Puppets, Playsilks, and Paint

HIGHLIGHTS OF OUR DAY

Dramatic Play
Today, I introduced the mini puppet stage and the finger puppets. The kiddies got a kick of the 'show' I put on for them, and then Austin quickly jumped in following me and then Lulu finished.





Gross Motor and Outdoor Fun
Lulu busted out the playsilks and took them outside for some running and chasing fun.







Austin learned how to push Sophia in the swing and more importantly, to quickly get out of the way when the swing returns! This will really help me (as I have to continually stand there to push whoever is in the swing). Is that being lazy? Hehe.



Art



Spanish (and Music)



José-Luis Orozco is a recording artist, composer, author and radio host of children's programs and has been working with children, parents and teachers in the field of bilingual education since before I was born. My mother was a bilingual Pre-K teacher, so she introduced me to his work many years ago. Today, we sang La Granja (The Farm).

I was trying to decide how to have the children participate with this song. After a few times of hearing it, if we have a group of three or four kiddies here, they can all make the sound of a particular animal in the song. For today, I used the Schleich farm animals that I have to make the sound at the right time in the song. I was just missing the dog, cat, and donkey, so I 'improvised'. =)

La Granja

Vengan a ver mi granjaque es hermosa.
Vengan a ver mi granja que es hermosa.
El patito hace así, cuá, cuá.
El patito hace así, cuá, cuá.

Oh, vengan, amigos,vengan amigos,vengan, amigos, vengan.

Vengan a ver mi granja que es hermosa.

Vengan a ver mi granja que es hermosa.
El gatito hace así, miau, miau.
El gatito hace así, miau, miau.
Oh, vengan, amigos,vengan amigos,vengan, amigos, vengan.

Vengan a ver mi granja que es hermosa.
Vengan a ver mi granja que es hermosa.
El pollito hace así, pío, pío.
El pollito hace así, pío, pío.

Oh, vengan, amigos,vengan amigos,vengan, amigos, vengan.

Vengan a ver mi granja que es hermosa.
Vengan a ver mi granja que es hermosa.
El perrito hace así, gua, gua.
El perrito hace así, gua, gua.
Oh, vengan, amigos,vengan amigos,vengan, amigos, vengan.

Vengan a ver mi granja que es hermosa.
Vengan a ver mi granja que es hermosa.
La vaquita hace así, mú, mú.la vaquita hace así, mú, mú.

Oh, vengan, amigos,vengan amigos,vengan, amigos, vengan.

Vengan a ver mi granja que es hermosa.
Vengan a ver mi granja que es hermosa.
El gallito hace así, kikiri, kí.
El gallito hace así, kikiri, kí.

Oh, vengan, amigos,vengan amigos,vengan, amigos, vengan.
Vengan a ver mi granja que es hermosa.
Vengan a ver mi granja que es hermosa.
El puerquito hace así, oinc, oinc.
El puerquito hace así, oinc, oinc.

Oh, vengan, amigos,vengan amigos,vengan, amigos, vengan.

Vengan a ver mi granja que es hermosa.
Vengan a ver mi granja que es hermosa.
El burrito hace así, íja, íja.El burrito hace así, íja, íja.

Oh, vengan, amigos,vengan amigos,vengan, amigos, vengan.

Sophia had fun reading our borrowed Diez Pequeñas Mariquitas book to us all.



Phrase of the Day:
When we were eating lunch, Austin (who usually takes his time to eat), ate most of what was on his plate, told me he was finished, so I asked, "Already?" On his way out to the porch (toward the play kitchen) he says, "I need to go cook."

Lulu Returns

Today, was 'Lulu's' first day back from summer vacation. She arrived with longer locks of beautiful curls, new freckles, and a boatload of new words! She wasn't sure about her Mama leaving to go to work, but after a few minutes of some cuddle time with me, she was off to explore the added materials!

HIGHLIGHTS FROM OUR DAY

Exploring a Material: Glue

The kiddies explored the properties of glue since they don't have much experiene with glue. I simply offered glue to the children on a covered space to allow for exploration. They experimented with paintbrushes, small spoons, and their fingers. They realized it was sticky, and when semi- dry, it can be rubbed off their skin. The kids later mixed in Red, Blue, and Yellow powder paint and turned their glue different colors.

Later in the day, Lulu discovered dried glue on her arm and noticed it could be peeled off with her fingers (she wan't too keen on this idea because she kept saying "owie, glue"). It was pulling on her little arm hairs. Sophia then began searching her own body for dried glue to peel off, and found some!

They were definitely engaged and had fun exploring how glue works. We're going to continue exploring glue over an extended period of time to deepen their understanding of this material and its properties in preparation of when we begin 'collage' work.

Gardening: Since we're still in the heat of the summer, the only thing we're harvesting in our garden are tomatoes, so we picked the ripe ones, and I'm trying to convince Sophia to leave the green ones attached!

Spanish: Austin brought a book to share, Diez Pequeñas Mariquitas and it was a HUGE hit! Sophia recently learned how to count to ten in Spanish (she often forgets the number 7 though) so she basically took over the counting portion. Thanks Austin (and Mama Allison), for bringing this fun book to share today!