Little Explorers

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Important Dates:

• Friday, December 13th– This is our last session of Little Explorers for the semester. We will have a joint class at our main campus for Breakfast with the Elves. From 10:00-11:15 am, we will gather together for a yummy breakfast followed by some playtime, story, and songs. We will be meeting in the gym. You can park by the colored shelter, walk up the painted stairs, head straight on the walkway, and make a right onto the loop road. The gym will be on your left. An administrator will be around to help.

• Registration is open for the next semester. The link is below. I hope you will join me again!

WCDS Playgroups

With the change of weather came a change to our space. The room felt a little bit more magical today as the students explored the new provocations. We had slightly peppermint-scented playdough that was adorned with gems, pom poms, garland, and tiny light bulbs. The house area was a buzz again with meals being made and phone calls being answered. Our small world play was given a blast of winter with flocked bottle-brush trees, animals, tiny homes, soft lights, and fluffy “snow”. Some of the students took on the challenge of stacking cups, while others used the jingles bells and bows to fill small presents. The light table shimmered and shined with our Manga Tiles and colorful scarves. Our class Christmas tree shone bright as the kiddos made their own ornaments using dried orange slices. Bright gems, tiny pom poms, and of course glitter added just the right amount of sparkle to each one.

We came together for a snack and story, Dream Snow by Eric Carle. I love it when I get requests for songs, and our rendition of the Dinosaur Song did not disappoint. It is so wonderful to see the students become more and more comfortable with the space and each other. I do not want it to end!

I look forward to our celebration together next week!

Sincerely,

Miss Claire

CLICK HERE FOR UPCOMING WCDS EVENTS

With the blustery weather this morning, the students made it feel nice and cozy in our space. The addition of a little kitchen set made for some yummy “meals”. We had lots of different dishes and even a batch of burnt “muffins” that was dumped in the sink. The house phone was also put to good use as some of the kiddos made important phone calls. The babies needed a good scrubbing today and a bug tub of bubble foam helped us with that. Our rug area turned into a large fairy garden, filled with sticks, cookie tree slices, fairies, gnomes, and woodland animals. Some of the animals traveled to our musical instruments as the students explored sound with jingle bells, shaky eggs, and a xylophone. A large canvas was rolled and swiped with jewel tone colors, kicking off a new collaborative piece. The light table also became a center for Art as the students used paint sticks and oil pastels on transparency papers. It was fun to see them notice how their markings showed up on the wall as they used the overhead projector.

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, we read Todd Parr’s The Thankful Book to remind us to be grateful for not only the big but, more importantly, the little things in our lives.

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving with your loved ones. I am so thankful for getting to spend time with your little ones each week and I hope you will join me again next semester!

Sincerely,

Miss Claire

CLICK HERE FOR UPCOMING WCDS EVENTS

This week of Little Explorers brought on some relaunches of previous provocations mixed with the introduction of some new materials. The students rolled and ramped the balls and cars again, this time having more accuracy with their approaches. Our sensory bin included paper towel tubes and tiny little cars, giving us a chance to explore a different kind of ramp. Our Art area contained different kinds of papers and tools to mark on and with. Butcher paper, tissue paper, transparencies, and tin foil were among the choices, as well as chalk, paint stick, crayons, and pastels. The students revisited the tunnel, while also stacking and arranging colored cones. Colored modeling clay made for a challenging yet satisfying exploration. Mixed with googly eyes, shells, popsicle sticks, and pipe cleaners, we had quite the collection of sculptures happening. What was really fun was seeing the kiddos paint bright colors on our baby dolls then, using some bubbly water, giving them a good scrub in the tub.

We gathered together for our story, Little Quack’s New Friend by Lauren Thompson, and sang several new songs, most from a crowd favorite, Laurie Berkner. We are becoming quite the little dance group!

What I love seeing grow every week are the interactions that the students are having with each other. There is more noticing of who is around, not just what is around and that is a beautiful thing to witness.

Lastly, I want to thank you for sharing your support during our 29 Hours of Giving. Whether or not you donated, I appreciate all of the support and generosity you show each week.

Sincerely,

Miss Claire

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• Friday, November 15th– We will meet at 9:00 am at our Northern classroom for our session together.

With the buzz of Halloween behind us, our time together today was quite calm yet exciting. These fabulous little learners explored a multitude of provocations that still celebrated everything that Fall has to offer and then some other ones that were inspired by some of their previous discoveries. Our sensory bin came back, but this time with an addition of dried kidney beans, white beans, and our metal containers and scoops. The stamps covered long strips of paper with markers in the mix. The gross motor movement area had a new and very popular item in it this week…a tunnel! The students not only crawled through it, but they also played peek-a-boo, got swallowed by it, and some even lounged in it. We painted again this week, but not in the normal way. This time trays of black sand were placed on top of the light table and the students made different lines and shapes with small brushes. With pumpkins still around, we explored the insides of a few cut open pumpkins and watercolored some dried pumpkin seeds. Our block area expanded beyond the rug as we tried our hand at different kinds of ramps. Planks of wood, tubes, pool noodles, magnetic acrylic shelves, and leftover house siding made for some fun rides for a variety of balls and cars.

We finished with the story, There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed Some Leaves, followed by a fun version of the Scarecrow Song and Old MacDonald Had A Farm. The kiddos loved having some special animal friends to sing with us.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and thank you for another amazing session! I just love seeing the students start to interact and engage with each other. There was so much shared play happening today. I can’t wait for next week!

Miss Claire

CLICK HERE FOR UPCOMING WCDS EVENTS

• Friday, November 8– We will return to our classroom at Northern at 9:00 am.

Dear Little Explorers,

We have had a lot of Halloween fun on campus this week, but our Trick-or-Treat today took the cake! All of the kiddos looked so amazing and super cute in their costumes, and I just loved hearing all of the squeals from the students that we visited with. While our playtime might have been a little bit shorter today, we still had so much exploring happening. Our spooky sensory bin was another popular center and those pumpkin buckets were filled and filled again. The large white wall in the Community room is excellent for magnetic items and I just loved seeing the Magna Tiles come together in all kinds of designs and shapes. Our white blocks were stacked high again, this time adding in the rainbow, cars and our disco lights. I knew offering the stamps and ink pads would be a favorite today and the students did not disappoint. There was color mixing, lots of stamping, and pumpkin designing with different marking tools. Don’t forget the Halloween stickers and googly eyes to make them extra festive! We finished our time with a great snack thanks to Christian and our story, We’re Going on a Pumpkin Hunt by Goldie Hawk. Our shaky eggs made the Skeleton Song extra fun and my special bat friend took a good flight throughout our gathering.

I thank you all for such a wonderful session and sharing your sweet children with me. I hope you all had a great Halloween and see you next Friday!

Sincerely,

Miss Claire

Upcoming Dates and Announcements:

Friday, November 1– Both Little Explorers (9:00 am) and We Two (11:00 am) will be held at our main campus at 8 Park Road. This will be our Halloween Celebration and Trick-or-Treating to a few classrooms on campus. Children and grown-ups are welcome to dress up! When you arrive on campus, you can park in the spots by the colored shelter. The gate will be open. Walk up the colorful stairs, keep straight on the walkway, and hang a right onto the road by the gym. Walk past the garden to the set of red double doors on the 5th grade patio. We will meet in the Community Room for some exploring, then take a little trip around campus. An administrator will be present to help find your way.

There were some spooky vibes in Little Explorers today as our little learners explored a variety of Halloween-inspired provocations. Our cube was transformed into a dark and cozy room with the walls covered in black and colored lights rotating around. Add in several squishy creatures and spiky balls and you got yourself a fun-filled space. Some kiddos explored mark-making using markers, oil pastels, crayons, and chalk. The students were invited to add a little sparkle to our previously painted pumpkins, using colored gems and iridescent papers. We used dry erase markers on our white table to draw trees and other characters, Blippi included. The block and light area held colored cups and other vessels, which were quickly filled with tea lights and fairy lights. Bright flashlights and a projection of moving pumpkins made it feel even more eery. The crowd favorite this week was definitely our sensory bin filled with colored rice and black beans. There was lots of scooping and serving going one with the tiny pumpkin buckets. As we gathered together for a yummy snack thanks to our friend Christian, we read Ghost Afraid of the Dark by Sara Conway and sang a riveting rendition of Halloween Shark.

I can’t wait to see the students in their costumes next week and to show you around our main campus. Thank you for another amazing session together!

Miss Claire

Upcoming Dates and Announcements:

• Friday, October 25– We will meet together at Northern at our normal time, 9:00-10:15 am.

• Friday, November 1– Both Little Explorers (9:00 am) and We Two (11:00 am) will be held at our main campus at 8 Park Road. This will be our Halloween Celebration and Trick-or-Treating to a few classrooms on campus. Children and grown-ups are welcome to dress up! When you arrive on campus, you can park in the spots by the colored shelter. The gate will be open. Walk up the colorful stairs, keep straight on the walkway, and hang a right onto the road by the gym. Walk past the garden to the set of red double doors on the 5th grade patio. We will meet in the Community Room for some exploring, then take a little trip around campus. An administrator will be present to help find your way.

We had a pumpkin party today in Little Explorers, but not your typical orange pumpkins. Today the students were invited to paint several kinds of pumpkins, including papier mache ones, with bright neon paint. The bright colors made for a beautiful sight and there was lots of mixing happening to make some interesting blends. We also had some muddy pumpkins at our table with our chocolate “mud” or oobleck. Once covered in the drippy goo, the students washed and scrubbed them clean with their hands and sponges in the bubble water. Some of our loose parts even made it into the bath! Our collaborative tree canvases were adorned with glue and sequins, giving them a nice touch of sparkle. Our cube remained a cozy spot with blankets and Beanie Babies to snuggle with. The block area saw some tall stacking with our large cans, white plastic blocks, cds, and paper towel rolls. The light table was converted to a fall scene with a felt tree silhouette, pumpkin, acorn and leaves gems, and colored popsicle sticks. There was even mark-making happening with dry-erase markers. We finished our time together with Pumpkin Party by Maudie Powell-Tuck.

A big shout out to Finn for the yummy snacks and to Charlotte for the darling Halloween treat bags!

Enjoy your weekend and see you next Friday!

Miss Claire

Upcoming Dates and Announcements:

• Friday, October 18, and 25– We will resume our normal schedule with Little Explorers at 9:00 am and We Two at 11:00 am. We will be at Northern

• Friday, November 1st– Both Little Explorers (9:00 am) and We Two (11:00 am) will be held at our main campus at 8 Park Road. This will be our Halloween Celebration and Trick-or-Treating to a few classrooms on campus. Children and grown-ups are welcome to dress up! More details to come!

The spirit of Halloween was in full force today as our young learners explored the various provocations throughout the room. Dressed in the cutest Halloween outfits, we had lots of fun exploring and learning. Our colorful tree canvases were revisited with droppers full of liquid watercolors and watered-down acrylics. A pumpkin pie “moon” sand was squished and smooshed into little silver cups and pumpkin buckets. The apple playdough was cut into fun shapes and designed into intricate masterpieces with popsicle sticks, acorns, and colorful gems. A projection of various autumn scenes turned our building area in a cozy area. With the shades drawn, the students created colorful designs on our light table with our Magna tiles and other magnets. The hit of the morning was definitely our water tables. With neon colored water, the students became mad scientists as they stirred and mixed some magical potions. There was excellent pouring and transferring happening between different sizes of containers, with most of the water making it in. We might have gotten a little wet, but nothing we couldn’t handle.

We finished off our time together with Pete the Cat and the Five Little Pumpkins. The kiddos are excellent listeners and seem to enjoy our storytime. I just love getting to share our time together!

I hope you have a great weekend and see you next week!

Miss Claire

Upcoming Dates and Announcements:

• Friday, October 4– This will be a combined session for Little Explorers and We Two. We will meet from 10-11:15 am at Northern.

While the weather outside was a little grey, the feeling inside our space was warm and cozy. The students got right down to exploring the offered provocations with some being relaunched from the previous week. Our little learners poured, scooped, and stirred our dried chickpeas, being careful with each move. The light table was full of stacking and rearranging of the colored cups and test tubes. The Science center was brimming with buckeyes, black walnuts, leaves, acorns, and some wildflowers. Combined with the magnifying lenses and boxes, it made for some wonderful discoveries. The cars returned with the blocks and rainbow arches on the big rug, while a suspended branch made for a tricky yet intriguing painting invitation.

I look forward to seeing you all again next week! Enjoy your weekend!

Miss Claire