Outside Adventures!
What an exciting week- we went outside for two walks using the big kid rope! Everyone did a really great job holding on and being safe. Listening ears were on and ready! For our first excursion we just went around the block and didn't cross any streets. Once we knew that everyone was good at staying on the rope, we ventured out again and crossed one street to get to the AT&T courtyard. Our friends from the 2B class joined us and we got to play Little Red Riding Hood, Bean bag toss, and we did some painting with cars! Plus tons and tons of running! We hope you got some good naps this week!
In the beginning of the week, we also took a buggy ride to Washington Market Park to see all of the tulips in bloom. We also noticed that the baby leaves are starting to open and get bigger! And everyone's eyes were peeled for butterflies, since now the weather is starting to warm up and they might be out soon! There were already some big bumblebees buzzing around!
Spring Market Projects
This week has also been filled with work toward our upcoming Spring Market. We focused a lot of energy and attention on creating clay bowls with flower petals that will be perfect for small jewelry! We also created our pink poster, and started a pink collage with soft materials. Next week we'll be working even more - picture frames, aprons, pillows, and more!!
Sensory Explorations
This week we did a lot of sensory and fine motor work! We used scissors for cutting, we used clay with wire and beads, and we glued small materials onto popsicle sticks to make caterpillars. Everyone has been busy, productive, and making great strides in their hand eye coordination and fine motor skills.
Self Portraits- May
Our portraits are really starting to look like people! We've got the skill down to make circles for head/faces, and some of us are starting to notice that each feature has a distinct location on the face. Plus we are hearing more "obscure" facial features- chins, cheeks, foreheads . . . we're getting pretty specific with our language.
Nature
We have a few ongoing projects happening- first, and most exciting, is our caterpillars! We have been observing their growth all week. We were really surprised Friday morning when we realized the caterpillars have eaten almost all of the food in the jar! Perhaps this weekend they will make their first part of the metamorphosis by creating chrysalises. We had some really thoughtful guesses as to how long it would take before this happened:
Morgan- 3 days
Katerina- 2 days
Parker- 2 days
Jayce- 0 days
Levi- 5 days
Nina- 1 more days
Nicholas- 5 days
Jackson- Until Christmas!
We also took some guesses on what color the butterflies might be when they finally hatch out of the chrysalises:
Morgan- Black
Jayce- Blue
Dylan- Yellow
Emilio- Brown
Mercer- Red
Levi- Yellow
Parker- Yellow
Jackson- Purple or maybe black
Katerina- Pink!
Nicholas- Blue
Nina- Purple
Mia- Blue
In addition to our caterpillars, we also germinated some "magic beans" last week (lima beans). In one week, these little beans have already grown as tall as a quart size ziplock bag!! We can't wait to see how much taller they get next week!
We also planted our leftover seeds in our sensory table, with a whole bunch of lima beans added in. Next week we will be exploring the growth more in-depth (measuring tools, watering cans, and gentle touches!).
Specialists
Cooking with Diane: We made a pasta salad with green beans, bell peppers, carrot, parmesan cheese, and seasonings.
Spanish with Ernestina: This week we celebrated Cinco de Mayo with tortilla chips and guacamole. We also listened to "La Cucaracha" and danced with maracas.
Cooking with Rachel: Thank you to Katerina's family for bringing in the ingredients for pear & pomegranate salsa. We mixed pomegranate arils, chopped pears, red onion, cilantro and lime juice to make our salsa and enjoyed it with mixed grain chips!
Science with Mitzi: Our exploration involved watching how oil and watercolor mixes- or rather, doesn't mix! When we dropped in the liquid watercolor, it turned into small balls in the oil. It was so much fun that some of us cried when we couldn't continue dropping the watercolor in!
Soccer with Jojo: We are getting better and better with soccer! So many friends decided to participate and score some goals this week!
Monthly Photos
This month we made a big butterfly for the background of our portraits- they came out so lovely! Max and Charlotte will get theirs taken next week!
