Quote of the Month

"It is easier to build a strong child than to repair broken men."

Fredrick Douglas



































































Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Blizzard in the Playroom!!

There is a blizzard in the playroom!! This week we are busy welcoming winter and a blizzard has been created in the corner of the playroom...Glad it's a nice and warm blizzard and we aren't really getting cold and wet! :)

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

A Still Butterfly

A couple of weeks ago we were out in the play yard and amongst the yellow fallen leaves the kids discovered this yellow butterfly. It did not move, probably because its chilled fragile wings would not allow it. The kids marveled over it for about 15 minutes though it did nothing but sit there. It was delightful to see their faces filled with wonder and awe. Butterflies usually don't sit still for them to observe, so they took advantage of it, soaked in the beauty of the tiny creature that usually flies away as quickly as it lands in the summertime. This little moment in our day got me thinking about how sometimes the kids are like butterflies in the summer.. their days filled with activity, flying around from here to there, so often I am just trying to get them to slow down long enough to eat, do an activity, wash their hands, take a nap that I forget to soak in the more calm moments and marvel at who they are and let them know what amazing little people they are becoming. Sometimes I get so busy with all the "doing" and forget to marvel at their "being." Each of your children are so special, unique and growing soooo fast. I truly treasure each one. It is my prayer that each day I will remember to (as they did with the butterfly) get down on their level and marvel at their wonderful, unique nature. 

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Using sight, sound, touch and taste to experience the ocean and its creatures!!

This week we are learning about the ocean and its creatures! Early in the week we watched a video online of a real, live octupus underwater...well, we watched it about 3 times because it was REALLY fascinating and the squeals of delight and amazement were too precious to not be repeated! Then we tasted salt water and talked about how the ocean is very salty and not very good water to drink. On Wednesday I was very excited for our little tactile experiment using plastic bags, blue hair gel and gummy fish to create an ocean and fish we could squish. The kids definitely LOVED squishing around the fish in the gel, the only problem was that eventually the fish disolved into the hair gel creating a nice purple mush that you all got to see when brought home! At least it was kept contained in the ziploc! :PWell, hopefully all the way home..:)  We also listened to different nature sounds; the kids did a great job distinguishing between a babbling brook and the ocean. Of course we also read some sea creature themed books(Commotion in the Ocean and an underwater animal pop up book) and sang our fish song with hand motions each day, along with craft projects. Now if only there was a Red Lobster nearby for a field trip..now that would make our week complete! :P