yellow and brown. This week’s Older Pod Patio sensory bin is set up to intentionally highlight these three major curricular concepts.
Friends from Rooms 1, 2 and 3 explore brown oobleck—a solid substance that quickly oozes into a liquid. Checkout our little piggies playing in this perfect pretend mud!
October has been filled with lots of harvest fun! We’ve explored apples and pumpkins all month long and got to celebrate harvest the last 2 days; Apple Pumpkin Day!
We incorporate fun apple pumpkin activities during small group such as exploring what breaks done pumpkin faster: Dish soap, water, or tea.
Apple Pumpkin days were filled with Apple explosions, pumpkin carving, pumpkin painting, apple pumpkin building and apple pumpkin fingerprints!
Collaborative projects teach children how to work toward a common goal, while fostering cooperation and flexibility. Collaborative activities also create social cohesion and build supportive environments.
When we create collaborative pieces together we’re practicing sharing space, taking turns, communicating and enjoying the process rather than focusing on a finished product.
Integrating natural materials into early childhood art projects enrich the overall learning experience. Exploring natural materials gives children the opportunity to experience an array of textures, shapes and colors. It also increases their knowledge of the world and objects in it, all while fostering a curiosity for the environment.
Friends from Rooms 1, 2 and 3 collected leaves, painted, assembled and glittered these collaborative masterpieces!
We were so excited to meet McGruff the Crime Dog today. Officer Hilda and McGruff explained what strangers are, who we should trust, how to stay safe if we trick-or-treat, plus how to safely ride our bikes. We even were able to take pictures with McGruff! The excitement didn’t stop there, however. After McGruff said goodbye we had a special visit from a Motorcycle Officer Meeks. The kids were able to get up close to check out his ride, ask him questions, and even pose for pictures. It was a fantastic visit!
A special thanks to the Pasadena Police Department for all of their hard work and for taking the time to be with us today.
The preschool participated in the Great Shakeout on Thursday, October 21st at 10:21am. Each classroom practiced Bunnies in the Hole, our duck and cover drill, and then exited their classrooms into the preschool parking lot. The children did a wonderful job listening and following through with all parts of the drill. Great job staying safe everyone!
Our friends in older pod are having an unbeLEAFably good time out on the patio.
Our tiny hands are busy exploring fall sensory materials like goards, oats, dried oranges and cinnamon sticks!
We’re strengthening fine motor muscles as we scoop, pour and pick up small leaves and pumpkins. Also, we’re practicing important skills like sharing space, negotiating, collaborating and communicating with others.
Slime has also been a fall favorite!
With our water feature out of commission for the colder months, we repurposed the space with loose parts play! This is a great example of how we integrate important monthly shape and color concepts. In October, we put a strong emphasis on circles and the color orange. Circles are heavily featured in this open-ended activity that is designed to ignite imaginations.
Here, our older pod friends are making “pizza” together!
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese? Yes, please!
A few friends from Room 1 worked together to decorate an elaborate, multiple tier “wedding cake.”
We LOVE to move our bodies on the patio!
Hopscotch helps our friends develop body control, rhythm, balance, coordination and so much more!
Check out these balance beam buddies!
Apple picking on a balance beam is a huge challenge that our friends are up for.
Building together brings out big smiles!
Mr. Potato Head is a classic toy used to learn parts of a whole. Our friends are concentrating hard as they work to assemble unique variations.
The fall fun isn’t over yet! Stay tuned for more as we let the gourd times roll!
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