How does your garden grow?

 This week, we've been learning about gardening and plants on the farm. The kids have learned about seeds, and what makes seeds grow.  We've used different seeds to make patterns.  We've planted plants, and hope to see them sprout in the next few days.  We've also gone digging for carrots and potatoes in the classroom.  We've pretended to be seeds and we grow when we are watered from the watering can, rain, and plenty of sunlight!

Pancakes! Pancakes!

 As we finished up our 5 senses last week (like 9 days ago. We made pancakes.  We read the recipe, measured the ingredients, mixed everything, and then I cooked them.  We saw the pancakes, smelled the pancakes, felt the pancakes, tasted the pancakes, and heard the sizzle.  We used all five senses at once!

I was having phone and camera issues last week, so I got few pictures of our farm animals unit, but TPP's fall intern, Miss Melanie,  let me take a picture on her phone of the kids making butter.  Not pictured is them enjoying butter-one of God's wonderful creations.

Five senses

This is no ordinary playdoh.  It smells like peppermint!

We are finishing up this week talking about the five senses.  So we have covered seeing, touching, smelling, and hearing.  Friday will be our fun day-tasting!!!

Also, our Bible focus this month is how Jesus told his disciples to let the little children come to him.  The kids love hearing about how much Jesus adores them!  Today we read that particular story from the Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones.  If you do not own this book, it is by far the best children's bible ever.  I'd encourage you to get it for your child (or entire family!) for Christmas, if not before.  Many of the stories in there evoke so much emotion in me that I cry when I read them. 

Trying to hear all there is to hear outside

Such a cute class!

Crayon resist-wax won't absorb water!

Chapel

 On most Monday mornings, one of Trinity's pastors comes over and does chapel with TPP.  It's such a fun way to start the week. 

Chapel is definitely not boring!

Autonomy

 I really try, as much as I can, to let your kids make his or her own decisions, within boundaries.  They get to choose who they sit next to at group time and where they sit at snack.  They get to choose what "center" they would like to participate in (although I try to make sure they have a well rounded day).

I also encourage the kids to pour their own water, and eventually serve themselves their own food, during snack time.  This sometimes gets messy, but then they have the opportunity to clean up after themselves!  It's only water, so spills are never a big deal.

Almost every day, we have the "Daily News."  The leader of the day gets to tell everyone something he/she wants to know.  We read it together with the expectation that they will eventually start picking up on the fact that we read from left to right and up to down.  Also, since many of the words are consistent from day to day some of these kids will soon know recognize these words on their own! 

Look at all the things your kids know about eyes!

Blindfold painting.  Notice all the paint not on the paper...we learned that eyes are really important!

This just makes me smile. 

This does too.

Eyes for us to see

 This week, we have begun learning about our 5 senses.  Through next week, we will be reading a book almost every day called, "My Five Senses" by Aliki.  With this book, aside from information on senses, we'll also be discussing what the cover of a book is, and that we always read from left to right. 

Here are a few activities we did today:  I put dollar tree glasses out in the dress up area, we made eye ball collages, and tongs (helping to develop fine motor control) were used to sort colors. 

I love how they are working together here.

First Monday!

 I always have good intentions to update my class blog so that parents can, in a sense, be a "fly on the wall."  However, the busyness of life has a tendency of pushing the blog to the back burner.  I will attempt to update this with pictures, at least, every week or two, so that you can see what's going on in the classroom. I love to see posts about my own children at their school!  I love to see that they are thriving.

And let me tell you-YOUR children ARE thriving!  You would not believe the difference between Friday and Monday.  They understood the routine and class rules so much better.  They were able to express themselves creatively!  We started our journals today and many of your children are tracing their names (and my prediction is that by Christmas, most will be writing some version of their names!).  A couple come in shy and a little sad, but their frowns are seriously gone by the time you get down the hall or out of the parking lot.

This cracks me up.  THIS is what mommies do.  Multitasking.  Cooking, holding baby, and calling someone. 

Hot days=less time outside.  Hopefully the weather will cool off soon!

Even superheroes love bubble wrap.