Week of December 15-19, 2015!

It's almost here! And by that I mean pajama day! Don't forget that next week, on Monday and Tuesday, we will be getting cozy in our PJ's while we eat yummy bagels, read stories about The Polar Express and hear the enchanting story of The Snowman! Don't forget you PJ's (holiday themed, perhaps?)!

And in other good news, our school applied for and was approved for a "Little Free Library!" They will begin production on our Little Free Library soon and once the ground thaws in the spring, we will install it for all to use! Take a look at their website, http://littlefreelibrary.org, and read all about their mission to make books available to all! Yay literacy!

Yet another busy week and we don't plan on slowing down anytime soon! We saw Teacher Rich for music, Mary Beth for Movement and enjoyed a Hanukkah-themed yoga class! In addition to all of the enrichment we had, we also made PRETZELS!!! To go along with our bakery theme, of course! The children love to bake and so we just had to teach them all about baking pretzels.  We first read the story, "Walter the Baker" by Eric Carle and we all discussed how and why we use yeast.  The children then joined us for some measuring, mixing, rolling and twisting! Check out our pics:

 Activating the yeast...

 Kneading the dough...

 Rolling the dough...

 Forming the Pretzels just like Walter the Baker!

 Well done children!

And the final product! Yummm!!

Week of December 8-12, 2014!

The weekend is here again and we are excited to celebrate the holidays with cookie decorating at Panera Bread in Burlington tomorrow, Saturday, December 13th at 3pm.  Lots of friends will be there and we hope you will be there too! Don't forget to RSVP via Evite so Panera has enough cookies for all!

As we continue our bakery and baking curriculum, the children have been pattern making with felt cookies, sorting pom pom blueberries and cherries to make yummy pies, decorating  gingerbread houses and so much more! Next week Hanukkah begins and we are looking forward to lighting the candles.  We discussed the similarities between the Hanukkah and Christmas holidays and the answers were right on target! Some included: "we eat food," "we see our family," and "light candles." What a smart bunch of kiddos we have! 

We have also been working hard on constructing and designing our very own gingerbread houses! The children talked about where their houses are located and discussed the various architectural designs including pretzel windows, candy cane lawn decorations and rice chex shingles.  

In our science lab, the children have been experimenting with trays of baking soda, colored vinegar and eye droppers.  The children first made predictions, tested their theories and came to a conclusion. "Whoa! it's exploding!" and "I hear the sounds it is making, it sounds like a frying pan!"  We talked about the chemical reaction and how baking is similar to a science experiment.

Our yoga adventures took us on a trip to the Christmas tree farm, Music and Movement with Mary Beth introduced the children to the music and dancing of the Nutcracker play and Music with Teacher Rich continues to keep us laughing and learning all about tone, pitch and the parts of a guitar.

Lastly, as our winter break approaches, we will be closed from December 24th-January 4, 2015.  We will be back in full swing on January 5th.  But right before the break, we will enjoy our last few days of 2014 together by celebrating with pajama day! We will have pajama day on December 22 & 23 along with a super fun bagel snack! 

Check out some pics from our week:

 Gingerbread House construction

A few completed houses!

 Explorations with baking soda and colored vinegar

Week of December 1-5, 2014!

Happy December! We are diving right into our new curriculum topic, the bakery!  During free play time, the children have been busy baking blueberry and cherry pies, cookies with colorful frosting, donuts and much more! The children mix, bake and display their goods for customers to buy. Definitely stop in for a look!

During curriculum time, preschool has been busy investigating measurement.  This week's activities focused on using measuring cups and water.  And pre-k has been learning all about making patterns.  The children have discovered that patterns can be made out of anything including, numbers, letters, and even people! 

We have also been busy exploring the architectural works of Frank Lloyd Wright, American architect.  He was an amazing architect who loved clean lines and designed several structures throughout his life.  He was also very drawn to stained glass design and the children discussed and re-created some of his work with stained glass.  The children used crayon shavings and wax paper.  A teacher used an iron to melt the colors together.  Once cooled, the children used black tape to create the lines similar to Wright's work.  After their masterpiece was complete, each child presented their work to the class using the light pad (a lightweight light box), allowing the beautiful colors to shine through.  Bravo, children!  The display will be up on the bulletin board until mid-January.  Come check it out!

Don't forget about our organization of the month, the MSPCA! We will continue to collect food, treats, and new or gently used toys, blankets, etc.  The MSPCA is also happy to accept household items such as paper towels and disinfectants.  Bring your items into school or to our gathering at Panera Bread next week!

Lastly, don't forget to RSVP for our December cookie decorating gathering at Panera Bread in Burlington on Saturday, December 13th at 3pm.  All are welcome, but please RSVP via evite so Panera can have enough cookies for everyone.  For a small fee, children will get a sugar cookie and lots of yummy icing and sprinkles to design their own cookie! We are looking forward to seeing you there!

 A Frank Lloyd Wright inspiration on the light pad

One of our kiddos getting her masterpiece ready!

And a preschooler exploring with water and measuring cups.  We found out that 12 cups of water filled this bowl!