Icy Work Ahead!

Happy New Year! It’s January and our friends returned to school ready to jump into some fun, winter-themed activities. We started with Animal Rescue on the Ice! Rooms 1, 2, and 3 worked together to free arctic animals from glaciers. This was a great opportunity for us to discuss safety practices– the importance of protective eyewear and spatial awareness while using a real hammer.

🎄🎄Christmas is coming!! 🎄🎄

As we wrap up the calendar year we always go out with a celebration. 🎉 Today we wore our Christmas pajamas and had special treats and activities.

We had cocoa and popcorn (and a couple of marshmallows as well)
Mr. Tim came and read “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” and brought a few of his Grinchy toys.
We watched the classic version of “How the Grinch Stole Christmas”.
And we got to do the Reindeer Hokey Pokey with Ms. Kristen!

We had so much fun playing on the patio and all over the school and we get to do it all again tomorrow! Merry Christmas!

🥣 Stone Soup Day 2 🥣

Stone Soup. The link is to a version of Stone Soup we have been listening to in class. The class loves the part that says bring what you got and put it in the pot!

Once again the children enjoyed sharing ingredients and making a big pot of soup to share together. A big thanks to Katie Luna for volunteering to make the soup for today.

The children have also been enjoying making stone soup in the dramatic play kitchen of our outdoor classroom. Soup everywhere! 🥣

They have gotten good at chopping fake vegetables and real ones. 😄

We hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and continue to reflect on all the blessings God has given us!

Sunflower Sensory

As we celebrated Stone Soup Days in the classrooms, we also enjoyed a Sunflower Soup Sensory activity on The Patio with Ms. Kristen.

This is a fun activity that incorporates the practical skills of cooking—mixing ingredients, scooping, pouring, and measuring with all the freedom and creativity children desire. As we play, we’re also sharing space and materials, working together, developing language, learning the parts of the whole (flowers, cranberries, pumpkins, and leaves), recognizing colors, exploring different textures, and strengthening fine motor muscles.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Stone Soup

“Bring what you got, put it in the pot; we’re making stone soup.” The children have been listening to the tale of stone soup that has sharing and giving as the main themes. This week we are celebrating Thanksgiving by gathering around the table and sharing a big pot of Stone Soup. Thank you to all the parents that helped by providing ingredients. And a big thank you to Sarah Sanders for being our cook for today.

First day of Stone Soup done! We can’t wait to do it again tomorrow!

We tied for first place for our soup!

Apple Pumpkin Days

Room 3 ended October with Apple -Pumpkin days! Our harvest parties had yummy cooking activities and crafts. A big shout out to all the parents that helped make the parties a success.

Monday’s cooking activity was Apple Pie in
a cup. The children got to smash the graham crackers and scoop in the filling.
Monday’s art was apple printing and dot painting. It was fun stamping with apples!
Tuesday’s cooking activity was pumpkin pancakes! The children mixed the batter!
Tuesday’s craft was decorating small pumpkins with fun stickers and crowns! There were also extra pumpkins for the classmates that don’t come on Tuesdays!
There were also fun activities in the patio. Pumpkin peg hammering, pumpkin soup, and a Farmer’s Market.
And in the yard the children squeezed their own apple juice.

It was such a blast having all of our parent volunteers come in and celebrate the season with us. Thank you everyone!

Apple Pumpkin Days on the Patio

To celebrate Apple Pumpkin Days we enjoyed some festive, fall activities on the Older Pod Patio with Ms. Kristen!

Our friends in Rooms 1, 2 and 3 dissected a pumpkin at the sensory table and made Pumpkin Seed Soup with the pulp, seeds, water and cinnamon.

We used hammers and golf tees at the Pumpkin Pounding station!

We tasted red, yellow, and green apples; then we graphed our favorite!

The Farmer’s Market dramatic play was very busy. Our friends enjoyed picking apples, stocking the market, and cooking/baking with the produce.

“That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers.” Psalm 1:3

Messy Masterpieces

Art is a wonderful way to allow preschoolers to express themselves freely. It’s a playful, enjoyable activity that brings joy and a sense of accomplishment. Art encourages problem-solving as children figure out how to make their ideas come to life which supports cognitive development. Sensory-rich activities engage a child’s senses and promote sensory development. Art allows children to explore, experiment, and have a great time while doing so.