Happy Halloween!

We had such a wonderful time with all of you at our Halloween Parade. The twos class had some creative costumes!

Nora was a Ballerina Pig. Eliot was a Blue Dog Conductor. Henry was a Bat Car. Yvie was a Purple Sheep Ballerina. Jack was a Chef Penguin. Kyan was a Mickey Mouse Mouse. Eliza was a Ballerina Bunny. Luke was a Cow. Aidan was a Giraffe Rock Star. Thomas was a Bat. George was a Super Frog. Miss Noelle was a Ballerina Mouse and Miss Alana was a Singer Leopard. 

We loved dressing up in our costumes that we worked hard in at school and you all helped out so much at home. We look forward to many more celebrations over the next few months. 

Here are some pictures from our fantastic parade. Also, be sure to be looking at the flickr account for even more pictures! 

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I'll be out tomorrow and Friday at a conference. I look forward to seeing you on Monday! Expect a recap blog of the week on Monday because I will be out of town. 

-Miss Alana 

Weekly Recap 10/23-10/27

This morning was a very successful Curriculum Breakfast. We were so happy to see so many of you. In the coming weeks, we look forward to expanding upon Identity by now focusing on family.

Monday we did music and movement with Miss Alana. This week we joined forces with the 3’s class and had a big party, complete with beanbag games and dancing. The game that we played was a way to work on the children’s impulse control and listening skills, something that we are always working on! We were busy at work on our Halloween costumes, with several more friends finishing the painting aspect of their costumes.

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We spent a lot of time on Tuesday making oobleck and pouring it from one container to another. Continuing to work on our Halloween costumes took up a lot of time. Also, we had a dance party to Moana songs, which got everyone up and moving and excited. Lots of smiles all around! The art project that we worked on was letting children draw half of their face with the other half as a printed out picture. The results are hanging up all around the school. 

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Wednesday we had Spanish with Mimi again. The children were especially excited about getting stickers after learning to say pumpkin in Spanish. Calavasa! It was a fun session focused on Halloween and feelings, two topics that we are talking about daily.

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Thursday we had more music and movement with Miss Alana. This time, it was a giant Halloween themed dance party. We also explored different instruments while dancing around the entire room. Movement and music exploration is just as important for development as the more structured games that we played on Monday. Also, we had a very exciting impromptu visit from some firefighters, who were checking out safety codes across the street with the construction. One of the firefighters came and gave high fives to any friends who wanted them! During the afternoon, we had a playdate with some future potential friends who might go to BMS. It was great to learn and share with new friends.

Friday was our fantastic curriculum breakfast, presentation of the social stories, and art project. The social stories that you helped your children paint are drying at school over the weekend, then they will be safely tucked away into cubbies to be used at school throughout the weeks ahead. Please read them at home too! 

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Happy Halloweekend! We can't wait to see you all again for the parade on Tuesday. 

-Miss Alana

Weekly Recap 10/16-10/20

Hi families! I apologize that last week’s recap blog is a bit late. Hope you enjoy!

Monday we did music and movement with Miss Alana. The twos were excited to be in the larger room. We worked on impulse control with freeze dance. For a two year old, controlling impulses is quite tricky! Practicing it in a fun way through dance can carry over to other aspects of life, helping the children master the concept. We also did a lot of painting. 

On Tuesday, we went on a walk in the brisk October weather. All clad in our coats and Buckle My Shoe t-shirts, we went to the market to buy some pumpkins! Celebrating the autumnal season, we will be doing several projects with pumpkins over the next few weeks. After our walk, we came back to give the pumpkins a good scrub in our sensory bin. Now they are ready to be used in all sorts of projects!

Wednesday got off to a busy and happy start as we met with our Spanish language specialist, Mimi. The children learned some songs and also how to say goodbye and hello- Hola and Adios! We also did a science experiment for Science Wednesday. Using apples picked last week at the apple orchard, we made tiny apple volcanoes, complete with red lava!

Thursday we had a fun morning, reading several Halloween books to prepare for the upcoming holiday. Then, we put on our Buckle My Shoe tee shirts and headed to the park. The weather was beautiful and we very much enjoyed running, jumping, climbing, and rolling around at the park. The class did so well walking on the rope all the way to the park and back.

Friday was Jack’s second birthday! Happy Birthday Jack! Cara, Jack’s mom came to read some stories and to eat yummy cupcakes with us. We also had yoga with Lakshmi. Everyone was excited to move our bodies and learn about new animal (yoga) poses like downward facing dog and cat/ cow. Aidan’s mom, Delphine, came to help us make some oatmeal, which we cooked together then ate with our lunches.

-Miss Alana

Bringing Nature Inside

As NYC residents, sometimes it can feel hard to get enough nature to be satisfied. Children love exploring things in the natural world and are inherently curious about the way that things work. At Buckle My Shoe, we are intentional about bringing the wonders of the natural world indoors, using our sensory bin, setting up science experiments, and using natural items as nontraditional paintbrushes. 

This week, we have done a few fun things with natural materials. On Monday, we had the whole sensory bin filled with brightly colored fall leaves. Although they were fabric leaves, a whole conversation started about how the leaves change color each fall. We practiced jumping in piles of leaves and sang a song about leaves falling slowly to the ground. 

Tuesday we went on a walk to the market to buy pumpkins. After picking out big and small pumpkins together, we walked back to the class and decided what to do with the pumpkins. The first suggestion from the children was to wash the dirty pumpkins. With warm water and soap in the sensory bin, each child got a chance to scrub the pumpkins clean, getting them ready for future art and science projects. We plan to gut a pumpkin next week! 

Wednesday brought a twist to a classic science experiment; making volcanoes with baking powder and vinegar. As the base to our volcanoes, we used apples! We explained how the materials worked together to create the foam lava. 

Additionally, we have natural materials all throughout our school. Pine cones, leaves, plants, and sticks are all around and are just as important and fascinating as the wooden and plastic toys in our school.

This week, think of ways can you incorporate nature into your home or daily routines. You might be surprised by how natural materials captivate your children's imaginations! 

See you tomorrow, families. Expect your weekly detailed recap on Friday. We have done even more than these nature projects over the last few days. Friday is also Jack's birthday! We can't wait to celebrate with him. 

-Miss Alana 

Weekly Recap 10/9-10/13

Hello! We had a shorter but very fun week, complete with a field trip to Riamede Farms to pick apples.

Tuesday was focused on clay. We explored the different sensory aspects of clay and also did so much playing with apples to prepare for the trip on Wednesday. A favorite song of the day was Wheels on the Bus; perfect to prepare for the field trip on the bus.

Wednesday was our fantastic trip to the farm. We started with yummy cider and donuts, then went on to a hay ride on a tractor. We learned all about pumpkins and apples grow. Seeing pumpkin flowers was a highlight! Each child got to pick out a small pumpkin from the pumpkin patch. By twisting the apples around and around on the tree, each child picked some apples to take home. After picking apples, we got back on the tractor! Everyone had a great time then fell asleep on the bus going home.

Thursday we read books about Halloween and started conversations about what our costumes will be. Stay posted for Halloween ideas! We had an apple tasting using apples from the farm. We tried them with honey, caramel, cream cheese, sugar, and lemon. The lemon was sour! Eliot tried every option! Then Evan came to do music. The children warmed up to him quickly and enjoyed singing both new and familiar songs.

Friday, Arya's mom (from our 3's class) came to do some cooking with us. We made applesauce. Mushing cooked apples, adding spices and sugar, and mixing it all together was a great sensory experience. It looked and smelled delicious! To finish up our cooking, we ate ice cream with the applesauce. Delicious! We also had yoga with Lakshmi. It's always nice to stretch, wiggle, and sing some songs.

Hope that you all have a great weekend! See you on Monday.

-Miss Alana

Weekly Recap 10/2-10/6

It was a fun filled and busy week here at Buckle My Shoe. 

On Monday, we did music and movement with Alana. Using just the drum and handheld instruments to start out, we explored what types of music could be made from different rhythms. We also practiced FREEZING when the music stopped. This was a challenge for all, but a great way to work on issues of impulse control! 

We also started our self-portraits on Monday. You might have noticed that they are all hanging up on the door to the sensory room at school! Come check them out, they really are marvelous. 

On Tuesday, we started to paint a big box that came in the mail. We are making it into a cozy space, complete with pillows, a light, and stuffed animals. We love getting cozy and taking a minute to relax our bodies! 

On Wednesday, there was a tour for prospective families. Kyan saw the school's logo on a brochoure and wanted to show his new friends that the logo was also on the door! It was a great moment. We also danced around quite a bit to our recent favorite song, We are the Dinosaurs. After the tour finished, we made Oobleck! It was a neat and messy experience for everyone. 

Thursday we had an exciting first adventure outside. We sang songs as we walked around the neighborhood, making sure to notice all of the buses, taxis, and airplanes that passed by! 

Then Friday we had our first day of cooking at school, making a delicious fruit salad; complete with sugar on top! Lakshmi came to do yoga with us. We rolled around, stretched our bodies, and sang some silly songs. We look forward to yoga on Fridays! 

Remember to be checking the flickr account for even more photos. Hope you have a great long weekend!

-Miss Alana

How are you feeling?

An important part of our identity at any given time is how are are feeling. This week, we are starting our focus on identity in earnest, starting with emotions. Even adults can be confused with their emotions at times, so imagine how confusing learning the nuances of emotions can be for the children! That's why we are creating space for them to learn, explore, and express their emotions at school.

We do a few different things to demystify emotions for the children. We make a point during circle time and throughout the day to ask each child how they are feeling. Whatever answer they give (or choose not to give) is okay! Reiterating that children's emotions are valid is important. After all, it only makes sense that children feel angry after someone takes a preferred toy away from them, just like adults can get angry when the MTA has unexplained delays. 

We are working with each and every child to help them gain the valuable skill of saying how they feel, no matter if it's happy or sad, silly or angry. 

This week, we have been reading books and asking the children what the main characters are feeling. Their answers are sometimes surprising and insightful! 

In addition to spending time reading about different emotions, we also took some time to try on those different emotions, embodying what a feeling feels like! 

George showed us "happy." Yvie showed us "silly." Nora showed us "angry." Kyan showed us "silly." Eliza showed us "silly." Henry showed us "happy."

Stay tuned for more emotion pictures throughout the next few weeks. On Friday, I'll share some of the special activities we did this week! It's been a busy and joyful week thus far. At home, discuss your own emotions with your child. Ask how they feel! You can give prompts if they do not immediately answer. Include siblings or other caregivers into the conversations. Be sure to let us know if you or your child have any exciting emotions to share. See you tomorrow! 

-Miss Alana