We started the week celebrating a birthday! The children enjoyed a special treat of berries and homemade whipped cream.

In the sensory bin, we froze penguins in bowls of water. The children use tongs and a water dropper to try to save the penguins from the frozen ice. It is so very sweet when they are able to get one out. The children are so proud that they excitedly announce it to the class, “I saved a penguin!”

I can start to see a shift in the children and how they are forming more of a connection with each other. Some of the children have brought into the environment a sense of symbolic play. With these new adventures, the other children have become intrigued and want to join the fun. Some of the children are shifting from parallel play to more associative play. This is another beautiful reason why Montessori believes in mixed-age groups. The younger children are learning by watching their older peers and how they interact with each other.

Food Tasting: Carrots are crunchy, sweet, and yummy! The children explored a raw carrot with the tops. We talked about how they are root vegetables, the “orange” grow under the soil and the tops “green” grow above the soil. We then took the top and placed them into a shallow dish with water to see if we can make them regrow.

I love watching the children navigate throughout the classroom. This is their space and their opportunity to choose what it is they would like to work on developmentally. I watched a child take a small drying towel and use it to dry off the polar bear family and the measuring scoops. This was never a step while using the sensory bin but this child made it their work. It was so beautiful to see.

Another child wanted to create a flower arrangement. While trying to pour the water into the vase, the water spilled. The child was given a small bucket and sponge to clean up the water, then squeeze the water from the sponge into the bucket. This takes lots of hand strength. Once all the water was cleaned they would empty the water into the sink. This child decided that this was a developmental need to master. So instead, they continued to spill more water so they could clean it up a few more times. Once that need was satisfied, the child was ready to create the arrangement.

The children explored beet greens and tasted a steamed beet. While tasting the beet I observed them really think about the taste. Almost everyone tasted it. Two tasted it but spit it out, and three children couldn’t wait for more helpings. One child loved it so much they even drank the beet juice in the end. Food tasting is one of my favorite activities to do with the children.

The frigid temperatures outside kept us in for the first half of this week. That did not stop us from having fun and getting our energy out. When we can not go outdoors we will spend some time doing music and movement, take a walk around campus or run around the gym. This week I took out the fake snowballs and we had a spontaneous snowball fight. This brought so much joy to the children, especially when it was all of them against me. There is something special that happens to a child’s spirit when they see the adult engaged in an activity with them.

The children are continuing their exploration with winter weather-related lessons. I introduced the arctic animals object to picture matching in the language area. We have a polar bear family in the sensory bin with two large blocks of ice and water. The art shelf has cool-toned color crayons and snowflake stamps.

Food Tasting was a mango this week. The mangos were the perfect ripeness. They were sweet and delicious.

Welcome back, everyone! The children came back beautifully. They adjusted well to the change in the environment. I have taken the pikler triangle out and put the climber and slide in instead. I have also changed the placement of the shelves. It took the children no time to navigate throughout the room to find their favorite lessons.

Other changes in the environment are the theme; we are welcoming winter. I was fearing we would not have concrete weather when talking about snow, ice, and cold with the way the weather has been so far, but Mother Nature provided for us. Now using winter vocabulary will not seem so abstract for some of the children.

For food tasting, the children tasted kale (uncooked). I was shocked by how many seemed to enjoy it. Give it a go at home!

‘Twas the Wednesday before Winter break,
and all through the toddler room,
the children dressed in their jammies,
including their teachers too!

They ate cinnamon rolls,
and heapings of fruit.
While washing it down with a mug of hot chocolate and mini marshmallows,  just a few.

We played the bells while dancing to Jingle Bell Rock.
Then listened to stories about Santa filling up socks. (‘Twas The Night Before Christmas)

I will end this note with a Happy Holidays to you. I wish you warm wishes, and magical memories during the winter break. See you in 2022!

Mrs. Wilson