Petland Presentation

The Tues/Thurs class was so lucky to have Petland come and do a 1 hour presentation on our last day of our Animal theme. Jolene brought about 15 animals with her that we all got to see and hold if we wanted to. Don't worry Mon/Wed/Fri class...your animal presentation is coming in April!

All the animals shown were babies so they were very gentle and cuddly. This little bunny was the sweetest little thing!




We all had to sit with our legs crossed if we wanted to hold a guinea pig in our lap.


This is a chinchilla and he sort of looked like a cross between a large mouse, a rabbit and a squirrel. He had the softest fur of all the rodents on his body but his tail felt very bristley like a paint brush.


The ferret was very long and had a strong odour. Jolene said he had been de-scented so I can't even imagine what he would have smelled like if he hadn't been!


Teacher Michelle was brave and she held him. Jolene said he's similar to a cat and can be trained to use a litter box.


He also really liked to play. He rolled over on his back and let his belly be scratched. Then he would stand up and arch his long back and hop! The kids thought that was pretty funny.


We also saw a few different colorful birds. They didn't fly around they just sat in our hands.


...or used our fingers as a perch.




This guy was too big to sit on our fingers so he had to be held in the palm of our hands.




Jolene also brought lizards that all felt very different. This guy was very smooth and Jolene held him with a paper towel so he didn't have any accidents.


This guy was a bearded dragon and he was very spikey. The spikes didn't hurt but his skin felt very bumpy.



This was a baby boa constrictor. I can't believe how big this little guy's going to get!


Lot's of children were brave and touched him to see what he felt like.




Probably the most popular animal was saved for the very end...a baby puppy! He was very friendly, soft and cuddly.


He gave kisses to everyone and they returned the favor by giving him big hugs.



This was a REALLY fun morning. Thank you to Petland for the awesome presentation!

Animal Songs & Rhymes

We learned LOTS of fun animal songs and rhymes in January. We focused on one song a week (sometimes two) and sang them all multiple times throughout the month. Each time we learned a new song we made fun finger puppets to act out the song. Those finger puppets were VERY popular!



5 Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed

The Tues/Thurs class learned this song the very first week. The Mon/Wed/Fri class learned this song back in November when they learned about Doctors and Nurses. We still get requests for this song during circle time.




5 Little Monkeys Swinging in a Tree

This is a really fun version of the original song. The Mon/Wed/Fri class learned this one instead of the other and they just love it. The version the kids learned is slightly different than this one. They sing in a really quiet voice "...along came Mr. Crocodile as a quiet as can be" then really loudly "...AND SNAP!" Instead of the last monkey being snapped he teases "Missed me, missed me now you gotta kiss me! SMOOCH!"




5 Green and Speckled Frogs




Hey Diddle Diddle





Little Bunny Foo Foo

The words we sing to this one are slightly different. Instead of the good fairy turning Bunny Foo Foo into a goon, she warns him that she will turn him into a frog.




Elephants Have Wrinkles

This has become VERY popular in both classes.




I Wanna Be a Dog

Another great Charlotte Diamond song, this one still gets requests at last circle time too. We get down on our hands and knees like a dog on all fours and we act out the lyrics. Very fun and silly.

Who's the King of the Jungle?

We focused on this Christian song for the whole month of January and sang it every class. I've still been getting requests for it! Ask your child to show you the actions that go along with it.

Post Office

Our community helper theme ended with the Post Office. Each child got their own colorful postcard to decorate the front of. They dictated to me what message they would like to say and who they wanted to send the postcard to. We had some really interesting things to say to our friends and family members! Each child got their own stamp to put in the corner of the postcard (one cent stamps of course :) ) While they may not have been able to actually send this postcard in the mail it was great practice.


They also each got a colorful envelope to address, add a stamp and put a letter inside.


The "letter" was a page full of stamps made with a stamp and ink pad.

The easel was a busy center with many a mail carrier hats being painted blue.


The dramatic play center had lots of letters to mail, stamps to sort, post cards to look at, and envelopes to drop into a cardboard post office box.

We sure had a busy time with community helpers but it was so much fun to explore and experience new occupations each day.

Restaurant

On our restaurant day, we had the play kitchen set up for the children to cook in as well as a little table dressed with menu's and placemats. There were little pads of paper so the children could take each other's orders.



Each child made his or her own Paper Pizza. They began with a large beige circle that they painted red for the pizza sauce. Next they topped it with their choice of green peppers, pepperoni circles and red tomatoes that I had already die cut. The cheese was 2 inch strips of yellow ribbon, but you could easily substitute yarn.

All the pizza's were so adorable! The Mon/Wed/Fri class practiced their cutting skills by cutting out their own toppings with scissors.

Teacher Michelle taught both classes a great song by Charlotte Diamond called I Am a Pizza. The kids loved it! The Mon/Wed/Fri class sing this one regularly at the last circle time.

"I Am a Pizza" by Charlotte Diamond


A student from my Tues/Thurs class came to school that day bearing gifts as well. Her parents manage Boston Pizza in town, so the children were gifted with mini chocolate pizzas and Kids Eat Free coupons. The class ended with her handing out the treats to her classmates. I so appreciate how great our parents have been getting involved.

Hospital

Hello everyone! I hope you are all enjoying your child's time at home with you for the Reading Week break. I thought it was the perfect time to get caught up on my blog updating.

Now I know I'm heading back to the Community Helpers theme, but I got some great pictures of our activities and wanted to share them.

We had one of the parents, Lisa, who is a community nurse come in and talk to the kids about nurses during our Hospital day. She did a fabulous presentation to them demonstrating how nurses give needles, why we need them, and why we shouldn't be scared. She also had an adorable little helper too!

They first listened to Cinderella's heartbeat.

And then Cinderella got a needle in her arm. We learned that sometimes nurses give us needles even when we aren't sick, because they help us not get sick later. This was during the H1N1 vaccinations so the children were able to link their own experiences to Lisa's demonstrations. Cinderella was so brave she didn't even cry!

The hospital dramatic play center was very popular with all the children after they got to see some of the tools that nurses use.

...of course they had to try them out for themselves.


Some even answered phones and took down appointments.

The water table was full of medicine cups, empty pill bottles and syringes to further their play.

The craft table was full of familiar medical supplies. Who knew we could make such beautiful art with it? This is a Q-Tip Painting made by dipping cotton swabs in paint and making different designs on the paper.

The children also made Doctor Bag Collages by gluing cotton swabs, tongue depressors, cotton balls and band-aids onto this doctor bag template. It was nice for the children to learn what these items are and how they can help us.

This community occupation was a HUGE hit as you can tell.