It was a great Friday, because it was Pajama/Music Friday! The majority of friends showed up sporting their comfy sleepwear, as we played outside enjoying the awesome December weather! WE started out doing some art, than made our way to the sandbox for some early morning slides down the small slide. We soon marched in for a special morning snack with the primary friends. 3 to a bench, the toddlers loved sitting by their primary friends, feeling the love as Ms Toni showed everyone about our delicious morning snack, yummy smoothies made with organic fruits and water. Everyone sat patiently as Toni added the ingredients and turned on the blender. Once it was ready, they put their cup out to get some. Paislie, Ivy, Wren, Teo, and Theo especially enjoyed it, asking for a straw to slurp it all up! we made our way back to our room for some quick center exploration, and by the time we knew it, it was lunchtime. We transitioned to nap, and everyone took a great, solid nap.

After nap, friends woke up, had milk and sat on the toilet. Jackie read to everyone, and we had a quick circle time, before Jackie left for music. We had time to explore our centers, Theo and Ben made their way under the desk, inside the cozy book cave, they “worked” on the computer keyboard and dragged the “mouse” around, discussing important things :) We did a quick clean-up before Jackie came in for music and we started snack! We finished our Friday with some outside play/exploration, before we all left for our Winter Holiday Break!

Much Love

Dom and Jackie

It was a beautiful start to the day with great weather and lots of smiles. As I was going outside, I saw Alanna trying out some cool balancing moves on the dome! I was able to snap a couple of photos of her graceful act (she was totally posing, noticing how impressed Teo's parents and I were). Joey brought his train, and was takig turns with Asher, driving it around, and showing Jasper the places where the train can drive. Teddy came out for a visit, and stole the attention of Jasper, Joey, Teo, Ivy, Asher, Ben, Paislie, Wren and Koichi. After Teddy left Joey joined the primary room, and we all sat on the fence and sang Open, Shut Them by request, and had a fun circle time talking about the date and the weather. We also sang the ABC's, which many of our little guys love to sing along to these days. We came in for snack, and right after, got busy working on our holiday projects. Paislie, Ben, Teo, Theo (who had been inside in the morning, helping Dom prepare snack) and Jasper each got their own private watercolor set and water to work on their little masterpieces. Soon after, Jasper and Asher got to work using glue, glitter, and stickers to decorate a nice piece of construction paper. Alanna joined them with some free-drawing. Jasper and Asher were both very interested in using the glue independently, and so they did. They were both also very particular about where exactly they wanted to place the sequins we were using to decorate. At this time, half of the kiddos were outside with Dom. Paislie, Jasper, and Asher started building towers together at the Lego table and Wren started his watercolor. He was very strategic with the placement of his paint, drawing slow steady lines. Alanna got busy talking on the cell phone. Soon it was time to head inside for lunch and nap.

After nap, we did a little more work on our projects, but soon headed out to enjoy the lovely weather. Ivy, Asher, Ben,  and Theo started a fun game of staying in a hula hoop together and walking around. they did this for a long time in the afternoon, and every so often one would leave the hula hoop and some one else would take their place. Koichi was very busy dragging around the giant silver hula hoop on his own. At one point, Ivy led the hula hoop group onto the play scape, where it was a real challenge moving around. Soon after, they abandoned the project. It was a fantastic day!

Love,
Jackie and Dom

We started our morning bouncing, blowing, and popping balloons! Jasper, Theo, and Annabelle were the early birds, having a blast chasing balloons in the wind. As more friends arrived, more balloons were blown, and friends had fun running around and exploring the playground with balloons in hand. We soon made our way in for snack and to work on our Holiday Presents. I took Joey, Theo, Ben, Jasper, Teo and Asher to the deck, while Ivy, Alanna, Annabelle, Paislie, Wren, and Koichi stayed inside. The “boys” out on the deck explored the new additions, which included a sensory table, Building and Sand Table, which includes a digger, two trucks, and a crane. They especially liked this table; they each took turns “practicing” with the digger. Teo collected some mulch and tried to pick it up with the digger. We all then took turns on an electric drum set; each friend got a chance to bang on the circles, making beats ranging from high to low. We soon made our way inside for hand washing, lunch, and nap!

After nap, we continued working on our projects, while other friends explored the centers. We cleaned up, had a quick snack, put shoes on and marched outside. We continued blowing balloons, and had a great ending to our Monday!

Much Love

Dom and Jackie

Blog coming soon! I had written a beautiful one on friday and saved it on a computer that ultimately crashed....i spent Sunday trying to bring any part of it back to life, but it's all gone! Got lots of pics though; enjoy!!!

We started the day inside, exploring the centers and having a fun dance party as we waited for more friends to arrive. Theo, Jasper, Asher, Teo, and Joey all found the blocks and started to one by one stack them on the table. Ms Jackie joined them and helped, while they stood back and watched how high it was getting. While they were busy with that, Paislie and Leina (who was visiting) were busy cooking in the “kitchen”, making cupcakes and tea! Once everyone was here, we sat for snack, having apple and bananas; they worked hard to get the banana peels off and composted the peels. We washed hands, and marched outside! It was just us, so the ambiance was a little more calm and collective. Paislie was busy at the Lego table, while Ivy, Asher, and Alanna found sand and leaves to explore in the sandbox, sensory table. Theo was balancing on the wooden bench, while Teo and Koichi played in the kangaroo climber. We soon brought out red and green bows, and had a lesson on how to take off the sticker and stick it on something. We all stuck our bows on the play scape, which was our “present”!  After a while, Theo and Paislie started to stick their bows on themselves, and thought it was quite hilarious, and called themselves the “presents” J We soon marched up the ramp, to take shoes off, and head in for hand washing, lunch, and nap!

After nap, my one early waking friend, Theo sat and worked with some stickers while his classmates slept. He was very quiet and courteous to the fact that his friends were still asleep. :) He then worked on water coloring his “Star of David”, which he was very excited about as he loves to paint! Once more of our friends woke up, we greeted them with hugs, and started the afternoon routine, of potties, books, cuddles, and milk! Ms Leona soon made her way in for Spanish. She brought out the bells, and everyone joined in the song, and shook their bells on cue! We said Adios, and marched outside to enjoy this chilly afternoon, by lego building, dome climbing, and peek-a-booing with our friends!

Much Love

Dom and Jackie 

It was a wonderful day, starting early and indoors. We talked for a while about responsibility and our pet fish, Tuna Fish. Every one watched with curiosity as we poured Tuna Fish into his cleaned tank, and each took turns feeding him flakes of food. After this we read a book brought by Annabelle entitled "How do Dinosaurs say Happy Chanukah?" which every one loved. We then sang the days of the week song, talked about the cold weather, and danced to name songs. We then had a chance to color menorahs and engage in free-play at our centers. We then had snack and headed outside. The kiddos enjoyed the Lego table, donated by Ben. Friends helped Dom water the garden, and some of us had a chance to read the book a couple more times outside in the beautiful weather. We went inside for lunch and nap.

As every one was waking up, they rolled up their nap mat, put it aside, and had a chance to play with Play-dough. We had a dance party and got changed as Ms. Leona came in for Spanish. We sang some of our favorite songs and had snack after. We got our jackets on and headed outside to end the day!

Love,
Jackie and Dom

Started off this Tuesday, bundled up but super happy! Theo, Jasper, and Wren were our first friends here, and as we explored the primary room I could tell they were energized and ready to let loose outside! We watched as Ms Lizzie fed little dragon a cricket and waited to see what he was going to do. We noticed his color and were he was sitting, said goodbye, and then marched out. It was very chilly, but that didn't stop them! Leina, Asher and Teo soon joined us, and it was a party! We brought out this cool Lego building table donated by the wonderful Tackett family and everyone got to work. Building and looking for different sized pieces to add to their tower. Alanna arrived with her grandma and grandpa visiting! Everyone said hi, and was very excited to meet them, especially Theo J  Ms Toni arrived and started singing songs, while putting more mulch and soil in the garden, this sparked a huge interest in the soil and all the toddlers were very excited to get their hands dirty. As both primary and toddler marched inside for snack, Jasper and Joey joined the primary for a play date! As we came in to wash hands and have snack, we talked about what day it was, and what was the weather? All of my friends guessed right, COLD! After snack, our good friend and primary co teacher Nick took some of our friends outside, while Jackie stayed inside with Teo, Wren, and Koichi to work on some art. They used green triangles, glitter, glue, and snowflakes to make a “Christmas tree/snow scene”. It was soon time for everyone outside to come in, and start transition to lunch and nap.

After nap, we sat on potties and read books. Friends worked on rolling up their nap mat before moving on to a center. It was beautiful outside, so we had a quick p.m. snack of pasta and garbanzo beans. We washed hands and got on shows and marched down the ramp. There was paper set up on the wall and green paint for them to use. Ivy, Theo, Wren, and Teo took a great liking to the idea of painting while standing up, and got very creative using different objects to paint with. Once all done we made a collage which is in our classroom! We cleaned up and continued to enjoy the rest of the afternoon.

Much Love

Dom and Jackie

Many of our kiddos were cold this morning, so we started an early day in the classroom. Snack was earlier than usual, but it gave us time for an early circle time. Every one was full of energy, though, and ready to have some independent play, so circle time was cut short, and some of our friends were happy to do some artwork. Those who wanted to do artwork stayed in, while those who were bursting with energy took it out on the playground with Ms. Kate. Joey, Asher, Jasper, Paislie, Ivy, and Teo hung out inside, using watercolors, markers, and wet streamers, but it wasn't long before most of them were ready to work in the kitchen and construction area. Kate came in with the kiddos and it was time for lunch and nap. 

After nap, each kiddo took the time to roll up their nap mat.  Theo, Koichi were very enthusiastic to roll their napmats. Paislie and Ben wanted to talk about rolling it, Annabelle wanted to practice rolling hers again and again, and Joey wanted to show his friends and teachers how each fold goes. Teo and Asher went with the flow, rolled them with a little help and went on their way. Ivy was eager to keep her nap mat open for a while before she felt like rolling it, and Jasper did it with a milk in one hand. After rolling nap mats, every one kinda gravitated to the building blocks with letters, the construction area, and the chalkboard. Soon, we had snack and went out. Later in the afternoon, Joey, Ben, and Asher had a great time playing Red light/Green light with the primary. It was a fantastic day!

We started out the day with none other than a yo gabba gabba dance party! What can I say it’s part of our music Friday routine J once most friends were danced out, they started to explore and probe the playground, mostly the garden, searching for roly poly’s or other insects. Jasper and Ben started a fun game using hula hoops that everyone soon joined in. Ms Toni and Mrs Jackie held the different sized hoops, as one by one each child took turns jumping through the hoop. From pre-tot to primary everyone was patient and ready as they waited for their turn! We soon made our way inside for snack and art. Jackie took half of our friends out to explore while Dom stayed inside with Asher, Ben, Koichi, Wren and Joey. We used water colors to paint a Star of David, as we talked about what a Star of David is, and what color it was. Asher explored with all of his colors, while Joey used the greens, browns, and blacks. Wren pointed out the purple, and Koichi and Ben were more interested in mixing the color with the water to see what color it would turn. We soon marched outside to join our classmates, before it was time to transition in for lunch and nap.

After nap, we had our usual books, snuggles, and toilet time. We have been practicing and doing lessons on rolling up our nap mat, and I must say my friends have been doing great! They were all eager to help themselves, and one another, and helped Jackie stack them together. It was time for Jackie to play some music for the pre-tots, so ms Arielle joined us, as my friends enjoyed their centers before music. Jackie came in and everyone was ready to dance, she started with our favorites, then sang some holiday songs to close it out! We all said goodbye, as she made her way to the primary room. Ms Lizzie made her way to help with snack and shoes. We marched out to enjoy the wonderful Friday afternoon!

Much love

Dom and Jackie

As I got outside, the kiddos were starting their day with observing the bike that Nick brought to school. We had fun turning the wheels and inspecting the gears of this fabulous machine. Joey, Alanna, Wren, and Asher spent a lot of time with Nick and the bike. We did some climbing and finally came inside for snack and circle time. Joey and Jasper went to the primary room for a play date, while the toddler class had a smaller-than-usual class of 8 kiddos. We read a book that Teo brought from home called "Llama, Llama, Holiday Drama" which every one was interested in reading. We talked about the importance of giving and being with family! We noticed every one had runny noses, so we all took turns getting tissues and wiping our own noses. Then, we sang some name songs, did Zoom Zoom which Koichi particularly loved, and sang the Alphabet together. Every one had the choice of either working on a holiday art project or playing in centers, and Theo, Asher, Alanna, Ivy, and Paislie got busy pasting green triangles on their paper and sprinkling glitter to make christmas tree. Koichi, Wren, and Teo were busy either playing with trucks, which they can't get enough of, or vacumming and taking the elephant for a walk.

after nap, lizzie and Dom were ready for some cuddles! Theo, Wren, Joey, and Paislie all sat on the toilet, while the rest who were awake enjoyed their milk! We did a quick diaper change, and sat to do some art. Ivy, Paislie, Alanna, Teo, Theo and Wren all had their own glue sticks and strips of ribbon. They twisted their glue stick up and started to mark up their paper with glue, after they started to "pat, pat, pat" down the ribbon strips! We called it making "Holiday" cards! They were so excited, and as we worked we named all of the different Holidays people celebrate during this time! As we began to clean up, Ms Leona made her way inside for Spanish. She greeted everyone with "Hola" and then sat to begin her next song. She got a request from a few friends for "Wheels on the Bus", then brought out her homemade shakers. We closed out Spanish with "Cha Cha Cha (hokey pokey)" and "adios, amigos". As Ms Leona went to the primary room, we all sat for snack, it is such a beautiful day out, that everyone was very anxious to get outside, so we had a quick snack, got on shoes, and marched outside, to enjoy the bubbles and beautiful afternoon! 

Much Love
Dom and Jackie