It has been such a successful week back from break. The children have all settled into the routines with ease and have been happily engaged. Our environment is now filled with new materials and themes related to spring: little toy frogs are in our sensory bin with water; rubber ducks are being transferred with tongs; and our felt people now have shorts, tee-shirts, and baseball caps to wear. Sara, Lizette, and I have also made new works and updated old with vibrant prints and colors to match the soon-to-be-here brighter days…fingers crossed!

We celebrated two birthdays that took place over break; Marlowe turned three and Madison turned two! Both children’s parents came in to celebrate with muffins and a favorite book. Thank you to the McGuigan and Jackson families for spending time with us!

On Tuesday the children were surprised by the arrival of our live caterpillars. Each day they get to observe how much the caterpillars have grown and we will watch the metamorphosis of a butterfly. They also get to explore the life cycle through objects and pictures we have available in the environment.

“Fly like a butterfly, fly like a butterfly, fly like a butterfly in the sky. Now get your antennas. What do you see?”

This is the song the children sang while in the butterfly yoga pose. It is a fun and calming pose to do with children. Have them teach it to you!

This week we are finalizing our color mixing exploration. The magic continues as we mix blue and red together! It is so much fun to watch the expressions on their faces as they see the new created color, purple. The children used the red and blue watercolors to make coffee filter butterflies.

Next Wednesday we will continue with the show and tell activity. Please help your child find one purple item that he or she can share.

Favorite Book: The Very Hungry Caterpillar By Eric Carle

With the weather fluctuating so much, two areas in our environment have been very popular: our nose-blowing station and mitten basket. Using a mirror to guide them, children have been cleaning their noses themselves and then washing their hands. This station has always been available to them, but as the children are getting older, this skill is becoming easier to attain. Children have also enjoyed putting on and taking off mitten themselves and seeing how they look in the mirror as they practice.

A resting space has been created next to the couch in the reading area. A brand new dog bed with four cozy pillows is just the right size for our toddlers. It is important to have an area in the environment where the children can rest and relax if they wish. Learning to take a break is just as important as learning how to work. So far, it has been well-received!

All toddlers who are attending our Lower School program next school year will visit a Lower School environment during the next two weeks. For each 20 minute visit, two to three toddlers will pair up with Extended Day students and work together. These visits are a wonderful way to begin transitioning your children to their next environment.

The Toddlers have had an exciting and fun three days doing lots of art, crafts and activities focused on welcoming spring! Throughout the week, the children had the choice to make budding and blossoming trees by crumbling tissues paper then pasting it onto tree shaped paper.

Miss Lizette introduced spring related and primary color Spanish words and songs to the children.  Some of the words they learned are:

Red – Rojo

Yellow – Amarillo

Blue –  Azul

Flower – Flor

Hummingbird – Colibri

Butterfly – Mariposa

Tuesday the children helped make lavender scented play dough. Each child was able to add in some ingredients. Their favorite part of the process was kneading and smelling the fresh and warm dough.  We hope you enjoy using the dough with your child/children at home.

Thursday we took the children outside for some sidewalk chalk painting. We mixed a box of cornstarch and water together until smooth. We separated the mixture into six different bowls and mixed it with gel food coloring in primary colors. Then took the primary colors and mixed them together to make secondary colors.

It was incredible to see how each child freely painted using their own techniques. Whether they painted in big strokes or small, or splattered the paint on, they all created a beautiful masterpiece together.

BIKE DAY!  The day started  with learning the hand signals while riding a bike. Left, Right and Stop. We read the book My Bike by Byron Barton. Then the real fun began when we went outside to ride our bikes and scooters! We ended the morning with a dance party using the rainbow wands that the children made.

It was a pleasure to be with your children this week.

Have a wonderful time with your children for the remainder of the break.

Mrs. Wilson and Miss Lizette

Thanks to Wilder and his parents, the children enjoyed tasting mandarinquats last week. A cross between a mandarin orange and a kumquat, this fruit has an edible sweet rind and tart pulp. The kids LOVED this fruit! If you are looking to try these at home, Wilder’s family found them at Whole Foods in Fairfield.

This week the children had the chance to taste organic green cabbage courtesy of Quin’s family. This was another big hit as many children chanted, “More, more, more!” As you can imagine, our food tastings provide the opportunity for all of us to practice being patient. 🙂

During the exceptionally warm weather in February, we were able to visit Fraser more often. Those friends that stay until 3 PM woke a bit earlier during those warmer days and enjoyed spending some quality time with their favorite rabbit.

Playing outside in the 70 degree weather of February was an absolute blast! Not only did we enjoy our playground, but we also hit the field to play tag, look for birds, and just breathe in the fresh air.

This week we introduced the concept of color mixing to the children. We gathered the children to circle and showed them what happens when you mix yellow with blue water. It was a magical moment! Children expressions were amazing! They couldn’t believe that we have made a new color. Some of them asked: “Where did the yellow and blue go?” Their faces seemed to be in awe! We then took the mixed water and a dropper and slowly dropped the water onto a piece of paper towel. They saw green! They were so excited! All the children were eager to have their turn to use this work.

Continuing the color mixing exercise we also introduced gluing using blue and yellow tissue paper. This work allowed them to see what happens when you overlay the paper together. They could see the color green as well! We also added blue and yellow paint in the art easel for children to explore freely!

There is so much to be learned from the exercise of color mixing! Part of it is Science. Part of it is reinforcing Practical Life skills like using a medicine dropper, transferring, etc. and part of it is Sensorial as well. Just imagine being able to watch a chameleon change colors; the experience is downright magical. There is a tremendous joy that floods a child’s spirit when he discovers a transformation happening in front of him. We love color mixing because it’s a process that helps to develop a love of learning.We can’t wait to discover new colors together!

Enjoy the pictures of your little busy explorers and we hope you have a fantastic March break!

Mrs. Hood and Mrs. Wilson