Introducing Australia

This week, continuing our unit of 'Global Awareness' we are focusing on Australia.  This morning during circle time Miss Lizzie introduced to the Shining Stars the continent of Australia.  We located Australia on the globe and discovered it is an island.  We discussed that an island is a piece of land surrounded by water.  We also discussed that most of Australia is a desert and because it is on the opposite side of the world the seasons are different from ours.  The kiddos were very intrigued by the fact that when Australians celebrate the winter holidays it is summer!  We chatted about all the different animals that live in Australia.  Miss Lizzie introduced the word marsupial and explained the different animals that are considered marsupials.  We then decided we wanted to write a story about the kangaroos living in Australia.  The story turned out hilarious!
After our long discussion about Australia we took the time to play in centers.  During centers Mr. Nick had a special project for the Shining Stars to do, we made a mobile for the baby room!  We decorated stars with shiny jewels and sparkles on stars.  Each one turned out so different and beautiful the babies are gonna absolutely love it!
This afternoon we had yoga, all the kiddos were very ready to stretch their bodies after a long nap! Miss Abby led us in some stretches to wake our muscles up and we passed around our "breathe ball" to stretch out our lungs.
We have had such a fabulous day here in the Shining Star room and can't wait for tomorrow to continue the fun!