Good Times !!

Greetings Infant Class,
Hope everyone had a great weekend! I happy to report that all of our babies came to school healthy and happy! The babies seemed excited to be back at school. Some babies reported not eating and or sleeping their "usual" and with the help of some good ol group sleeping, eating, and playing on this routine Monday got our group right back into the swing of things! We started our day off with a little bit of snack and outside play time. Miles and Julia stayed inside with me while Gage, Genevieve, Jackson, and Walter played out on the deck with Mags! T
his works out so well because the younger babes get to have a more quieter tummy and jumpy time. They also like to get cozy (pre nap transition) a little earlier than the gang outside! Having this outside time right before nap also makes for a smooth nap transitions and the babies come into the waves and bottles waiting for them in the classroom and the eyes instantly start getting rubbed! 

We had a great nap where most babies were wanting to wake up after their first cycle but Mags and I tag teamed on some serious patting/rocking and successfully got all the babes into a 2nd sleep cycle! Everyone woke up with a smile on their face as we had an awesome snuggle time! The babies enjoyed seeing themselves on the screen of my phone as we took reverse camera shots! We then went straight into circle time! At the beginning of each circle time I like to ask friends where the Sun is and if we should let him into our circle! The older group of babies will now turn their heads and look towards the one 1 window by our sleep area ( Genevieve will sometimes point) and we then raise the blinds and welcome back the sun into our classroom!  The highlight of our circle time was reading our current favorite book, Polar Bear Polar Bear What Do You Hear? The audience was extra captivated by the animal sounds and pronunciations of the words/names. After circle time we crawled, walked, and got carried over to lunch. There are 2 pics from our lunch time today! We like to play fun music and the babies will shake their bottoms in their seats! After lunch the entire group headed outside to the deck for some play and tummy time! We laid out a blanket and read some books. We also brought out some bubble wrap for a quick sensory exploration! The babies then gave us some cues that they were ready for inside! We came in and had some snack then the older group of babes gathered around the wooden art table for an orange paint and colors sensory project. We used plastic cups to make orange stamp imprints on the white paper. The group enjoyed checking out the cups pre paint time and naturally banged it down like a stamp on the tray. Sprouts were then given an orange crayon to explore. Most of their initial reaction was to put it in their mouth then they held it a while and watched Sandy and I scribble, pat and tap them down on the paper. 

• Genevieve was extra into putting the crayon in her mouth. She did a bit of scribbling attempts but then ripped a piece of paper off and sat and played with that for a while
• Jackson was very observant of his teachers and friend's uses for the crayon before he decided he would tap the crayon on the white paper. He was very excited to stick his fingers in the semi-wet orange paint
• Walter had his focus face on the entire time which consists of his tongue sticking out. He had a firm grip on the crayon the entire time and was making long strokes on the paper with the crayon!
• Gage wasted no time and went straight to light lines on the paper. He tapped the crayon on the page to the beat of the song that was playing the background! 

We played our way up to second nap a second and every baby slept like a champ! We ended our day with snack and free classroom exploration! It was a splendid day indeed!
Much Peace&Love
Toni