Creating a Community

This week, we've been working hard to learn each other's names with good morning songs and fun games like who stole the cookie form the cookie jar.



We've also been having a lot of fun playing with each other and talking about what we like or enjoy. We've got a lot in common. :)

We've also read a few books that have helped us think about how to make our time in preschool healthy, safe and happy. We know people are working on things, and we encourage this, but it's helpful to have this discussion at the beginning of the year to clarify expectations. Here are the books we've read and what we've decided on so far.

And finally, we've been looking at our classroom name. We wrote down everyone's favorite and now we are finding out information about them. After we're done, we will start the voting process. We are using the website pebblego.com and books to find stuff out. It's a great site! So far, I think we're very interested in monkeys and elephants. We will see what happens!

Reading with Gr. 1s

This week, Grade 1 invited us to come and read the Pigeon books they had written. We had so much fun listening to their stories. Then they read some of Mo Willems stories to us, and finally, we read Mo Willems final Elephant and Piggie book called The Thank You book. It was a lot of fun for us to read with our friends, and we could tell they were so excited to share what they made with us. THANK YOU, GRADE 1!

Weekly Photos & Sanbox Play

What We Know About Water

With our negotiated curriculum, we often begin with what we know already, or what we are curious about. Here is our mind map from our inquiry into water. Children often have so many ideas! As we progress through our inquiry, we will add new knowledge to our map, and create other documents or put up other photos that help to make our learning visible.

Weekly Photos - Cheetahzania and More!

Healthy Snacks

We're so proud of our healthy snacks! Quite regularly during snack time, the kids begin to chat about the healthy foods that they've brought in. Thanks to moms and dads for making this effort! Here is an excerpt from the following link which highlights the importance of healthy snacks. How Diet and Nutrition Impact Learning

A Plan at Home

To promote healthy eating and brain function outside of school, parents can provide their kids with smaller meals and snacks every three to four hours. Reports reveal that after just thirty minutes, feelings of fatigue and stress drop after a nutritious snack or meal. Providing children with an intake of healthy glucose boosts their energy and improves their focus.     

Healthy meals and snacks should consist of natural fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins, such as chicken, fish, nuts, and eggs. Also, specific vitamins can be incorporated to target definite functions. For example, to improve memory, individuals should invest foods rich in lecithin, such as peanuts, soy beans, and wheat germ. Potassium also aids in energy and brain functioning, and can be derived from oranges, bananas, apricots, avocados, melons, peaches, and nectarines. Avoiding processed foods, and incorporated natural fare into a daily diet will ultimately promote a healthier body, behavior, and brain power.

Symmetry in Blocks

Today in blocks, a bunch of children worked collaboratively to build this ship. 

From this angle, you can clearly see attempts at symmetry. 

Can you spot them? 

Some are successful, some are close. 

While working with the students, I pointed these differences out in a couple of locations. 

The children typically made one or two attempts to create 

actual symmetry before getting it right. 

Then, we challenged them to find other areas, where symmetry was attempted, but not quite achieved. Funnily enough, my center justification is not working on this paragraph as I attempt to reformat. Ironically perfect! 

This is math in action in an early years classroom!