Hey guys! So today we are going to have a very short blog, and I apologize for this in advance. As many of you may already know or will know soon, I am currently working on a video for the school which will premier at our winter potluck! I have been spending the day filming the whole school and editing. I want to make sure I do a fantastic job for you guys because you are the ones that help make this school as amazing as it is. This is just to show you how much we appreciate you guys and all that you contribute to the school and our cause. And I am more than happy to volunteer my time to make this happen for you all.

So we started our morning outside as usual and enjoyed some free-play with all of our friends. Also, Olive brought in her dog Daisy to share with the whole school. Everyone absolutely loved Daisy! Thank you Olive for sharing your dog with us! Then we all headed in for snack and circle time.

During circle time we sang the "Hello" song and "Hickory Dickory Dock." Then we all looked at pictures of mice. Shortly after we all headed outside for a school wide dance party!

After our dance party, I headed inside to import all the footage I had taken from today and the days before and began my editing process. Unfortunately, I will be unable to join our class for the afternoon, but I believe Miss Arielle and Miss Cate (Our awesome sub) are going to do an awesome holiday art project with our kiddos. 

I hope you all have a fantastic and safe weekend, and I'll see you guys Monday!

<3 Cherokee

                Today Genevieve from the infant class joined us all day. She’ll be in our class very soon. She had an excellent day and everybody enjoyed her company.

                This morning we played outside until we were ready to go in for snack. We did the calendar and then circle time, in which we sang the Hello song and talked about cats. We looked at several pictures of cats in different books (thanks, Ancel, for sharing two cool books with us) and we signed “cat,” as well as meowed. Then we sang about how Old MacDonald had a cat and Daniel the Dinosaur gave everybody kisses on their feet and foreheads. Then we headed back out to the playground.

                While outside Sophie went up and down the stairs. Clara played with a bubble container. Genevieve explored the playground. Ancel pretended to talk on a phone with a wheel from a toy truck. Noah, Gage, Olive, and Wynn played together in the sandbox.

                Later on, Ancel carried around two balls, Sophie played with a ball, and Lizzie played with Olive and Genevieve by bouncing some balls around. Wynn used a cookie cutter in the sandbox, Clara explored her surroundings, Noah scooped soil with his hands, and Gage watched the toddlers head inside.

                We went inside and had an incredibly pleasant lunch. We talked about the food everybody was eating and made sure to say their names several times (developing awareness of others.) Then we looked about book before going to sleep.

                After nap we had a little dance party and touched some rocks before Spanish class with Leona. While the tots ate snack, Leona, Arielle, and Cherokee sang some Spanish songs that they really enjoyed. Afterwards we had a tickle fest then headed outside to wrap up our day. It was beautiful out and we really enjoyed the cool breezes and bubble machine that Dom brought out. Let’s hope it rains the evening!

Hey guys, I hope everyone’s day is going well. It’s a full moon out tonight so if things seem out of the ordinary don’t be surprised, lol. It’s just a theory I’ve always had growing up anyways.

So far we’ve had a pretty fast paced morning today. Every single one of our kiddos showed up today, including Clara! Noah even showed up on the playground after spending the past 2 days with his grandma; we missed him so much! This has been the very first time that we had all of our kiddos together at once; it was very exciting for Arielle and me. In the morning everyone arrived on the playground and enjoyed some free-play together. Then we all headed in for snack and circle time.

During snack we sang our “Days of the Week” song and counted how many days we are up to in November so far. The kiddos always get so excited when we do the days of the week. Shortly after, it was time for circle time. During circle time we sang the “Hello” song and then looked at pictures of cats. I showed them the sign for cat and we all made the sound a cat makes. Ancel is a pro at making animal noises. Once we were finished with circle time, we all headed out to the deck.

Out on the deck we explored the properties of bark from a tree. We also got to touch and feel the plants that we have out on the deck and compared how differently they felt from each other. Afterwards, they all got to enjoy some free play. Hunter spent some time playing with the little bead coaster and moving all the little beads from one end to the other. Some of my other friends like Olive, Noah, and Sophie enjoyed pushing the little push cars out on the deck. Gage played with the little plastic watering can that looks like a duck. Wynn spent some time cuddling with me while we were on the deck. Before you knew it, it was time for lunch.

After nap we will be letting our guys practice using child safe scissors and cutting paper. Then it will be time for Miss Leona to come and sing Spanish songs with us. Tomorrow we will continue to look at pictures of cats and learning about them. For our sensory experience we will be exploring the properties of different types of rocks and for art we will be finger painting.

See you guys tomorrow.

<3 Cherokee

Today Sophie and Gage were the first pre-tots to arrive at school. They played in the dome with the toddlers and primary friends, singing songs and pretending to cook food. Olive arrived and said goodbye to her mom while looking at her over the fence and then proceeded to play with a scoop she found. Clara arrived shortly afterwards and found an empty bubbles container to carry around. Sophie decided to do the same thing. Wynn arrived next and hung out with Gage on the playscape together.

                We went in for snack and Ancel arrived. Jackie (from the infant room) and three of her little friends (Judah, Jackson, and Genevieve) were already hanging out in our classroom since their younger friends in the infant room were napping and they were wide awake. It was fun having visitors in our class, especially familiar ones who will someday be in our class!

                The three guests joined us for circle time and we sang the Hello song to everybody, then talked about dogs, looked at dog books, did the hang sign for dog, and make dog sounds. Then our monkey puppet gave everybody a kiss and asked them to please get ready to go to the deck.

                When we arrived on the deck it was windy and chilly, so we only stayed a little while. Gage pulled a rolling toy around, Wynn played with a scrub brush, Clara gave everybody kisses with a duck watering can, Olive carried around another scoop, Gage sat down and chilled in a bumbo, and Sophie and Ancel wandered around seeing what everybody was up to. We went inside early since it was cold and rejoined the three infants in our room. Then we played with them and sang some songs with Jackie. Clara enjoyed wearing a bead necklace and Olive rocked out on the xylophone. Wynn, Ancel, and Gage did some art and Sophie practiced opening and closing markers.

                When it was time for lunch we said goodbye to our visiting friends as they left for their classroom. We talked a lot about animal sounds during lunch and identified what everybody was eating, as usual. After lunch we looked at books and then went to the nap area, where we used the big fan which we have been using since last week. We’re seeing if it helps increase the amount of time that they sleep by making the room nice and cool, as well as providing more noise. After nap we plan to do our activity from yesterday, gluing dried leaves. We were going to use the felt board but primary is currently using it, so we’ll just do what we didn’t get to do yesterday instead and enjoy the felt board next week. It’s been a swell Tuesday!

Welcome back pre-tot families!!! I hope everyone had a safe and joyous holiday and it’s so good to see everyone once again.

We began our morning outside in the backyard and it has been such a beautiful morning with such nice weather that we decided to stay outside all morning. We even ate our snack outside; picnic style!

Gage spent his morning exploring the playground. First, he started with putting some mulch into a little green bucket, and then he played in the sandbox for a while.

Olive spent her morning pouring sand and mulch into the sensory table and also played in the sandbox for a while.

Sophie played with some of the toddlers in the kangaroo climber. She also loves to go up and down the ramp on the big playscape.

Hunter played with a red whiffle ball and was throwing it up in the air.

Ancel found a bubble bottle and a bubble wand and attempted to snap the two together to see if they fit. He then proceeded to pretend to blow bubbles out of the wand.

We also had a play date with Jackson from the infant room. He was accompanied by Mr. Mike who is one of our awesome subs from the baby room.

For our sensory experience, we collected some dry leaves on the playground and let them feel and crunch them in between their hands. After being outside all morning we headed in for lunch and nap.

We missed Noah and Wynn this morning; however, Wynn might be joining us later in the afternoon to enjoy the rest of the day with his friends.

During lunch we went over the days of the week and sang our “Days of the Week” song. We also talked about dogs and showed pictures of different types of dogs. We made our dog sounds and barked like little puppies.

After nap, our tentative plan is to glue some dry leaves onto a piece of paper for our art experience. Then we will read “No More Pacifier for Piggy!”

Tomorrow we will continue to learn about dogs as well as playing with felt for our sensory experience. For art we will be painting with water color.

I hope everyone’s day is going well. See you guys tomorrow!

 <3 Cherokee

                This morning we only have five friends in our class: Gage, Olive, Sophie, Clara, and Noah. Noah was a little late due to a doctor’s appointment, but arrived to school ready to play! It was a beautiful morning so we had outdoor snack and circle time.

                While on the playground, Noah played with beach balls, Gage cuddled with Arielle, Olive sat next to Arielle, Clara scooped mulch, and Sophie hung out on top of the upside-down sensory table. Later on, Olive played with the digger, Gage enjoyed a scoop he found, Sophie and Clara hung out together under the dome (they are BFFs) and Noah met Jackie, an infant teacher. All of the classes hung out together (including three infants: Judah, Jackson, and Genevieve) and we spiced up the morning with lots of bubbles! So many of our friends are getting so close to perfectly pronouncing the work, “bubble.” We jumped around and popped them, then danced to some Yo Gabba Gabba! What an exciting morning.

                We came inside for lunch and Gage’s dad, Dillon, arrived to pick up Gage and head off to Dallas and Oklahoma. We were down to four nappers. During nap we hung up extra sheets in the windows and set up and turned on an extra fan to make the room extra cozy (we’re trying to figure out what will make our tots sleep very, very soundly for much longer than they have.)

                After nap we plan to hang up some holiday lights in the room and play with pasta and glue. It’s been a great way to end our early week, and we hope everybody has a happy and safe Thanksgiving! See you Monday!

Hello friends!!! We started our morning outside in the backyard as usual with all of our school friends and enjoyed some free-play. Ancel wasn’t able to join us today and will not be here tomorrow as well because he is visiting family for the holidays. This morning Gage spent some time playing in the sandbox with his toddler friend Paislie; those two are becoming such good friends. Noah enjoyed some time rolling a little red ball down the ramp on the play-scape. Olive and Hunter seemed to be having their own little conversation underneath the climbing dome; it was so cute. Sophie walked around the entire playground waving and smiling at all of her friends and teachers. Shortly after, we all headed in for snack and circle time.

As we were walking in for snack our friend Wynn joined us. During snack we sang our “Days of the week” song and counted the number of days we are up to. After snack Wynn took interest in a large acorn that Miss Arielle brought in to show all of our friends. Then during circle time we sang our “Hello” song and talked about Turkeys. We also showed them pictures of different types of turkeys. Miss Arielle even brought in a very old book back from her childhood that had a picture of a turkey as well as other animals that we have introduced to them. Then it was time for us to head out to the deck.

While on the deck, little Miss Hunter played with the bead coaster toy that we have out there and it sounded to me like she was counting the beads, as she would move them. Sophie spent some time pushing around one of the little cars we have on the deck. Then the real fun began when I pulled out the bubbles. Once I started blowing the bubbles they all began to chase them and tried popping them. Olive wanted to try blowing the bubbles too, so I placed the bubble wand in front of her mouth and told her to blow. She did an excellent job and was very successful at blowing bubbles. Sophie and Noah wanted to try too, so I did the same for them. It was cute watching them trying to blow the bubbles. Noah just put his lips against the wand when I told him to blow, and Sophie tried putting the wand in her mouth every time I held it up to her. Wynn spent some time playing with one of the many balls we have out on the deck and throwing it. Gage walked around the deck with a bucket on his head and was doing his little growl, which I found very funny. It wasn’t long after before it was time to head back in for lunch and nap.

After nap we will be making hand turkeys and gluing feathers onto them for our art. Tomorrow we will continue to learn about turkeys and play with dry pasta for our sensory, and use watercolor for our art.

See you guys tomorrow, and if we don’t see you tomorrow, we wish you a very happy holiday and a safe return from your travels.

<3 Cherokee

Hello pre-tot families! It has been a wonderful morning with all of our little guys. We began our morning outside with all of our school friends with some free-play. Gage was being entertained by one of our loving toddlers, Paislie, who is always super fascinated with him. Noah spent some time playing with a slightly deflated beach ball. Mr. Kenny, one of our subs, kept trying to blow it up for him but it must have had a hole because it kept deflating every time. Sophie found some wheels to a toy truck and walked around the entire playground with them in her hands. Ancel spent some time in the sand box and on the playscape going down the slide. Some of our kiddos also got to play with some dirt that was placed in the sensory tub.

After playing outside for a little while it was time for all of us to head in for snack and circle time. During snack we sang our “Days of the Week” song and counted the number of days we are up to in November. During circle time we all sat in a circle and looked at pictures and books of horses. We also made the sound a horse makes and did the sign for horse which we learned from Olive’s mom; Thank You! Afterwards, we all headed out to the deck for some free-play as well as story time.

Hunter brought in a book to share with us about farm animals. The book was titled “Poke-A-Dot! Old McDonald’s Farm.” The book has the words to “Old McDonald” and is also a counting book where you can press little dots when you count each animal. We also looked at other books titled “Animal Sounds” and “Farm Friends.” Later we were joined by our awesome teacher Miss Lizzie, who filled in for Miss Arielle while she did Kinder Blossom. Soon after it was time for us to head back in for lunch and nap.

We are continuing to teach our kiddos how to stay in their seat while they are eating as well as letting us know when they are all done with a hand gesture. They are all doing a fantastic job! We are also continuing to teach them how to clean up after themselves after playing with the toys or books.

After nap, we will be joined by Miss Jackie from the toddler room who will come and sing songs with us with her guitar. We will all join in with her as all of our kiddos will have an instrument that they each brought from home. I will attempt to record this and hopefully put it on the blog, however, I apologize in advance if I am unable to.

I hope everyone has a happy and safe weekend, and we will see you guys on Monday!

<3 Cherokee

Hello pre-tot families! I hope everyone is having a wonderful Thursday. Today we welcomed back Wynn and Gage! We were all so happy to see them once again. Wynn has been out due to an illness for several days, but he is back and ready for some play time with all of his friends who missed him. Gage came back from a trip to Dallas and was a little timid at first, but after a short while he was up and playing as if he’d been here all along.

It has been such a beautiful and glorious morning and the weather was perfect so we decided to have our snack outside, picnic style! This morning was so beautiful that we spent the entire morning outside. Ancel spent some time playing in the sandbox and pouring sand out of a measuring cup. Wynn spent some time playing on the large playscape and walking up and down the ramp. Little Miss Clara also gave Wynn some hugs; I think she missed him a lot. Olive was getting some love from Miss Dom and then joined me in reading a book titled “The Birthday Box.” I asked her to point to the letter “O” and she did. Sophie spent time exploring the entire playground. She was all over the place running from one end of the playground to another. 

Shortly after, we all sat down to listen to Miss Jackie read a story titled “This is the Baby.” Then all of our kiddos dispersed and enjoyed some more free-play. Time seemed to be flying by because it wasn’t too long before we all had to head in for lunch and get ready for nap.

During lunch we sang the “Days of the Week” song and went over the date since we didn’t get to do it during snack like we normally do. We also showed the kiddos pictures of horses because we are learning about them for today and tomorrow. After lunch we helped our kiddos make colored ice cubes for tomorrow. We helped each of them drop one drop of food coloring into each of the little slots in the ice tray. Then we helped them pour water into each slot.

After nap we will be spending some time with Miss Leona who will be teaching us Spanish and singing songs in Spanish. Then we will enjoy some play time inside and then get ready to head out.

Tomorrow we will continue to learn about horses and the sounds they make, and glue some yarn onto paper for our art.

***Also, Miss Jackie will be having a music session with our class for 15 minutes, and would like it if all the kids brought in a musical instrument of any sort for tomorrow. (It could be anything it doesn’t have to be an actual instrument)

Have an awesome day guys!!!

<3 Cherokee

            Today Olive, Ancel, Clara, Hunter, and Noah arrived on the playground. When we went inside for snack we noticed that Sophie’s mom, Anne, had dropped off some photos of Sophie, so while our friends sat and waited to wash their hands we all looked at the photos together and talked about them. Sophie was so proud.

            We did the calendar and weather during snack and circle time afterwards. During circle time we talked about sheep, read books about them, looked at pictures of them, showed the tots the sign for sheep, and made sheep sounds. We even sand Old MacDonald had a Sheep a few times. Then Daniel the Dragon puppet gave everybody kisses on their tummies! Then we cleaned up and went to the deck.

            We went to the deck and Ancel arrived at school! He rode the eggplant and Hunter played with a scoop she found. Olive received tickles from Arielle and Noah played with an alligator toy. Clara relaxed on a boppy and Sophie relaxed in one of the red chairs. Later on, Olive, Clara, and Noah took pictures with Arielle, Ancel gave Clara hugs, Sophie rode bikes, and Hunter cuddled with Cherokee.

            During lunch all of our friends stayed in their chairs the entire time and everybody fed themselves very nicely. When our friends woke up from nap they stayed quiet on their nap mat until nap was over. Then they ate snack and did some stamps with Cherokee and Lizzie while Arielle went to Kinder Blossom. When Arielle returned (thirty minutes later) Leona arrived and we had Spanish class. Usually our friends eat snack while Spanish is taking place but today we sat in the chairs at the table and participated without eating, which was very successful! We’re so proud of how our tots are maturing and becoming more and more responsible and grown up. J