January 31, 2020

This week…

Science: Magic Milk Experiment!

The children immediately noticed the reaction the soapy q-tip had on the milk and food coloring mixture.

The students were excited to see the beautiful colors quickly expand out and separate in the dish.

-Soap ( Jabon)

-Milk ( Leche )

-Red ( Rojo )

-Yellow ( Amarillo )

Gross Motor Development/ Creating Music!

Anthony loves music- singing songs and exploring various musical instruments.

Music encourages a child’s inclination to move, developing their fine motor skills and gross motor skills.

Music helps the mind and body work together.

Cognitive Development/ Painting with Nature!

Painting with nature is a fun process art for children. it is also a wonderful way for children to explore various textures and patterns .

Gross Motor/ Social Emotional development/Gym Time!

Peek-a-boo in the Gym!

The Gym is the perfect place for students to exercise their bodies and interact with each other- improving social skills.

Cognitive Development/Sensory/ Cooking with Ms. Diana!

This week the 1A friends made salad with carrots, peppers, limes and lemons.

New Spanish words were introduced!

-carrots ( zanahorias)

-lemon ( limon)

Cooking increases language development, increase focus and attention and can promote healthy eating.

Thank you, 1A families!

Have a lovely weekend.

January 24, 2020

This Week…

Collaborative Painting on Foil Paper!

The 1A children enjoyed painting on the shiny foil paper- smearing the colorful medium across the slippery canvas.

-Engaging in sensory provocations supports language development, cognitive growth, motor skills, problem solving skills, and social interaction.

Cognitive Development/Morning Circle Time- Counting in English and Spanish!

During morning circle time we sang our favorite songs, including “The Five Little Speckled Frogs”.

The 1A friends enjoyed counting the frogs in English and Spanish.

One, two, three, four, Five

uno, dos, tres, cuatro, cinco


Cognitive Development/Science Experiment- Elephant Toothpaste!

We dont have to teach young children how to wander, discover, and explore through play because they do it naturally.

This week we performed our science experiment- creating elephant toothpaste.

The students assisted by mixing the water and yeast.

As we combined the ingredients, the chemical reaction was very surprising and exciting for the students. With eyes and mouths opened wide, our friends kicked their legs and bounced in their chairs with anticipation.

During the experiment, we also incorporated Spanish!

soap (jabon)

spoon (cuchara)

blue (azul)

green (verde)

Thank you, 1A Families!

Have a lovely weekend.


January 17, 2020

This week:

Cognitive Development

Through the process of elimination, Ian successfully placed the shapes in the correct postion. Bravo!

Puzzles help develop basic skills such as shape recognition, concentration, goal setting, patience and a sense of achievement. Puzzles help develop hand-eye co-ordination and fine motor skills due to the precise nature of matching each piece exactly.


Sensory: Recycled Cellophane Paper on Black Paper!

When children use glue, they are getting a great proprioceptive experience. They're gaining great hand strengthening benefits. Children are also developing their visual spatial and visual motor skills.

Welcome to the 1A Classroom!

Two new friends joined the 1A Classroom. Welcome, Anthony and Valen!

*We know you will have a year full of discoveries and adventures.

We are so excited to be here with you on this journey.

Spanish!

While washing our hands, we introduced new Spanish vocabulary!

-soap ( jabón)

-water ( agua)

-wash your hands (lava tus manos)

-Rainbow Parachute in the Gym/ Cognitive Development/Color Recognition

Today we used the exciting parachute to practice our colors in Spanish!

“Friends, what colors do you see?”

-Rojo (red)

-azul ( blue )

- verde ( green )

-amarillo (yellow)

The activity provoked language!

The 1A friends were heard saying “I see it”, “red”, “azul” and “wow”

Great job!

Cognitive Development/Language Development/ Social interaction

Pressing hands and arms into the paint, and smearing the stimulating medium across the white canvas Paper!

During this painting activity, the children listened to slow tempo classical music.

-Sensory play supports language development, cognitive growth, motor skills, problem-solving skills, and social interaction.

Thank you, 1A families.

Have a lovely weekend.

January 10, 2020

Cognitive Development: The Many Ways We Organically Implement Spanish into Our Everyday Routine.

-Incorporating Spanish as We Practice Our Colors!

One of the fun ways we practice our colors during circle time is using colorful scarves. The students enjoy placing them over their heads, tossing them in the air, and creating a playful game of peek-a-boo as we name the colors.

As the students call out the colors, we make sure to name each color in Spanish.

Our friends are very excited to say blue (azul) and red ( rojo).

-Using our 2D Class Pictures to Encourage Body Recognition in English and Spanish!

Our 2D class photos are a great tool used for body recognition. As the children point to their friend’s nose, eyes, mouth, and ears, they would then attempt or successfully point to their own. As we practice, we also make sure to translate the names of the body parts in Spanish.

eyes (ojos)

nose (nariz)

mouth (boca),

ears (orejas).

Cognitive/Language Development!

Painting with Our Bodies: Through Art Children Use Their Creativity to Plan, Design and Construct an Idea.

How will the students approach the paint provocation?

What emotions does the medium provoke?

toddlers approached the painting provocation with huge smiles- staring at their teachers, while they slowly crawled up to the large paper canvas, as if they were asking permission to touch. 

Once in front of the provocation, each student manipulated the medium at their own pace. First poking the cold puddles of paint with theirs fingers- creating very refined delicate strokes on the white canvas.

With hands and fingers pressed into the wet paint, the students would look up at their teachers, giggle and then continue on with their exploration. It was not long until our friends began crawling over the canvas, using their bodies as a paintbrush.

As we watched the students in action, consumed with the texture and bright colors of paint, we observed how the activity encouraged verbal communication, excitement and fine and gross motor practice.

Home Fun: please explore colors this weekend.

Example : point to anything in your home or during your trip to the supermarket this weekend and ask your little one “what color is this?”.

It will be fun!!

Thank you, 1A families!

Have a lovely weekend.

December 20, 2019

Sensory: Water play!

Water play gives many opportunities for children to develop crucial social skills when they are working with one other child or a whole group.It is a great way for children to learn to share and take turns as they share the physical space and the items in the water.

One of Our 1A Friends Celebrated a Birthday!

Archie turned one! Archie celebrated his birthday in his classroom with his mom, dad, sister and brother. Happy Birthday, Archie!!

Happy Holiday, 1A Families!!!

December 13, 2019

Cognitive Development: Color Recognition

The children are now showing interest in counting as well as naming colors. While drawing and painting, we always encourage the students to chose which color they would like to use. The children will point to their color preferences, and at times will attempt to verbally call out the color.

Our friends are showing preference and or identifying these colors so far: Red, Blue, Green, and some times Yellow.

This is the beginning of color recognition! How exciting!

-Recognizing the colors and identifying the color names is an important part of a child’s development. Early identification of colors helps to create the cognitive link between visual clues and words.

December 6, 2019

Cognitive Development (Math):

During morning circle time the students showed interest in counting!

As we sang “The five Little Monkeys Song” with puppets, the children began counting the puppets with their teacher. Some of our friends are now counting up to two. How exciting!

Throughout the school day, we make sure to implement math organically- counting to three before we start a song, counting the number of puppies on a page in a book, or even counting the number of raspberries a friend has left at morning snack time. The children find it fun, and they are learning.

Physical Development and Social/Emotional Development:

The gym is the perfect place for students to exercise their bodies and interact with each other- improving their social skills.

Fine and Gross Motor Development:

Holding a crayon or other drawing implement helps children develop their hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills. The more children have with making marks on paper, the quicker they'll develop the ability to undertake more advanced activities like handwriting.

Home Fun: We have been singing a new song in our classroom the children really enjoy that involves counting ("How Many Fingers"). Play the fun song at home, sing along, and watch them smile. The children love music, and this song is a great way to introduce counting. If you would like to send a picture or video to us, that would be nice, but you don't have to :)

How Many Fingers Song Link: https://youtu.be/xNw1SSz18Gg

Thank you, 1A families!

Have a lovely weekend.

November 27, 2019

This weeks recap!

Why is sensory play important?

Sensory Play enhances learning through hands-on activities that stimulate the Child’s senses. This is a great way for children to explore the world they live in! Sensory Play supports language development, cognitive growth, fine and gross motor skills, problem solving skills, and social interaction.

Such a vital part of being a young toddler is exploration through the fingers and hands.

This week the 1A class has had its first curriculum celebration of the school year- focusing on sensory exploration. The 1A children and their parents were given the option of making and exploring a sensory material ( Paint, oobleck, cloud dough, water, or clay), and they all chose cloud dough.

As the parents made and explored the sensory provocation, we asked that they observe their children.

  • What verbal and or non-verbal communication did your child express while setting up/exploring the sensory activity?

  • What verbal and or non-verbal communication did your child express while engaging in the activity?

    We are already receiving some of the parents' observations, and we will be displaying them in the 1A classroom soon, for all to see.

    Thank you, 1A families, for joining us and participating in the curriculum celebration.


Cooking with Ms. Diana/ Social-Emotional Development!

This week the 1A and 1B children made cranberry sauce with pineapples and pears!

Hands-on cooking activities help children develop confidence and skill.

Following recipes encourages children to be self- directed and independent. It also teaches them to follow directions and develop problem-solving skills.

Thank you, 1A families! Have a lovely Thanksgiving break.













November 15, 2019

This week a new friend joined the 1A class.

Archie transitioned beautifully into his new classroom. He enjoyed engaging with his friends and discovering the new learning materials in his new classroom.

Welcome, Archie!

Gym Time!

The gym has been an excellent environment for the students to exercise their bodies and test their physical abilities while socializing with their classmates.

Music Class!

Another successful music session!

Thank you all for attending the parent-teacher conference. The school year has just begun, and your children have all made great achievements- both physically and cognitively.

Have a lovely weekend!

November 8, 2019

What we did this week!

This week our new friend Ian joined the 1A class! The 1A children welcomed Ian with big smiles.

Ian freely explored his new class with his friends while playing with the learning materials.

Gym Time!

Water Play and Mirrors!

To encourage our little friends to continue their new found interest of observing their own reflections, we thought it would be interesting if we implemented mirrors during water play. 

 How will the students react to seeing their reflections in the water?

Approaching the stimulating provocation, some friends choose to dive right in and begin splashing the warm water. Others took a slower approach, gently gliding their fingers across their reflection.

*Mirrors are certainly a lot of fun for our students, but they are also used as a tool for promoting self-awareness and ability to see and understand basic emotions. 

Washing Our Classroom Baby Dolls!

The children have been fascinated with investigating the dolls faces in their classroom! What if we combined their favorite sensory play (water play) and dolls?

What new discoveries would be made? Would the children still be focused on the facial features of the babies, or would their attention be on something else?

Approaching the new and exciting provocation, the students first splashed their hands in the warm water with big smiles, focusing only on the water. Shortly after, the children began bringing their attention to the baby dolls- gently touching the doll’s face and body with their wet fingers. 

-Water play is calming, soothing, and important sensory exploration. Giving children the opportunity to replicate real-life scenarios allows them to test out their theories about how things work, and let them figure out what doesn't work in a safe and non-judgemental space.  

Painting with Paintbrushes!

Cooking Class!

This week the children made trail mix!

Spanish Class!

For Spanish class we practiced identifying farm animals in Spanish and the sounds they make.

Paper Exploration!

Thank you, IA families!

Have a lovely weekend!







November 1, 2019

This week the 1A children enjoyed sensory play- painting, investigating oobleck, sand, and cloud dough!

They were delighted to discover spooky pumpkins, skeletons, spiders, and jack-o-lanterns in Washington Market Park. And let's not forget the Halloween parade!

Painting!

Blake loves exploring paint! She enjoys the texture of the bright, wet paint on her fingers and will create beautiful works of art.

Messy play is the best play!

Consumed in the painting provocation, Blake stood up and took four independent steps across her classroom.

Bravo, Blake!

Spooky Findings at Washington Market Park!

Spooky but friendly findings :)

Making Purple Oobleck: Cornstarch and water!

Completely focused and relaxed, Maile touched, tapped and grasped after the mesmerizing medium.

Teacher: “Maile, how does it feel?”

Maile: *smiles/giggles out loud

Happy Halloween, Buckle My Shoe families!

Every year Buckle My Shoe has it's famous Halloween parade and each classroom chooses a costume theme. This year the 1A class got its inspiration from their favorite book, "Pete the Cat".

A few of our friends couldn’t make it to the parade and they were missed, But! no worries :)

When all of of our friends are back next week, we will dress everyone up in their Pete the cat costumes and take a stroll around the Tribeca neighborhood.

Thank you 1A Families!

Have a great Weekend!

October 25, 2019

This week the 1A friends practiced their balance and walking skills, investigated sand and clay, went for a walk around the Tribeca neighborhood, created leaf collages, enjoyed cooking class, Spanish class, and music class. We also enjoyed exploring 2D photos of our friends faces.

Busy Feet- Practice Makes Perfect!

Blake and her friend Gus have been practicing taking their first steps.

They are now trusting their balance :)

Learning to take steps is one of the most important achievements for a toddler. It is a big step towards independence!

-We are very proud of them. Most importantly, they are so proud of themselves as they practice.

-Blake showed beautiful balance standing up independently.

-Gus took two to three independent steps.

Great job, friends!

Spanish Class!

Circle Time & Puppets!

During circle time we added a few puppets, as we sang some of our favorite songs:​

”Twinkle Twinkle”- star puppets ​

”Oh Mr. Sun”- Sun Puppets ​

”Five Little Speckled Frogs”- frog puppets ​

​The 1A friends love holding the props- offering them a great visual aid. ​

-Puppets can sing, dance, speak in rhyme, touch, laugh, or cry. ​

By capturing the child’s attention, they strengthen listening skills and vocabulary development. ​

Puppets are also a valuable means for promoting oral language skills and confidence.​

​

Thank you, 1A families, for coming in and working so hard on the Pete the cat costumes. They are all amazing!

Thank you!

Have a great weekend.

October 18, 2019

This week the 1A students made strawberry and Banana Smoothies, visited the farmers market, Enjoyed Circle time in Washington Market Park, celebrated a birthday, and spent some time exploring with their 1B friends.

Strawberry and Banana Smoothie!

Before we made our yummy smoothie, the students were more than happy to taste the fruit first.

Apples, Oranges and cinnamon Collage!

Sticky glue, dried sweet apples, oranges, and cinnamon Sticks!

Continuing our exploration of apples, the children created collages of dried apples, oranges, and cinnamon sticks.

The children maneuvered the sweet-scented fruit in their hands- experiencing its rough, flexible texture. They bent the apples with their fingers and mouthed the familiar material.

They equally enjoyed investigating the cinnamon sticks, trying to taste the brown spice.

When it was time to add the glue, our friends became very focused- watching as their teacher poured the glue from above their heads — momentarily forgetting about the fruit.

Watching in amazment, the sticky glue drizzled down on to their canvases. Some of the children showed their interest by poking the puddles of clear glue with their pointers, and others chose to press their hands into the sticky material.

The students maneuvered the dried apples and cinnamon sticks across their sticky canvases, arranging and rearranging the materials to their liking- creating beautiful collages.

Visiting the Farmers Market!

The children were thrilled to see and touch the different fruit and veggies they discovered at the farmers market!

Students, how about we make another visit to the farmers market and buy Avocados? We can bring it back to school and make Guacamole together.

Gus Turned One! Happy Birthday, Gus!

Thank you 1A families!

Have a great weekend.


October 11, 2019

This week the 1A children had their first cooking class with Ms. Diana. We also had our first Spanish class . The students engaged in texture ball painting, made playdough, we got a visit from the dentist, and explored glue.

Cooking with Ms. Diana!

For our first cooking class with Ms. Diana, we had apples with apple butter. The children explored all the parts of the apple ( seeds, apple core) and tasted the sweet fruit. It is safe to say the tasting part was their favorite.

Spanish!

The children enjoyed their first Spanish class of the school year. We sang our good morning song, along with other favorites ( Oh McDonald, Twinkle Twinkle) in Spanish. Emotions and naming farm animals in Spanish was also introduced.

Textured ball painting!

The students have always shown an interest in balls of any kind. A delighted grin spreads upon their faces each time they manipulate the round, bouncy, slightly unpredictable wonder. 

When the provocation was placed in the middle of the classroom floor, it was interesting to see the students automatically go for the paint, as if the balls were not there. The explorers grasped at the bright paint colors, using their pointers to poke at the wet puddles. They are clearly paint experts now and know just what to do!

After a short while, our little sensory experts started to notice the round, bumpy balls and began trying to pick them up with their wet, colorful hands.

As the textured balls slipped from hand to hand, the balls bounced and rolled onto the white paper.

With each drop and roll, the round bumpy balls left behind beautiful imprints and trails on the paper!

Making Play dough!

The students enjoyed exploring the materials to make the soft, squishy play dough before combining all the ingredients.

-Flower, water, oil and salt-

Playdough is a wonderful tool used for strengthening muscle tone in little hands – squishing, squeezing, rolling and flattening. The material helps to develop children's muscles and encourage prewriting and other skills such as, cutting with scissors and holding a pencil.

A Visit From the Dentist!

The dentist came to Buckle My Shoe!

Exploring Glue!

The children enjoyed exploring the sticky, gooey texture of the glue on their hands.

The students will be using this material in the future with up coming art activities. We were excited to see how much the children enjoyed the texture.

  • Experiencing the sticky glue through the ziplock bag- Gus pressed his hands on the bag, feeling the soft but thick material inside.

Excellent exploration, friends!

Thank you.

Have a great weekend!

 

September 4, 2019

This week the 1A friends explored and painted pumpkins, investigated apples, and leaves, and enjoyed circle time in Washington Market Park.

Pumpkins Exploration:

When exploring the classroom pumpkins the students were very curious about the stem!

Before painting their white pumpkins, the children explored them- gently rubbing their hands across the pumpkin's smooth, rippled skin

The children showed interest by mouthing the hard pumpkins and rolling them across their work stations.

As they began smearing the paint over the pumpkins slick skin, the pumpkins became slippery and hard to grasp onto!

Excellent painting, 1A students!

Carving Our Classroom Pumpkin and Exploring Pumpkin Guts:

The children were hesitant to touch the insides of our classroom pumpkin but quickly warmed up. Deeply focused, the students slowly reached for the pumpkin guts and placed their hands inside the carved pumpkin.

Investigating Apples and Leaves!

Water Play and Leaves: The weather is getting colder and the leaves are changing colors. 


Our inquisitive 1A students explored the fall leaves on the illuminated light table and in the water sensory bin-discovering the different shapes, sizes and colors.
The children grasped the leaves from the sensory bin and squeezed them tightly in their hands,  crushing the crisp leaves between their little fingers- enjoying the sound and texture of the wet, crunchy leaves.

Circle Time in Washington Market Park!

Thank you, 1A families!

Have a great weekend.

September 27, 2019

This week the 1A students went on a walk to investigate pumpkins, Painted, investigated oobleck and collected leaves in Washington Market park.

Oobleck Exploration!

The students had a blast exploring a new and exciting texture- corn starch and water.

The mixture created a liquid solution that would periodically transform into a solid, as the students squeezed the mixture into their hands and in between their fingers.


Discovering Pumpkins and Gords on Our Walk!

Fall has arrived! What a perfect discovery!

While walking through the Tribeca neighborhood, the students stopped to explore pumpkins and gords. The children were thrilled to explore the round, rippled skin of the pumpkins and uniquely shaped gords.  

“Students, next time we can bring the pumpkins and gords back to our classroom.” 


Painting!

The children were thrilled as they observed their teacher squeezing the paint bottles- watching as the paint squirted out, landing on the white canvas paper.

With huge smiles, the students shook their bodies in excitement and laughed out loud.

The 1A friends used their hands and paintbrushes to smear the paint across the canvas paper.

Collecting Leaves!

The children were very focused as they closely examined this mesmerizing pieces of nature- gently maneuvering the colorful, delicate leaves in their hands.

”Should we take our leaves back to school?”

In conclusion, it is a pleasure to announce that the:

  • School-wide Curriculum focus for the year will be on the social-emotional development of the child.

    &

  • Our classroom focus will be on transiting and how music has played a big role in our classroom.

As Educators, How Can We Assist Our Students as

They Make the Transition into Their New Classroom Setting?

This year, our 1A curriculum will focus on the ways that music can be utilized as a soothing and

transitional tool in our classroom. We believe that singing and music in general is a great way to ease

separation and transition moments in the classroom.

During morning drop off we have observed how music immediately catches the children’s attention,

drawing them in — calming their bodies and allowing them to focus and relax.

Morning circle time has been essential to the beginning of each school day. As we sing each child’s

favorite song(s), the toddlers gather together and are visibly excited. It is obvious through their body

language that they want to participate in singing and give voice to what the next song should be.

Starting school is a big adjustment for a toddler!

It is clear that transition and separation is the first real developmental goal for the year. Before the deep leaning process can begin, each child must first feel comfortable in their new surroundings.

Music hasplayed a very significant role in our classroom and has allowed each child to reach a new level of comfort at school.

Thank you, 1A families!

Have a great weekend.

September 20, 2019

This week the 1A friends, created their first finger paintings, explored clay, Investigated sticky contact paper, painted on foil paper, showed interest in legos, excised their bodies in the gym and went on a lovely walk around the Tribeca neighborhood.

Finger Painting!

Our 1A friends immediately began exploring the bright, wet paint-smearing the medium across the white paper canvas. In this activity, the students chose to use a paintbrush and their fingers. 

Why is sensory play important?

Sensory play enhances learning through hands-on activities that stimulate the child's senses. This is an excellent way for children to explore the world they live in! Sensory play supports language development, cognitive growth, fine and gross motor skills, problem-solving skills, and social interaction.

Exploring Legos!

Wonderful job, friends!

The students are showing more and more interest in exploring legos.

Children practice dexterity as they connect Lego pieces of different sizes and shapes. This requires different amounts of pressure to assemble and becomes a wonderful exercise for little fingers which supports children in being able to control the pressure they apply while writing.

Gym Time!

Out On a Lovely Walk Around the Tribeca Neighborhood!

Exploring Clay!

Clay is a wonderful way to promote the awareness of "cause and effect", with young learners.

When the students were presented with a chunk of grey clay, it instinctively motivated them to explore- the soft and responsive sensory qualities of the unfamiliar material was inviting!

The student pulled, poked and squeezed the clay- each time, the clay, responding to their actions.  

When children begin to notice a change in the clay, they are learning that their actions have consequences.  This is empowerment. It encourages more experimentation. The child’s brain is taking shape along with the clay!

Thank you, 1A families!

Have a great evening.




First Week of School

What a great first week of school!

It was so exciting to see our students comfortable, and eager to explore their new classroom.

The 1A students started the school year off by exploring mirrors and painting over their smiling reflections!

The 1A friends have taken an interest in exploring the mirrors in their new classroom, so we thought it would be engaging and exciting if the children painted on top of mirrors.

What will happen when they cover up their reflection with paint?

After choosing their paint colors, the students used their fingers or paintbrush to smear the paint across their reflections- watching their hand movements and facial expressions in the mirror.

Mirrors are certainly becoming a lot of fun for our students, but they are also used as a tool for promoting self-awareness and the ability to see and understand basic emotions.

 

Gym Time!

Thank you, 1A families!

Have a lovely weekend.