If I were an animal I'd be...

If I were an animal, I'd be...

A TIGER!

I would live at the zoo.

I would scare all the animals.

And I'd play "tag the tiger" with all the other tigers!

A BUMBLEBEE!

....'cause I'm buzzing around the flowers. I eat nectar.

I'd take the nectar into a big grinder to make honey.

Then I'd eat it!





AN ALLIGATOR!



I'd eat fishes.

I live in the water and go swimming.

The water is hot, but not real hot--- a little hot, a little cold.

I play with a baby alligator.



A SPIDER!


I'd be orange.

Spider gets some webs because they're looking for food to eat.

Every friends, an ant.

We'd play hide and seek.




A ZEBRA!


I'd live outdoors and eat carrots.

I'd play "tag, you're it" with my mommy zebra. Zebras are so fast!

I'd sleep on the grass. We'd visit the city.



A WHALE!


I want to be a black whale.

I swim in the water and eat the fish 'cause I would be hungry.

I play with a baby shark. That's all!




A CHICKEN!


...because chickens are silly!

I'd live on a farm. I like to rest in a nest.

When I'm ready to play, I'd fly to the farmer's house to say hello.

The farmer would say hello back to me and give me seeds to eat.





A MOUSE!


...'cause I like cheesie. I'd live in a burrow.

I'm a wild mouse, but I live in the zoo.

I'd play with a monkey and eat bananas together.

We'd go on a walk and meet a duck.


A DRAGON!


...'cause they fly and stuff. I'd be friends with Spider, Lion, Whale and Tigers.

We'd play ball together. I'd eat peanut butter crackers, cheese, nuts and cookies.

I'd fly home and then to the store to buy more food.



A BEAR CUB!


...because I like bears and I'm a Bear Cub!

I'd play with my friends, the other bears. We'd climb trees and play tag.

I'd live in the forest with my bear family, my mommy and daddy and brothers and sisters.

My daddy would teach me how to fish and I'd eat it!



A TIGER!



...because I have a big toy tiger at home. My daddy gave it to me for a gift.

I'd live in the wetlands so I could be in the water. I'd swim and then get out.

I'd have dinner--- chicken nuggets and french fries!

If it was bedtime, I'd go sleep on the grass.

If I was a tiger, maybe I'd live in Hawaii--- It's the bestest place!

The Creative Juices of Spring!

Great Quotes:

"Judith, I know I'm a Bear Cub because I really know how to think!"

"Judith, guess what? It's my dad's birthday and he's turning 21!" (+20 more, I later heard from mom)

Like the season of spring all around, we are bursting with creativity. Come along and take a walk through the week with us!

We had a visit from Oscar, who has had a cast on his leg for several weeks. We listened to the story of his surgery and recovery, and noticed that he was getting around quite well! He was on his way to the vet, and we later found out that he had his cast removed. (We were then able to inspect the cast again, when it was separated from the dog.) Oscar was very patient with our questions and gentle hands!

We loved planting more seeds for our garden.


Using push pins, we poked drainage holes in the bottoms of the paper cups.

This took rigorous fine motor control and concentrated effort!

Note the pincer grasp!

After this, it was a breeze to fill our cups with soil and plant our seeds! Every day we check them and give them water if the soil is dry. We also suspended avocado pits in water this week, and placed them in the front window. Remember to check on them with your child at drop off and pick up times!

Geometric shapes with embedded magnets integrate math and science with our creative interests. Fitting them together just so takes creative vision, planning, trial and error, perseverence and lots of focus!

Perhaps we have some budding architects?

"Look, I made swinging doors!"

Wow, watercolor painting blossomed with the creative force of spring! We were inspired and prolific in our artistic endeavors...

Notice how relaxed each child's hand is, and how perfect the pincer grasp, when using a brush. It's wonderful practice to prepare for writing by enhancing eye-hand coordination, refining the pincer grasp,developing greater control and precision, as well as lengthening attention span.

Cuddle up and read,

Water, water everywhere,

A touch of whimsy and technology in the tipi,

And theater with a diversity of community helper puppets!

Did we mention how we enjoyed the glorious sunshine?

Catch it while you can!

Sandi even came out to enjoy the warmth and blossoming trees with us!

Now the rain reigns again... and our seeds are getting watered naturally.

We all need both sunshine and rain!

Smiles,

Judith

It Just doesn't Get Any More "Hands-On" Than This!

We introduced equations through the sensory experience of fingerpainting. Each child got to choose two primary colors to add together...

Yellow + Red =

ORANGE!


"Green Day" was Wednesday, St. Patrick's Day. We all wore a bit 'o green, found Ireland on the map, read about leprechauns (9 out of 11 children in our class think they are real!) and made shamrock crowns (below.)

As part of our "Green Day" we also planted pea seeds (see the paper cups which line the white shelf in the photo below.) Over the course of two days, we also observed and compared two bouquets of daffodils to see which would open first. One bunch began tightly budded and the other was a little more loosely budded. By noon, two daffodils were emerging from the loose buds, and by the end of the day, all of those daffodils were emerging. By the next morning, the tightly budded bouquet was opening (above.) It was exciting for the children! We'll repeat this experiment, varying the conditions in which we place that the daffodils. We welcome any bunches of budded daffodils that you may want to send in!

9 out of 11 of us were right, and here is the proof...

leprechauns ARE real!

May all your days be filled with life-giving green,

Judith

Snowflakes and Blossoms

Days of Snowflakes and Blossoms!

The children were ecstatic with the large snowflakes that surprised us all on Monday! We played outside under our blossoming plum trees, then came in and had warm cocoa with our lunches. Yum! Since the children have two days off so teachers and parents can have conferences on Thursday and Friday, we used the short week to "catch up" on projects not fully finished. We finally had time to play our home-made instruments, accompanying the delightful music of Red Grammer's tape, "Can You Sound Just Like Me?" We moved and marched, fully enjoying our shakers and tamborines. And on Wednesday--- what a surprise--- we had a "boys only" morning (see above photo.) We all missed the girls, but our boys seemed to adjust!

(one of the trees beside our play yard)

Have a picture perfect blossom filled weekend!

Judith

A Busy Week: Science Fair and Fantastic Dr. Seuss

SCIENCE FAIR:

We work magnetic magic upon our friends!

We invited our friends, Mrs. Gellert's Beacons, to our classroom to show them our magnet work. Every Beacon class member drew the name of a Bear Cub, with whom to partner. Here, on the circle, the partners sit together.

We began by singing our magnet song and talking a bit about the properties of magnets. We reviewed that the biggest magnet in our whole world is the Planet Earth!

Then we went to our stations and showed our partners our magnet jobs.

Magnet painting was such a big job that it needed two people to run the station.

The results were colorful!

READ ACROSS AMERICA: DR. SEUSS'S BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION!

We baked gingerbread muffin "cupcakes," then frosted and decorated them.

(We each had our own disposable wooden spreader, as licking was half the fun!)

Of course, we have been reading loads of fantastical Dr. Seuss books all week... and just HAD to make hats just like the Cat in the Hat. Keeping them on was a balancing act that the good doctor never had to think about!

When the week was all over, and the work was all done

the little ones went home; the big had AUCTION FUN!

Hope to see you Saturday night!

Judith