Spring is a wonderful time in preschool. We can focus our lessons around the concept of new life and new beginnings as we watch the children in our beloved classrooms turn another year older and another year wiser! In Room 5 we have included touches of spring in every corner. Our sensory table has a St.Patrick’s Day-meets-Easter motif, we have papier-mached and hand-painted our own Easter eggs, and our brightly colored connector flowers have inspired some friends to show off their fine-motor, matching, and building skills during morning activities!

(click on the images in the mosaic for a closer look!)

While friends at the sensory table are practicing classification, size, ordering, cause and effect, and new vocabulary, their classmates at the egg painting table are learning beginning geometry, working on their motor skills and hand-eye coordination, and increasing their self-esteem through their artistic expression-of-self! Check back for many more snap-shots of our springtime fun in preschool. But, before we end this post- here is an encore of our waffle-creation-station because these little guys are just too sweet to fit into one post (the subjects and their treats)!

The friends in Room 5 have been hard at work as they grow more and more each day in their skills and abilities. Everyone’s success in potty training has skyrocketed in the past weeks! Their excitement and support of one another in their bathroom triumphs has done most of the work for us- these youngsters really know how to rally each other! We thank the Lord each day for blessing us with the happy and compassionate children who have bonded so well in this class. We owe it to their loving families that they care for themselves and others with such sincerity.

Our Valentine’s Day party was a sweet success!

And everyone remains very engaged honing their  math, social/emotional, and fine motor skills in the dramatic play bakery!

KODAK Digital Still Camera

KODAK Digital Still Camera

KODAK Digital Still Camera

KODAK Digital Still Camera

KODAK Digital Still Camera

We are getting ready for March with a brand new feature in our sensory table…

Green sand! The class dyed their own sensory sand green with Mrs. Erin and poured it into the sensory table. They are having a blast using the sifting scoopers to pour and measure the sand, sort through the coins and gems, and practice those early math and science foundations!

We are also integrating Bible foundations through art and storytelling. While we read about Noah’s Ark and God’s Promise at circle time, we created several beautiful rainbow murals for our classroom! We used ordering and sequencing with the song “Make God’s Rainbow Bright” to memorize the colors of the rainbow in order. We worked on color matching and building listening skills as everyone collaborated to make each rainbow.

The blessings of the Lord just keep raining down upon us, showering our classroom with love and laughter each day. As the friends in Room 5 become just that- we are blessed to see the bonds begin to form between our happy classmates and know they will cherish these friendships forever. Thank you to all the parents who have helped out so much to make this month so spectacular for these little ones at school!

“For the fullness of His grace, we have all received one blessing after another.” John 1:16

Last week in Room 5 we baked chocolate chip cupcakes. While our activity began as an extension of the new “bakery” dramatic play center we installed, it was also meant as a real-world experience to put the early math and literacy foundations they learn each day into some very productive practice!

We began by working together using our literacy skills to decipher the recipe on the box. We read our list of ingredients, and found the correct size of measuring cups we’d need for this baking project. Then we showed off our math skills using addition and subtraction to count how many eggs to add to our batter, and how long to stir it.

We used one-to-one correspondence, counting out the number of mini-cupcake holes we filled in our tin. Then finally, we completed our project by adding our own personal flare to our lovely finished cupcakes. Each child chose how much icing or sprinkles they wanted to add, and decorated their own delightful creations!

Now THOSE are some happy bakers! 🙂

Room 5 is all about hands-on projects which nurture a wealth of developmental areas. What better way to boost our young 2-year-old’s self esteem, creativity, fine motor skills, and hand-eye coordination than with a big project to conclude our big winter theme? We made real glass snow globes this week, and the results were fabulous!

Our excited friends took full control of this project. They picked their own decorations, poured the jar full of baby oil, and chose their own sparkles to shake into their snow globe. When the finished product was flipped over and ready to go they went home with a timeless craft of their own design which they can enjoy for years to come- and know THEY MADE IT!

Way to go Room 5!

“Cold Hands, Warm Hearts” has been our theme for January in room 5. We are learning about the Golden Rule and exploring the components of winter! While our young two-year-olds are developing their social-emotional skills like empathy and purpose, we are supporting them with the words of God. “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 7:12-14 (NIV)

We are also learning new vocabulary, cause and effect, and creating beautiful winter art. Cold weather and wintery themes allow for a great opportunity to integrate all of these concepts like sharing, showing love, and togetherness.

We read “The Mitten” and talked about making room for others, and sharing even when we may not think there is enough to go around. God will provide for us, all we have to do is share his love.

So stay warm and share the love, friends!

In Room 5 we like to make everything friendly and accessible for the young twos- it is their room after all! So, we made a toddler-sized felt tree which they happily decorate without fear of breaking things, knocking it down, or having it topple over them. What a joy! Not only did they create the felt decorations for the tree themselves with stickers, glitter glue, and paint- they get to take them off and re-decorate to their little hearts’ content. We love the wonder in their eyes as they take on the opportunity to trim the tree again and again.

The friends in Room 5 have been hard at work getting our bulletin ready for the main lobby! They mixed up some sparkly puff paint and created whimsical snowmen. While they worked on their art, we worked some math foundations into the activity. We discussed ordering, shape, and size while we put each snowman together. They are very proud of their work and so are we! Check out their finished product in the main lobby for the remainder of the Christmas season.