Friday is here once again!!!

                Rain, rain, DON’T go away! We are so happy it’s been raining and we’ve been having a blast with indoor rainy day fun! Our day started out in the classroom. I prepared lots of fun indoor activities for the kiddos. Hunter joined us first, and her big brother Tristan hung out for a little bit (he’s in the primary class but really loved playing in the pre-tot room with his sister.) Then Olive arrived and all three sat at the “work” table playing with some toys. A little while later Tristan left for his classroom, about the same time Ancel arrived.

                Olive and Ancel worked together at the atelier. Ancel used pencils and markers and Olive used markers and chalk. Then she got the idea to take the chalk to the chalkboard wall (the same wall as the sign-in/out sheet and dry-erase board) and did some art on it. Ancel followed her and contributed to her artwork on the wall.

                Hunter has been very interested in books. She’ll choose one and relax against the big stuffed teddy bear and read it. She’ll also walk (on her knees) around the room with the book and find a new spot to sit and read.

                We started snack knowing that Wynn would arrive soon, which he did. After snack we did the usual routine of calendar and circle time. Hunter, Olive, and Ancel did a magnificent job at sitting on their rugs and participating. Wynn had a poop during that time and since the experience of circle time is about less than five minutes for this age group, he was getting changed while it was going on, but we still included him in our Hello song (we also sang Wheels on the Bus, one of their absolute favorites, and read a Peter Rabbit book.) The kiddos participated in the hand signs during the songs, which was really fun!

                We worked on some play-doh afterwards. This time we offered simple tools for them to use with it. Hunter liked using the plastic toy spoon to cut it, Ancel liked the tweezers and cookie cutters, Wynn liked the plastic toy fork and knife, along with the cookie cutters. Olive was a big fan of the cookie cutters. I was surprised to see Olive participate. Last time we worked with play-doh she was not very interested. Today she really enjoyed it and loved pulling it apart. What’s not to love about play-doh? Wynn seems to think it tastes good, too. Ancel seemed very advanced in using his tools and was a great example for his friends. Hunter was very interested in the overall texture of it.

                While we were chilling and playing with play-doh, our great friend Jackie from the toddler room came over with her acoustic guitar and played us some tunes, including Itsy Bitsy Spider, ABCs, Wheels on the Bus, and Old MacDonald. The tots were somewhat surprised at first but shortly afterwards realized that it was awesome to have her playing live music for us! Ancel danced quite a bit. Olive, Hunter, and Wynn observed her musical skills.

                After Jackie left I offered them pine cones as a sensory experience. Some friends wanted to take bites out of them, but didn’t seem to like the way they tasted. After that we played with the tunnel (an all-time favorite that gets lots of giggles out of all of them) and some puppets. Whenever we use the puppets they all stop and stare at it with a huge smile on their face. Ancel volunteered to use the puppets to give everybody a kiss on the cheek. It made Hunter, Olive, and Wynn giggle with excitement. Thanks, Ancel!

               

                During lunch Wynn went home, so we were down to three pre-tots at naptime. After nap we explored some feathers and stamps, and our new friend Noah joined us for a play date! What a fabulous Friday – rainy day style! We are so happy to have all of our very special tots in our class, and we are glad that they all have amazing, love, caring, and thoughtful parents. We love you guys! Have a great weekend.