blog to be posted soon. sorry!

blog posted soon. sorry!

It was another beautiful day at the Sprout! A breezy and cloudy morning to welcome all our kiddos and especially Koichi who is finally back from his long vacation! Every one was so happy to see him and we were sure to give him lots of hugs. It was a day full of hugs for every one, really! We headed in early for a yummy snack and an extended circle time (the kiddos were very focused today, so it was a great opportunity to practice our wonderful participatory audience etiquette!) We welcomed Olive and Ancel to our room, as they will be having more play dates in the coming weeks! We transitioned from washing hands to circle time using blocks. Asher, Ben, Teo, Theo, and Paislie were very happy to help carry blocks and trucks to the carpet for this activity. We wrapped up block time with a clean up which involved a fun game of sorting, and soon every one was attentive and ready for circle time! First we read Llama Llama Home with Mama, a lovely story Teo brought about a baby llama whose mom is taking care of him at home. We talked about times when we're sick, and how mommy and daddy and sometimes other family members take care of us. Every one was super interested in this story, and soon we got requests for The Cat in the Hat, which Ivy brought and had already read with friends earlier that day. We talked for a while about how the Cat is doing tree pose on the ball at one point in the story! Then we counted all the days of the month, talked about how January is ending soon, and talked about the day of the week! Then, we headed outside to the deck to meet up with the pre-tots and Ancel and Olive were reunited with their pre-tot friends! Wren Asher, Ben, Theo and Koichi were quick to find spots at the digging table, while Paislie and Alanna sat down to have a chit chat about the funky objects hanging from the pipes. Later, Ivy and Ben started playing the funky objects, and Teo was seen driving the fire-truck for the majority of the time. Ancel found a fun pot to open, close, and carry around. Olive was busy catching up with friends and collecting balls. We went in for lunch and nap!




After nap, those who wanted to played with play-dough while we waited for yoga to start. Abbey came in and Koichi was so happy to see her, he went and sat in her lap! We sang our usual yoga songs, and then played a fun new activity. We used our feet to move objects! I was surprised at how coordinated these little guys are! All of the toddlers were able to move the objects at least once! I tried to snap pics of their little feet at work. We also sang a song with involved every one giving hugs to each other, which every one enjoyed. Yoga wrapped up and it was time eat snack and head outside! It was a lovely Tuesday!

Today was another routine Monday for all my friends! They weather was funky, but that didn’t stop us from going outside and getting down and dirty in the sand! Theo, Annabelle, Ben, Alanna, and Paislie got busy, grabbing shovels and rakes and making their way to the sand! We poured sand into shape molders and made cars, stars, and airplanes. We soon made our way inside for snack and circle time! We went through the days of the week, and moved our numbers on our calendar, all while counting to 28! Teo and Annabelle brought books in to share, so we sat and read “Sheep in a Jeep” and “Baby’s First Words”! We then closed it out with the ABC’s and “Wheels on the Bus”. We got our waters and headed back outside to explore with the primary and pre tot friends! Alanna and Ben found steering wheels and imagined they were on a boat, sailing away! Ivy went up and down the small slide, while Theo, Paislie, Asher, Teo, Ancel, Wren, and Annabelle took off their shoes and socks and enjoyed the sand under their toes. We finished up outside and made our way inside for lunch and nap transition.

Everyone woke up and all sat on the potty! We relaxed and read books on nap mats. Once everyone was changed we marched out to the deck for some sensory exploration with sand and a sand table! Ms Abby found us outside, and we marched in for Yoga! Abby greeted all the kiddos and had them sit, “criss, cross, yoga sauce”! we started with some of their favorites, then transitioned into “ring around the yogi”! Almost all of the kiddos have mastered tree pose and are now working hard on airplane pose! Good Job, friends! We sang our Namaste goodbye song, and Ms Abby made her way to the primary room! We sat for snack, then quickly put our shoes on, and marched outside to enjoy our afternoon digging in the sand! :)

It was another beautiful morning in the sand at the sprout! Every one was so busy digging, scooping, and pouring the sand! I came out with three cups and three colors of food color: yellow, blue, and green and started mixing! Soon the toddlers (as well as some primary friends) caught wind of this fun mixing experiment, and Wren, Ben, Annabelle, Alanna, Asher Theo, Ivy, Teo, and Ancel each took turns turning sandy colored sand into these lovely colors! It was hard to get them to stop (do try this at home! Easy, fun, and cheap!) But we headed in for snack! After snack, we had circle time and read Ivy's interesting book about a lion and a mouse! It had very beautiful illustrations which we took note of! After snack it was time to do our fun sand project! We all sat at the table and had small amounts of colored sand as well as simple mandalas to choose from, and a stick of glue, which Cate and I helped spread on their papers! Annabelle, Ivy, and Teo all dumped a small hill of sand onto their papers and started spreading it out and requesting more colors, while Alanna, Ben, and Asher carefully poured their sand onto their paper and spread the sand around! Wren also poured his sand out, but then lifted his paper to see the sand spread as he tilted the paper around. Theo and Paislie were a bit more meticulous with their strategy—carefully pinching the sand and sprinkling it on their paper! It was a blast and sand got every where! Ancel was interested in the sand for just a bit before he got interested in our dramatic play kitchen, where he spent most of his time in the morning! After this we had just enough time to run around outside and dance the Gangnam style and other fun songs during our outdoor dance party! We came in for lunch and nap!

After nap, we had some fun music time! We sang some old classics, but the featured song of the day was Mary had a Little Lamb. We went around asking every one what animal they would bring to school if they could. Annabelle, Teo, Paislie, Ben and Asher all brought dogs to school. Theo, of course, brought an elephant, Ivy brought a pig, Wren brought a giraffe, and Alanna brought a “princess pig” to school. We improvised songs and every one was laughing at our funny stories about princess pigs rolling in the mud and giraffes staying in our back yard and watching us eat lunch. It was a real riot! Soon after it was time to get changed and head outside. It was a very lovely Friday!

Love,
Jackie, Cate, and Dom

It was a beautiful Thursday morning, as the kiddos enjoyed the sandbox with their new sand toys! Wren and Asher found their beloved digger trucks, while theo dug and put sand into the giant dump truck. Ivy kicked and ran with the purple sensory ball. While Alanna and Paislie "worked and cooked" in the kitchen with jasper! We had a nice picnic, on some blankets outside, with the pre-tots. It was such a nice day, we decided to do some Sand Art outside, Paislie, Asher, and Teo brought cups of sand to the table. They squeezed their glue out onto the paper, then sprinkled the sand on it. They shook their paper to get an extra off and hung them on the tree limbs as "sand flags"! we cleaned off our hands, only to find the Pre-tots exploring shaving cream! it was a great sensory moment, as the 2 classes explored together! We drew shapes in the shaving cream, and wrote names! We cleaned up, marched inside, and transitioned to lunch and nap!

After nap, we had a quick snack, and made our way outside to gather shoes, and enjoy the rest of the afternoon in the Sand!

Much Love
Dom and Jackie

It was another magnificent day at the Sprout! The beginning was much like yesterday--loads of entertainment in the sandbox. The sand becomes whatever we want it to be, but I think today it was mostly sand! As friends were hanging out, doing their usual digging, piling, and cooking there, Dom brought out the water hose for some plant watering. Annabelle was the first to take hold of the hose, holding it while Dom turned it on. Soon Theo and Alanna joined in on the fun, and they all looked like Firemen/women holding a hose together! Then, Ms. Toni came out to make a grand announcement. She called to the school to meet in the sandbox for her special announcement, and quickly every one came and turned their listening ears on. (It was impressive to see such mature audience members ready for these special words!) Nick, Dom, and I were behind the scenes preparing our new toys to be introduced while Toni had the kiddos feeling and jumping on the new sand. We brought out loads of shovels, trucks, balls, and other toys and one by one asked the kids, "which toy would you like to use?" Every one had something they enjoyed and we had plenty left over. Then, Toni talked to the kids about what it means to respect and love our toys, and to please take care of them, as it makes the toys happy and helps them to last longer for our enjoyment. And then the business began!

Asher and Wren were quick to pick out a couple of diggers, and they stayed teamed up most of the day, digging in the sand, mulch, and dirt on different parts of the playground. Annabelle, Alanna, Paislie, Theo and Ivy all picked shovels, and started working hard, digging holes and filling them again and again. Ancel (our friend visiting from the pre-tot room) picked a bucket and filled it with sand many times over! Teo and Ben picked dump trucks, and were busy filling the backs of the trucks with sand and dumping them, but soon, Teo left to chase after a ball with Ivy, and the two of them practiced bouncing and kicking balls to each other. After a long morning of activities, every one was super hungry. We had a picnic and enjoyed the beautiful weather, sang some songs, then read a book that Theo brought called There was an Old Woman who Swallowed a Fly which Ancel, Wren, Ben, Alanna, Paislie, Teo, and Annabelle really enjoyed. After this, every one was ready to start digging again and stayed busy until it was time for lunch and then nap.

After nap, we had some free-play and sang a couple of songs in Spanish (Ms. Leona was out sick, we hope she gets well soon!). Then, we had a small dance party, got changed and dressed, and headed out to end our day!

Love,
Jackie and Dom

Oh, we had such a lovely start to the day, hanging out in the backyard, helping move the mulch with Kenny! Each time he brought a new load, our toddlers would jump on the mulch to help spread it out! Another thing we did was thoroughly enjoy the new sand in the sand box! Throughout the day, Paislie, Theo, Alanna, Wren and Ben were seen taking off their shoes to enjoy the fun sensory experience that is the sand! We built really high mountains and made all kinds of pancakes, cupcakes, and noodles! Ivy was very busy shoveling sand into a bowl using a spoon to make some warm soup for the cold weather! Asher was riding through the sandy terrain again and again (often with Theo, his bare-foot buddy!). While most of our friends hung out in the sandbox, Wren took the opportunity to hang out in the kangaroo climber. Soon, however, he took advantage of the fresh sand, and really felt it in his fingers and toes saying "it's cold." We had an extended outside time, helping with the mulch, and ultimately enjoying a picnic in the beautiful weather. Then, we sang some songs together and turned into rockets that shot to the fence as we got ready to make our way up the ramp. We came in for lunch, and had our circle time before nap, reading a good night story about Dora the Explorer, which every one enjoyed from their nap mats!

After nap Ms. Toni came in for some big cuddles and help us roll our nap mats!. Ancel came in during this time for a play date, and together we read a story about a pig names Olivia that Ivy brought to share with us all. During the book, toni had a fun stuffed animal owl friend named Owly, who discussed the book with her as she read. Then we got up to have an awesome dance party/freeze game where Toni stopped and started the music to boost the dance-party fun! Paislie especially loved yelling "freeze!" This got our bodies in motion for awesome Yoga Time! Anne came in to share her love with the kiddos and they certainly responded! We did our usual Ring Around the Yogi song, Wren requested that we become butterflies and Anne had us all turn into butterflies who fly and sleep. We blew feathers in the air to practice our yoga breath, and then we had relaxation time! Anne put some soft music on, and we all laid on our backs to "relax." Anne brought some "magic stones" to be placed on our forehead, or "third eye" and we all tried our best to balance the stones on our head. Alanna, Wren, Ben, Ivy, Paislie and Ancel concentrated hard to keep the stone from falling (which it did for all of them at some point!) I was next to Paislie, and got to help her find a point to keep her eye on as she tried to balance it (a small sticker right in her line of vision!). Wren was able to keep the stone balanced for quite a long time! Asher and Teo observed us as we laid down, but were ready to receive a gentle foot massage with lavender oil (I'm pretty sure!) as Anne went around. These were some true zen-baby moments! We also sang a beautiful song about  togetherness and happiness, which we will share with you as soon as we can (one of my favorite kids songs I've heard, with sign language movements to go with it!).

Then, we had snack and it was time to head outside! Some of our friends continued their relaxation with more sand/foot exfoliation, and we ended our day!

Love,
Jackie and Dom

Our Thursday began inside, as we brought out the play dough and awesome tools! Ben, Ivy, Alanna, Koichi, Theo, and Paislie were working hard, poking, bending, and pulling the play dough, attempting to make animals! Alanna focused hard as she worked with the scissors, Ben used a pick to make “tracks” on his play dough, and Theo and Asher really wanted to make “pancakes”, patting the play dough down, flattening it. Cate filled in for Jackie today, and when she arrived, we made our way to the carpet to read a book and have circle time! Theo suggested we read his favorite book, “There’s a Nightmare in my Closet”! So we all sat around, and pointed out the monsters in the closet! Theo then explained to everyone, there were 2 monsters at the end, not one! As we ended the book, the kiddos all got up and made their way to the table for snack! We quickly transitioned outside, to enjoy this beautiful weather! Ms Toni brought out new plants that needed to be planted and we got to work! Teo, Theo, Paislie, and Ben all wanted to help pull weeds, and crush up soil and dirt, searching for earth worms and roly-polies! We then planted broccoli, cabbage, brussel sprouts and more! They were very gentle and loving to the plants, and we all said “We love you plants, and hope you grow big”! Once all was planted, we made our way inside for lunch and transition to nap!

After nap, we got ready for Spanish and snack! Ms Leona came in, and put on a CD to sing and dance to! She then showed us her bag of awesome instruments! Teo used the bongos; while Theo sat back observing, Paislie banged on a big drum, while Ben shook the bells, Alanna shook the maracas, Ivy used a tambourine, and Asher was clinging the chime! We closed out Spanish, sang goodbye, then made our way to the table for snack! We cleaned up, got shoes on and marched outside to bask in the amazing afternoon weather!

Much Love

Dom and Jackie