Hello Tulip Fams!

It has been yet another very musical week here in the tulip class!

On Monday we talked about the different types of string and wind instruments there are. We then used water colors to paint on pictures of a mandolin or French horn. We let our kiddos choose which instrument they wanted. Afterwards, we had them do Montessori puzzles. One of the songs we sang during circle time was "1 Little, 2 Little, 3 Little Fingers"

Here are the lyrics:
1 Little, 2 Little, 3 Little Fingers
4 Little, 5 Little, 6 Little Fingers
7 Little, 8 Little, 9 Little Fingers
10 Little Fingers go Clap, Clap, Clap

Clap, Clap, Clap
Let's clap those fingers (x3)

Clap them all around!
(Clap your hands in a circle)

On Tuesday I brought out my recorder and showed our little tulips the different sounds that come out when you cover one of the little holes. They each got to take a turn covering the holes. I also brought in a hand made recorder from Mexico. Later in our day we did some painting using stamps.

On Wednesday we had a guest play date with June from the infant class!!! All of our friends were so interested in her and kept wanting to give her hugs; it was adorable! Miss Magdalen also brought in her viola to share with our class. She showed all of our friends how each string makes a different sound by plucking it. She then showed them how using the bow changes the sound as well. Each of our tulips got to take turns plucking the stings. Miss Magdalen then played "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" and we all sang the song as she played.

On Thursday we did a lot! We started our morning with Montessori puzzles and utilized our fine motor skills.  We also got to play with playdoh and used different utensils to manipulate it. Avey and Finn got to practice using plastic scissors to cut the playdoh. Then miss Jackie blew bubbles and we had a bubble dance party! During circle time I got to show our little tulips a ukulele that June's mom let us borrow. Each of our tulips got a turn strumming the strings. We then read a book that our friend Lyla brought in to share called "The Musical Parade." It was another musical book that played music when you lift the flaps. We also sang a Spanish song where we use our bodies to make music called "Mi Cuerpo" in English "My Body."

Here are the lyrics:

Mi Cuerpo, Mi Cuerpo
Hace musíca (x2) (point to your whole body from head to toe)

Mis Manos Hace (clap, clap, clap)

Mis pies Hace (stomp, stomp, stomp)

Mi Boca Hace (la, la, la)

Mi Cuerpo Hace (cha, cha, cha x3)

Mi Cuerpo Hace cha cha cha!
(Cha cha side to side)

Manos=hands
Pies (pronounced p-yez)= feet
Boca=voice

On Friday we had our spring time potluck. We started our morning with painting suns onto paper plates using yellow paint and red glitter. Then we all decorated our tree using giant gold ornaments and our yellow paper suns. In the afternoon chef Mike came and taught our little tulips how to make ants on a log using celery, Sun butter and raisins. Each of our little tulips got to take turns spreading the sun butter onto the celery using a plastic butter knife, and then placed raisins on top. Not only did they enjoy making their ants on a log, they enjoyed eating it way more!

This has been such a fun and fabulous month full of music, and we can't wait for next month when it's full of food; yum!

Til next week!

Much love,
Cherokee <3

Hello Tulip Fams!

It's been a great start to our week and we are so excited because this week we are focusing on percussion! I'm sure with as much as our kiddos like to pound on objects, we'll be going out with a BANG by the end of the week!

On Monday we played percussion using our bodies. First we practiced clapping our hands and then patting our laps. While we did this we sang a tune to go with it. With this tune you can change the lyrics to whatever action you want your kiddo to do.

Example:
Clap your hands, clap your hands
Everybody clap your hands (X4)

Pat your knees, pat your knees
Everybody pat your knees (X4)

Stomp your feet, stomp your feet
Everybody stomp your feet (X4)

We also read a story book that Luke brought in to share with the class titled "Noisy Orchestra." It was a sound book where our little tulips each took turns pressing the buttons that play music. Luke also brought in some of his percussion instruments to share with our class. Thank you for sharing Luke!!!

On Tuesday we got to change things up a bit. With spring in the air, we took advantage of the gorgeous weather we were having and planted some sage seeds. Each if our little tulips got to feel the potting soil and squish it between their little fingers. We then had each of them take turns placing the soil into the egg cartoon and patting it down. I then showed them how small the seeds were and how we need to carefully place each one into an egg carton hole and press it down into the soil. They were all so intrigued with this activity and loved being able to squish the soil. Afterwards, we got to pour water on top and set it out in the sun.

On Wednesday we got to make tambourines!!! Our little tulips each got to decorate a paper plate using makers. We've been practicing using markers a lot this week because some of our little tulips are still learning how to take off and replace the caps to each marker and then put it back in its home when they are finished. Taking the marker caps off and replacing them is such a great fine motor activity for  and they have so much fun with it. After decorating our paper plates we punched holes around the edge and attatched bells using  pipe cleaners. Rye also brought in some percussion instruments to share during our circle time and all of his friends were so grateful; thanks Rye!!!

On Thursday we brought out the BIG DRUM!!! Our little tulips had a blast banging on the big drum together as a group. We also had two small bongo drums that they each took turns with. We made lots of loud music using our drums! We also finished making our tambourines and they each got to try them out and practice for our spring time parade we will have on Friday! 

On Friday we started with our usual Friday morning ritual with dance party! We also got to play with some bubbles that Hank brought in to share with our class; Thanks Hank! Our little tulips were very intrigued when I showed them how I can blow big bubbles. Finn tried to catch them with the blue basket in our room. The highlight of our day was our pre-tot spring time parade!!! Our little tulips did so well marching together and shaking their tambourines!!! It was the cutest little parade ever! However, we couldn't have done it without the participation of the primary and toddler classes; so a great big THANK YOU to them!!!

We've been having so much fun with this month of music, and can't wait for next week when we start learning about string and wind instruments!!!

Have a fabulous weekend friends!!!

Much love,
Cherokee<3

Greetings Tulip Fams!

We've had a wonderful start to our week, despite the freakishly random cold weather that came at the beginning.

The air has been filled with the sounds of music! It's amazing how much music can be created by our own bodies!

On Monday we created a paint collage while listening to different melodies of instrumental music. During circle time we practiced making sounds using our mouths. We showed our kiddos how we can change the sounds that come out by bopping their hand against their mouth while making sounds. This was very fun for them. I also brought out our animal finger puppets and sang various songs that was related to each animal.

On Tuesday we decorated toilet paper rolls using stickers. We then got to use them as pretend microphones and sang into them. One song we sang is called "Mm ah, went the little Green Frog"

Here are the lyrics:
(Place your hands near your eyes and open and shut them while singing mm ah)
Mm ah, went the little Green Frog one day,
Mm ah, went the little Green Frog
Mm ah, went the little Green Frog
One day
And the little Green Frog went
Bo bo be-yo-yo x 4 (wave your arms side to side like you're hula dancing)
And the little Green Frog went
Mm ah, mm ah, mm ah ah!

On Wednesday we listened to two different CDs, one with tribal music from Africa and the other with Latin music from south America. We then had a small dance party and stomped around the room. We also showed them where south America and Africa are located on the map in our room. During circle time we practiced making all kinds of different sounds with our mouths. We blew raspberries in the air and clicked our tongues and smacked our lips to create different noises. Our kiddos had so much fun with this!

On Thursday practiced making animal sounds after reading our story time book during circle time called "Roar and More." One of the animal sounds we made were fish sounds. We showed our little tulips how to purse their lips together and make a fishy face. It was so hilarious and extremely cute watching them as they tried so hard to do this. We later went outside and played ring-around-the-rosy and also got to play with bubbles!

On Friday we all began our day outside with dance party! Shortly after miss Liz came out and conducted a community project where all of our kiddos got to make seed balls! They got to mix clay, dirt, water and seeds in a big tub and create little balls to throw in the garden. Not all of our kiddos wanted to partake in the activity, however, they really enjoyed watching and observing the other kiddos. During circle time we talked about our fire drill and fire safety. Finn also brought in a book about fire engines to share with our class. Thank you Finn!!! In the afternoon we had our fire drill followed by our APD presentation. All of the kiddos were super excited to meet officer Michael and see the inside of his cop car!

It's been such a fun and exciting week and I can't believe sporting break is already here!

I hope all of you have a wonderful and safe spring break and we'll see you back on March 17th!!!

Much love,
Cherokee <3

Hello, Friends!

This week we focused on Triangles! One song that we sang was “I am a small triangle; I have three sides you see. I also have three corners, they’re just right for me.” It is sung to the tune of “Pop goes the Weasel.” We continued reading the same books about shapes. This allowed us to continue reviewing the shapes we learned about earlier in the month. Additionally, the children love the repetition. The more we read these books the more they request them.

On Monday we took construction paper triangles that were all different colors and sizes and we glued them to another piece of paper. The original idea was to make fish out of the triangles, but as you know we like to let the children have control over the art they create. You might have to use a little imagination to see the fish :) The children had a great time patting the triangles onto the glue.

On Tuesday we used Luke's shape sorter and the Montessori puzzles to practice our shapes.

On Wednesday we brought out the play dough. We used plastic shapes from a shape sorter to imprint triangles, circles and squares in our play dough. We also used other objects such as utensils, rollers and sticks to manipulate the material. I have noticed recently that the children are able to maintain their focus for longer periods of time. Some of our friends were sitting at the table working with the play dough for almost twenty minutes and would have stayed longer if I did not have to clear the table for lunch.

On Thursday we went on a scavenger hunt through the playground. We found triangle shapes all over! We also had a black light dance party which was a blast, and in Spanish we got to play bowling!

Friday morning started out with another great dance party. Over the past week or so several of our friends have been somewhat rough with their classmates. So, we decided to dedicate our Friday circle time to a discussion about what we do with our hands and our mouths. We clapped, we gave high fives, we held hands, we practiced gentle touches, we blew kisses, sang “la la la”, we practiced saying please and thank you and we made silly noises with our mouths. The children definitely know what gentle touches are, as we have been having them practice whenever they use their hands in a rough manner. Please feel free to reinforce this by having them stroke your arm lightly if they use their hands to push or grab.

Our Friday cooking project was making tzatziki. The children had a great time mixing the yogurt, dill and cucumbers together. They seemed to like it, but were a little thrown by the dill.

We always love your feedback, so please let us know if you have any suggestions, comments, concerns, etc.

I also added some additional pictures to last weeks' blog, so be sure to check them out. I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend! See most of you tomorrow :)

Best,

Magdalen