Trees!

We've been busy creating trees the last couple of days! We talked about how our small trees look like the big trees outside. They also look like our classroom tree. We learned about rough and smooth, thin and thick, and top and bottom. We used our fine motor muscles to hold and glue sticks, crumple and glue tissue paper, color with markers, and make "leaves" with paint on our fingertips. Check out our trees, they're hanging in the hallway!

Be sure to ask your kiddos about their new friends in our classroom!

Self Portraits

Over the last few school days we've been working on self portraits. I traced their bodies and everyone's been working hard on adding details. We've been talking about colors, position words (top/bottom/side), and following directions. We've also been talking about our senses (see with our eyes, touch with our fingers, etc.). They're looking great!

Summer Tree! (just in time for fall) :-)

Yesterday we took turns cutting leaf shapes out of the green paper we had created. We are getting so good at cutting! Today we took turns choosing where to put the leaves on our classroom tree. With a pointer, each child would show and say " top", "middle" or "bottom", and I'd attach it where they chose. Watch for our tree to change when fall leaves appear outside!!

It's Good to be Green

We began working on creating leaves for our classroom tree today. Our tree will change with the seasons throughout the school year. As the leaves outside are green, our tree needs green leaves, too! Everyone requested green paint and chose whether they wanted to use a paintbrush or their hands or both.

Pinwheels

Today we began creating pinwheels. Everyone chose the marker they wanted to use and everyone smelled them with their noses. They're scented! We're going to use the pinwheels as our symbol for windy. Be sure to check out our other weather symbols that are hung in the hallway. Soon we'll be using them as part of our circle time when we talk about the weather.

It's Rainy

Today we took turns cutting a cloud shape out of the gray paper we made yesterday. We took turns requesting glue and "rain" to put on the gray cloud. Is that thunder we hear?

Puffy White Clouds

Today we all worked together to make our big cloud white and puffy. Everyone requested glue and cotton balls and glued them on carefully, one at a time! Our puffy white cloud rocks!

A Whole Lot of Cutting

Today we took turns drawing curves to create a puffy white cloud. We also took turns cutting it out. During centers we worked with colorful bears and talked about which color each one was. We also had a center just for cutting. So much fun!!

Sunshine and Tools

We took turns drawing points and cutting the shape of our big yellow sun today. It will look wonderful hanging over our classroom tree on sunny days! We also did a lot of fine motor work using tools to play with play dough.

Weather Symbols

Today we started working on our classroom weather symbols. In the next couple of weeks we're going to be making a sun, a puffy white cloud, a rain cloud with rain, and a symbol for windy. During centers today we used our fingers to paint yellow on a poster board. We each took turns and requested the color yellow. When we finished we mixed shaving cream with the yellow paint that had gotten on the table. It turned the shaving cream yellow! We also read in the reading center and worked with cars and buses in the big toys center.

Branches!

Our classroom tree has branches! We took turns twisting big pieces of brown paper to create branches. Each child held their branches in place while I stapled them to the bulletin board. Keep a close eye on our classroom tree...it'll change with the seasons!

As it was raining today, we went on a long learning walk. We talked about some of our senses. We used our sense of hearing to hear children, teachers, music, and rain. We used our sense of touch to feel rain as it dripped off of a gutter. It was cold and wet. We used our sense of sight to see backpacks, puddles, and mud. We had a great learning walk!!

Back to School Night is Tuesday at 6:30.

Big Brown Tree Trunk

Today we began working on our classroom tree. We took a big piece of brown paper and made it into a big tube. It had circles on the ends. We took turns using our hands to crumple newspaper and put it in the tube. We put the paper in until it was FULL. Watch our tree grow over the next few days! We also worked in the home center preparing food and we read in the reading center. At the end of centers we worked with play dough. We used different rollers to make it smooth and bumpy.

Buses done! And our new turtle friend!

We finished work on our buses today. Everyone took turns gluing their friends on to the buses. We practiced saying everyone's names. We also met our new turtle friend. He'll be in our classroom for two weeks! Today we watched him eat fruit and vegetables.