Here Comes the Snow ❄️❄️☃️
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- Friday, January 17th- 11:00-12:15 pm at Northern
- Here is the snack signup sheet. If you are interested in a date, please let me know and I will fill in your name. Thank you for your support!
Wow, it was chilly today, but the energy of the students made our classroom feel nice and cozy. It was so wonderful having everyone back together and I just love seeing all the interactions between the kiddos. This week we mashed snow with cranberries using a variety of cooking tools, rolled and cut play dough with our rollers and cookie shapes, scooped and poured our rice and oatmeal into small cups and muffin molds, built elaborate zoos and forests with our animals and blocks, made lots of marks with oil pastels and crayons, and explored our magnets and Magna Tiles on the overhead projector and light table. With the beautiful snow that we received this week, we read So Much Snow by Kristin Schroeder. We finished our time together singing songs and dancing it out with scarves to Bluey. What could be better?
I hope you all have a great weekend and stay warm!
Sincerely,
Miss Claire
Welcome Back Learners!
CLICK HERE FOR UPCOMING WCDS EVENTS
- Friday, January 10th- Little Explorers from 9:00-10:15 am at Northern; We Two from 11:00-12:15 pm at Northern
Click here for the We Two Snack Sign Up
Dear Families,
Welcome to our class blog! I will update this every week with important dates, announcements, and all the photos/videos that I take during our sessions.
What a great first session we had even with a snow delay. It was so wonderful having my young learners back in the classroom, taking full advantage of the space. We built animal homes out of various kinds of blocks and wooden planks, sculpted interesting works out of gingerbread play dough, pine, and glass gems, explored magnets at the light table, scooped and poured oatmeal and rice at our sensory bin, stuck different shapes on our windows with a spritz of water, and stirred a variety of loose parts in our pine water bin. We finished our time with a variation of the classic story, We’re Going on a Bear Hunt. Our book, We’re Going on a Gingerbread Hunt took us through sticky ice cream, a candy cane forest, down a maple syrup river, and into a pretzel cave to meet a YETI! We then sang several songs as we moved and grooved our bodies and scarves. We have some excellent singers and dancers on our hands.
I look forward to our time together next week and thank you for your flexibility this week. Have a nice weekend!
Miss Claire
Breakfast with the Elves 🎄
Important Announcements:
- Today was our last session for the semester. The next one will begin on Friday, January 3rd. You can click below to register. I hope to see you all there!
What do you get when you mix a group of the most festively dressed and curious little ones with some 5th-grade elves? You have a delightful time together eating breakfast, playing, and singing. I could not have asked for a better last session with my little learners. When we weren’t bouncing balls, running through hula hoops, and scooping up ball pit balls in the gym, we were sitting together for a yummy meal. I want to thank Mrs. Dodd, our fabulous kitchen lady, for all of her preparation of that. Our time together continued with some festive provocations. There was our “snowy” rice bin filled with little figures and gift boxes. Our green play dough was yet again adorned with colorful loose parts, resulting in several little trees. There was gift wrapping galore, while some friends decorated our class tree. Jingle bells were added to our Magna tiles, making for an interesting exploration of how many could be put on. Our collaborative canvas we started received some colorful pom poms and pieces of yarn. Lastly, our bingo dobbers got a workout on big sheets of paper, creating a dotted extravaganza.
As we sang some songs together, we were lucky enough to have a special visit from Santa. How fun!
I want to thank all of you for a wonderful first semester. I have loved seeing all of the children grow, both in their learning and their relationships with each other. Let’s keep it going!
Happy Holidays and see you in January!
All the love,
Miss Claire
“That’s Something for Kids”
CLICK HERE FOR UPCOMING WCDS EVENTS
There was lots of work being done today in our classroom, even with the blustery weather outside. The addition of a little kitchen set made for some yummy “meals” and important phone calls. We had lots of recipes being made while some friends kept the phones from ringing off the hook. When one kiddo was asked what the old-school phone was he said, “That’s something for kids.” He was not wrong! The babies needed a good scrubbing today after our painting last week 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. Towers of blocks were stacked and amazed us as they toppled over in slow motion. 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. We then finished our time together with our very own band as some of the kiddos busted out the instruments to accompany our rendition of the Turkey Hokey Pokey. Best concert I have ever been to!
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
Scrub a Dub in the Tub
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This week of We Two 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. The long black accordion tube received quite aq bit of attention as the students launched balls and cars down it. What is the best way to get out a car that is stuck? You just shake it! There was a whole lot of shaking going on with the tube, but the students were so proud when they finally freed the cars. Our sensory bin included paper towel tubes and tiny little cars, giving us a chance to explore a different kind of ramp. The 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. Lots of different kinds of movements emerged as the cones were kicked and arranged for fast feet. 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. There were even fine pieces of jewelry being made! 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 songs, including If You’re Happy and You Know It and The Itsy Bitsy Spider.
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. “What do you want to play today?” and “Let’s try this one” were just a few prompts that happened today between a few of the students. How wonderful is it that we have gotten to this point with only seeing each other for a brief moment each week?
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
Roll, Scoop, Swirl, and Dip
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- Friday, November 15th– We will meet at 11:00 am at our Northern classroom for our session together.
With the buzz of Halloween behind us, our time together today was quite calm yet filled with discoveries. 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 crawled their way through and explored how they could move it around the space. 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. We even have a fast turtle show up! 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, leftover house siding, and magnetic acrylic shelves 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. They are expert animal impersonators!
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
Trick-or-Treat 🍫🍭🍬
CLICK HERE FOR UPCOMING WCDS EVENTS
- Friday, November 8th– We Two will return to our classroom at Northern for our 11:00 am session.
Dear We Two Families,
This week was filled with so much Halloween fun at WCDS and We Two being on campus for trick-or-treating made it that much sweeter. All of the students looked so great in their costumes and I just loved seeing their choices! When we weren’t collecting goodies from different classrooms around campus, we continued to dive into some fun explorations. Our sensory bin was another crowd pleaser this week with a few added loose parts, including glow sticks and slinkies. The white blocks mixed with the wooden rainbow, disco lights and cars made for an interesting sight. I loved seeing the students design their own pumpkins using various marking tools, Halloween stickers, and googly eyes while others got right down to stamping. Not only was the paper stamped, but hands and arms were adorned with the colorful inks. The large whiteboard wall in the Community room is a stellar place for our Magna Tiles, which some of the kiddos used to make some colorful designs. I also offered magnetic acrylic shelves to serve as a ball run and saw several successful runs with the eyeball ping pong balls (check out Atlee down below). Our story, We’re Going on a Pumpkin Hunt by Goldie Hawk, had us going through several Halloween characters, including bats, cats, and spider webs. Shaky eggs brought our Skeleton Song to life and my special bat friend took flight during our gathering.
I hope you all had a great Halloween! I loved getting to celebrate with you all. See you next week!
Sincerely,
Miss Claire
Dem Bones, Dem Bones, Dem Skeleton Bones!
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 We Two today as our 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, while adding our acrylic acorns, pumppins and leaves to our felt tree silhouettes. 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. A long ramp was also made using a wood plank resting on top of our large wooden cubes. The squeals of delight as the cars made it safely to the bottom of the ramp were infectious! Pieces of colored cellophane were stuck to our sticky contact paper on the large windows, bringing some beautiful tones to the space. 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 Stone, we read Ghost Afraid of the Dark by Sara Conway and sang a riveting rendition of the Skeleton Song.
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
What Kind of Pumpkin Are You?
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 guide you.
We had a pumpkin party today in We Two, 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. We have some excellent cleaners on our hands! Our collaborative tree canvases were adorned with glue and sequins, giving them a nice touch of sparkle. The cube remained a cozy spot with blankets and Beanie Babies to snuggle with, while the block area saw some tall stacking with our large cans, white plastic blocks, cds, and paper towel rolls. Our friend Tori even made one that was as tall as she was! The light table was converted to a fall scene with a felt tree silhouette, pumpkin, acorn and leaves gems, colored popsicle sticks, and dry-erase markers for some mark-making. We finished our time together with Little Blue Truck’s Halloween by Alice Schertle. The students were great guessers at what animal was wearing each costume.
Thank you for another amazing session together!
Enjoy your weekend and see you next Friday!
Miss Claire
It’s Pumpkin Day, Mouse!
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!
There was a calmness to our time together this week that made for some intimate interactions throughout our time together. 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. Lastly, the neon colored water and various kitchen tools helped the students become mad scientists as they stirred and mixed some magical potions. There was excellent pouring and transferring happening between different sizes of containers, as well as syringes being filled and released with the colorful water.
We finished off our time together with It’s Pumpkin Day, Mouse! The kiddos are excellent listeners and seem to enjoy our storytime. Don’t forget two smashing rounds of Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed! I just love getting to see these little learners shine each week!
I hope you have a great weekend and see you next week!
Miss Claire
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