Happy New Year!
After all the exciting events in December, we kicked off the new year with new friends in our classroom! The children have been extremely welcoming and warm to their new classmates and our new friends have been transitioning very easily into our program!Here are some activities that the children have been engaged in since returning to school:
Constructing Castles and Boats Using Blocks
The children have been making amazing structures using blocks! They have been making more elaborate creations and working together to figure out how to make them stay up and exactly how they want it to look. Building with the blocks has also provided opportunities for the children to engage in dramatic play and speak in detail about their construction and how they built it.
 |
| "It's a castle!" |
 | ||||||||||
| Children:"It's a cruise ship!" Teacher: "What is a cruise ship?" Children:"It's a boat people sleep on!" Fruit Kabobs A delicious activity that the children really enjoyed was making fruit kabobs! During circle time we discussed patterns and encouraged the children to make patterns with the provided fruit. We placed raspberries, blueberries, grapes, and strawberries in bowls. The children helped cut their own strawberries and then chose what fruit they wanted on their kabob. Then we devoured this healthy and yummy treat! This activity supports fine motor and math development.   Shaving Cream A great sensory experience for the children has been using shaving cream on a tray. First we put shaving cream and glitter on the tray. The following day we added red paint and then blue paint. Rubbing the shaving cream is not only fun, but also very soothing! The feeling can often calm children and make it easier for them to sit and write/draw afterwards.       Stories For the past couple of weeks the children have been creating their own stories. Creating their own stories has been a great way for the children to creatively express themselves and supports their fine motor development. Some children have created "picture books" and some of our older children have drawn pictures and also written words in their books. While working on their stories the children will often "read" their stories to their friends which helps to inspire their peers to create their own.
Ice Painting The children have shown consistent interest in painting throughout this school year. We decided to introduce them to ice painting as another method of creating art. The children helped choose liquid watercolors to freeze and helped poke sticks into the plastic wrap covering the ice trays. The following day, we brought out the ice paints. The children were very excited and curious about the paint frozen in the ice cube trays! They made a variety of observations about the paint and commented on their paintings. This activity supports fine motor skill development, color recognition, scientific exploration and creativity.    Beading Another fun fine motor activity that the children loved was making necklaces and bracelets using beads. We provided different colored beads and beads with letters on them. The children chose the colors and letters they wanted. One child wanted to spell her mom's name and asked a teacher how to spell it. The teacher told her the letters to search for and the child was able to search for each letter. The child was so proud of herself and excited to give her mom the necklace she made!      |
