Snowy, Wintery New Year's Week

January 5, 2018

Happy New Year! This week we launched our instagram with daily posts. We have transitioned to posting a few times each day on instagram with a detailed blog post on Fridays. Follow us! We are @bucklemyshoe13. To protect the children’s privacy, if your name isn’t clearly visible on your Instagram, we ask that you shoot us an email letting us know who you are along with your follow request.

Because of low attendance this week due to travel plans and the cold, we combined ages often and are updating both the 2s and 3/4s blogs with the same post. Enjoy!

The children were excited to be back at school on Tuesday and were full of chatter about their holiday experiences. We worked building elaborate structures with blocks and manipulatives. We also explored a sand and oatmeal filled sensory bin. To celebrate the new year, we got together to watch a clip of the ball drop over Times Square. We work on counting both forwards and backwards, all while cheering and getting excited for 2018.

Wednesday we had Spanish and did a fun science experiment. The children loved guessing if different objects would sink or float. Learning about gravity and water properties was so much fun. Continuing to work on numbers and to recognize the new year, we counted down while watching a clip of the ball drop again.

It was also Lennox’s first day at BMS. Welcome Lennox!! We are so excited to get to know her. Be sure to say hi on Monday, Wednesday, Fridays.

Thursday was a SNOW DAY! We hope that you all enjoyed the extra time off from school and kept warm.

Despite the bitter cold on Friday, we were up and running in our cozy school. The children kept busy all morning playing with the different things we had set out. The magnatiles were a hit, as always. We had yoga with Lakshmi and split up into mixed age groups. During yoga, we pretended that colorful scarves were snow flurries and also counted down again for the new year! After yoga, we brought some clean snow inside and explored the snow with all our senses. It was so cold. Throughout the day, we probably read almost 15 books! The children soaked up every literacy experience they got and kept requesting new books.

On Friday, we also celebrated a very important person’s birthday- Grandpa Barys! He brought cupcakes and we had a great time eating them after lunch.

We hope you all stay warm this weekend and look forward to seeing you on Monday!

-Miss Alana

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Karate and Thomas' farewell

December 20, 2017

Happy Holidays! We hope that you are enjoying the winter holidays and are spending time with family and loved ones. The last few days have been filled with love celebrating our BMS family. Since we were a smaller group, we did most things mixed age this week. It has been so nice spending time with the 2's class!

Karate Class!

On Monday we had our first karate class! The instructor, Gloria, is going to be coming on Mondays. We are excited to be learning a new thing together.

Park Day!

Tuesday we took advantage of the nice weather and went outside to play at the park. The children were so active! They ran, jumped, and rolled around. We had a lot of fun at the park and are hoping for more nice weather days in January.

Farewell, Thomas!

Today was the last day of school before the break, and the last day for Thomas before he moves back to St. John. We will miss Thomas and his family so much! We had a special themed beach day to celebrate Thomas. We used my Happy Lamp, a lamp that mimics the sun by sending out UV Rays, and had a big dance party. The children were very imaginative and pretended to go swimming, to lay out in the sun, and most importantly, to put on sunscreen. We had a fantastic send-off for Thomas!

Happy holidays and Happy new year!

-Carla

Menorahs and gingerbread boys!

December 15, 2017

Continuing our Hanukkah celebration

We made a menorah with clay and LED lights. The children counted eight candles on our menorah and one 'helper candle' called shamash. After talking about the Hanukkah in conversation and stories, the children were really excited to paint the menorah once the clay was dry and display it on the entrance of our school.

Gingerbread friends

We've been enjoying reading the book, The Gingerbread Boy as a group and also individually. The children continue to ask the teachers to read the book and even completing parts of the story, as they have it memorized. Today, we made 'gingerbread friends' with gingerbread dough. The children helped to kneed and roll the doll before using cookie cutters to cut the dough in shape of little gingerbread boys and girls. We enjoyed the treat after lunch time!

Let it snow! And more festive traditions

For a science experiment, we created snow storms in glass jars by adding white paint, water, baby oil, blue/silver glitter and the key ingredient ALKA SELTZER TABLETS. We discussed what the tablets are used for (when mommies, daddies, and other grown-ups feel sick). The tablets were the last step in making a snow storm. When popped into the mixture, it appeared to be snowing in the jars as the ingredients fizzled and moved up and down.

We also decorated popsicle stick Christmas trees and included mathematics in another activity. The children practiced counting, one to one correspondence, adding and subtracting with wood chips and construction paper Christmas trees with numbers printed on them.

Yoga with Lakshmi

Lakshmi explained that Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year, is coming up in six days. To experience Winter Solstice with our senses and bodies, Lakshmi turned off most of the lights in the classroom and shined a lamp in one side of an extended white sheet. The friends took turns dancing and then doing puppet shows on one side of the sheet, while the rest of the friends played the audience and waited for their turn.

Have a happy and snowy weekend!

-Carla

Polar Express and Santa visit!

December 13, 2017

What an amazing start to our week at Buckle My Shoe! On Monday, we had Pajama Day/ Polar Express Day. Everyone dressed in their coziest pajamas, including teachers! After morning play time, the 3's class helped set up the classroom to resemble the inside of the 'polar express steam train.' We moved some shelves in the block area and gathered enough chairs for all of the 2's and 3's. The children helped line up the chairs in two rows facing the computer screen on the wall. When it was time, they each collected a golden train ticket and found a seat on the train. All aboard! I alternated from reading a few pages of the Polar Express book to three clips from the Polar Express animated movie. We passed out hot chocolate and mini marshmallows during the scene when the children drank hot chocolate on the train. At the end of the story, the main character receives the first gift of Christmas. We were excited to open our first gifts as well! In small groups, the children helped unwrap the many gifts that were kindly donated to our school from BMS families--thank you so very much for your generosity!!!!!! The kids were filled with joy and ready to use the new gifts! For the rest of the day, we read some new books and played with some new toys and materials.

Tuesday was our family potluck brunch and visit from Mrs. Clause and Santa Clause. We sang Christmas carols and received gifts from Mrs. Clause and Santa Clause (AKA small goodie bags prepared by the teachers). Each gift included homemade crayons in shape of a Christmas tree, star, heart, and gingerbread boy, a note pad, a box of Christmas stickers, and candy cane.

Happy Hanukkah!

Today was the second day of Hanukkah. We have had some Hanukkah books displayed in our book shelf his week and last week, but today we read two books as a class about how Jewish families celebrate the holiday. The children were especially interested in one story where the candles in the menorah actually lit up for each day of Hanukkah. They took turns coming up to the book and counting the lit candle(s). During center time, we painting a menorah on poster board using tempera paint and tape. Later, we painted popsicle sticks and put them together to make stars of David. Tomorrow, we will use clay to make a 3-dimensional menorah light up three real candles to represent the third day of Hanukkah.

End of our birthday week

December 8, 2017

Happy Birthday,

Sebastian!

Wow, we celebrated our fourth birthday this week with Sebastian and his mom and dad, Christina and Felipe. They read two of Sebastian's favorite books during snack time. Then. we sang Happy Birthday to Sebastian and ate delicious cupcakes! During center time, Sebastian enjoyed our winter and Christmas-inspired activities, including decorating our tree (see below). During the rest of the day, all that the friends could talk about was Sebastian's birthday party later today. Thanks for the fun day!

Getting in the spirit of Christmas

We started listening to Christmas songs this week and talked all about next week's festivities. On Monday, we will wear our pajamas and ride the Polar Express train to the North Pole! We read the Polar Express story and even listened to the audio book during lunch time this week. The kids are so excited for Monday and all of the surprises we have in store for them. We continued making ornaments, but this time we used beads and pipe cleaners. Then. we hung them up on our tree that Noah, Gabriel, and Sebastian picked up yesterday afternoon. We also worked on making wrapping paper for the wish list gifts we will open on Monday. Although, we didn't tell the kids what we were going to use the wrapping paper for, it was still super fun. One technique was painting with our feet! The second painting technique was using pine branches as paint brushes.

Yoga & Music

Have a lovely weekend! See you on Monday for Pajama Day!

-Carla

Happy Birthday x3

December 6, 2017

Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday!

Wow, three birthday celebrations in one week! We were so lucky to have celebrated our friends' birthdays at school on Monday and Tuesday.

Monday, 12/4 Happy Birthday, Kai!

Kai's mom, Katrina, joined us for morning center time and circle time. Katrina and Kai read Kai's all-time favorite book, Good Day and Good night, Goodnight Little One. At snack time, Kai shared some of his favorite snacks with his friends, graham bunny crackers and later, we had delicious cupcakes. We incorporated some of Kai's 'favorites' into our day's activites and routine. For art, the children decorated star wands with paint and sequins inspired by Kai's favorite song, Twinkle, twinkle little star. They looked just like shooting stars- we decided to keep them at school and hang them in the sensory room's dark room. For sensory play, I made play dough with tiny sequin stars and turquoise rhinstones; we also played with turquoise water at the sensory table (Kai's favorite color). Additionally, bear counters and blocks were set up on the tables for building with Kai's favorite animal-bears!

We wrapped up our day with a music and movement session by dancing to different versions of Twinkle, twinkle, little star and the Happy Birthday song.

Tuesday, 12/5 Happy Birthday, Noah & Gabriel!

Noah and Gabriel's mom, Saadia, and grandmother stopped by for another celebration. Saadia read a story that Gabriel chose that was new to our book shelf, Clifford's Family. We sang 'Happy Birthday' with two small cakes, a chocolate cake for Noah and vanilla cake with sprinkles for Gabriel. After blowing out their four candles, we each chose which cake we wanted a slice of and shared the rest with the 2's class. We incorporated some of Noah and Gabriel's 'favorite' activities into our day: blue and yellow (favorite colors) model magic with loose parts, superhero and ninja turtle coloring pages with color pencils, crayons and dot-dot markers and a creative movement story.

The children helped tell a story inspired by one of the birthday boys' favorite toys- ninja turtles! The friends pretended they were turtles and hid inside their shell when they got to one destination and then came out of their shell to dance their way to another area in the room. The story led to the "turtles" going on a treasure hunt in search for a puppy and then other animals. At the end of our story, the birthday boys, Noah and Gabriel requested we listen to the 'ninja turtle song' and then they each emerged from their shells one last time to 'blow out the lights'. We have been using this technique to help calm the children back down after a high-energy activity or movement exercise. A teacher locates herself near a light switch in the room and encourages the children to help blow out the lights; all together they blow out each light until the room is dim and they are ready to quietly transition to lunchtime.

Spanish with Michelle

We played a dress-up game using a picture of a child and articles of clothing. The children took turns attaching each item onto the child's body using Velcro strips. Michelle taught them the words in Spanish. Later, they played a matching game with the different articles of clothing.

Christmas Ornaments

We started working on making ornaments using clear plastic ball, glue, glitter and sequins. The children were so impressed by how the ornaments evolved. They were eager to show Grandpa Barys! We plan on getting a pine tree tomorrow and will hang these ornaments on it.

Next Monday is Sebastian's birthday, however we will celebrate at school this Friday. More birthday fun and surprises coming soon!

For more pictures from this week, hop over to our Flickr picture-sharing account!

https://www.flickr.com/gp/154795596@N08/Q13rhk

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I love my white shoes !

December 1, 2017

Pete the cat has been one of our favorite books to read with the kids. Today while reading I love my white shoes the children all stepped in a color square that they represented to be the pile that Pete stepped in.

As the weather is getting colder the children noticed and we decided to make a painting out of shaving cream, cotton balls and dark colors to be a snowy night.

Friday Recap!

“You can’t catch me, I’m the gingerbread boy, I am, I am!”

We have been reading the story of the gingerbread boy and our class was curious what gingerbread tasted like. Today during cooking, we decorated ginger snaps to make our very own gingerbread boys! Then we ate them all up, of course.

“Avery- Mine a ghost
Gabriel- Mine was a monster
Arya- Happy
Sebastain- its a good face
Noah - raisin face
Kai - Gingerbread !”

To end our week we had yoga!

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'Splat' goes the clay!

November 29, 2017

On Monday, Carla and Arya shared photos from Thanksgiving break. If you haven't sent one in yet, please email us a family photo to add to our family tree.

SPLAT, goes the clay!

We experienced clay in a way we haven't experienced before on Tuesday. I invited the children to take pieces of clay from our large clay block and throw them all about! This may seem a little scary to some adults, but it was such an uninhibited experience where the children explored their strengths, the properties of clay, learned about management of their body movements, and cause and effect. It's safe to say that the children (and myself) felt liberated from this experience. Additionally, it was a great way to get some toddler emotions out in a safe and fun way! We learned about that the softer clay pieces made more of a 'splat' sound when they landed on the ground. The softer pieces also stuck to the floor and wall like a suction far more easily than the pieces that were a bit harder. This became a game for the friends. How far can I throw the clay? How fast can I throw the clay? How can I make it stick to the wall? How do I create the 'splat' sound? How does clay feel with my feet and toes?

Beans, beans, everywhere there are beans!

We change the sensory bins often, however we brought the beans from last week back out this week as there was such a targeted interest in the medium. At one point during a busy center time, all of the 3's friends were found completely engaged in the beans table. They took their time filling baking trays, containers and bottles with beans. They ran the palms of their hands and fingers through the sea of beans. They were fascinated by the stream of beans that run through and through. For a while there were no words, only the sound of beans and learning.

Pine cone collage

The friends squeezed a paint and glue mixture over pine cones that Luke from the 2's class brought in as well as leaves and sticks collected from Noah, Gabriel, and from last week when we went to the park.

Science Activity: Oil and Water droplet painting

We explored oil and watercolor painting today.

We learned that:

Oil and water don’t mix because water likes itself more than oil. Oil is non-polar, which means it’s “afraid of water” so it doesn’t like to mix and water molecules are more attracted to other water molecules than oil molecules because they are polar. So, oil only likes non-polar molecules and water only like polar molecules.

Music with Evan & Spanish with Michelle

Flickr:

To see the rest of the pictures taken this week, check out our flickr school account!

https://www.flickr.com/gp/154795596@N08/Q13rhk

"I am thankful for tigers and dolphins"

November 22, 2017

Hello families!

We had a busy start to the week. We read multiple books about Thanksgiving and about different family structures. One book that we have been enjoying is The Family Book, by Todd Parr, which illustrates families of different colors, sizes, abilities, etc. —highly recommended! The friends shared what they are thankful for.

Carla- I am thankful for my cats, Sunny and Jaxi.

Gabriel- I’m thankful for when I grow big I can cook pasta with my daddy.

Sebastian- I’m thankful for tigers and dolphins.

Arya- I’m thankful for my dad and my mommy, too and my doddy.

Noah- I’m thankful for going to see the penguins at the zoo.

Avery- I’m thankful for going to my dad's house, playing with my friends, and for the Halloween song.

Animal Families

(Disclaimer: We had a difficulty with one of the cameras and many of the pictures that I took earlier in the week were not saved-- so sorry!)

For a provocation Monday and Tuesday, I brought all of our miniature animal toys to the tables with small props like feathers, corks, wood chips, rocks, and felt. We have many of the same animal groups of different sizes (bears, penguins, pigs). The children immediately referred to the animal groups as families and either independently or in pairs the children created shelters for their animal families.

Avery and Gabriel worked on an enclosed bear house using square and rectangle unit blocks.

Gabriel: We’re making a house for the bears. They are hiding inside.

Avery: Me don’t see the bears because they’re hiding. They’re sleeping, you have to be quiet!

Noah was interested in transferring his penguin family from one location to the next. He wrapped the penguins in a square piece of blue felt (like a burrito) and swayed the penguins back and forth above his head.

Noah: This is the only way to bring the penguins home. They need help to fly.

Arya and Sebastian focused on using long unit blocks for a house for the cow family.

Arya: The house has to be very big because the cows need a very big space.

Sebastian: Yea, and the cows can play with the mommy cow and the daddy cow.

Park Day!

We went to Horatio Park on Tuesday! It was such a beautiful day with mid-50 degree weather, sunshine and good times all around! The friends picked up leaves for a family tree we plan on making after Thanksgiving break.

Spanish and Music class

We had two specialist classes today, first Spanish with Michelle and then Music with Evan.

Our Spanish teacher was feeling sick today, so Michelle, the principal of Espanate, filled in. Although it was the children's first time meeting Michelle, they responded so well to her instruction. Michelle talked about Thanksgiving traditions, getting together with family, and eating a big dinner (sometimes turkey). We learned a song about a turkey and sang a few other movement songs that we've been hearing in past sessions. We also played the parachute game, one of our favorites!

Thanksgiving: Día de Acción de Gracias

Family: familia

Dinner: cena

Turkey: pavo

We haven't seen Evan in a few weeks, so he dropped in today for a music session before Thanksgiving break. He will return on Monday for another make-up session. Today, we also sang a song about different kinds of food items people typically eat on Thanksgiving. Evan brought his ukulele for the children to take turns with. In pairs, they also played two different kinds of drums that we already have in our school, one long drum with a small head, and one shorter drum with a bigger head. The children compared and contrasted the sounds the drums made as they played.

In honor of Thanksgiving, we made corn bread muffins and butter together. During lunch time, the 2’s and 3’s class all ate together. The 2's class helped mix ingredients together to make corn muffins and we all worked on making a batch of butter. Butter is super easy to make, all you need is heavy cream. The children poured heavy cream into a jar and dropped in two marbles. We made sure it was closed tightly before shaking the jar up and down and back and forth.

"This is how we make butter, make butter, make butter. This is how we make butter.. shake, shake, shake."

The children enjoyed their meals and muffins as one big family! We learned the a new poem and recited it two times as we munched and crunched!

We love our bread,

We love our butter.

But most of all,

We love each other.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Remember to send a picture of your family this week!

-Carla

We're going on a bear hunt!

November 17, 2017

Hello parents!

In lieu of parent teacher conferences this week, I did not send a blog post. Thank you all for understanding! Here's an update of the week.

We're Going on a Bear Hunt!

We read the story We're Going on a Bear Hunt and did a follow-up literacy-related activity in the sensory room. I re-arranged the sensory room so that most of the furniture was against the walls, giving us a big open space for our activity. In the book, a family goes on an adventure in search for a bear. The book is great for 2's and 3's because the author uses repetitive language as the family goes through obstacles such as through a forest and snowstorm. It also does a good job with exposing the children to directional concepts like over, under and through. Re-telling stories is something we have just starting doing in the 3's class.

To help develop reading comprehension and sequencing skills, we went on our very own bear hunt! Following the story, I introduced the children to the teddy bear hunt activity, where they went through the different parts of the story as told in the book. The children walked through tall grass, swam through a river, made their way through a forest, and snow storm before they arrived in the cave where the teddy bears were sleeping. I set up the room with materials to represent each of these areas along a path on the ground--fake grass for the grassy area, blue tarp for the river, leaves and sticks on a green rug for the forest, a white poster board with cotton balls for the snowstorm, and the dark cozy corner for the cave. As the children moved through the path in different ways (walking, hopping, crawling, “swimming”), we replicated the sounds that were repeated in the story (e.g. swish, swish), until they found a teddy bear picture in the cave. We will continue to choose stories to re-tell with whole body movements in the weeks to come.

Specialists: Spanish and Yoga

During Spanish class, in addition to our routine songs, we discussed Thanksgiving and learned a new song about turkeys! In yoga class, Lakshmi had a special surprise for us- a skeleton! We observed the skeleton model's bones from the skull bone, to the bones in its elbows, shoulders, legs, toes, etc. The children were able to make the connection from the bones in the skeleton to their own bones.

Going for a Walk!

We planned for a park day but since it was so windy, we went for a long walk instead. During our walk we talked about different things we noticed with the trees and leaves on the ground. During our next walk, we plan on bringing bags with us to fill with leaves, sticks, rocks, and acorns.

Have a great weekend!

I have a stick!

November 9, 2017

Six Little Monkeys

As part of our morning routine, we sing a variety of songs and finger plays in addition to discussing important events or projects for the day. This week, Noah suggested we sing "Five Little Monkeys." Instead of sitting down and singing the song, we acted it out! The friends helped count 6 children, therefore there would be six monkeys jumping on the bed. Each time a monkey fell off the bed, all of the children counted how many of them were left over until there were no monkeys left.

Sensory Exploration

The children spent so much time at the flour and baby oil sensory table this week. It was so messy and so much fun! The children worked together to build a volcano with the flour mixture, which continuously erupted. The best part of the volcano was that the friends built it over and over again!

Show and Share

Noah and Gabriel brought in two sticks to school that they found outside. They were so excited to show their friends that I asked them to share the sticks during circle time. Noah and Gabriel passed the sticks around to each friend. We discussed how we could use them at school. Some ideas were to use them as props for building in the block area, for painting, or for playing the drum! Encourage your child to search for sticks, rocks, acorns and leaves this weekend and bring them to school! We can't wait to see what the children find in nature and how we can use these items in our school environment.

Spanish with Patri

- Identifying animals in Spanish with the song, Old Mac Donald Had a Farm in Spanish

Math and Manipulatives

We were busy this week working on different kinds of puzzles and manipulatives to help practice and reinforce critical thinking, fine motor and counting skills.

Welcome to BMS Marco and Thomas!

Lastly, I wanted to introduce you to two new friends that recently joined our Buckle My Shoe community. Marco (left) transferred over from our TriBeca school this week and Thomas (right) started with us last week. Marco and Thomas are both in the 2's class, but as you already know we spend a lot of time together.

Busy end of the week!

November 3, 2017

Art

We painted using Q-tips on top of mirrors and on canvases.

Sensory Experiences

We topped off the week with a few activities that engaged our young friends' senses with oatmeal and shaving cream. One of the fundamental skills we focus on throughout the school year is social skill development. These activities encouraged the children to work in the same space and share tools and materials to manipulate and change the properties of what they were using.

Yoga with Lakshmi!

Building and Construction

Magna tiles, trains and train tracks and other connecting toys have been very popular lately. Whether the children are building on their own or building together, so much problem-solving, critical thinking, and creativity is occurring!

Have a great weekend!

Jack-o-Lantern, Parading and more!

November 1, 2017

Oh, Halloween. Happy Halloween!

Halloween was on every student's mind on Monday. Many of the children brought their costumes back to school and eagerly showed them to teachers and friends. Some of the super animals worked on decorating foam masks as something extra special to their costumes. I also showed the children my super giraffe costume that I worked on over the weekend! Sebastian and Avery, who didn't finish their costumes yet, were so excited to get home and complete theirs!

I revealed a great big pumpkin I picked up for our party. We thought that it was best to carve the pumpkin and turn it into a jack-o-lantern. We voted on what shapes the eyes of the jack-o-lantern would be. We represented each vote using a tally mark next to each shape on a dry erase board. The winning shapes were circle and triangle. The 2's class helped decide the shapes for the nose and mouth. During center time, we cleaned and carved the pumpkin. The final step was to add fairy lights inside- all ready for our party!

Halloween Day Parade!

Wow, the children's costumes were so creative this year! Parents, you all did such an amazing job adding details to your child's super animal costume. Thank you for your hard work!

Kai: Super Frog

Arya: Super Tiger

Noah: Super Monkey

Avery: Super Cat

Sebastian: Super Tiger

Gabriel: Super Cheetah

Be sure to check out our flickr account for all Halloween pictures!

Spanish with Mimi

We had a fantastic Spanish class this week. Mimi used a dog puppet, named Lucas to sing "Buenos Dias" to the friends. A highlight from this session was the use of a parachute to promote self-regulation, listening skills, and team work all while teaching the children new words in Spanish. I will send a report from Mimi with the vocabulary she has been using with the kids.

Painting with Hair Combs

Painting is part of our daily activities and is always available for the children to explore. However, there are times when building with manipulatives or magna tiles seem more appealing to the class of all boys--which is okay! I have found that presenting materials in different ways attracts children to investigate further. Instead of partnering paint with brushes, I added hair combs to the painting table. The combs' bristles gave an unexpected sensation with each stroke. The children enjoyed choosing additional paint colors and mixing these colors as they spread them throughout the paper with the combs.

Building and Construction

Another productive day at the block area with all of the friends. With each day building with unit blocks, the children are learning new skills and rules. For example, blocks should not be held over one's head to avoid getting hurt if it falls or passing blocks to a friend to place on a structure. Some of the children built individual structures, while others added to one larger structure. In the midst of building, Gabriel glanced over at what Arya was building and said, "Wow, that's really cool!"

Curriculum Breakfast

October 27, 2017

Curriculum Breakfast

Thank you for coming in this morning for our first curriculum event. While some families have seen their child's social story book before, it was the first reading it for some of our other families. Each social story is personalized and all about the child. We hope that these stories will help support the children through their school experience. Let us know if you have any thoughts, questions, or additional reccomendations.

Yoga with Lakshmi

After all of the families left for the day, we enjoyed some relaxation and movement exercises in yoga class. Lakshmi's surprise was a recording of animal sounds, in which the children needed to guess what animal it was and than they learned the pose. Some were obvious like a cow and other were trickier like a donkey.

Have a fun weekend!

-Carla

Identity project and building together!

October 25, 2017

Identity:

It is important to encourage drawing and creative confidence in young children. We introduced the children to a new way of examining themselves. This was similar to our monthly routine of working on self-portraits while looking at a mirror. However, by offering a distorted image of the child, a challenge was raised. For this provocation, each child was presented with a photograph of their face, except half of it was missing! They added details to the missing side of their face using an array of colorful markers. There was no right or wrong way of engaging in this activity. While the children were inspired to think critically, they were also given creative freedom. As teachers we have found that when children are given opportunities to freely explore, they feel good about themselves and their work.

Come check them out this week!

We also introduced a new game during circle time including picture cards with the first letter of their name on one side and their photograph on the other. As expected, they were all so excited to see pictures of themselves, and were even more thrilled when they realized that each of them had two identical! We focused on the first letter of our names and its letter sound, turning each card one at a time to reveal each child's face. Later, we played a memory matching game, encouraging the children to find their two matching cards by looking for the first letter in their name. We don't drill the ABC's in preschool, however we do feel that it is essential to expose children to developmentally-appropriate literacy activities in fun and engaging ways. Beginning with a child's name is the most natural way to work on letter recognition, letter sounds, and writing letters. In addition to incorporating letter work into our group time, we will practice new literacy skills on individual basis.

Power Ranger House:

For the first time this year, all of the children gathered in the block area for a collaborative building day. It happened to be during a morning where there was imaginative play going on that involved lots of running and busy bodies. The topic was "good guys and bad guys," a theme we see over and over again year after year. Whether it is pretending to be power rangers, superheroes, or Ningagos (a new craze I just learned about), we want to encourage the children to expand their play in productive and safe ways. I challenged them to build something for the power rangers and they were all on board! We spent most of the day at the block area building a power ranger house. The children worked together by passing each other blocks, helping with the heavier hollow blocks, and cheering each other on for their building techniques. I'm looking forward to seeing more block group structures this year!

Music and Movement with Alana:

We've been having music and movement classes with Alana every Monday. This week, Alana incorporated bean bags into the mix and encouraged the children to listen for her cues telling them where to put the bean bag or how to move with it. To end the session, we worked on calming our bodies with breathing techniques and using our imagination--something so useful for 2's and 3's.

Spanish with Mimi:

We discussed Halloween through a song that was introduced last week, which the kids loved and requested as soon as Mimi arrived. Mimi also worked on color recognition with the children by encouraging them to glue orange, green, and brown construction paper onto a pumpkin coloring page.

Los Monstros- Halloween song

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_87PkQ3WLM

Horatio Park and Costume Work

October 20, 2017

Park Day!

On Thursday, we went to Horatio Park for the first time this school year. Along with the 2’s class, we walked to the playground and played with friends until it was time to return to BMS for lunch. We were so impressed by how well the children listened to safety rules while at the park! We’ll be back soon!

Costumes, Yoga, and Cooking!

Friday was a very busy day. More friends worked on painting their Halloween costumes throughout the morning. Many of the children also helped each other, which was so nice to see. We also had yoga with Lakshmi and cooking oatmeal with Aidan’s mom, Delphine.

Have a wonderful weekend!

-Carla

Super Animals and Spanish Class

October 18, 2017

Hi everyone! Here's a rundown of our week so far!

We have continued incorporating aspects of nature into our curriculum. After our trip to the farm, all many of us could talk about were pumpkins and apples! Last week, we cooked with apples and painted with apples and pumpkins. This week, we continued using apples and pumpkins in unconventional ways.

We walked to a neighborhood market on Tuesday in search for pumpkins! Arya and his family brought the class a few small pumpkins last week, which the children painted by squeezing different paint colors onto the stem of each pumpkin and watching them mix together. They are currently displayed near the entrance of our school! We had some more ideas involving pumpkins, and so we brought back 2 bags filled with small and medium-sized pumpkins back to BMS. When we asked the children what we should do with them, an immediate response was that they were dirty! Once we returned to school, we filled the sensory table with water, soap, baby wipes, and (dirty) pumpkins! The children spent quite some time diligently scrubbing the pumpkins until they were spotless.

We also used the light projector for the first time this year. The light projector can be so magical! The children are mesmerized by shadows and how they can manipulate their own shadows, even the shadows of their friends through movement. They explored with an array of materials over the light projector, like leaves, toy insects, sea creatures and vehicles. We will continue to investigate with light and shadow as the year progresses.

Another activity involving apples was a science experience using apples, baking soda, and vinegar-- Apple Volcanos! We pre-cut the core out of a few apples so that each apple resembled a cup or bowl. Next, the children scooped spoonful's of baking soda inside of the apples. Then, they poured vinegar inside using clear test tubes. This activity encouraged the group to look at things in a different light. We can eat an apple or turn it turn into a volcano! Nature offers us with countless learning experiences.

On Wednesday, we met Mimi, our new Spanish teacher. Children pick up language so easily during their early years. Through music and movement, hands-on materials, and plenty of repetition, a new language can be taught in anorganic and fun way. Mimi encouraged the children to learn new vocabulary in Spanish by incorporating topics that we are already interested in into her session. We discussed pumpkins and Halloween with songs and visual representations of Halloween-related characters. The Halloween song was the children's favorite! Mimi played us the Halloween song (in both Spanish and English) and held up the pictures of each character mentioned in the song. The children asked to hear it three times! I will make sure to ask for the audio of some of the songs Mimi used during her session so that we play them throughout the day and share them with you!

Some children also started working on their BMS Halloween costumes. The 3's class will all be Super Animals for Halloween. Each child will paint a hooded sweater (provided by us). Once they are painted, details can be added with your help. We will focus on the first step of the all costumes this week (painting) and have them ready for detailing by Friday. Let us know when you can stop by to work on your child's costume! We can also sent home materials to work on over the weekend and next week :)

Kai: Super Frog

Sebastian: Super Tiger

Noah: Super Monkey

Arya: Super Tiger

Avery: Super Cat

Gabriel: Super Cheetah

We plan on continuing costumes tomorrow morning and then heading to the playground! Have a great afternoon!

-Carla

Apples and Pumpkins Galore!

October 13, 2017

Wednesday was our much-anticipated field trip to the farm! Upon arrival, we were treated to warm doughnuts and a cup of apple cider each. We had a great time learning about apple trees, pumpkins, pumpkin flowers, and the cousin of pumpkins- squash! We went on a hayride together, walked through the pumpkin patch and picked out a pumpkin to bring home. Next, we picked apples! The friends made sure to carefully twist the apples from the branches and each counted 3 to fill their bags. Lastly, we enjoyed lunch together before heading back on the school bus. I made sure to bring back extra apples, gourds and apple cider back to school with us to share with the rest of the friends who didn't make it to the trip.

On Thursday, we welcomed Evan back to BMS! Evan, our Music teacher, was so glad to see familiar faces and meet some new friends! Evan is a master story-teller! And the best part is that he incorporates the children's ideas into every story, making them active participants of each session.

We also had our first taste test of the year! We used some of the apples that we collected at the farm for a fun (and delicious) taste test. Each child was given apple slices and dipping choices. They tried apples dipped in caramel, sun butter, organic sugar and lemon juice. "My favorite is cream cheese!" -Arya

Friday was another yoga day with Lakshmi and our first cooking day with one of our parents!

Arya's mom and grandmother, helped us make apple sauce! The children mashed apples in a bowl and sprinkled cinnamon and brown sugar before mixing it all together. Then. they tried it with a scoop of ice cream--yum! We also enjoyed a cold cup of apple cider that we brought back from the farm--cheers!

In addition, to Arya's family stopping by for a cooking session, Sebastian's mother and father joined us for morning play time. They read us some new Halloween-related stories during circle time and snack time! We love having guest readers--let me know when you would like to read to the class!

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What's up with W-Sitting?

October 12, 2017

Hello! This is a guest post from Alana. Look forward to a post tomorrow detailing all the fun we have had this week!

Every once and awhile, I'll be updating the blog with bonus posts. These bonus blog posts will have some information about things we have been doing at school that you can also do at home. Have a suggestion for a blog post? Need more information about why we do a certain thing at school? Please reach out! The next bonus post will delve a bit more into role play and emotions to help children gain emotional awareness and regulation. For today, we will be focusing on "W-Sitting."

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"W-Sitting"

As teachers, we have noticed a lot of “W-Sitting” from the kids. You might have heard one of us tell your children in spoken or song form, “sit crisscross applesauce, not a W,” or “show me your knees when you sit.” While a lot of kids feel comfortable sitting with their legs splayed out in a W, it actually can be problematic in the long-term, in both anatomical and developmental ways.

W-Sitting has been linked with potential hip and knee problems in children. We want all of the children's bodies to be active, healthy, and happy! Avoiding sitting in a W is one way to help all the children grow strong.

Additionally, when children sit in a W position, they can't reach across the mid-line. Reaching across helps children to develop a dominate hand preference; something that is fundamental to developing the fine motor skill of writing.

It’s not something to dedicate a lot of time and energy to but it is something that has a simple fix of sitting in a different way! That’s why at school we use simple language and then physically help the child sit another way if needed.

Here are links to a few articles from doctors, physical/occupational therapists, and parents about some of the dangers of W-sitting. Feel free to ask any of us questions about it as well!

http://www.pediatricservices.com/parents/pc-22.htm

https://www.childsplaytherapycenter.com/w-sitting-correct/

https://www.popsugar.com/moms/Why-W-Sitting-Bad-Kids-39699549

See you tomorrow!

-Miss Alana

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1st Yoga day, 1st walk and so much more!

October 6, 2017

We've been talking a lot about the apple picking trip and Halloween this week. We've been reading books, singing songs and having conversation about both events. Although some children won't be attending next Wednesday's field trip, we will be sure bring back apples to school and include them in activities.

Here is a finger play song that we have been loving. I usually change the number to correspond to the number of children present in the class. The second time we sang it, we used counter apple toys to illustrate the apples in the apple tree. Each time an apple "fell" from the tree, a friend caught it and pretended to take bites. Then, we counted how many apples were remaining and continued the song with that number of remaining apples until no more were left. Mathematical concepts explored in early childhood! :)

Way up high in the apple tree,

Five red apples smiled at me.

I shook that tree as hard as I could,

Dooowwwwwwwn came an apple….

Mmmm, it was good!

Repeat the rhyme until all the apples are off of the tree!

Halloween costumes!

We discussed that we will celebrate Halloween at school at the end of the month with a parade and party. It's time to brainstorm of costume ideas!

Here's what we have as of today:

Theme: Super Animals!

Gabriel: Super Cheetah

Avery: Super Blue Cat

Noah: Super Monkey

Sebastian: Super Tiger

Arya: Super Blue Tiger

Kai: Super Frog

What should Ms. Carla dress up as?

Sebastian: Super Giraffe!

I love this answer! My favorite animal, and I was also wearing a shirt with giraffes on it :)

Talk to your child about "School Halloween" this weekend. We will need your help with costume prep soon!

On Thursday, we went for a long walk around the neighborhood. It was the first time that all of the friends have been out together. Although, some of the children attended BMS last year and are very familiar with our outdoor routines, this was all new for others. We put on our new Buckle My Shoe T-shirts, had a conversation about safe walking, and headed out with the 2’s class! As we walked, we sang songs like We Are the Dinosaurs and The Ants Go Marching! The friends did such a great job during our walk, remembering to follow safety rules such a looking in front of you when walking, low voices when crossing the street, and holding onto the rope. As the year progresses, we will walk holding hands instead of using the rope to help guide the children. Next stop: the playground!

On Friday, we had our first yoga class with Lakshmi! The friends enjoyed stretching their bodies in different animal poses. We learned new songs, and played games that encouraged the children to pay close attention to their bodies in relation to the space around them. Lakshmi always brings surprises in her backpack, which she saves for the end of every class. This week’s surprise was two tuning forks that are used to tune pianos. The “special bells” can only be heard when they hit and held close to one’s ears. The sound is pretty magical! At the end of our session, Lakshmi asked the friends to lie down on their backs. She held the bells close to their ears as she sang softly. The children loved it. It was the perfect way to end our week!

Berry salad!

We enjoyed berry fruit salad today for cooking Friday. The teachers provided the ingredients for berry fruit salad (strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, organic sugar). To get ready, the friends helped give out much needed materials to the rest of the group. They distributed bowls, spoons, and knives until everyone had what they needed to begin. Next, we noticed that the strawberries and blackberries were far to big and needed cutting. Everyone was so focused and concentrated on cutting small pieces for the salad. They decided that the blueberries and raspberries were the right size. Then, it was time to serve. They used their spoons to scoop berries onto their fruit cups. Lastly, the surprise-- a sprinkle of sugar! So good! This activity was such a hit for myself as a teacher because I gave the children the opportunity to make their own decisions. In turn, they felt empowered and proud of what they put together. And it was so tasty :)