Embracing our feelings and our first Self-portraits!

October 4, 2017

We began our curriculum on the topic of identity last week by focusing on feelings. During literacy day last Thursday, we read several books from the Mo Willems', Elephant and Piggy book series. Elephant and Piggy books (also the main characters of every story) typically center on a social problem or issue that young children can relate to I.e. Making new friends and including others.

The stories are told in narrations from the point of views of Elephant, Piggy, and guest characters through word bubbles. They are great books to help formulate a better understanding of print and it's meaning. In addition, we chose to read these books to begin a discussion on feelings, as it can sometimes be challenging to understand our own feelings and express them in healthy ways. The author and illustrator, Mo Willems, does a fantastic job dissecting what it means to feel happy, sad, mad, and silly.

As we read our first Elephant and Piggy story, I made sure to allow ample time for the children to look at the illustrations, focusing on their facial expressions, body language and text size in the word bubbles. These were all indicators of how the characters were feeling throughout the story. It is important to give children the opportunity to comment on what is going on in the pages of a book. Rich conversation can erupt from this practice.

Teacher questions or wonderings during a read aloud include:

I wonder how Piggy is feeling.
I remember when I hurt my knee and it made me feel sad.
Have you ever felt mad about something a friend did?

The children have requested to read these books over and over. During one story, we stopped to examine the facial expressions of the characters and determined how they have must felt at the time and why. We practiced making faces to go along with different feelings and will soon make a "feelings chart" with the children's photographs to help us navigate what we can do when we experience being sad, happy, mad, etc.

We also worked on our first self-portraits of the school year this week!

Avery: I see my hair first and my eyes. My hair is blond hair. Me love my hair and me eye brows!

Sebastian: Eyes, nose, a mouth. I'm smiling. There, I'm happy! A happy face. I need arms. There, arms!

Kai: Head and hair. I can make the feet and the fingers. Oh, wow! It's a nice picture! Oh, wow!

Noah: Do you see my hair? My hair is wobbly! I have one more nostril. Do you see my nostrils? I have two nostrils. And I have to make my legs and my ears.

Arya: I see my face. My nose, I made one nose. And my mouth. I have my belly and my arms and hair. I make my feet!

Bake Sale! Come and get your cookies!

September 27, 2017

Thank you to all families for contributing to our first charitable event of the year. Our bake sale was so much fun and such a success! We made $220.00 in two days! With some left-over treats, we will probably sell more tomorrow.

Dance and Movement with Ms. Alana: The children have been LOVING dance and movement class with Alana, who has a background in dance therapy. We have been dedicating a period every Monday to dance and movement class, however the children responded so well to it that we continued on Wednesday. This week, they have incorporated additional materials into their session, including rainbow streamers. It is so important for young children to get adequate time to engage their bodies in different kinds of gross motor activities. We often move our bodies during circle time, during transitions, and during the occasional dance party! During these moments, we are also strengthening receptive language skills, turn-taking skills, spatial awareness and so much more.

We also explored clay for the first time in small groups this week. Here are 3 major benefits of playing with clay. We will continue to explore clay all year!

1. It's therapeutic. Simply the act of molding clay in one's hands whether you're a child or an adult can be very calming. Remember those stress balls that were once so popular? Manipulating the clay can help relieve stress or even be an outlet for young children who physically express their emotions.

2. It's an outstanding sensory development activity for little hands. Young children are still working on fine motor skills and dexterity. Rolling, squeezing and forming the clay helps them in this area.

3. It's play based learning. You might not realize it, but playing with clay is promoting those little minds to get busy by thinking about what they're going to create and how they're going to create it. This type of creative play promotes imaginative problem-solving skills.

Slime Time! The children were fascinated with the stretchy, gooey, slime in the sensory table. Made with BioPutty solution and BioColor paint, slime awakens the senses and supports an enjoyable experience for children (and adults)!

Dancing, play dough, and rainfall!

September 20, 2017

We welcomed Avery, a new friend to Buckle My Shoe and to the 3' class this week. It has been so nice to see the children embrace Avery as if he has been here since day 1. We also started to work in small groups this week, including having circle time with the 3's group separate from the 2's class. We've been playing games and singing songs to help us get to know each other as individuals a little better. For example, during circle time one day we rolled the ball to a person in the circle and that person said there name, age, and favorite animal.

Another game we played was dancing in the middle of the circle. As the year progresses we will expand what we do during these meeting times to include what is going on in our class and school community i.e. events and project work

We also started our theme days this week with Movement class with Alana on Monday, making play dough on Tuesday with Carla and a science experiment with Carla on Wednesday.

Movement class was all about "getting our sillies out!" The children used different props to move their bodies to the music. It was so nice to see some of the children show off their unique dance moves!

As a group, the children voted on what color to make our play dough. They took turns pouring in the ingredients into a big bowl. When it was time to mix, the friends helped hold the bowl steady as another child stirred.

For our first science experiment, we made it rain in a plastic pitcher! We used water, shaving cream, and food coloring to give the illusion of rainfall. The children took turns filling empty cups with water from the sink. Next, they poured the water into a pitcher and squeezed shaving cream over the water, which resembled clouds. Then, they each chose what color food coloring they wanted and added it to an additional cup of water. Using droppers, the children then squeezed the color water into the "clouds". Little by little, the colors bled through the shaving cream and made their way through to the water.

Arya: It's raining!

Noah: It's blue rain!

Gabriel: Yea and red and orange

Avery: And thunder, too!

Sebastian: Boom, boom!

As we worked, we talked about our experiences with rain and thunderstorms. It was also a natural transition to talking about hurricanes and our bake sale next week. The children are excited to bring in treats!

Gabriel: I'm gonna bring cookies from my home!

See you Monday!

-Carla :)

New year, new friends!

September 15, 2017

Hi families! We had a really great end of the week. The children are making new friends and getting used to the changes in the school. For the first few days of school, we have been meeting all together as a group during circle time. We have also spent the majority of the day playing and exploring in all three classrooms. This was such a nice way for the older kids to engage and get to know the younger group of kids. Starting Monday, we will begin a more structured routine, including our theme days. We will start on Monday with Music and Movement led by Ms. Alana! Check out the 3's/4's homepage for our week's schedule.

Have a great weekend!

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First Week of School, Horray!

September 13, 2017

Happy First Week of School!

To those returning to BMS, welcome back! We are thrilled to have new families this year as well as learn alongside our 2's class. We will update the blog every Wednesday and Friday. Either check back to view posts or sign up to have notifications sent right to your email. Feel free to share the blog with family members. A great way to get children to talk more about their day is to look at the blog together. Even looking at pictures of other students may ignite conversation and reflection.

Our goal as teachers for the first few weeks of school is to build and sustain an environment where our students feel welcomed, safe, and loved. We want your children to be excited about school, be excited to explore and to learn together. Creating joyful learning experiences is something we thrive in accomplishing, from the books we choose to read to the materials we thoughtfully set up every morning.

The beginning of the school year is also about getting to know each other and getting acquainted with the functions of a typical school day and routine. During the next few weeks, we will learn so much from your children (we already have!) that will help us guide our curriculum. This is the time children will gain independence, test limits, problem solve and think critically. They will learn about other cultures and family structures of their peers. They will make connections and learn about differences within their peers, building a sense empathy, kindness, and community.

We are looking forward to a wonderful school year!

Below are some photos from orientation days and the beginning of the week.