The Ladybugs were busy learning about friends this week! Because they are huge fans of photos, we made a special classroom photo album featuring our friends at work. Please stop by our bookshelf and have your child show it to you! We will add photos as the year progresses. We also colored a friend chart, on which the Ladybugs recorded the color of their eyes and hair and gender. We glued a friendship chain out of paper links with our names on them, and we also cut paper dolls. We had a friendship "tea party" when all of the Ladybugs sat down and enjoyed many cups of imaginary tea and pretend pastries. So cute! We also took turns going through an obstacle course! The Ladybugs learned that friends are always "connected" and will be there for each other no matter what. In fact, was the topic of Pastor Amy's chapel sermon this week. The children learned that Jesus was always a good friend despite hardships that stood in his way. Your kids LOVE Pastor Amy's guitar.
In gardening, we planted birdseed in our own flower pots and took turns watering our friends' seeds. Within a couple of weeks, we'll get to see delight and surprise as those seeds sprout! In music, we played instruments and sang songs about friends with Mrs. S. We used a myriad of art mediums this week. The Ladybugs water colored and used their fingerprints and ink pads to create unique designs. They gave those fine motor skills a workout as they peeled paper off the backs of stickers and stuck them around their names on big pieces of paper. The highlight of the week was when we wrote the first letters of our names with whipped cream! Thank you to Jamie's and Grace's families for supplying the cream. Those Ladybugs love to read! It's the cutest thing, seeing each of those little bodies sitting on the big bean bag chair with an open book, as if they're reading the morning paper! They especially enjoyed Splat the Cat by Rob Scotton and Lilly's Birthday Party by Kerstin Volker. Because the Ladybugs are doing so well with their cleaning and hand washing, we added "how to ask for help" this week. Their language is really coming along--don't be surprised if you hear them ask you for "help" when they need something! Thank you to Niilo's family for the bounty of delicious snacks this week! The Ladybugs thoroughly enjoyed the blueberries and grapes. And thank you, Lily's family, for bringing a second bouquet of daisies to decorate our room. We really enjoy them! Next week, we will learn about our fantastic Five Senses. Until then, have a terrific weekend.
Thank you for letting us share our day with your adorable children!
Love, Ms. Shannon and Ms. Tammy
What a fun week the Ladybugs had talking about feelings!
We read books about being happy, sad, or scared. We acted out what we look like when we are excited, shy, hungry, and sleepy. We put objects with different textures into our "feeling box" and the Ladybugs got to stick their hands inside. What a challenge it was for them not to look under the lid at the pom poms, sandpaper, baggie holding water, and beads! The Ladybugs also played with dirt and toy bugs, frogs, snakes and flower pots in our sensory table. The Ladybugs learned how to play Simon Says, as we pointed out our sensory organs.
The Ladybugs have done a great job on their art projects this week! They made beautiful coffee filter sun catchers, which are hanging on our back door. They finger painted and also revealed surprise pictures drawn in white crayon, as they colored over them with a colored crayon.
Chapel was a huge hit again this week! Pastor Amy told us the story of how Jesus fed 5,000 hungry people with just five loaves of bread. She illustrated the story by feeding all of the children of Grace Garden with just five tortillas--the kids loved this!
The Ladybugs are doing a fantastic job with their self help practice. They are pushing in their chairs and cleaning up after snack and lunch with just a few gentle reminders. We are so proud of them!
Next week, we will learn about friends. We'll talk about what it means to be a good friend, and we'll celebrate the special friends we've made in our class. What a perfect topic for next week, as our sweet friend Niilo will return to school on Tuesday. We've missed you, Niilo!
Thank you so much, Jude, for the yummy snacks. The bunny snack mix was a favorite!
Have a great weekend everybody! We'll see you Tuesday.
Love,
Ms. Shannon and Ms. Tammy
The Ladybugs have had a blast during our "Meet My Family" week--thank you so much for completing your homework assignment! Each one of them is happy to see his or her pictures hanging on the wall, and had fun pointing out Mom, Dad, and pets throughout the day. Please take a look at our Family Wall, under the cubbies, when you get a chance, as well as our family member graph on the inside of our door. Ms. Shannon wins the prize for having the biggest family, with a husband, three kids, a cat, and a dog. Hooray, Ms. Shannon!
On Tuesday, we continued to clean out our flower beds and watered, watered, watered. Boy, do the Ladybugs enjoy using their watering cans! Wednesday, we had a great time in chapel. We were the first class to arrive in the sanctuary, and Pastor Amy let us strum her guitar. She later told the story of Abraham and his many children, using little wooden dolls, stones, sand, and crepe paper as props. The children were captivated! Thursday, we headed over to the music room to polish our voices and dance steps with "Ms. S". It's a joy to see how much your kiddos love music! They are beginning to recognize our regular songs, so if you are so inspired this weekend, you may want to break into, "If You're Happy and You Know It, Clap Your Hands", and see what happens.
Art time has been so interesting for the Ladybugs this week. We are doing a lot of "Process Art" with them at this stage, which means that we are focusing on the actual process rather than the result. They've painted with pipe cleaners, the wheels of tiny cars, and beads. Their little faces look amazed as they create, all by themselves. Please take a look on the wall outside our classroom, where we are hanging our car wheel art.
Some other highlights of the week include: our first shot at Ring Around the Rosy (wild success), washing our baby dolls in the sensory table (getting ready for all those siblings who are coming around the corner), a "family picnic" on the carpet with pretend food and baby dolls, and beloved buggy rides. We are proud to report yet another milestone these amazing children hit on Wednesday--we all sat on the carpet together and listened to a story from beginning to end!
We're still working on our hand washing and drying, throwing trash into the trash can, pushing in chairs, and cleaning up after meals. These little ones are so eager to be independent, and they are doing a terrific job.
Thank you so much, Jamie, for bringing in the delicious snacks this week.
Next week, we'll talk about our "Feelings". Have a restful weekend, and we’ll look forward to seeing those beautiful little faces next week.
Love,
Ms. Shannon and Ms. Tammy
It was a beautiful week in the Little Ladybugs room! Our friends are separating more easily from Mom and Dad, and we were able to learn a lot about our unit of play, "I am Special".
On Tuesday, we celebrated what special musicians and dancers the Ladybugs are by making shaker instruments. They did a great job coloring paper plates, which Ms. Shannon filled with dried beans. We also pulled some weeds in our garden and went on an acorn hunt. We took a lot of photos of the Ladybugs in action! We'll use those pictures in a book each child has worked on all week to illustrate how special our friends and school are. Look for those books in the folders next Tuesday. We also tried painting at our easel, which was a new experience for most of our friends. It was a big hit!
We were so very proud of the Ladybugs on Wednesday, because we attended our first chapel service, and they all did great! They enjoyed coming together as an entire school and spending some time with the "big kids". Pastor Amy's guitar music and gentle voice had them clapping and singing. We hit another milestone mid-week, when we all sat down and ate a long lunch. It was adorable, watching your precious ones sitting in their chairs and eating so well together.
Thursday, we continued talking about the many ways each one of the Ladybugs is special to our classroom. Jamie is a good helper, Jude is brave and curious, Niilo is gentle and kind, Grace is eager and adventurous, and Lily is spunky and funny! We also began teaching some self help, such as hand washing, pushing in chairs, and putting away lunch items. These Little Ladybugs are well on their way!
Thank you to Grace's mom, Meghan, for bringing the delicious melon and cheddar bunnies for snack this week.
Next week, our unit of play is "Meet my Family". We need your help! Please bring in photos of your child with your family members so that we can hang them on our friend wall.
And thanks, again, for all of your patience and consistency with your children over these past two weeks. The Ladybugs are adjusting like champs because of it!
We did it! We made it through the first week of school and were full of smiles by Thursday afternoon. During our "Welcome to School" week, we focused on learning to separate from Mom and Dad and meeting new friends.
We learned each other's names by singing the "Hello Everybody" song and by looking at photos of one another. We traced our friends' feet and hands, and we measured how tall we are for our growth chart. We were happy to find out that all of the Ladybugs love art as much as we do, so we colored, pressed wet sponges on construction paper, and used dot markers to make designs. We even tried finger painting on Thursday! The Ladybugs also got acquainted with all of the toys in our room. First place in the popularity contest is our train set, with blocks and our kitchen tying for a close second.
For gardening on Tuesday, we watered our thirsty garden, and checked the status of our strawberry bush. We also pulled some weeds and smelled the rosemary.
For music on Thursday, we pulled out all the stops and had a dance party. The Ladybugs have some nice moves!
Next week, our unit of play will be "I am Special". We have a lot of activities planned to show our Ladybugs how important and unique each one of them is to our world.
Thank you so much for allowing us to help these precious children transition to school. We can already tell this year is going to be full of fun and learning.
Love,
Ms. Shannon and Ms. Tammy
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