Together in Learning, Together in Christ
Mrs. O'Gara
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Welcome to Nursery!
In our Nursery class at Saint Aidan, the students will experience learning in a safe, loving, child-centered environment, based on Catholic values. The program aims to develop readiness skills, social interaction, a love of learning, and compassion for others. The children will be introduced to parental separation, learning our class routines, songs, making friends, sharing, art projects, and listening to stories. Our day also includes music and movement, free play, prayer, and activities that develop both fine and gross motor skills. As the year progresses, the children will work on recognizing their printed name, letters, colors, shapes, and numbers. Catholic values are incorporated into our curriculum through books, daily prayer, celebration, and discussion of holidays.
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Nursery 2 Daily News
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Monday, March 9, 2020
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Happy Monday to everyone! We began our day with manipulatives on the tables.
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Our special helper was quite excited to see his name pulled out of the basket this morning. He was very enthusiastic!
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Collecting the name tags and holding the flag.
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Here is is crossing off the date on our "waiting for spring" calendar, and hanging up the song circle for today. Special helpers choice was Shake Your Sillies Out. We tried two versions, but loved the Raffi one the most!
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We have been talking about Community Helpers and today we matched the helpers up with the tools and items they need to do their jobs. The children enjoyed this topic because it is something they are familiar with and they were all able to add a lot to our conversations. They spent a great deal of play time this week pretending to be some of the helpers we have been talking about. Adorable!
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We finished up the letter N today with our bird's nest craft. We painted the birds on Friday and let them dry. Today we placed them in the nest and added eyes, feathers and a beak. The weather was so beautiful that everyone was anxious to get out to play in the beautiful afternoon sun.
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Friday, February 28, 2020
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How can you not be excited to come to school when this is how your buddies greet you in the morning?
We had fun this morning with building blocks.
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Here is our special helper taking charge this morning.
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We did a lot of singing today, and had fun making music with the rhythm sticks.
One student was so excited to demonstrate all the letters he could make with the sticks. Everyone was quick to jump in and offer suggestions. Learning is happening constantly!
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We painted a few more canvases to add to our color wall.
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It was a very busy day! I hope that everyone enjoys the weekend. I will see you all on Monday.
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Wednesday, February 26, 2020
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Welcome to Wednesday everyone! It is puzzle time once again.
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There were many jobs for the special helper today but, we began with the usuals: collecting the name tags, holding the flag, doing the weather, and counting on the calendar.
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We had a big discussion about some different animals leading up to our story tody. We used hoola hoops to make two categories: sea animals and land animals. We placed them in separate circles at first. Then we overlapped the circles and put animals in the middle who spent time on land and in the water. They loved this activity and were very excited to share their ideas. A Nursery venn diagram!
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Learning how to listen and follow multi-step
directions is an important skill, and one the children are excited to practice. We kept with our animal theme for this today! They were very proud of their work.
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Ash Wednesday was part of our circle talk today. Mrs. O'Connell came in after the school mass to distribute ashes to the children who wanted them.
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Monday, February 24, 2020
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Welcome back everyone! The children were all so happy to see one another again, and had a lot to talk about. We got right back into the swing of things and the special helper did a great job collecting the name tags, holding the flag, and marking off the date on the calendar.
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We reviewed our letters today with a game of memory using paper plates and then all took a turn trying to hit letters with the ball.
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Today we celebrated Charlotte and Ellie's birthday. Mr. and Mrs. Traina came in to read the book "Birthday Monsters," by Sandra Boynton. A perfect book since we are working on the letter M. We painted monster paper bag puppets also. They will come home on Wednesday after we use them to act out some funny monster stories!
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It was a beautiful day so, after lunch and reading time, we went out to play and had so much fun! It definitely did not feel like a winter day in February!
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Monday, February 10, 2020
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Creative building - one of our favorite ways to start the day together. A great way to get everyone chatting and working together.
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Here is our special helper taking care of the morning business!
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We read the book, "The Grouchy Ladybug", by Eric Carle, and then made our own cute ladybugs. After adding the eyes, and the wings, we put on the spots.
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A fun activity in the afternoon was making hearts with sponge painters and paint that we mixed ourselves.
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Wednesday, February 5, 2020
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We came in and worked on puzzles this morning. This class just loves puzzles! They do their own, help their friends and then ask to trade.
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Our special helper was so happy that it was his turn today. Here is is busy with the morning jobs.
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We are working on the letter L this week. Today we read the book, "Is Your Mama a Llama,"by Deborah Guarino. We listened to a song, pretended we were animals and looked at photographs of baby animals with their mamas. We painted some lollipops too.
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We did some easel painting today. The children are painting hearts to hang up for Valentine's Day. They love to get involved in mixing the paint colors.
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At playtime, many of the children spent some time at the table we had set up with paper shapes, glue, paper and crayons. They love to create independently.
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Lunch, rest time, a fun game of Bingo, and closet toys rounded out the rest of the day.
**Reminder - Friday is a half day for conferences. All Nursery students will be dismissed at 11:30 am.
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Monday, February 3, 2020
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Welcome February! Our busy day began with manipulatives with patterning, sorting and gear assembly.
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A traffic director and a bouquet of pretty flowers!
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We introduced the new month and all of the special days. Today we talked about Groundhog's Day. No shadow and, an early spring proclaimed Punxsutawney Phil! Here is our special helper.
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We read the book, "Go to Sleep Groundhog!" by Judy Cox and then made cute groundhog paperbag puppets.
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In the afternoon we played with shaving cream! A messy, but fun sensory activity. The children had as much fun helping to clean up as they did playing with the shaving cream.
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Friday, January 31, 2020
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Our routine was different today so in the morning we took out our closet toys!
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It is hard to believe but, we said goodbye to January today as we put the last number in the calendar. The year is flying by! Here is our special helper doing his morning jobs.
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A very big thank you to everyone who came in to listen to our story and work on a craft. The children were so excited waiting for all of you to come. It is so much fun for them to have visitors!
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Wednesday, January 29, 2020
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Today we began the day with puzzles on the tables. The children love to move around and help one another or even trade puzzles when they have finished theirs.
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Here is today's special helper collecting the nametags!
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We did a fun sorting activity today. First, we used our fingers to pick up pompoms and sort them into the matching bowls. We did this very quickly. Next, we used big tweezers to pick them up. This was more work to pick them up and let them go.
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Monday, January 27, 2020
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There were manipulatives on the tables to begin our day today.
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Here is our special helper doing a great job collecting the nametags anf counting on the calendar.
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Today we read a book and talked about Chinese New Year and painted dragon masks.
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Here are some pictures of our playtime fun today:
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The dress up clothes and the doll clothes were all placed inside our tunnel which was folded up under a table. They were spinning it around and pretending it was their washing machine. They are so imaginative!
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We all had the sillies at dismissal.
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Friday, January 24, 2020
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There were building blocks to begin our day. This is one of their favorite (and loudest) morning activities. The children get very creative.
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Here is the special helper busy at work.
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Here we are working on shape recognition. The children loved searching for shapes around the classroom.
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Painting with water colors.
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Here we are doing a mitten match up game after singing a fun mitten color song .
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The best way to end a busy week is with some parachute fun! The special helper always gets a ride.
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Wednesday, January 22, 2020
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Here is our special helper of the day collecting the nametags.
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Free play is not only fun for the children, but the perfect opportunity to develop social skills and explore imaginative and role playing activities. It has been very interesting to watch the process of the children not only going from playing alone to playing in groups, but also from playing with the toys as they were designed to be played with, to using the toys to represent other things they are familiar with. Today, the yellow bins that we usually use as baby beds, became footbaths as a group of girls decided to open a beauty parlor. Ketchup and syrup bottles from the play kitchen became the shampoo. They filled the bins with blankets for the water. They poured cups of tea to sip. Interestingly, at circle time today one of the boys was talking about getting his hair cut at the barber, this led to talking about the differences between the barber and hair salons...and the beauty parlor was created! The children listened carefully to details and created something together. What a fun play time!
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We had such a busy morning that we ran out of time for play-doh, so we did it in the afternoon all together.
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Wednesday, January 15, 2020
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We started our day with puzzles!
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The special helper was very happy to do the morning jobs: collecting the tags, holding the flag, labeling the weather, and counting on the calendar.
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A new job has been added for the special helper! We are crossing off the days until spring arrives and our bears come out of hibernation.
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There was a lot going on in the kitchen at playtime today!
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The weather was so wonderful today that we decided to go out to play in the afternoon. When we told the children, they let out a big cheer. Rest time was much more restful after they had the chance to run and play.
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Monday, January 13, 2020
Happy Hibernation to our Bears
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A new week has begun! We started today off with table manipulatives.
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Here is our special helper of the day collecting the nametags, holding the flag, and counting on the calendar.
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Although the weather has been unseasonably warm, we are still talking about winter weather and snow! Today we read a Nursery favorite, "The Jacket I Wear in the Snow," by . The children love "reading" the book themselves using the repetetive pictures.
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We then made winter trees. We made one of these back in the fall and we will do one for every season.
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We have been reading and talking about hibernation. We even made our own brown bears! Today we put them in their "den" to hibernate until the spring. We will check each day off on the calendar until spring arrives.
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We went out into the hall and had some fun racing on the scooters. It was exciting to cheer one another on. It is especially fun when the teacher and Mrs. O'Connell get in on the last race. How silly! There was a lot of cheering and laughing going on.
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Monday, January 6, 2020
Happy New Year!
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Welcome back everyone and Happy New Year! The children didn't miss a beat today, and easily fell back into routine. They all seemed very happy to see one another and were very excited to share at circle time. We began the day with manipulatives.
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Our special helper was so happy to see her name in the basket today, and was excited to collect the tags and hold the flag.
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After talking about the New Year, we decorated colorful 2020 signs of our own. It was terrific fine motor practice, and fun too. The children were chatting away while they worked. So much to talk about!
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At story time, we talked about Three Kings Day and read the book, "The Three Kings," by Loek Koopmans. It really held everyone's interest.
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At art time, we created a picture of the three kings. The children liked being able to choose the clothes and crowns themselves. They glittered the star which took a long time to dry so we will send them home on Wednesday.
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We had an extra long play time today because everyone was having so much fun. They missed their buddies! By the end of the morning the children were all exhausted and ready to wind down to quiet activities. I will see everyone on Wednesday!
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Hello! Every year there is "the book." This is the book that no matter how out of season, or how long ago we introduced it we can never put away because of how much the children love it, and ask us to read it to them. This year the book is "Goodnight Gorilla, " by Peggy Rathman which I originally read to the class when the letter G was introduced. Although there are very few words, there are countless little stories held within the illustrations and everytime we read it they seem to notice more. It has been great for expanding their vocabulary. Even the little ones who have a hard time sitting for an entire book love this one!
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Wednesday, November 20, 2019
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There are many daily routines in Nursery, and the children really like predictability. They feel comfortable when they know what is coming next and some reluctant students become more engaged when they know what to expect. Here is a staple of our morning - the special helper collecting the name tags and counting on the calendar.
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We highlight a new letter every week, but none of the concepts we introduce are in isolation. They are woven into everything we do and the goal is to have the children be the ones to eventually get excited about recognizing and pointing them out to us. Our learning in Nursery is done primarily through play. Today we went on a letter hunt!
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We have been talking a great deal about Thanksgiving. We have read about the first Thanksgiving, books about gratitude and today, a counting book highlighting some popular Thanksgiving food. "1, 2,3 Thanksgiving," by W. Nicola-Lisa. The children had a lot to say about the food!
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Today, we water colored some turkeys. Painting is definitely one of their favorite table time activities.
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We sang some fun songs with our shaky eggs.
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There was time for play-doh too!
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As important as routine is in nursery, there are times when we need to break routine when things don't go as planned, in order to recognize the need of a student, or when something seems very important to a little one. Today it was needing to wrap the baby doll up just right, hold it tight, and bring it to the table for lunch (highchair and all). As young as they are, these children have tremendous capacity to love and care for one another. They watch everything we do!
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Manipulative time this morning!
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Monday, December 2, 2019
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Here is the special helper of the day collecting the nametags, holding the flag and counting on the calendar.
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We were very busy today making our Advent wreathes and painting Christmas trees to hang up in the classroom.
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Monday, November 4, 2019
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Here is our terrific special helper today, collecting the nametags!
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We read a great book today called "Fall Ball," by Peter McCarty. The pictures were very funny and led to us talking about many things that the season of autumn brings such as windy days, blowing leaves that we rake into piles, the day getting dark earlier, cold frosty nights and football. The children loved the illustrations which are simple but evoke lots of expression and movement. So much to talk about today!
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We even practiced raking leaves into piles. It took a little practice, but we got the hang of it and are ready to help at home!
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We used Q-Tips and paint to add some colorful leaves on the tree branches, the ground and swirling in the air too.
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Wednesday, October 30, 2019
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Here is our special helper today carefully collecting the name tags, holding the flag, and counting on the calendar at circle time.
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Wednesday, December 11, 2019
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There were puzzles to begin our day today. We love to watch them work together.
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Here is the special helper collecting the nametags, holding the flag and counting on the calendar.
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Play time is the best time to make friends. All of the children are making connections with their peers now. They are learning how to negotiate sharing, taking turns and expressing how they feel (both positive and negative). It is very interesting to watch how they come to the rescue when they see a friend having difficulty. It doesn't always go smoothly, but they have come so far in such a short time. This is hard work!
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It was wonderful to watch the children's faces, and hear them sing during our lower school tree lighting. One of the children walked past the unlit tree last week and said, "Google, turn the tree lights on," and now it has happened! They really do make us laugh every day.
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Wednesday, November 13, 2019
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We began the day today with puzzles. Many of the children ask if they can move around to other tables to help friends do their puzzles. We really enjoy watching them socialize when they first arrive. We see students who like to do things independently, or who don't need help, accept help from a friend. This speaks volumes! Despite how young they are, they love feeling neeeded and they love to feel helpful.
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Here we are at the beginning of circle time!
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Here is the special helper today. She is collecting the name tags, holding the flag, and counting on the calendar.
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We read a funny book at story time called, "Scaredy Crow", and then began making our own scarecrows! We will finish them on Friday.
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We talked about positional words today, and watched Grover from Sesame Street explain them using a simple song. We then practiced acting out the words ourselves to the music. Everyone was laughing and really having so much fun.
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Through
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After lunch, we read books together on the rug. The goal is to get the children interested and excited to choose books that interest them. We want them to love reading. When they share a book they like with others, it is wonderful to listen to their conversations and watch their enthusiasm
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Wednesday, November 27, 2019
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Here is the special helper for the day collecting everyone's name tag, holding the flag and counting on the calendar. It is amazing to see the children not only recognize their own name in print but, each other's names as well.
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As the day wound down and everyone was tired, we did some block building on the front rug. They built a zoo for the animals.
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We finished our paper bag turkeys today! Aren't they cute?
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We did an activity today where each child got a plate with a picture of a food they might eat on Thanksgiving. They had to practice saying, "yes, please" if they wanted to try something and "no thank you" if they didn't.
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We would like to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving.
We hope that you are all surrounded by love on this special day.
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Monday, November 25, 2019
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We began our day today with manipulatives.
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Here is the special helper busy collecting the name tags and counting on the calendar at circle time.
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We had so much fun doing the turkey feather dance. Whoever had the same color feather had to go in the center of our circle and dance to the music! They had to flap their wings and waddle like a turkey
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Today we started making our paper bag turkey by coloring the feathers and adding on the face. We will let it dry before we stuff it.
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Friday, November 22, 2019
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The first thing we do is unpack. The children have gotten very independent and love to help each other.
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We began the day with block building.
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We had a very enthusiastic special helper today who was very excited for it to be her turn.
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Today we read the story of "The Three Billy Goats Gruff," retold by Janet Stevens. We used blocks and our play animals to act the story out.
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It was a great morning to play outside. We were running, hanging, sliding, jumping and a few were trying to wake up a princess!
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Some free play after snack!
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Monday, December 9, 2019
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Here is our special helper for the day, collecting the name tags, waving the flag, and counting on the calendar.
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We practiced singing our Christmas songs today and used jingle bells.
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Some playtime fun!
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We painted angel ornaments last week and today we added the glitter.
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In the afternoon we had some fun doing our "reindeer bootcamp". Here we are practicing pulling the sled and walking on the roof.
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Friday, December 13, 2019
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There was so much creative building happening today. Look how hard they are concentrating, and how proud they are!
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Here is our special helper doing his morning jobs!
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Here we are having some fun decorating stockings.
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Here is an example how how we abandon the plan sometimes because the children love an activity and find a way to make it their own. We started with building activities. The children loved setting the big cardboard blocks up, but what they enjoyed more was finding different ways of knocking them down. They took turns rebuilding sturdy, balanced towers that did not fall down until someone crashed into them. So much laughing!
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Friday, November 8, 2019
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It was a busy morning and we began with manipulatives. It is wonderful how creative the children are!
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Here is our special helper collecting the name tags and counting on the calendar.
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We are working on the letter F. F is for fish! Here is some coloring we did at the table today.
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A floor puzzle at play time is much more fun when there are friends to help. They were very proud when they finished!
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F is also for finger painting. This was messy, but so much fun to do. The children loved discovering what happened when they mixed the colors together. They also enjoyed creating texture using different parts of their hand.
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Wednesday, November 6, 2019
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Here is our excellent special helper collecting the name tags!
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One of favorite parts of lunchtime, are the sweet conversations that we have.
The children love to help set the table, and putting the flowers out is a VERY big deal to them. They will reposition them over and over until they feel they are in exactly the right spot.
We set the table, say Grace together, the special helper gives each friend a wipe, and then they get their lunchboxes. When the children are done eating, they need to clean up their spot, put their lunchbox away and then they can come to the rug to read books.
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What a beautiful day it was to play outside. We had so much fun!
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