"G" is for Glitter!

Today our 3s continued their letter work with "G". "G" is for glitter, glue, and great helpers! The alphabet on my refrigerator is growing, and we are loving it! This is the latest installment...

This week we repeated a process that we used last week, when "F" was for feathers. I diluted glue, placed it in the middle of the table, and gave each child access to a paint brush.

Because the children were familiar with the process, they were able to be very independent with this activity.

After each "G" was covered with glue, the child selected a tube of glitter. They sprinkled glitter all over their letters! They did such an awesome job managing their materials, and keeping the glitter on their trays.

None the less, this little fellow noticed that we needed to do a little extra cleaning. With no prompting from me, he went over to the sand table and got the sweeper. It was super sweet, and I made a BIG deal about it, then this happened...

Everyone got inspired to help! What good citizens, and great friends. This project was a great example of valuing the process over the product. The glitter "G"s did not turn out exactly like I thought they would, but the process of creating them exceeded my expectations. The children gained and demonstrated independence with 3 new tools, they worked collaboratively, and showed their care for our classroom by helping keep it clean. Most of all, the "G"s are their work. I had very little to do with the product, which isn't it really how it should be?!

3s Pumpkin Party

Today was our SDS 3s pumpkin party! I wore three hats today, and none of them were part of my costume! I was party mom, preschool teacher, and mommy. I am not complaining one bit, because I was doing exactly what I wanted to be doing. I only mention it to explain the pictures. I was so busy that I did not get to take any pictures. Thank goodness that several parents and my sister used my camera and helped us capture a few memories. I hope that everyone had a great time!

We traveled from SDS to the Wallace Train Depot by hayride. It was a great morning for snuggling with our little pumpkins!

When we got to the depot, we had a chance to ride the speeder, play on the caboose, and see the model trains. Thank you to Mr. Charley and the train room engineer for helping us enjoy this day!

There was even a Thomas the Train on the tracks!

Next, we went out to the pumpkin patch, and found pumpkins.

After we found the just right one, we went back inside and decorated them ourselves!

Maybe with a little help from our families!

We had a Delicious snack!

Finally, we went back outside to our carnival. Thank you Madelyn for the lovely face-painting!

We did Jack-O-Lantern bean bag toss, spider ring toss, monster bowling, the fishing game, the duck pond, face painting, and the knock the cans down game.

By the end of the morning, we were tired! We paused for a group picture in the pumpkin patch, and took some time to explore what we had put in our treat bags!

Thank you so very much for all of your help today, parents and family members. We could not have done it without you! Thank you also to Robert's family who were the co-hosts of the party!

2s Pumpkin Party

On Thursday, the 2s had their pumpkin party.

They shared a delicious snack...

Elizabeth's daddy make a cool pumpkin cake!

The party moms made dirt cake!

Mummy snacks, spider cookies, and gummy worms, yum!

Then we visited the SDS pumpkin patch, and picked a pumpkin.

What a fun day a preschool!

Thank you to the party moms for making this such a great day. We love you!

Rainbow 4s Pumpkin Party

Thank you to the Johnson family who hosted a wonderful pumpkin party for us today!

The boys and girls, enjoyed a hayride to the pumpkin patch with their families.

I was a good morning for snuggling with a cozy blanket!

We each picked the just right pumpkin!

When we returned, we painted our pumpkins.

What a fun game, sack races!

Parachute fun!

Look at our creepy crawly spider hand print craft!

Next, we had a delicious snack.

Look at those cupcakes the boys and girls made, so cool!

What a great day with our preschool friends!

Thank you to all of the families who helped make this a special day for our little ones!

The Little OId Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything!

We had a special guest today at Sunshine Day School! Kinsley's Grammy came to school to help us with our pumpkin party. She read one of favorite October books to us, The Little Old Lady who Was not Afraid of Anything! Then we acted the story out.

As she read the story,each child got to help make the sound of their prop. The shoe went "clomp, clomp", the pants went "wiggle, wiggle" and so on.

Next we stuffed and made our own scarecrow using all of the parts, just like in the story.

We had a wonderful time reading this great book, and bringing it to life.

Thank you Grammy for a great day at preschool!

Other pictures from today are being uploaded to MemberHub!

Pumpkin Work

Today we finally got to something I have been planning for a few weeks. I have often seen early childhood classrooms where there is a wood working center or station. It always makes me curious, but then I think of all the possible danger and I just put the idea away. Until now! The tools are a little different, as well as the outcome, but the concept is the same: children develop fine motor skills, and hand-eye coordination, all while have a splendid time together. I collected pumpkins, golf tees, and hammers. I just needed some time to sit down and do this with my buddies. Today was the day. We didn't get to it during centers, but it was such a nice day, we took it outside.

The first most important thing to do if you are going to nail things into a pumpkin, is to have the proper safety gear!

Next, you need some friends who will help you with the serious task at hand.

You also need a teacher who is willing to hold the tee while you get it started. (Yikes!)

Some children were able to drive the tees in instantly, when this happened, I was able to challenge them by starting the tee at a different part of the pumpkin. It was fascinating to see how they approached the tees from new angles. It definitely took them a few minutes to figure out how they were going to hold the hammer now.

Finally, to make things interesting, you need a challenge. I told this little girl that the tees were stuck and I couldn't get them out. I modeled trying with my hands, then I demonstrated how to use the hammer in "reverse". I really didn't know if it would work of not, but it sure did!

This was a great free-exploration activity. This is also something that you can do together at home. You could use real nails, it just wasn't idea for the playground at preschool :)