Fun & Flowers

Spring is still in the air, and we have been learning about flowers (and plants) this week. we really have had a great week and have learned alot. These past two weeks I have been doing parent-teacher conferences, and I am so encouraged by the progress that EVERY SINGLE child has made since the beginning of the school year. There are moments when I have thought, "Gee, we have fun, but do the children really LEARN anything?..." Well, now I know the answer is a resounding YES!!! We are all writing everyday, learning to write our name and some of the children are ready to learn to write their last niame. This is a huge feat for us, especially since all but one of us has a whole school year until we head off to kindergarten. Can you even imagine what we will be able to do by this time next year? I am so encouraged by the kids. They inspire me :)

Monday night we had our Arkansas Children's Week kick off event. It was a lot of fun, and I appeciate the families that took the time to come and enjoy some great storytelling and quality time with their family. It's so important that we have involved families and parents. That's what makes our program special. We are a small, close-knit group, and seeing one another outside of the classroom bonds our group even more. I would say Monday night's event was a success, and I hope we can do it again next year.

OK, back to this week. Plants. Flowers. We have learned the parts of a plant (roots, stem, leaves, petals, flower. etc.) and what a plant needs to grow. Out seeds are beginning to sprout. That excites the class everyday to run outside at recess and check to see whose seed is doing what.

We have not had much luck with the green beans, I am still hopeful they will sprout soon for us :)

We had playdough with flower cutters and artificial flowers, flower stamps, tissue paper flowers, and spring rubbing plates in the art center.

We did a we did a science experiment, too.

We placed celery stalks in colored water and predicted what would happen to the celery after sitting in the blue water. We almost all thought the celery would turn blue at the bottom. But we were in for a surprise on day two!

The blue water had been "sucked up" by the celery and has gone all the way to the top of the leaves! What a great visual way to learn about how plants use the water we give them!

Then we used the base of the celery stalk to stamp flower shapes with paint

With our planting going on last week, we have really been interested in digging. We have been finding worms, caterpillars, and roly polies. So if your child comes home with dirty knees, and soil under his or her fingernails, it's my fault. Please be sure you never send them to school in an outfit that you'd be upset if it got stained...hands on learning is dirty work!

Mrs. Britney came back this week. Her college professor came on Thursday to observe her with the children, and it went very well. We enjoy having visitors, and her professor said that our school is one of her new favorite places! :)

Some new toys were out this week. It's so important to rotate toys and keep things fresh!

An Oreo Matching Middles shape matching game

Lots of baby play this week

Magnetic alphabet letters that we can use on the metal doors in our classroom


And a few random fun shots

Bekah and Gabriel love to dance. I caught them a few times dacning together, ballroom style. So sweet! She would tell him "no, put your hand here, and your other hand there..."

Marcello is riding safe on the playground