Week of June 15th

It was a pleasure getting to know you and your children! I will miss you all!

Where should I start? Thank you for a fantastic year! For me it was short but amazing. It was a great experience, pleasure, and honor to learn, to grow and spend time together. Each of you are very determined and curious learners. I’m so proud of how you all were ready to explore something new everyday. Thank you for keeping me on my toes :)

Have a great summer everyone! Please send pictures from your summer <3

LOVE YOU ALL ! CAN’T WAIT TO SEE YOU AGAIN !

Week of June 8th

1st Birthday Celebration for Sebastian Daza

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SEBASTIAN !

We all sang Happy Birthday to Sebastian and then Sebastian showed off his dance moves to Baby Shark.

SPECIAL SONGS WITH JJ

Singing to children helps them with bonding, transitions, language, rhythm and rhyme, play, and listening skills .

SOME MILESTONES OUR LITTLE ONES ACCOMPLISHED

ACTIVITIES FOR NEXT WEEK

• Bucket play

• Water play

• Drawing to music

• Sand play

• Sticky wall activity

• Self- portraits

• Dance party

• Watermelon tasting

• Exploring fruit peels

• Box play

PLEASE VISIT OUR GOOGLE CLASSROOM

https://classroom.google.com/u/0/c/NjI4OTA1MTM2NjRa

HERE ARE SOME SONGS AND READ ALOUD TO KEEP OUR LITTLE ONES BUSY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBVqcTEC3zQ&list=RDeBVqcTEC3zQ&start_radio=1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufbOHl1mmYk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RuqvGiZi0qg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUWLoAzERM8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25_u1GzruQM

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND :)

Week Of June 1st

Morning Meeting

This week Sebastian M showed us how he was eating his cucumber. We also sang One Little Finger in English and Spanish. Sebastian was able to use his “one little finger” to point to his nose.

As your little one is discovering their body, be sure to notice this learning and support it by labeling, touching, and moving body parts in isolation, especially those body parts that aren't naturally used. The more awkward/unfamiliar movement you can practice (such as rolling like a straight log, or crossing opposite arms to touch opposite feet), the more the brain is flexed. 

Reading with JJ

“Dear Zoo”by Rod Campbell

When we were in the classroom, we read Dear Zoo and taped the different animals to the ground. Repeating activities helps children to remember and problem solve.

Field Day

This year’s field day looked a little different, but it was still a lot of fun. We partnered with NYC Elite Gymnastics for an exciting morning of gymnastic skills. It was amazing seeing BMS friends participate and learn new movements!

Everyone can benefit from regular exercise. Active kids will have:

• stronger muscles and bones

• leaner bodies

• less risk of becoming overweight

• a lower chance of getting type 2 diabetes

• lower blood pressure and blood cholesterol levels

• a better outlook on life

Home Happenings

Sebastian painted outside with his big brother Antoine.

Songs for our little ones

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTrtKikAW6E

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IvC6fZYGMM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IvC6fZYGMM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNw1SSz18Gg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGgsklW-mtg

PLEASE VISIT OUR GOOGLE CLASSROOM FOR THIS WEEK’S ACTIVITIES

https://classroom.google.com/u/0/c/NjI4OTA1MTM2NjRa

HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEKEND!

Week of March 25th

Morning Meeting

This week in our morning meetings we sang Itsy-Bitsy Spider in a low tone and a high tone, put on our masks to show how important it is to wear a mask to protect ourselves and others from corona-virus, and made a rice shaker out of paper towel roll. We added a new song to our morning meeting called “Wake Up", and we sang our ABC’s with our shaker. Other songs included “One Little Finger,” “Good Morning, “Happy Happy”, and “Baby Shark” in Spanish.

Sign Language

This week we learned four new words in sign language: hungry, eat, thirsty, and drink.

Just because baby isn’t talking yet doesn’t mean you can’t communicate. Early exposure to signing helps infants to develop their language and reasoning skills. We all know how hard it can be to understand why a baby is crying. Sign language is a great way to communicate and decrease their frustration.

Interesting Fact

Studies show long-term cognitive benefits, including:

• Accelerated speech and emotional development

• Enables children to communicate effectively

• Lowers frustration levels

• Improves child-parent bonding

• Helps children remember words because there is muscle memory involved, and the more senses involved in learning, the greater memory retention the child will have

• Improves attentiveness to social gestures of others as well as of themselves

• Larger speaking vocabulary and ability to form longer sentences

• Earlier reading and larger reading vocabulary

Review Our Other Words in Sign Language

Strides Made this Week

Anthony is drinking out of a big boys sip cup. Mommy told us that he is trying and doing what his older brother Henry is doing. Great job Anthony!

ACTIVITIES FOR NEXT WEEK…

Monday - Paper towel roll chute and Hand and foot painting

Tuesday - Music makers and Sorting balls with a spoon

Wednesday - Sticky note peek-a-boo and Sock puppets

Thursday - Self portrait and Texture walk

Friday- Tub drums and Touch and feel frames

Here are some songs and read aloud to keep our little ones busy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amhqwoD0qjw (Baby Bumble Bee )

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzKY5YHnOTg (who took the cookie from the cookie jar)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3c8fzbsfOE (clap you hand togther)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUWLoAzERM8 (Where is baby’s belly button)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUWLoAzERM8 (brown bear brown bear what do you see)

PLEASE VISIT OUR GOOGLE CLASSROOM TO REVIEW OUR ACTIVITIES :)

https://classroom.google.com/c/NjI4OTA1MTM2NjRa

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!

Week of May 11th

Read Aloud

For our morning we read “LLAMA LLAMA, I Love You” written by Anna Dewdney and “Biscuit Goes to School”, written by Alyssa Satin.

JJ’s Read Aloud

MORNING MEETING

In our meeting we continued with the songs we knew and are familiar with such as, ONE LITTLE FINGER, WHEELS ON THE BUS, and ITSY BITSY SPIDER.

Action songs are songs or nursery rhymes with sing-song phrases and movements. Benefits to your child include enhancing creative language, vocabulary and motor skills. Your child will also enjoy making up your own songs.

There are lots of benefits to learning Action Rhymes.  Here are some:

Hand-eye coordination is enhanced by Action Songs.

Language skills, social skills, listening skills and the ability to follow directions are enhanced.

Children’s action songs help to reinforce core educational concepts such as colors, counting, animals and the ABC’s. 

We sing familiar songs almost every morning because it sets a routine for them. Having a routine is very important for young children. It offers children a sense of security and stability, influences infants and toddlers' social, emotional, and cognitive development, and everyday routines can be used as teachable moments.

This week we added a new song to our morning meeting it’s called BINGO !

WE HAVE A NEW MEMBER IN OUR CLASSROOM !

Molly wants to say “HI”. She helps us sing songs and loves to dance. She can’t wait to spend more time with us.

WONDERFUL STRIDES MADE THIS WEEK

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EXCITING THINGS HAPPENING THIS WEEK

MONDAY: Obstacle course AND Tape activity

TAPE ACTIVITY : Stick the tape onto the floor with the sticky side should face upward. Make sure the tape is on their level. Let your child explore the sticky tape first, then offer them materials to try sticking onto the tape.

TUESDAY- Fluffy bin AND Water play

WEDNESDAY-Music Bin Sensory  AND Cheerios Find: Fine Motor Skills Baby Activity

THURSDAY - Ice painting AND Under the umbrella sensory play

FRIDAY- Making pancakes AND Dance party

HERE ARE SOME SONGS AND READ ALOUD FOR THE WEEKEND TO KEEP OUR LITTLE ONES BUSY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPMjnlTEZwU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QA48wTGbU7A

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CezgTNwk1-s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wV3N-wCRL2k

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYP-3q22too

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WST-B8zQleM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPHt7SY_-q8

PLEASE VISIT OUR GOOGLE CLASSROOM AND GOOGLE DRIVE FOR OUR MORNING MEETING VIDEOS

https://classroom.google.com/u/0/c/NjI4OTA1MTM2NjRa

https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/0B9bxbXfzGksMfi1IOEd3MVZyUWlYdEFvbXByN3c0amIzZ21ITVhQOS1CNWV2d296cVB1a1k

HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEKEND !

Week of May 4th

MORNING MEETING

This week in we played Peek-A-Boo. JJ first hide her face under a strain pot, then she used baby doll. Sebastian really enjoyed; showing us a big smile on his face. Peekaboo stimulates baby's senses, builds gross motor skills, strengthens their visual tracking, encourages their social development and best of all, tickles their sense of humor. Plus, peekaboo teaches object permanence: the idea that even though you can't see something (like your smiling face), it still exists.

We also made music with kitchen gadgets. Playing a musical instrument requires auditory, visual, and fine motor skills coordination, and these activities light up every area in our brains. When your child starts to bang  pots and pans, visualize the equivalent of a full body workout happening in their brain. Next time you hear tapping, banging, or thundering drumming on the kitchen floor, don't think of it as a pointless and noisy activity, but rather as a well coordinated brain concert of which the conductor is your child.

STORY TIME WITH JJ

“llama llama Grani and Grandpa”

LLAMA LLAMA books have always been one of my favorite books to read to our children because as they hear all the rhymes and rhythm of the book, they are focused and driven.

INTERESTING FACT

Rhyming books are recommended for babies as the repetition and rhythm helps them learn language, vocabulary, and build heir memory skills. Plus, whether the books sound funny or soothing, a baby will enjoy listening to your voice, and find comfort and pleasure in your time together.

SPECIAL STORY TELLING, SONGS, and DANCING

SIGN LANGUAGE

WONDERFUL STRIDES MADE THIS WEEK

Thank you for sharing these incredible videos with us. We are proud to see our little ones accomplish their milestones. They are becoming so independent! Please continue sharing videos and photographs with us as this a wonderful way to stay connected.

Anthony can clap!

Look who can swim!

Here are some of our favorite songs and read aloud stories.

THINGS FOR NEXT WEEK

Monday- music with pots and pans, and tape activity

Tuesday- collage with any recyclable materials, and clay exploration

HOW TO MAKE CLAY

Flour and Salt Clay

4 cups (480 g) of all-purpose flour

1.5 cups (417 g) of salt

1.5 cups (350 mL) of water

Mix 4 c (480 g) of flour and 1.5 c (417 g) of salt in a large bowl. Add both dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl. Then, use a big plastic or wooden spoon to stir the dry ingredients until they are thoroughly mixed.

Make sure the flour and salt are mixed well before you add the water because it will be harder to redistribute one of the ingredients once the clay starts to form.

Add 1.5  c (350 mL) of water gradually as you stir the mixture. Pour small amounts of water into the bowl at a time, stirring between pours. Blend the mixture as well as you can before you add more water. By the time all of the water is added to the bowl, your clay should be forming a ball.

Knead the clay until it reaches an even consistency. Take your clay out of the bowl and place it on a flat surface, like the kitchen counter. Use your hands to push and pull the clay to work it into a nice consistency.You can also pick up your clay and throw it down on the counter to work out any air bubbles that might be present. This will help your clay stay moist longer.

4-Sculpt the clay as you desire. Now that your clay is ready, you can mold it into a figure.

Wednesday- Exploring any fuzzy fruit or vegetable, and clapping game

Thursday- container play, and read aloud

Place a few toys in a container with an opening a bit bigger than balls or pegs, plastic links, or other smaller items. Hand the container to your baby, who will probably turn it over and over, causing some toys to tumble out. "Eventually, your baby will realize that something is rattling around inside and that toys seem to be falling out of it, so they will start shaking, banging, and reaching inside the container,"

Friday- Dance party with music, and counting objects.

LINK FOR GOOGLE CLASSROOM https://classroom.google.com/u/0/c/NjI4OTA1MTM2NjRa

Morning meetings videos

Now you can watch our morning meeting from our drive! Don’t miss out :) Morning Meeting Videos

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!

Week of April 27th

Morning Meeting

One of our favorite songs to sing is “One Little Finger”. It was great seeing Sebastian participate.

Since we began our numbers last week, this week we did a number counting song called “How many fingers?” We counted our fingers and toes. Thank you Anthony for helping me count.

Interesting Fact

3 benefits of music on early math development

1) Spatial awareness: Children who participate in music classes show stronger spatial temporal reasoning skills than those without music instruction.

2)  Young children learn to count by rote —a memorizing process using routine and repetition. Learning to count by rote helps children develop foundational skills for math, including number vocabulary, memory, patterning, and sequence. Through music and movement activities, children encounter many opportunities to practice counting in a fun, engaging way. In an early childhood education classroom, musical learning examples include counting to three and jumping up during a circle dance or reciting the numbers as children receive (or put away) instruments, or tapping on a drum the beats.

3)Pattern recognition: The beats, rhythms, and melodies of music lead children to experience patterns through movement, listening, and playing instruments. Listening to music and then matching the steady beat through clapping or instrument play helps children recognize and translate a simple pattern.

Buenos Dias Ninas/Ninos

This week during our morning meeting we sang our good morning song in Spanish. Exposing children to different languages has many benefits. Children who are exposed to more than one language are more often able to learn faster, improve problem solving skills and creativity, as well as make a connection with different cultures.

 Special Moment

This week in our morning meeting Henry helped Anthony sing “Five Little Ducks.” Thank You Henry you did a amazing job!

Anthony showed off his fine motor skills by picking up his heavy toy.

Sign Language

Our new sign words are….FAMILY, MOM, DAD, BROTHER, SISTER

Interesting Fact

Baby signing experts believe that frustration and tantrums can be avoided by closing the gap between desire to communicate and the ability to do so.

Special Story and Songs

WONDERFUL STRIDES MADE THIS WEEK

Thank you for sharing these incredible videos with us. We are proud to see our little ones accomplish their milestones. They are becoming so independent! Please continue sharing videos and photographs with us as this a wonderful way to stay connected.

“MAMA”

Sebastian is showing us how to be kind and is giving a kiss to the baby. It’s so great seeing young children learn how to be kind and loving at a early age.

NEXT WEEK’S CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES

MONDAY Color Hunt (WHITE) & Color Song

TUESDAY Spring Sensory Bottle & Watercolor paint

Wednesday Painting with our bodies & “Wheels on the Bus”

Paint Recipe

1. Gather your materials: Food coloring, 1 large bowl, small bowls/cups/containers, 1 cup warm water, 1 cup flour

2. Mix the flour and water together. Be sure to use warm water, as it will mix together more easily.

3. Separate the mixture into containers

4. Add food coloring to each container.

5. Mix and let your baby get creative!

Thursday Yoga and Drawing with crayons while listening to classical music. The link for the music will be up on our google classroom.

Friday Dance Party and making guacamole

LINK FOR GOOGLE CLASSROOM https://classroom.google.com/u/0/c/NjI4OTA1MTM2NjRa

Here are a few songs and read-aloud links to keep busy this weekend:

Music

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubmiT8JKeRU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBVqcTEC3zQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_04ZrNroTo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjmGTbNLj6Q

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNw1SSz18Gg

Read aloud

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rudDGRQ9QGA&t=47s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkQ4d_fff3E

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLcocsqoj3o

Morning meetings videos

Now you can watch our morning meeting from our drive! Don’t miss out :) Morning Meeting Videos

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!

Week of April 20th

Morning Meeting

This week we continued singing familiar songs!

For our young learners, repetition is key!

Repeating words, a concept or a skill allows your child to form an understanding and even attempt to imitate it. Similarly, with physical skills, mathematical concepts, and social skills, your child will pick up ideas that are repeated and explained to them.

This week we sang “One Little Finger,” “Baby Shark,” and “If You‘re and You Know It.”

“ One Little Finger”

“BABY SHARK”

"If You're Happy and You Know It"

Counting 1..2..3

This week we introduced our infants students to numbers and counting.

INTERESTING FACT:

Children as young as 14 months can understand the concept of counting long before they learn the true meaning of "one, two, three," scientists say. 

US researchers say toddlers who hear counting out loud appear to be able to recognize quantities.  

The Importance of Story Time

Storytime teaches children about communication, introduces concepts such as numbers, letters, colors, shapes, builds listening, memory, and vocabulary skills. Books teaches our young friends about the world that surrounds them.

We dearly miss everyone and hope these recordings foster the relationship that we all have developed. Please feel free to visit our Instagram account to see all of the stories read by Theresa.

Interesting Fact:

By the time babies reach their first birthday, they learn all the sounds needed to speak their native language. The more stories we read aloud, the more words our babies will hear, and the easier they will develop their own communication skills.

Here are some of the books we have read this week:

"Jungle Colors," Pete the Cat I Love My White Shoes," "How Do Dinosaurs Eat Cookies," Baby Touch and Feel Animals," "The Secret Birthday Message."

“JUNGLE COLORS”

“PETE THE CAT- I LOVE MY WHITE SHOES”

“THE SECRET BIRTHDAY MESSAGE”

WONDERFUL STRIDES MADE THIS WEEK

Thank you for sharing these incredible videos with us. We are proud to see our little ones accomplish their milestones. They are becoming so independent! Please continue sharing videos and photographs with use as this a wonderful way of staying connected.

Sebastian M can’t stop walking ! He always wants to be on his busy feet.

Juliette is stacking blocks. I wonder what will happen if you push the blocks?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!

The BIG ONE is here! Juliette and Sebastian M are ONE years old. We are wishing both of you a wonderful year <3 Happy Birthday Juliette and Sebastian.

Exciting Things Coming Up Next Week

• Monday: Hunting for the color yellow and making Jello.

• Tuesday: Grab a YELLOW shirt and wear it to our morning meeting- we will be singing, "Oh, Mr. Sun.

• Wednesday: Indoor picnic and sink & float activity.

• Thursday: Making Oobleck! You will need cornstarch and water. We will also be making flower handprints. You will need paint.

• Friday: We will be practicing throwing an object. We will also engage in a sponge painting activity. You will need any type of sponge and paint. 

  Please visit our Google Classroom:

  https://classroom.google.com/u/0/c/NjI4OTA1MTM2NjRa

Reminder: Please review our sign language videos on Instagram.

Have a great weekend!

Week of April 13th

We hope that everyone had a safe and healthy Easter and Passover.

The importance of storytime with Theresa

• It helps the little ones to stay connected to the teachers by seeing and hearing them. We dearly miss everyone and we hope that these recordings help the infants foster the relationship that we all have developed. Please feel free to visit our Instagram account to see all of the stories read by Theresa.

  More benefits of reading books together:

• teaches babies about communication

• introduces concepts such as numbers, letters, colors, and shapes in a fun way

• builds listening, memory, and vocabulary skills

• gives babies information about the world around them

An interesting fact:

By the time babies reach their first birthday they learn all the sounds needed to speak their native language. The more stories we read aloud, the more words our babies will hear and the easier they will develop their own communication skills.

Some of the books that we read this week:

“The Very Busy Spider “ Eric Carle

“Corduroy’s Sahpes”By  Don Freeman and MaryJo Scott

“Alice In Wonderland” By Jennifer Adams

A new sign language video

Another great way of providing more support for non verbal children is introducing them to the sign language. Here is the new video of the week:

Morning Meeting

This week we enjoyed singing our favorite songs with farm animal props, listening to story time and practicing our sign language. During each morning meeting we continued strengthening connections by revisiting our favorite songs such as Five Little Ducks, Five Little Monkeys and Old MacDonald Had A Farm, but this time we had pictures representing the songs to help the children develop a representational understanding. Showing visual pictures or samples help children understand better on what is happening.

Sebastian and his brother completed one of our classroom activities which was coloring with classical music.

Classical music does wonder in making your baby feel happy and calm. Listening to such kind of music helps in releasing feel-good hormones, also known as endorphins, in the body. Endorphins help in relaxing the brain and thus, improve the mental health of the baby.

Wonderful strides we made this week…

Thank you for sharing these wonderful videos with us. We are proud of seeing our little ones accomplish their milestones. They are becoming so independent! Please continue sharing videos and photographs with use as this a wonderful way of staying connected.

Sebastian Daza uses sign language to express “all done.” Way to go!

Early exposure to signing helps infants to develop their language and reasoning skills.

Anthony and Sebastian are cruising which is it's one of the last steps on the journey toward walking independently.

Juliette is trying a watermelon ! Thank you for doing one of our classroom activity.

Babies needs a variety of food textures. This helps them learn how to chew, and chewing helps with baby’s speech development. It also helps to encourage self-feeding and prevent feeding difficulties as baby develops.

Also happening in this picture:

Juliette and her sister Ophelia are playing with clay. Manipulating (squishing, squeezing, pulling, pushing, etc) a piece of clay helps develops the child's large and small muscles – improving dexterity. Fosters eye-hand coordination. Builds a child's ability to focus/builds attention span.

Children learn to work directly with their environment and change its shape and appearance when they work with puzzles.Puzzles help with Hand-Eye Coordination, Fine Motor, Gross Motor, Problem solving, Shape Recognition and Memory,

Exciting things coming up next week

Monday-

color hunt for green

Tasting anything green.( we prefer an avocado to repeat the taste to see if they will give a different reaction).

Tuesday-

1)Obstacle course

2) Making Snow- We will be needing Two of these ingredients

Baking soda and shaving cream

Baking soda and water

Baking soda and conditioner

Shaving cream and cornstarch

Cornstarch and lotion

WEDNESDAY

1)Water Sensory Bottles- We will need a empty bottle, water, baby oil or corn starch, and anything you want to make your sensory bottle look presentable.

2) Making green paint by mixing yellow paint and blue paint together.

Thursday

1) Dancing to Head, Shoulder Knees and Toes

2)Tasting Lemon

Friday

1) Sensory Bag- Water with oil in a zip lock bag and any color of food coloring. Tape the bag on the floor and let your little ones explore it.

2) Stacking blocks

Please visit our classroom!

https://classroom.google.com/u/0/c/NjI4OTA1MTM2NjRa

Have great weekend!

Week of April 6th

Trying a RED fruit

We began our classroom activity by hunting for the color red.One of our classroom activity was to try a red fruit or a vegetable and to wear the color red.

The reason why we started our color curriculum is because Children usually learn about color during their preschool years. ... 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.

Anthony tried a red apple. Mommy told use that he really liked it.

Sebastian M tried a pomegranate seed with his brother. Thank You Antoine for helping your brother. We love seeing when sibling interact.

Younger siblings tend to be more “older sibling oriented,” modeling their development and achievements after big brother or big sister. As a result, they have a much smaller developmental gap to overcome, less to prove and fewer self-imposed achievement pressures.

READ ALOUD WITH THERESA

“TUMBLE BUMBLE”

“GOOD NIGHT NEW YORK CITY”

“tHE GOING TO BED BOOK”

morning AND AFTERNOON MEETING

This week was our dancing week. Sebastian Daza shared his favorite song with use, which was “HIPS DON’T LIE” BY SHAKIRA. We also danced to Shake your Sillies out.

Dancing has many benefits for young children. It helps with learning and co-ordination such as child’s flair for language,their body’s urge to move, the brain’s attention to patterns,the ear’s lead in initiating communication,the voice’s response to sounds. Helps with socialization and awareness of others and maturity and structure.

Sebastian M showed his yoga skills. He can do a downward dog and a head stand. GO SEBI GO !

We can’t wait to see new yoga moves !

Sebastian M was giving kisses to his teachers ! We truly miss your kisses, hugs and cuddles <3

Wonderful strides we made this week…

Thank you for sharing these wonderful videos with us. We are proud of seeing our little ones accomplish their milestones. They are becoming so independent! Please continue sharing videos and photographs with use as this a wonderful way of staying connected.

We love seeing our little one starting to master a whole new set of big kid skills! Way to go!!!!!

Sebastian is taking his first steps by pushing a Yoga ball! Way to go Sebastian !

Juliette can fully walk now ! Yayyyy next step is to run :)

Anthony can sit independently !

Exciting things ahead of us - happening next week

Monday’s classroom activity will be to hunt for the color blue and make a smoothie with blueberries and plumbs

Tuesday’s classroom activity with be making cloud dough with food blue food coloring and coloring with a blue crayon on a white paper, and with the paper we colored we will make a wrist band or a head band.

Wednesday’s classroom activity we will be needing egg shells. Please do not throw out your egg shells. We will also be going on a egg hunt.

Thursday’s classroom activity will be dancing to little bunnies & painting with water colors

Friday’s classroom activity will be by using a muffin tray to place any material that fits in.

PLEASE VISIT OUR CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES

https://classroom.google.com/u/0/c/NjI4OTA1MTM2NjRa

Week of March 30th

Thank you all so much for joining us each morning via google hangouts for morning meetings. It is wonderful how you keep the children engaged as they have their online circle time- singing along and clapping. Thank you, parents and caregivers. We love seeing everyone!

Buenos Dias Ninas/Ninos

This week during our morning meeting we sang our good morning song in Spanish. Exposing children to different languages has many benefits. Children who are exposed to more than one language are more often able to learn faster, improve problem solving skills and creativity as well as make a connection with different cultures.

Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes….

This week we focused on our body parts as helping babies develop their self awarness is crutial. Infants begin showing their curiosity about their body parts by staring at their hands, placing their fingers and their toes up to their mouth. Body awarness help them understand how to relate to objects as well as people around them.

Read aloud with Theresa

Reading out loud to our children can promote emergent literacy and language development. It helps children become familiar with books and accustomed to listening and focusing. It will also give them an early awareness of the art of reading. Reading aloud stimulates language skills, cognitive thinking skills, and enhances memory. Reading books aloud can also help build a child's vocabulary.

Little Monkey Touch and Feel by Katie Saunders - count up to 10

Llama Llama Nighty Night by Anna Dewdney

Wonderful strides we made this week…

Thank you for sharing these wonderful videos with us. We are proud of seeing our little ones accomplish their milestones. They are becoming so independent! Please continue sharing videos and photographs with us as this a wonderful way of staying connected.

We love seeing our little one starting to master a whole new set of big kid skills! Way to go!!!!!

Anthony is able to stand up independently by pulling him self-up and also is able to self feed.

Sebastian B Daza is independently eating finger food.

Juliette is independently eating finger food.

Sebastian Mehtani is using his body strength and his body awareness skills to climb up his high chair to get is pacifier.

Exciting things ahead of us - happening next week

This upcoming week we will focus on the color red.

On Monday, one of our classroom activity will be making red smoothies with red fruits or veggies (it is up to you what you would like to use, please feel free to use any available food at home)!

On Tuesday, morning meeting we would love everyone to wear somethig red and have a red crayon/marker handy.

On Wednesday, the home activity is water play and box play (if possible please save a medium size box)

On Thursday ( Passover) - no onlie meeting but please visit our Google Classroom

On Friday (Good Friday - no online meeting but please visit our Google Classroom

For more home fun activities please visit our Google Classroom:

https://classroom.google.com/u/0/c/NjI4OTA1MTM2NjRa

Week of March 23rd

Morning Meeting

We began our literacy week with “The Very Hungry Caterpillar". We continued our literacy week with Eric Carle books. The infants had shown a great interest in most of his books so we wanted to continue.

“BROWN BEAR, BROWN BEAR WHAT DO YOU SEE”

“HEAD TO TOE”

We read this book in our classroom as well. Head to Toes helps children learn about their body parts and movements.

Our Butterflies !

Sebastian created a butterfly with paint ! Great job. It looks amazing

One of our classroom activity was to create a butterfly with paint. Sebastian decided to us the color green for his butterfly. First his mommy put a little green paint for him to explore. Then she poured a little more and folded the paper. Sebastian began to tap on it. When they unfolded the paper in half Sebastian got to his butterfly.

Since we read the book “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” we wanted our little ones to create their own butterfly.

This week in our morning meeting we sang one of our favorite song “FIVE LITTLE DUCKS” Both Sebastian’s were focused for the most part of the song.

Week of March 16th

RICE SHAKER

We made a rice shaker for our sensory activity.

1. First, we found an empty water bottle.

2. Place the uncooked rice into the bottle (about 2/3 of the bottle)

3. Close the cap of the shaker.

YOUR SHAKER IS READY!

SIGN LANGUAGE

The new sign words for this week were:

YES
NO
PLEASE
THANK YOU

Germ Experiment

This week we tried a germ experiment with soup and water with black pepper. First, we dipped our finger into the water with black pepper. The pepper didn’t move then we placed our finger into the soup and re-touched the black pepper. The black pepper started to move the other direction.

WASH YOUR HANDS WITH SOUP FOR THE GERMS TO MOVE AWAY!

Morning Meeting

Every morning the infants are so happy to see each other. We read books and sing songs!

Upcoming Happenings:

Literacy Week starts next week:

Our author of the week is Eric Carle.

Every morning Theresa and I will read an Eric Carle book to the children and upload literacy activities. Be sure to visit our Google Classroom and try some of the fun assignments we have been working on for the infants to explore each day.

We would also love parents to read to their little ones. Please take pictures and videos and email them to me JJ.guzel@bucklemyshoe.org

Thank you for all for being flexible and joining our morning meeting. We can’t wait to reunite again.

STAY HEALTHY AND BE SAFE!

Week of Mar 9th.

Social Emotional

We are continuing our group activities. This week the infants got to explore magna-Tiles and puzzles. While they were all exploring magna-Tiles they all began to babble at each other.

At one point Sebastian Mehtani placed one magna-tile on top of the other. Juliette watched very closely and after Sebastian placed his magna tile she took another one and placed it on top of his. This shows that they are learning how to take turns. The teacher enforced it by saying Juliette I like how you waited for your turn.

Interacting with friends at the Gym

We all know that children learn more from each other then they learn from anyone else. They want to try anything and everything that their peers are doing. This week we were at the gym with 1A and we met a new friend. His name is Atlas. Anthony and Sebastian really enjoyed interacting and communicating with Atlas. He is a bit older and just learned how to walk. We are excited to spend more time together!

HAPPY HOLI ! <3

Holi is a mark of the beginning of spring after a long winter, symbolic of the triumph of good over evil. It is celebrated in March to be in tune with the Hindu calendar month of Phalguna. In 2020, Holi began on March 10. There are varying accounts of Holi's origin mentioned in several works of ancient Indian literature. We celebrated holy with colorful powders and music! It was amazing morning in the park and we had the best weather. Thank you, Shaun, for inviting and teaching use all about Holi!

We hope to see everyone soon. Please look out for our Google Classroom login for you to access some activities from home. Wishing you all great health and positivity!

Week of March 3rd

Group Activity

Group activities allow young children to develop social skills at their own pace, building up their emotional confidence,encouraging physical activity. These activities also support children's imagination and creativity.

CLASSROOM PET

It was great seeing each child’s reaction to their first classroom pet. Anthony’s first reaction was to yell with excitement and smile. He frequently pulled himself up by the shelf to look at the fishes and each time he had the same reaction. Juliette looked confused at first. Then, after observing the fishes and touching the tank she turned around to her teacher and lit up with a smile. When the teacher asked her “what does the fishy do Juliette?” She began to move her lips. Sebastian also looked confused at first he frequently used his pointer finger to follow the fishes. He then showed interest by following the fishes every move.

SPANISH

This week in Spanish we began talking about spring. The Spanish teacher sang songs about butterflies and bunnies. The children were very focused. Some were imitating the hand gestures of the teacher and some friends began moving their bodies up and down.

Week of February 24th

Peek-a-Boo

This week the infants showed some interest in Peek-a-Boo so to support the development of the new skills object/person’s permanence we tried something new (peek-a-boo supports the development of understanding that objects/people continue to exist even when they cannot be seen). Instead of using our colorful scarves (translucent) we used butcher paper (non-translucent). The infants immediately engaged in the activity due to its texture and the sound it made while touching it. The infants not only played Peek-a-Boo by covering their own faces but also covered the familiar objects found in our classroom. For example, Sebastian Daza covered the metal bowl. In addition, Juliette said the word Peek-a while she was playing peek-a-boo with one of the teachers.

Spanish - language development

This week in Spanish class the infants learned about the days of the week and names of the clothing with a song. The infants were very focused and some were imitating the hand gesture.

Music

Music is one of our favorites! For the past month, the babies were showing a great interest in shakers and all other instruments in the classroom. Due to their interest, the teacher decided to bring in a whole different concept to the room. We made music with our filter pot and bowl.

Tasting Avocado

As we all know, nutrition in early life is increasingly considered to be an important factor influencing later health. Research shows that food preferences are formed in infancy, are tracked into childhood and beyond. Our babies seem to be very curious about the new food that we bring into our room each week. Engaging in these activities help our babies to get familiar with different food, tastes, and textures.

Week of FEB 17-2020

Hi parents,

I hope everyone enjoyed their long weekend. It was a short week but we were very busy! Check out some of the things the infants explored this week.

FLOWER EXPLORATION

This week the Infant class got to explore a flower.

Anthony : Anthony was very focused while holding the yellow flower with his right hand and touching it with his left. He pinched the petal and tried to pick up the small pieces that fell.

Sebastian Mehtani- Sebastian’s first attempt was to put the flower in his mouth. He then started shaking the flower and caused the petals to fall. He shook it until there was one petal left and then Sebastian pulled it off with his right hand .

Juliette Hitz- Juliette was not very interested in the flower. She picked up the flower and immediately threw it on the floor and didn’t want touch it again.

Sebastian B. Daza- When Sebastian first saw the flower he was kicking his legs with excitement. He pulled the flower from its petal and squeezed it. Sebastian also wanted to taste the flower, but as soon as it touched his nose he moved it away from his mouth.

Working on our fine motor SKILLS by taking the tape off OF OBJECTS

This week the infants got to work more on their fine motor skills. Our activity was to pull of the tape that was taped on an object including blocks, egg shakers and toy cars.

Children start to use their hands right at birth to explore their own bodies and the world around them. Their fine motor skills develop as their whole body starts to move and become more stable.  They also learn to do more things with their hands as their cognitive and social/emotional skills improve.  

Literacy

This week we began our Literacy week. The Infants read the book called Dear Zoo. The teacher taped down pictures of the animals that were mentioned in the book. During the reading time the teacher named the animals and made the sound of the animals. We will continue reading Dear Zoo next week to see which animal each child likes the best.

Reading to children helps children become familiar with books and familiarize them to listen and focus. Reading out loud is also good for language and memory.

NEWS FOR THIS WEEK

• Sign up sheets for parent teacher conference are up! Please sign in for a time slot.

• Parents I would love you to send me a few words describing your child.

• HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEKEND!

Week FEB 10-2020

LEMON TASTING

Our area of focus this year is sensory. This week the the infants got to explore taste. We started off by tasting a lemon. Two weeks before this the infants had the chance to feel the lemon as a whole before it was sliced open. Each child had a divergent reaction.

Sebastian Daza- Sebastian really enjoyed the lemon tasting. The teacher first placed the cut lemon the tray to see his reaction. At the moment he hesitated to feel the the lemon. The teacher directed him by putting the lemon in his hand. As soon as he got to feel his first temptation was to taste it. Sebastian liked the taste and continued on putting the lemon in his mouth.

Juliette Hitz- it was a like tricky to tell if Juliette enjoyed tasting the lemon. The teacher first placed the cut lemon on the tray to see her reaction. Juliette immediately gripped the lemon and squeezed it. She then tasted the lemon with out any interference. On her first reaction Juliette squeezed her lips together and gave a little shake. She continued doing this twice. Then her third time she didn’t want to put it in her mouth and pushed it away on her tray.

Anthony Gierlak - Anthony did not like the lemon at all. When the lemon was placed on his tray and he enjoyed squeezing it. Once the lemon that was cut, he then placed the lemon in his mouth. After tasting the lemon he threw the lemon on the tray and didn’t want to taste it again

Sebastian Mehtani- Sebastian Mehtani didn’t like the lemon as well. After the lemon was cut and placed on the tray he used is pointer finger to touch the lemon then pushed the lemon away. The teacher squeezed a little drop of it on his lip for him to taste and he got very upset.

Specialists

SPANISH

This week the Spanish teacher sang a song in Spanish called “Eternal sun”. While she was singing she used many motions with her hands. The infants where very focused and intrigued. At one point Sebastian Daza was moving his hands to follow what Ernestina was doing.

MUSIC

Infants showed a great interest in music. Everyday, while we have a circle time the babies participate by shaking their shakers and making their own sounds.

Most mornings Juliette is drawn immediately to the shakers. She loves moving her hands up and down and dancing with her body to the rhythm of the shakers. Music helps the infants with language development as well as social emotional skills. The children recognize and react strongly to their favorite songs. We love starting the day with music every morning.

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY <3

Thank you for all for coming !

Week of FEB 03-2020

SCIENCE EXPERIMENT

Engaging in sensory explorations is an important part of infants’ development. From the day babies are born they use their five senses to explore and try to figure out the world around them. They do this by touching, tasting, smelling, seeing, moving, and hearing. More importantly, we know that infants vary greatly in their sensitivity. We decided to test that by introducing them to this science experiment. While some sensory experiences created feelings of comfort and happiness others drove infants into discomfort and strangeness. The goal of this experiment was to capture our infants’ non-verbal cues while engaging with unfamiliar textures. 

PAPER AND LIGHT IN A BOX

This week the infants got to explore a box with light, mirror to self-identity. The infants really enjoyed this activity. At first we only explored the plain box, then the teacher added some paper, last we added lights which they enjoyed more by touching and shaking the light.

EXPLORING SELF PORTRAITS

This month the infants used a thin marker for their self-portraits. This is a great activity for their fine motor skills. The infants had more control of the marker and were able to draw more defined lines. At first they got to see themselves in the mirror and they looked confused. Then after a few minutes of exploring themselves they begin to smile and get excited. Then they started to get more comfortable drawing themselves.

SPECIALISTS

This week in Spanish class we sang a song about our body parts. Along singing the song the infants explored the snowman while the Spanish teacher was showing and naming the body part of a snowman. In music class the infants enjoyed the song slippery fish with Andrew the music teacher.

UPCOMING

FEBRUARY

• TOMORROW, Saturday 2/8 Science Fair Tribeca 

• Monday, 2/10 Picture Day 

• Friday, 2/14 Valentine’s Day

• Saturday 2/29 Science Fair West Village

• Monday + Tuesday 2/17-2/18 CLOSED (Presidents Day)

See you at the science fair on Saturday! We are looking forward to sharing our hard work and experiment with other children.

Week of Jan 31, 2020

Social and Emotional Development:

Gym time is one our favorite time during the day. Our infant A friends love to spend time playing together in the gym. Socializing and interacting with each other help babies develop on their social and emotional development .

Creativity/Hand-eye Coordination/Motor skiils

Sticky contact paper and sand,

As the students explore the sand over the sticky paper, they are developing their creativity and hand-eye cordination. It develops a great awareness of the sticky sensations too.

Gross motor/Fine motors skills

One of the highlights of the week is Sebastian Mehtani mastering his crawling skills!!! Sebastian crawls around his classroom happily and with confidence-exporing each area of the room. Bravo, Sebastian!!

Have a lovely weekend everyone!!