January 26th, 2014

We started out our beautiful morning with some free-play and a book. Then, we had circle time and discussed shapes! We went over stars, rectangles, triangles, circles, ovals, and squares. We passed out cards with these shapes on them, and then each friend called out the name of the card as they placed it back in the box of cards. We went outside to work on our gross motor skills by using large balls, car-pushers, and hula-hoops! Some of our friends helped Ashley water our garden, where we currently have cabbage and Poinsettias growing. As we’ve been focusing on “pausing” throughout the week, we went in for lunch earlier, and made it a point to never be in a hurry throughout the day. When we took off our shoes, friends had a chance to help those who wanted help taking off their shoes. In the afternoon, had a fun-filled yoga session with Vanessa, our newest yoga instructor! The kids have really fallen in love with her bubbly personality.

Wednesday, we practiced folding towels. We learned about using the corners of the square and rectangle shaped towels in order to figure out how to fold. Every one was eager to do Montessori work, and work-time lasted longer than usual. Spiderman joined us for snack, and Ancel and Hunter spent time talking with him and feeding him.  In the afternoon, we went to the deck to play and get situated to prepare for Spanish time. We greeted Daphne with an “hola” and used a puzzle to learn about “los colores.”

Thursday morning, we continued working on our theme of having moments of “pause” through out the day, to read one of our favorite Eric Carl books, Slowly, Slowly, Slowly, said the Sloth. At the end of the story, Eric Carl makes a comment on the importance of slowing down—a valuable piece of wisdom that can help us all enjoy the present moment a little bit more. After reading the book, we sang a fun song where any one who wants to can show their friends a fun trick. We played Ring Around the Rosie and then got started on our Montessori works.  In the afternoon, we continued our lesson on “los colores.” We stayed inside during the afternoon, and Ashley presented her home-made “light box” to every one. We turned out the lights, turned it on, and had fun exploring crystals, and learning about shapes and letters.

It was a great week!